THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
(LESSON ONE)
INTRODUCTION: (John 16:12-15)
As we prepare to teach on the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, it is very important that we spend a couple of lessons teaching about the Holy Spirit. After all, they are the gifts of the Holy Spirit!
With that said, today’s lesson will be from John 16:12-15. Leading up to this scripture, Jesus has washed the feet of His disciples and has had the Last Supper. He tells them that one of the disciples will betray Him; and that His time to leave this world is at hand. Jesus goes on to tell them what will happen in the days ahead and then admonishes them to love and obey God and to also love one another.
The disciples are understandably overwhelmed with sorrow and grief at the thought of Jesus leaving them. He even said to them in verse 6, “Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief.” So Jesus begins to really turn their focus and attention to the Holy Spirit. Verses 7-11, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you will see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the Prince of this world now stands condemned.”
And then our text, verses 12-15, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”
Today I will answer the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” First, He is God. Second, He is a Person. And third, He reveals the things of the Father and the Son to us.
Let’s pray.
I. The Holy Spirit is God. Look with me at what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-17, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth.”
The Greek word used here for “another,” is the word “allos.” It means one just like me, or one of the same kind. The other Greek word for “another,” is the word “heteros.” It means one of a different kind. What’s the point? Jesus is making it clear that just as He is God, so too the Holy Spirit is God!
And if you go back to John 14:8 where Philip said to Jesus, “Lord show us the Father and that will be enough for us,” Jesus said to Philip in verse 9, “. . . don’t you know me Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘show us the Father’?” Jesus is telling Philip and the disciples that He is God just as the Father is God. And Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth.” This is a beautiful picture and revelation of the Triune God—the holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Why am I making this point? Because it is important to understand that just as the Father is God; just as the Son is God; so is the Holy Spirit God! The gifts of the Holy Spirit that we will study in I Corinthians 12:1-11 are the gifts of God!
And in order to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we must know and reverence the Holy Spirit as God. He is in no way somehow less than God the Father and God the Son.
So what is the first answer to the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” The answer is that He is God. He is “another” just like Jesus; one of the same kind.
II. The Holy Spirit is God, and the Holy Spirit is a person.
Why is it important to have the revelation that the Holy Spirit is a person? It is important to know that the Holy Spirit is a person because it is much easier to receive gifts from a person than it is to receive them from some kind of “mysterious it,” or from some kind of “ethereal or imaginative mist.”
Jesus has already made it clear that the Holy Spirit is a person by referring to the Spirit as “another” just like Himself. As Jesus is a person, so too is the Holy Spirit a person. If this was not the truth, as already noted, Jesus would have used the word heteros (another of a DIFFERENT kind) to describe the Holy Spirit. But He didn’t.
Now, along with that truth about the personhood of the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to reveal that personhood by referring to Him with PERSON-AL pronouns. Look with me at verses 13-14 of our text in John 16: “But when HE, the Spirit of Truth comes, HE will not speak on HIS own; HE will speak only what HE hears and HE will tell you what is to come. HE will glorify me because it is from me that HE will receive what HE will make known to you.” Jesus is making it clear by using personal pronouns when referring to the Holy Spirit that He, the Holy Spirit, is not an “it” but is a PERSON.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are gifts that we receive from a real person! The gifts of the Holy Spirit are PERSON-AL and that is how we should receive them. They are coming from the One who is just like Jesus. They are coming from the One who loves us and cares about us. They are coming from the Person of the Holy Spirit who is God on the earth today. God the Father and God the Son are in the heavenly realm, but God the Holy Spirit is in the earth realm. So if we are going to receive the gifts of God, then we must receive them from God the Holy Spirit.
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to learn to know and have a relationship with the Person of God the Holy Spirit. He is our link to heaven; He is our link to God; and He is how we receive the gifts of God.
And that leads to the third answer to the question of “Who is the Holy Spirit?”
III. He is God; He is a person; and He is the One who reveals the things of the Father and the Son to us. That includes the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
1. First, verse 13 says, “HE will guide you into all truth.” That means that EVERYTHING that belongs to God will be made known to us through the person of God the Holy Spirit. And HE will guide us into, not some of the truth, not most of the truth, but into all of the truth! The Holy Spirit is our LIVING CONNECTION to all that belongs to God! Therefore, all the gifts of God can be ours through the person of the Holy Spirit. This should cause us to hunger for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and it should cause us to want to know HIM better!
2. Secondly, also in verse 13, “HE will not speak on HIS own; HE will speak only what HE hears and HE will tell you what is to come.” The Holy Spirit will ONLY reveal what comes from the Father and the Son because the three are one. Anything outside of the revealed Word; anything different from the revelation of the Father through the Son does not come from the Holy Spirit! That would include any other so-called religion. It would also include the modern day Gnostic Book of Mormon and the Watch Tower of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth, will ONLY guide us into the Truth of the Father and the Son! You can trust HIM! HE will never lead you astray!
3. Verses 14-15, “HE will glorify me because it is from me that HE will receive what HE will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what HE will make known to you.”
Any gift that comes from the Holy Spirit is from Jesus and will bring glory to Jesus. Anything that we receive from God comes to us ONLY because of who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross and in His resurrection. What does that mean concerning the gifts of the Spirit? It means that the gifts are not to exalt any man, but only Jesus! The gifts of the Holy Spirit should always cause us to worship God through Jesus Christ. Consequently, when the Holy Spirit reveals the things of God to us, it is always to point us to Jesus! Yes, we will be blessed by the gifts of the Spirit. But in that blessing or blessings, we are to know that what we receive doesn’t come to us because of our own goodness, but rather because of the goodness of God in Jesus.
For the gifts to truly be effective and continuous, they must always lead us, not to man or to ourselves, but to Jesus. He alone is worthy! To Him alone belongs all of the glory.
CONCLUSION
So then, in this lesson, we learn to better prepare our hearts to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit by answering the question: “Who is the Holy Spirit?”
1. First, HE is God.
2. Second, HE is a Person.
3. And third, HE reveals the things of God to us to glorify Jesus.
Let’ pray.
WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
(LESSON ONE)
INTRODUCTION: (John 16:12-15)
As we prepare to teach on the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, it is very important that we spend a couple of lessons teaching about the Holy Spirit. After all, they are the gifts of the Holy Spirit!
With that said, today’s lesson will be from John 16:12-15. Leading up to this scripture, Jesus has washed the feet of His disciples and has had the Last Supper. He tells them that one of the disciples will betray Him; and that His time to leave this world is at hand. Jesus goes on to tell them what will happen in the days ahead and then admonishes them to love and obey God and to also love one another.
The disciples are understandably overwhelmed with sorrow and grief at the thought of Jesus leaving them. He even said to them in verse 6, “Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief.” So Jesus begins to really turn their focus and attention to the Holy Spirit. Verses 7-11, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you will see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the Prince of this world now stands condemned.”
And then our text, verses 12-15, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”
Today I will answer the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” First, He is God. Second, He is a Person. And third, He reveals the things of the Father and the Son to us.
Let’s pray.
I. The Holy Spirit is God. Look with me at what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-17, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth.”
The Greek word used here for “another,” is the word “allos.” It means one just like me, or one of the same kind. The other Greek word for “another,” is the word “heteros.” It means one of a different kind. What’s the point? Jesus is making it clear that just as He is God, so too the Holy Spirit is God!
And if you go back to John 14:8 where Philip said to Jesus, “Lord show us the Father and that will be enough for us,” Jesus said to Philip in verse 9, “. . . don’t you know me Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘show us the Father’?” Jesus is telling Philip and the disciples that He is God just as the Father is God. And Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth.” This is a beautiful picture and revelation of the Triune God—the holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Why am I making this point? Because it is important to understand that just as the Father is God; just as the Son is God; so is the Holy Spirit God! The gifts of the Holy Spirit that we will study in I Corinthians 12:1-11 are the gifts of God!
And in order to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we must know and reverence the Holy Spirit as God. He is in no way somehow less than God the Father and God the Son.
So what is the first answer to the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” The answer is that He is God. He is “another” just like Jesus; one of the same kind.
II. The Holy Spirit is God, and the Holy Spirit is a person.
Why is it important to have the revelation that the Holy Spirit is a person? It is important to know that the Holy Spirit is a person because it is much easier to receive gifts from a person than it is to receive them from some kind of “mysterious it,” or from some kind of “ethereal or imaginative mist.”
Jesus has already made it clear that the Holy Spirit is a person by referring to the Spirit as “another” just like Himself. As Jesus is a person, so too is the Holy Spirit a person. If this was not the truth, as already noted, Jesus would have used the word heteros (another of a DIFFERENT kind) to describe the Holy Spirit. But He didn’t.
Now, along with that truth about the personhood of the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to reveal that personhood by referring to Him with PERSON-AL pronouns. Look with me at verses 13-14 of our text in John 16: “But when HE, the Spirit of Truth comes, HE will not speak on HIS own; HE will speak only what HE hears and HE will tell you what is to come. HE will glorify me because it is from me that HE will receive what HE will make known to you.” Jesus is making it clear by using personal pronouns when referring to the Holy Spirit that He, the Holy Spirit, is not an “it” but is a PERSON.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are gifts that we receive from a real person! The gifts of the Holy Spirit are PERSON-AL and that is how we should receive them. They are coming from the One who is just like Jesus. They are coming from the One who loves us and cares about us. They are coming from the Person of the Holy Spirit who is God on the earth today. God the Father and God the Son are in the heavenly realm, but God the Holy Spirit is in the earth realm. So if we are going to receive the gifts of God, then we must receive them from God the Holy Spirit.
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to learn to know and have a relationship with the Person of God the Holy Spirit. He is our link to heaven; He is our link to God; and He is how we receive the gifts of God.
And that leads to the third answer to the question of “Who is the Holy Spirit?”
III. He is God; He is a person; and He is the One who reveals the things of the Father and the Son to us. That includes the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
1. First, verse 13 says, “HE will guide you into all truth.” That means that EVERYTHING that belongs to God will be made known to us through the person of God the Holy Spirit. And HE will guide us into, not some of the truth, not most of the truth, but into all of the truth! The Holy Spirit is our LIVING CONNECTION to all that belongs to God! Therefore, all the gifts of God can be ours through the person of the Holy Spirit. This should cause us to hunger for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and it should cause us to want to know HIM better!
2. Secondly, also in verse 13, “HE will not speak on HIS own; HE will speak only what HE hears and HE will tell you what is to come.” The Holy Spirit will ONLY reveal what comes from the Father and the Son because the three are one. Anything outside of the revealed Word; anything different from the revelation of the Father through the Son does not come from the Holy Spirit! That would include any other so-called religion. It would also include the modern day Gnostic Book of Mormon and the Watch Tower of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth, will ONLY guide us into the Truth of the Father and the Son! You can trust HIM! HE will never lead you astray!
3. Verses 14-15, “HE will glorify me because it is from me that HE will receive what HE will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what HE will make known to you.”
Any gift that comes from the Holy Spirit is from Jesus and will bring glory to Jesus. Anything that we receive from God comes to us ONLY because of who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross and in His resurrection. What does that mean concerning the gifts of the Spirit? It means that the gifts are not to exalt any man, but only Jesus! The gifts of the Holy Spirit should always cause us to worship God through Jesus Christ. Consequently, when the Holy Spirit reveals the things of God to us, it is always to point us to Jesus! Yes, we will be blessed by the gifts of the Spirit. But in that blessing or blessings, we are to know that what we receive doesn’t come to us because of our own goodness, but rather because of the goodness of God in Jesus.
For the gifts to truly be effective and continuous, they must always lead us, not to man or to ourselves, but to Jesus. He alone is worthy! To Him alone belongs all of the glory.
CONCLUSION
So then, in this lesson, we learn to better prepare our hearts to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit by answering the question: “Who is the Holy Spirit?”
1. First, HE is God.
2. Second, HE is a Person.
3. And third, HE reveals the things of God to us to glorify Jesus.
Let’ pray.
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