God the Holy Spirit, Part 1 I Cor. 2:9-13
INTRO.: The Apostle Paul established a Church in the Greek city of Ephesus. The story is recorded in the 18th chapter of Acts. He left, intending to return. While he was away, Apollos, a very eloquent preacher from Egypt, came and began to preach Christ in the Jewish synagogues. Many people were won to Christ.
But, Apollos’ knowledge of the Gospel was incomplete. He didn’t know the baptism of Jesus. He was corrected by Acquila and Priscilla, but not before he had baptized at least a dozen people with the baptism of John the Baptist.
When Paul returned, he encountered these twelve and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied, “We didn’t even know there was such a thing as the Holy Spirit.” Acts 19:2, 3.
What a sad state of affairs! Christians who didn’t even know there is a Holy Spirit! But there are many Christians today who know very little about the Holy Spirit and what they think they know is incorrect.
We won’t exhaust the subject of the Holy Spirit in this series of messages, but let’s try to get a little insight into Who He is & what He does. Today; who or what is the Holy Spirit?
I. Like God the Son, He has revealed the Father to us.
A. He is the One Who inspired the Scriptures thus to reveal God to us: II Pet. 1:21
1. ILLUS.: I tried wind surfing once and , although I could stand on the board and sail, I had a hard time turning it around. I got so far from the beach my instructor had to come rescue me in a boat.
2. The term “carried along” is a nautical expression, as a sailboat is carried along by the wind.
3. So the Spirit of God propelled the N. T. writers. As they wrote, they were “carried away.”
B. These writers revealed things about God we could not learn otherwise. I Cor. 2:9, 10
1. Because they were inspired by the Spirit.
2. Only my spirit knows what is in my mind. It is the same with God.
3. If I don’t reveal what I’m thinking, no one else can know.
4. So, the Spirit of God is the revealer of God’s thoughts.
C. We have received God’s Spirit to help us understand God’s Word and His will for us. I Cor. 2:14
1. Non-spiritual people can’t understand the need to worship.
2. They don’t recognize the importance or power of prayer.
3. Reading the Bible and obeying Christ seem “outdated” and “irrelevant” to those who do not have the Spirit of God.
II. The Holy Spirit is the power of God: Lk. 24:46-52
A. Jesus spoke some very important words to His disciples just before He went to Heaven.
1. They are to be His witnesses to all the world.
2. They are to preach repentance and remission of sins to all nations.
3. This is a formidable task. They will need help.
4. So, He tells them to stay in Jerusalem until they receive power from the Father. This they do.
B. This power came a few days later on the Day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit descended.
1. He enabled them to preach in many different languages.
2. He gave them a marvelous message about a resurrected Christ.
3. The message was so powerful 3000 souls were baptized into Christ. The Church began.
C. This same power is ours when we share the Gospel with others.
1. We preach a resurrected Savior, raised by the power of God’s Spirit. Rom. 1:4
2. God adds His power to our preaching. 1 Cor 2:4-5 “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”
III. God the Spirit is the source of new birth:
A. Jesus told Nicodemus he could not get into the Kingdom without a second birth. John 3:3-5
1. A strange statement. Nicodemus asks, “How?”
2. Jesus answers one must be born of water and Spirit.
3. The water is Christian baptism. The Spirit is God the Holy Spirit.
B. What is the process by which we are born again?
1. A seed is planted in the heart when we hear the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
2. The Spirit uses the Word of God to beget new spiritual life.
3. The process of new birth is completed in Christian baptism. - we are born of water and Spirit.
4. 1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
5. Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
IV. God the Holy Spirit is the Spirit empowering the Church. I Cor. 3:16
A. The Church is described as “God’s household.” I Tim. 3:15.
1. He is the head of the house. We are His children.
2. We must be very careful about slandering or dividing the Church.
3. It is through God the Spirit that He dwells within the Church, as
B. He lives in the individual Christian. I Cor. 6:19.
1. Of course, the Church is made up of individuals. He cannot dwell in one without dwelling in the other
2. But, this passage is a little more personal.
3. As opposed to motivation for respecting the Church, this passage is motivation for respecting your own body and living a godly life.
CONC.: The Holy Spirit is most mysterious part of God. There is little we can understand by human wisdom and much confusion. Fortunately, He is the person of the Godhead we really don’t need to understand. He does His work quietly “behind the scenes.” He doesn’t want us to know about Him as much as He wants us to know about Jesus. John 15:26 & 16:14.
Salvation is in Jesus. Heed the message of God the Spirit and come to Jesus.
