The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit (Part 1)

I want to speak about the Holy Spirit and His work. Who is the Holy Spirit? God's Word says, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you." We may think that the Holy Spirit is just a power coming from God which He gives to us. But the Holy Spirit is more than a power; He is a Person.

God the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and God the Son. The three are one. They are not divided, but together, working to fulfill all of God's purposes. A man has three parts, the body, the soul, and spirit to make him one whole man and to give him His character. (Check cultural relevancy.) In the same way, God is one, but He is three - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three unite to make Him the one true God. There are many things we should know about the Holy Spirit. First, the Holy Spirit knows all things. There is nothing that He does not know. This is because He is God, and not like us who don't know most things. Secondly, He is in every place at all times, but does not live in everything. But He does live in the hearts of all believers. Thirdly, He has all power. The Holy Spirit helped God create the world.

Now, what is the work of the Holy Spirit? First, I will ask you a question. When a man is sick, what does he want? You will answer, "He wants someone to help him and to give him medicine so that he can become well!" This is true. The work of the Holy Spirit is to convict you and show you the sin in your heart and that you must get rid of it. Then He points you to Jesus Who can forgive (take away) your sins. When you repent of your sins and trust Jesus as your Saviour, it is the Holy Spirit Who makes your heart new. He comes to live in your heart. The Holy Spirit joins (unites) you with God in this way.

The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Truth. He never tells lies. When He lives in your heart, He works there to make you become like Jesus. Jesus always spoke the truth. He never told a lie. Christians, too, must tell the truth. They must not lie. They are God's children. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of God's children to do this. When a Christian lies, the Holy Spirit will bring his sin to his mind and make him sad. When a Christian speaks the truth, the Holy Spirit will give him joy. When a Christian sins He can confess it to God. God will hear his prayer and forgive him. The Holy Spirit will then make him happy and bring him into the right relationship with God again.

Now the Holy Spirit has a work for each child of God. He will give us the strength (ability) to do the work He wants us to do. The Bible says that every Christian is in the family of Christ. Jesus Christ is our head, and we are the body. A body has many parts and each part has its own work. In order to truly please God we must surrender ourselves (give ourselves over) to Him completely so that He can live His own life in us as He likes.

Note: see 224A for second part of this script.

REF: Acts 1:8