Come along on a survey of Holy Spirit sightings across the pages of the entire Bible as we learn about who the Holy Spirit is based on his appearances in scripture. Most importantly, you will see that the Holy Spirit is God IN You – a gift you must treasure forever!
Today we begin a new series called “Fresh Fire.” We want to answer the questions “Who is the Holy Spirit?” and “What does He do for Me?”
The Holy Spirit is sometimes called the “Holy Ghost,” but “ghost talk” scares some people. Holy or not, they’re not interested! God and Jesus are fine, but a Holy “Ghost” seems much too mysterious and abstract. Today we’ll demystify this Ghost as we look through scripture to find what patterns emerge as we answer the question of who the Holy Spirit is.
In my experience, teaching on the Holy Spirit varies widely from church to church. Some shy away from the Holy Spirit, almost making him the forgotten member of the Trinity. Others – the Pentecostals and the “Holy Rollers” – focus almost exclusively on the Holy Spirit. In our church we have people all over the spectrum: a “Bapticostal”, several from Charismatic churches, and others who don’t have a clue what a Pentecostal is or how that differs from a Charismatic believer. I will explain all that in due time.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll tell you that I was raised in a Pentecostal church that believed everyone should speak in tongues. I saw many people “slain in the Spirit,” and teaching about the Holy Spirit was in abundant supply. I obviously chose not to stay in that camp for reasons I’ll explain throughout this series.
I’m teaching this series on the Holy Spirit because what you believe about the Him matters in how you worship, how you pray, how you talk to others about Jesus, and how you serve or use your spiritual gifts. I want to show you what the Bible says about the Spirit of God and what that means to each of us and our connection with God.
Holy Spirit sightings in the Old Testament
To find out who the Holy Spirit is, we look at where He shows up in the Bible. You probably know that He makes a grand entrance on the Day of Pentecost, but He actually appears in the Bible much, much earlier and quite frequently and consistently. Let’s go all the way back to the very beginning.
Genesis 1:1-2 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty; darkness was over surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
One simple verse teaches us so much! The word used here for “Spirit” is the same as the Hebrew word for “breath” and “wind.” The Spirit hovers over the waters like wind over the sea. It’s everywhere. From the very start of the Bible “the Spirit of God” is seen as uniquely distinct from “God.” “The Spirit of God” is not just a different way of saying “God.”
The first person said to be filled by the Spirit of God appears in Exodus chapter 21.
Exodus 31:1-5 – Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills – to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.
Remember the gold, silver and linens the Israelites carried out of Egypt? These items were to be used in the construction of God’s tabernacle. Not only did God provide the materials, but His very Spirit filled Bezalel to help him create the articles for the tabernacle. The Spirit of God gifted this man with incredible craftsmanship.
What we see most commonly in the Old Testament is that the Spirit of God comes on people for a temporary time and then leaves.
Numbers 11:25 – When the Spirit rested on [the seventy elders], they prophesied.
Numbers 24:2 – The Spirit of God came on [Balaam], and he spoke his message.
Judges 3:10 – The Spirit of the Lord came on [Othniel], so he became Israel’s judge and went to war.
Judges 6:34 – The Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet.
Judges 14:6 – The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon [Samson] so that he tore a lion apart with his bare hands.
1 Samuel 10:10 – The Spirit of God came powerfully upon [Saul], and he joined in their prophesying.
We see only three people in the Old Testament who have the Spirit of the Lord with them nearly continuously: Moses, Joshua and David. Think of the incredible influence these three had on the Israelite nation because they were guided by the Spirit of God.
Then, in the books of the Prophets, we see the promise of how the Holy Spirit will rest on people in the future.
First, Isaiah speaks of a coming servant of God – Isaiah 42:1 – Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
This is very reminiscent of how the Spirit was on Moses, Joshua and David – all saviors of Israel in one way or another.
Next, God will let His Spirit rest on all the followers of Jesus.
Joel 2:28-29 – I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit on those days.
And then the Spirit of God is silent for over four hundred years!
The Holy Spirit and Jesus
The next time we hear of the Holy Spirit is at the birth of John the Baptist when his father, Zechariah, is told that John will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Then Mary, a virgin, is told she will give birth. Matthew 1:18 tells us she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Then, before Jesus began His public ministry, He is baptized by John the Baptist and we see this scene:
Matthew 3:16-17 – As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
In this moment we see the distinction between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
During His lifetime, Jesus did not teach often about the Holy Spirit. The majority of what He did teach happened at the Passover meal He shared with His disciples the night He was betrayed.
John 14:15-17 – If you love Me, keep My commands. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and is in you.
The word “another” here refers specifically to “another of the same type,” not something totally different. First, God in the flesh – Jesus the Son. Then, God in the Spirit – the Holy Spirit. And Jesus continues teaching about the Spirit as he says something very surprising:
John 16:7 – But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
Think about that! Jesus says it is better for Him to leave this world. That speaks volumes about what the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, offers us. In His earthly body Jesus was limited by time and space. The Holy Spirit can live inside each person at all times, unbound by time and space.
The Holy Spirit at Pentecost
After Jesus’s resurrection He tells His disciples to wait for the promised Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:4-5 – Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist referred to this same type of baptism in Luke 3:16 when he tells his followers that the One who will come after him (Jesus) will baptize them “with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Seven weeks after Jesus’s Easter resurrection, and about a week after his ascension, His disciples and other believers, about 120 of them, were gathered together in a room to remember the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2 describes this moment.
Acts 21:1-4 – When the Day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Do you see why I am calling this series “Fresh Fire”? The first outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this fresh, new way shows up in the form of fire. This is not unlike God showing up to Moses in a bush that was on fire. In fact, in scripture, fire often represents the presence of God.
What do we know about the Holy Spirit?
Here’s what we’ve learned as we walked through our Holy Spirit sightings:
- The Holy Spirit is God, a part of the triune God.
- He is in close relationship with God the Father and Jesus the Son.
- He existed from the beginning. He is eternal.
- He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present in all places at all times.
- He is the member of the Trinity who is most directly in contact with humanity.
- In the Old Testament He fills Moses, Joshua and David; and He comes upon numerous people to enable them to speak.
- He empowers judges to go to war.
- He empowers His disciples to boldly proclaim the Gospel.
- He is promised to be “in” all of us who put our faith in Jesus.
- He is our personal connection to God.
What are the Holy Spirit’s specific acts in our lives?
- He guarantees our salvation and seals us.
- He guides us into all truth.
- He gives us spiritual gifts, fruit and boldness.
These tasks, the works of the Spirit, will be our focus in coming weeks as we learn more about how the Holy Spirit impacts our lives.
Here is the most important thought I want to leave you with today: “I have God inside me to help me every moment of every day.”
We took a rather lengthy walk through the Bible to see where the Spirit of God shows up. You no doubt noticed that His presence before Pentecost was only occasional at best. In fact, over the thousands of years the Old Testament covers, the presence of the Holy Spirit was flat-out rare! When He did show up it was for an important purpose: to offer prophetic words from God; to lead Israel to war; even to make sure His tabernacle was being constructed with the best possible craftsmanship.
After Pentecost, everything changed! God planned all along for the Holy Spirit to have the same impact at Pentecost that He had throughout the Old Testament, but now through the life of EVERY SINGLE CHRISTIAN!
There is a problem, however. Most Christians live like Old Testament Israelites and forget that they have the very Spirit of God inside them! They squander this incredible gift every Israelite would have given their left arm for! This is a HUGE deal! We can’t imagine what God will do if we obediently listen to the Spirit inside of us and follow His guidance, operating in the gifts He has given us.
This is who the Holy Spirit is – God’s personal presence in you and me.
Jesus is God WITH us.
The Holy Spirit is God IN us.
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