Based on John 15:26-27 (King James Version)
“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”
Today, we are going to deal with something quite complex, something that cannot be explained completely on one-page print. We will talk a little bit about the Holy Spirit. To start, the Comforter or the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity of God, because the Bible teaches us very clearly that God consists of three persons, as it is written: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7 (we need to be careful with various Bible versions because the majority of the more modern ones omit this truth from the original text; this is my personal problem with the different versions). Now, the Holy Spirit is not, under any circumstance, inferior to the Father or the Son. On the contrary, if we have a soul (the center of a human being), the Holy Spirit would be the Spirit or Soul of the Trinity, so then, He is what is most sacred within the Trinity. That’s why we need to be very careful and have much respect for the Holy Spirit and His work. He cannot be taken lightly, or more over, He must be seen with a lot of wisdom and knowledge.
To continue this brief look, we will see the great warning that the Lord Himself gave us on how the not to treat the Holy Spirit, for it is written: “Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?’ Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.’ But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.’” Matthew 12:22-32. The most important work of the Holy Spirit is to show conclusively and undoubtedly that Jesus is God and Lord (not just as the Savior). When the Pharisees called the work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ demonic, their hardness of heart and rebellion took them to do something unpardonable. Now then, the punishment that comes with the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is almost obvious and by consequence. If a person refuses to believe in Jesus as God and Lord, how can they come to be saved? It is impossible. And by virtue of refusing to believe, the person themselves is deciding to stay in their fallen and irredeemable state. No one can obtain eternal life without the Lord. But also, we need to be careful to call things that seem strange (per se) to us as things that don’t come from God because they could be part of the work of the Holy Spirit. This is a great warning for all of us: If you don’t know extremely well the Scriptures and the things that belong to the Lord, then do not even insinuate anything that could be from God as something evil or disrespect it somehow; don’t make fun. We need to respect the things of God, even though they may seem strange to us.
Now then, how does the Holy Spirit manifest Himself in the life of a person? There are three ways: by being with us, by coming to live inside of us, and by coming upon us. When the Holy Spirit is with us, it’s the time that He draws close to bring conviction of sin, so that there can be total repentance and conversion from our sins, at the moment when a person comes to receive the Lord in their life. It is not your conscience that helps you see so clearly all of your sins, but rather, it is the Holy Spirit that does that. He is the One that brings upon a person that incredible sense of responsibility, of pain, and of acknowledging everything a person has done wrong before coming to know the Lord. The second way that the Holy Spirit comes is when He comes to live inside your heart when you repent and convert from all of your sins, and you make Jesus the Lord of your life, when you are born again in the Spirit. That’s where a person’s transformation begins. And the reason why He needs to be inside of your life (not just to save you), is so that He can start teaching you God’s will. As it is written: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26. And one of the essentials of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is when He reminds us of all the Word (after we have studied it, of course, because knowledge does not come magically), when He helps us triumph over the devil’s temptations. The only way that you can face and triumph over the devil’s temptations is through the Word of God; and nothing more. And the third way in which the Holy Spirit manifests Himself is by being upon us. This happens when a person is ready to serve the Lord, to be a witness of the Lord, taking the Gospel to every creature. No one can serve the Lord without this anointing (That’s why it is so important to study the Word, so that the moment comes sooner. No one can afford to stagnate). Some call this the Baptism or the Anointing of the Holy Spirit and others call it the Fulness of the Holy Spirit. They mean the same thing. And the Bible teaches us that this can happen with or without the laying on of hands. For it is written: “Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.’” Acts 8:17-19. “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, ‘can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.” Acts 10:44-48. As a note, speaking in tongues is not an absolute sign of someone having received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit bestows gifts as He desires, and that we need to look for the best gifts (see 1 Corinthians 12).
So then, have you experienced the Holy Spirit of God in His fulness in your life? Lord bless! John