Chapter 3 - Better late than never

Forgotten God-   Ch.3   -10/18/11

First off, know that we aren’t going to be able to sit down and explain the Holy Spirit.  The point is not to understand all of who He is; there are some things that are just outside of our realm of comprehension.  But that is what makes the Holy Spirit so awe-inspiring-we will never be able to fully understand every aspect of Him (Ex. The universe, how machines work, etc.).  If I know everything there was to know about the Holy Spirit, he would be devalued in my mind .  So instead of trying to comprehend everything that the Holy Spirit is, let’s allow the fact that the Spirit is so great and so beyond the full grasp of our understanding to lead us to worship Him even more.

So what is “The Spirit?”  What is He made of?  Where does He come from?  Is He God?  Where does He reside?  What does He do?  These are just a few questions we have about the Holy Spirit we hear about in the Word, and in discussion among the church.  Tonight, we address 7 basic theological truths about the Spirit.

1)      The Holy Spirit is a person.  He is not a force that we can control, but rather a person who has a relationship with us as believers, as well as the Father and the Son.  (John 14:17).

2)      The Holy Spirit is God.  Just as Jesus was fully God, so is the Holy Spirit.  In Acts 5:3-4, Peter refers to the Spirit as God.  This is something we as a church have undervalued: the Holy Spirit is God, and He lives in us.  It’s an awesome thought.

3)      The Holy Spirit is eternal and holy.  He is not a person that comes and goes, only staying for short visits.  He is eternally with us (John 14:16), and is holy just as God is holy (Romans 5:5).

4)      The Spirit has His own mind and He prays for us.  Another awesome thought we sometimes forget.  He is not a spirit who sits and waits for us to call to Him, but is instead actively working in our lives and interceding with the Father in heaven on our behalf (Romans 8:27).  So he prays for what we need, even when we ourselves do not know what it is that we need.

5)      The Spirit has emotions.  The Bible says it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit, so logically it follows that the Spirit feels.  As Francis says, God created feelings, so why can’t He have them?

6)      The Holy Spirit has His own desires and will.  See 1 Cor. 12:11.  The spirit is in control; He wills His gifts to us.   He has a plan for us and desires to see it through.

7)      The Holy Spirit is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  All-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present.  Yet another testament to how we will never fully comprehend who He is.

2 Challenges this week:

1) As you allow these truths to sink in, recall your own personal beliefs and understanding about who the Holy Spirit is.  How do they compare?  Are there discrepancies?  I challenge you to surrender those erroneous beliefs to God.  Allow Him to transform your thinking, to re-establish the foundation in your mind regarding the basic truths about the Holy Spirit, so that going forward He can build on a foundation that is grounded in His word and not preconceived notions or myths that have been passed down through time.

2) At the end of the chapter, Francis gives a list of things that should be a part of your life if the Holy Spirit dwells in you.  Carefully go over that list and honestly evaluate which items are a part of your life and which ones are not.  Pray that the Spirit would continue to be even more evident in your life in the ways that He already is, but also pray about those areas where you don’t see Him.  Don’t be discouraged by the fact that they are not there, but instead go before the Lord in confidence knowing that these are promises He wills for your life and therefore ask for them knowing that He will act.