Confirming Faith Week 5 The Holy Spirit

Confirming Faith Week Five. The Holy Spirit.

Who is the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Person, not a thing or an impersonal force. He is the third Person of the Godhead (the Trinity) and proceeds from the Father through the Son (or, at the Son’s request). He does not draw attention to Himself. He draws us into a relationship with the Father and glorifies the Son. He is present in scripture from the second verse of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation.

What was His role in the Old Testament?
He was present at Creation and at various times rested upon or filled individuals so that they could be empowered for God-directed action or to speak God’s message. He inspired the prophets and the authors of the books of the Bible.  In the OT it was only special people who had the HS and then only for specific purposes.

What was His role in the New Testament?
Before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was active in people such as Mary, Elizabeth, Zecharias, John the Baptizer, and in Jesus. He came upon Jesus at his baptism and led him out into the wilderness. John the Baptist predicted that Jesus would baptize people with the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciples to receive the Holy Spirit and to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit came. We are told that it was the Holy Spirit’s power that raised Jesus from the dead, thereby proving that the Father had accepted His sacrifice.

At Pentecost (Acts 2) all the gathered followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in languages they did not understand but which were understood by people of various nationalities who overheard them. Peter preached to the crowds that they too would receive the HS if the repented, believed in Jesus and were baptized. Subsequently, the HS was received by a number of individuals and groups including Samaritans, Gentiles and others.

What does He do today?
He does what he has done ever since He was given to the church at Pentecost.

1. Before we become Christians He convinces us of our need for God. He convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). Nobody can truthfully confess Jesus as Lord without having the Spirit (Romans 8:9 and 1Cor 12:3).


2. When we become Christians we are “born again” or “born from above” (John 3:3-8 and 1John 5:8) and receive the Spirit of adoption by which we are assured that God is our Father (Romans 8:15). The Holy Spirit comes to live within us (1Cor 3:16).


3. He incorporates us into the Body of Christ which is the church. (1 Cor 12:13). Water baptism and baptism in/with/by the Spirit are two sides of the same coin but are not the same thing and may or may not occur at the same time.


4. He transforms our character by producing the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).


5. He gives us gifts to be used for the benefit of the whole church. There are numerous lists of these: 1 Corinthians chapters 12 (three lists), 1 Peter 4, Romans 12, 1 Cor 7:2, Ephesians 4.


6. He helps us to understand the truth of scripture which He inspired. He is the Spirit of truth (John 14:17). See also: 1 Cor 2:10-13.

How to receive or be filled with the Spirit.
Becoming a Christian has four parts to it: repentance, faith in Jesus, baptism in water, and receiving the Spirit (Acts 2:38).  These may occur together or at different times and not always in that order.

If you are not sure whether or not you are a Christian, then the first thing to do is to do make sure you are. Pray a “sorry, thank you, please” prayer: confess your sinfulness, asking God to forgive you, thank Him for Jesus’ death for you, and ask him to give you His Spirit.

If you are already a Christian, confess to God any known sin that would interfere with the HS working in your life and to reveal to you anything which needs to be made right with Him. Then ask Jesus to fill you with his Spirit and to give you any gifts you need to serve Him. Praise Him and thank for doing so. Focus on God rather than on your feelings – the Giver is more important than the gift. Use your own language as well as any other language which comes to mind as you pray. You will probably find yourself praising Him in a language you have never learned. It’s that simple.

Conversion and baptism are unrepeatable, but repentance, faith and walking in/by the Spirit are a way of life. Remember, being filled with the Spirit is not a once only event. You need to be continually filled with the Spirit. At different times you may need or experience a special infilling, gift for a particular purpose.

What does it mean to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit?
This expression only occurs 7 times in the Bible, 5 times predicting that Jesus would baptize in the Holy Spirit in contrast to John baptizing in water. This came true for Jewish believers at Pentecost and for Gentiles when Cornelius (Acts 10) and his family were baptized in the Spirit. After Cornelius’s conversion Peter refers to those predictions to explain what had just occurred (Acts 11:16-18). The final time is the reference in 1Cor 12:13 which indicates that all Christians have been baptized by one Spirit into the one body of Christ. So some Christians understand the term to refer to being born again at which time one receives the Spirit.

Some Christians refer to a special experience, after conversion, of being filled with the Spirit in a very powerful way, usually accompanied by speaking in tongues, as being “Baptized in the Spirit.” Other Christians, while having a similar experience, prefer not to call it by that name because of the confusion which arises from the terminology.

Nowhere in the New Testament are Christians after Pentecost commanded to seek an experience called the Baptism in the Spirit. We are, however, commanded to go on being filled with the Spirit, to walk by the Spirit, to earnestly desire spiritual gifts, not to quench or grieve the Spirit. Not everyone has an identical experience but we are all expected to receive the Spirit and the gifts He wishes us to have. Nobody should be proud of their experiences or consider others less for not having the same experience. Nevertheless, Jesus intends for us to be filled with his Spirit and to have His power at work in our lives. We should not be afraid of asking the Father for this, as Jesus promised the Father will give the Spirit to anyone who asks (Luke 11:13).

Discussion:

1. What is the evidence that the Spirit is active in one’s life?


2. What are the gifts of the Spirit?


3. Should all Christians have the same gifts?


4. Why might people be afraid to ask God to fill them with His Spirit?


5. What metaphors for the Holy Spirit are there in the Bible?

At a subsequent time we shall discuss the connection between the Holy Spirit and water baptism and with public profession of faith (eg church membership or Confirmation).
As before, some of the material for this backgrounder was taken from Faith Confirmed by Peter Jackson and Chris Wright (published by SPCK). However most of it was drawn from other authors such as Nicky Gumbel, Michael Green and David Pawson.