“Jesus Said”
What Jesus said about the Father
“The Holy Spirit”
Michael Wiley
February 22, 2009
John 3:1-8
John 16:7-16
Matthew 10:19-20
Introduction:
Walk in any library; sit down at any internet browser, search the word “GHOST” and you will be inundated with information.
Ghost stories date back to ancient times and are found in virtually every culture.
Of course today, they are popularized in many movies and TV shows, like, Ghost, Ghost Busters, Field of Dreams, Freddy Krueger and even reality TV series like “Paranormal State” and “Ghost Hunters.”
The first definition in the dictionary says a ghost is, “The soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit imagined, usually as a vague, shadowy or evanescent form, as wandering among or haunting living persons. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ghost)”
Of course PC ghost products that are software programs. Ghost companies are something scam investors send money to. And a Ghost writer is a writer that is not a ghost at all but a person who writes something and is paid to allow the credit to go to someone else.
But, a wispy airy, apparition is what we usually think of when we here the word ghost.
That’s why I’m happy the new Bible translations have translated Holy Spirit, instead of Holy Ghost. I know they seem to be the same, but because we think of “spiritual” and spirituality when we here spirit, it leads us away from our ghostly thoughts.
The Holy Spirit is not a ghost at all, but a real and active personal presence in our lives. He is referred to as the third person of the trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Now some folks have a hard time seeing the Holy Spirit as a person, because they think of a person as a human being. Jesus was a person, God was given personal attributes in the OT, but the Holy Spirit?
IL. When I was a young man I sat in on a Wednesday night Bible study, and heard the preacher speak of the Holy Spirit as a person. One man questioned him on it, and then got so flabbergasted he left the study. See, he grew up with the “Holy Ghost.” And couldn’t bring himself to see the Holy Spirit as a person. A person is a human right?
BUT when we say the Holy Spirit is a person we have to look at the philosophical definition of the word Person. That is, “A self-conscious rational being.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/person)
Transition:
As we continue our series today we want to see what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit
To do that we are going to look at three different passages and see three things that Jesus said about Him.
Turn first to John 3:5-8
The Holy Spirit Brings New Birth (John 3:1-8)
READ
Preview the story with Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee of the Jewish ruling council so that tells me he was a member of the Sanhedrin
V. 5 – NIV – “I tell you the truth” KJV, Verily, Verily, -- Greek – Amen, Amen, meaning this is really true – you can take it to the bank. Today, instead of repeating true, we promise or swear…
So the NIV translates that as close as they can to our understanding.
Break it down now – Jesus uses the term, “water and spirit.” There is a little bit of debate over this term water. What is He talking about?
Is water the amniotic fluid of the mother’s womb? He does seem to be contrasting flesh and spirit.
Is the water baptism? Acts 2:38 puts baptism and the spirit together when it says,
…"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (NIV)
Is the water John’s baptism? Remember John’s baptism was not a spiritual baptism. It was a baptism of repentance, so there we could see flesh (John’s baptism) and spirit (born of the Spirit).
Personally I’m out on this one and believe all three explanations make sense. So I try and put it aside and remember that the meaning of “water and spirit” are not the key issues in this passage.
The key issue is that Jesus is telling a member of the Sanhedrin, the most legalistic class of Jesus’ day that entrance into God’s kingdom would not be achieved by legalism --- following a bunch of rules.
In order to enter God’s kingdom, You must be born again by the Holy Spirit!
How? Remember this is John 3. The most well known verse in the world is here at the tail in of Jesus’ discussion with Nic. “You must believe in Him to have eternal life!
The second thing Jesus says about the Holy Spirit is:
The Holy Spirit Convicts and Guides (John 16:7-16)
READ
IL Whatever you think of Mel Gibson as a man or actor, he did say a profound thing about his movie “The Passion of the Christ
He said, "I’m not a preacher, and I’m not a pastor. But I really feel my career was leading me to make this. The Holy Ghost was working through me on this film, and I was just directing traffic. I hope the film has the power to evangelize."
And indeed, God has used Gibson’s "The Passion of the Christ" to evangelize. Many a person has come to know Christ through that film and many a Christian has been deeply impacted by it.
(Newsmax.com, "Focus on the Family Praises Gibson’s Film," Sunday, June 29, 2003.)
With Jesus present His ministry was localized. The coming of the counselor will equip them more fully and be with them always.
THREE major aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry here.
1. Convict the world of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment.
2. Direct the Disciples in truth
3. Reveal Jesus more perfectly to His followers.
The last thing I want to share with you today is just as important as the rest of what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit Speaks Through You (Matthew 10:19-20)
READ
Note, “Before governors and Kings”
Early on Christians were pretty safe because the Jews had been made exempt from emperor worship. But, as Jews denied any link between Jews and Christians, the government began to realize that Christians were a different religion than Jews and not just another sect. They became more and more under scrutiny.
NOW, this does not take away your responsibility to study and know God’s word. In Jesus’ last discourse He tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit will help them recall what he has told them.
Many a Christian is frozen in fear at the thought of speaking to a non-believer about their faith, forgetting these words of Christ ---- The Holy Spirit is there and He will give you the words to say. Note: The text doesn’t say, “He will give you the words to convert everyone.” He will give you the words to say…
Conclusion:
My thinking goes back to the story of Nicodemus in John 3. Jesus tells Nicodemus he must “be born again” of the spirit to enter the kingdom of heaven. But it does not say Nicodemus accepted it. Nic was definitely a sympathizer. He stands up for Jesus in John 7. In John 19 he along with Joseph of Arimathea he buries Jesus’ body after He was crucified. In that same passage it says that Joseph was a disciple, but what about Nic?
We don’t know…
Don’t let that be said of you. Make your stand clear.
Jesus said, “You must be born again!”
