Welcome to my new series of articles! As you can see from the title, "Digging Deeper with Dr. Dromi," the articles are going to change format from what has been presented in the past. The new format will have articles that take a more comprehensive look into the subject. The first series will be studying the Holy Spirit of God. Yes, the articles will be longer than before, but they will take a more in depth look at the topics within each series.
In this first series of articles, there will be eight articles, all of which look at the role of the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Triune God. There's a lot of confusion about the Holy Spirit. It will be my goal to clarify that confusion using the Bible, the Scriptures that speak about Him and His role in the Sovereign Providence of God in the universe.
It is my hope and prayer that you, the reader, will be blessed and grow in your knowledge about the Holy Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit, Part 1: Is He Real?
One of the most controversial and often misunderstood doctrines in all of Christendom is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul, and other New Testament writers refer to the Holy Spirit a lot! They talk about the fruit of the Spirit; walking by the Spirit; yielding to the Spirit; and more.
It’s only natural for us to want to learn as much as we can about the Holy Spirit of God as He plays such an important part in all that is done by the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our source of information will be the Scriptures, God’s Word. That’s the only place we can find out what’s true about the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the centuries people have attempted to explain Him, most with good intentions.
However, some have manipulated the explanation in order to take advantage of people.
Some of the most common questions are:
• Is He real?
• How do we know?
• Who is He?
• Where does He come from?
• What were, and are, His ministries?
• What about the gifts?
• Do I need “more” of Him, or do I already have all of Him?
• Should I worship Him?
• What’s His relationship with the Father?
• What’s His relationship with the Son?
We’re going to begin this exciting study of the Holy Spirit:
• To search for the truth, always from the Scriptures, not from the traditions of men.
• To understand who He is.
• To find out exactly what His ministries are.
• Why He plays such an important role in the life of every believer.
Let’s look at the Holy Spirit as a member of the Trinity, the Triune God:
• The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son, yet each is distinct.
• They are all of the same essence.
Here’s one of the best diagrams that I have found to tryto explain the Triune God. It’s not perfect, but it helps our finite minds get a little better picture of Who they are and the relationships between them.
Next, a few verses that speak of the Holy Spirit:
- 2 cor. 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” Paul includes all three. They’re somehow intertwined.
- Matt. 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Here, Jesus speaks of all three members of the Trinity.
- Luke 3:21-22, “Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.” In these verses, we clearly see all three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, present at Jesus’ baptism.”
These are only three verses, from the Bible, that provide irrefutable evidence for the existence of the Trinity. Mormons deny this truth, as do others. Just because we can’t fully comprehend it doesn’t mean it’s not real.
We either trust God’s Word, or we don’t. There is one God, who exists in three persons, each possessing all of the Divine attributes of God. Yet the three are One. This is a mystery that no human being, analogy, or drawing can fully explain.
The initial question was, “Is He real?” Is the Holy Spirit a real person?
What are the requirements for person-hood? There are three characteristics of personhood:
(1) Intellect; (2) Emotions; (3) Will.
Let’s start with intellect:
1 Cor. 2:10-11, “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”
- The Spirit “knows the thoughts of God.”
- To know thoughts, you must be able to think.
- To be able to think, you must have intelligence.
Next, Isaiah 11:2, “And the spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”
He’s the Spirit of:
- Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge and that takes intelligence
- Understanding – He is able to comprehend
- Counsel – He is able to instruct
- Strength – He has power
- Knowledge – He is able to know and teach truth
- Fear of the Lord requires intelligence – “The fool has said in his heart there is not God” (Proverbs 14:1)
Let’s look at His emotions.
He can be grieved, Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
- “grieve” in Greek is the word that means distress or grieve
- If He has no emotions, how could He be distressed or grieved?
Next is the love of the Spirit. Romans 15:30, “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.”
- “love” is the Greek word agape, which is that deep sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross.
- If He has no emotions, how could He love?
Next, is His will. The Holy Spirit gives gifts according to His will,
1 Cor. 12:11, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
- When it comes to spiritual gifts, you and I had no say.
- The Holy Spirit gives as He sees fit.
- He gives gifts according to His wisdom and knowledge of who we are and how we will use the gifts we’ve been given
He also directs the activities of God’s servants, of His people.
Acts 16:6-11, “And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ 10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11 Therefore, putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis.”
So we’ve seen the biblical evidence that He is a real person having: intellect, emotion and a will.
What does the Holy Spirit do?
- Teaches. John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
- Testifies or witnesses. John 14:26, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, Who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness [testify] of Me, 27 and you will bear witness also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
· Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”
- Guides. Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
- Convicts. John 16:7-8, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment.”
- Commands and directs. Acts 8:29, “And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot.’”
- Performs miracles. Acts 8:39, “And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.”
- Calls for special service. Acts 13:2, “And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”
- Intercedes. Romans 8:26, “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
What can people do to Him?
- Obey Him. Acts 10:19-21a, “And while Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 But arise, go downstairs, and accompany them without misgivings; for I have sent them Myself.’ 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, ‘Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?’”
- Lie to Him. Acts 5:1-5, “But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.’ 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it.”
- Resist. Acts 7:51, “Stephen speaking, ‘You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.’”
- Grieve. Eph. 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
- Reverence. Ps. 51:11, “Do not cast me away from thy presence, and do not take thy Holy Spirit from me.”
- Blaspheme. Matt. 12:31, “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.”
- Insult. Hebrew 10:29, “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”
o The three indictments specified in this verse describe the enormity of the sin of unbelief. There will be “severer punishment” for:
§ “trampling” underfoot the Son of God.” “Trampling” is the Greek word which means to treat with disdain, scorn or contempt.
§ “regard as unclean” is the Greek word for common. Jesus’ blood was anything but common!!
§ “insulted the Spirit of grace.”
§ “grace” means freely receiving that with is undeserved.
- When we are disobedient; when we sin without concern; when we are filled with pride and self-righteousness; when we look at the blood of Christ with little, or no sadness or sorrow for what you and I did to Him, that’s a problem. It was our sin put him there!
- When we value the things of this world: cars, houses, money, sports, careers, self – all of these things above and beyond the Lord of glory, we slap Him in the face just like the Roman soldiers did.
Application
What do we do with what we now know to be true?
- The Holy Spirit of God is God!!!
- We obey Him by obeying the Bible!!
For some people, it’s time to stop playing games. It’s time to stop playing church.
- Jesus said, “If you love me you’ll obey Me.”
o The implication is, no obedience = no love
We’ve all got to work on this.
Tough question:
Does it matter to us? Does it matter to you, personally?
Things to do:
- Pray for guidance. That’s part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to the church.
- Reverence Him. Respect Him. Be in awe. Worship Him. Esteem Him. Admire Him. Adore Him.
Ask Him to teach us:
- John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.” This applies, in the immediate context, to the apostles, yes.
- As secondary application, it also applies to us
We should not disobey, lie to, grieve (through un-confessed sin), or resist His leading in our individual lives.
In future lessons, we will look at role of the Holy Spirit with regard to:
- Regeneration
- The birth of Christ
- The life of Christ
- Salvation
- Baptism
- Filling
- Sanctification
Closing Thoughts
It’s my hope that this introduction to the Holy Spirit will whet your appetite as we continue our study into one of the most fascinating Persons in all of Scripture – the Holy Spirit of God.
Titus 3:5-6, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
If you are a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you are born again, then the Holy Spirit of God lives within you and He’s trying to mold you and shape you more and more, into the image of Jesus Christ.
May the Lord bless you as you seek to know Him better through the study of His Word.
By His Grace,
Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.
