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Do We Know The Holy Spirit?
Short explanations to 335 Bible texts that speak of the Holy Spirit
I. The Holy Spirit in the Old TestamentThe Spirit of God at the creation The Spirit of God at the CreationGenesis 1:1-3 It is a special grace of the Lord that He, in the first three verses of the Bible, intimates and reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God Himself, His Spirit and His Word, created the visible and invisible world. The Spirit of God hovered over the tohubohu (without form and void) of existence. He penetrated the darkness, gave order to the disorder, and formed the mist into material. The working of the Spirit above and in the chaos below prepared the way for God´s command, so that He could say: “Let there be light!”; and there was light. The Spirit of God is not only interested in spiritual matters, but also in the overcoming of dark, chaotic conditions. We should not presume to be able to explore or shape the universe and outer space, or to be able to find wise solutions to unsolvable and dangerous situations. Much more, we should ask for the all- encompassing work of the Spirit of God in people in difficult situations and in great need. We should patiently wait until the time is ripe for God to say: “Let there be light! Then the light will come. Genesis 1:26 God, the Creator, speaks in the “We” form, which signified yet another indication of the unity in His tri-unity. Followers of different religions understand this verse to only be written in the “Pluralis Majestatis”, a form of very respectful self-testimony. The early church, however, saw in the “We, Us” words an indication of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Isaiah 6:8 etc.). Christ and His Spirit were previously involved in the creation of mankind (John 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:2). From the very beginning the Spirit of God had intended to use people in building the body of His earthly temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16). Since God created man in His own image (Gen. 1:27), He created him in the likeness of the Father, as well as in the likeness of the Son and the Holy Spirit. We should, however, recoil from all representations and pictures of God, for He does not only appear as the Father of Glory (Eph. 1:14), but also, and at the same time, as the crucified Son and as the invisible Holy Spirit (Ex. 20: 4-5). God is greater than our understanding or our power of imagination. Job 33:4 The suffering dramaturge among the prophets summarized the creation accounts. He testified that it was God who had created him through His Spirit and breathed into him the breath of life. Who among us thanks the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for His favour to us? Without His love, wisdom, and care for us we would not exist. More than that, without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5; 2 Cor. 3:5-6). The Spirit of God in the Gifting of MenGenesis 41:38-40 Pharaohs were honoured as mediums for both spirits and gods. They had experience with spiritual contacts, realities and forces. Therefore, the demonic pharaoh immediately sensed following Joseph´s interpretation of his dream that behind this young prisoner there stood the all-knowing God of the Hebrews. This God had inspired Joseph regarding the dream and its interpretation. Persons predisposed to sorcery, and sometimes even animals can more quickly perceive the existence and reality of the Holy Spirit than normal people (Numbers 22:1-33; Mark 1:23-27; 3:10; 5:6-10; Acts 19:13-16). Exodus 28:2-3 Exodus 31:1-9 Special talents of artists, handworkers, housewives, and students are gifts of the Spirit of God. Whoever is “talented” should not be proud, but humble and thankful, for all true talents originate from the Giver of all good gifts. Special giftedness often lies dormant in people who have not been educated, whose capacities have not been discovered or developed. The Spirit of the Lord in the Equipping of Priest and Kings for OfficeJudges 6:33-35 1 Samuel 16:13 Whoever reads Bible verses relating to the anointing of those called into special service, and their filling with the Spirit of God will recognize that with this anointing they received courage, power, wisdom, strength understanding, and authority from God. Jesus, too, the Son of God born of the Holy Spirit, testified of Himself that He is the One anointed with the Spirit of the Lord, who filled Him from the moment of His baptism as our representative (Luke 4:18). Without an equipping with the Spirit of God the High Priest, king or prophet would not have been capable of speaking and acting in the name and power of God. Whenever such an official did not walk under the leading of the Lord´s Spirit there arose the danger that he would be possessed by a destructive spirit (Matt. 26:3; John 11:49-50). The Holy Spirit in the Repentance of DavidPsalm 51:10-13 The anointed king and song writer committed adultery, followed by the treacherous murder of the husband of the seduced wife. David thereby forfeited his life. His confession of sin and Spirit-initiated repentance brought about the complete destruction of his honour, his self-righteousness, and his self-supposed strength. In the end he could only confess: I am a depraved man, a hopeless case! Only a new-creation can help me. In his wrestling in prayer with the holy God he came to recognize the special attributes of the divine Spirit. This Spirit is holy, sinless, consecrated, constant, wilful and obedient. He desires to make His attributes a reality in all who receive Him. Many people sin like David, but few repent like David! In his prayer of repentance three thousand years ago he confessed for the first time that the Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit! Psalm 143:9-10 David had to experience much slander and many intrigues and persecutions, even within his own family. He was no saint in the sense of the New Testament, but an oriental king with a large harem and continuous dealings in war. The Lord, however, again and again pulled him down to spiritual reality, so that he recognized: Without God I am lost! He is my only help. It was from HIM he asked for rescue and help. In so doing he was forced to recognize that he himself was responsible for his suffering: he had not lived according to the commands of God. Therefore, he not only asked for his personal rescue and survival, but that also the good Spirit of God would lead him to a consecrated life. Only the one who lives under the leading of this Spirit can live a life pleasing to God. The Spirit of the Lord in the Messianic Promises of IsaiahIsaiah 11:1-2 Isaiah 42:1-4 Isaiah 59:21 Isaiah 61:1-2 Isaiah 63:9-10 Isaiah 63:13-14 The foremost priest and prophet was shattered by the revelation of the holiness of the Lord of Hosts. He confessed in dismay his uncleanness and the uncleanness of his people (Isaiah 6:1-8). He was entrusted with astonishing promises concerning the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah was forced to confess the century old obstinacy of his people (Ch. 6:8-13). Later, in further revelations, he was able to introduce the awaited Messiah as the Servant of God, who would redeem “us” through His suffering and death (Is. 53:1-18). At the very beginning Isaiah had recognized the fervently awaited “Prince of Peace” as being true God (Is. 9:5-6), who would build His unending Kingdom of God among Jews and unclean peoples with power and meekness. To be able to save and govern Israel and the depraved world He must be anointed with the Sevenfold Spirit of the Lord (Is. 11:1-2; 61:1-2). The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are worthy of all our worship and gratitude for salvation planned before all time and eternity. Promises of the Coming Of the Holy Spirit upon Israel and all NationsEzekiel 36:24-27 Ezekiel 39:28-29 When the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom opened themselves to idolatry, the Lord pulled back His protecting hand from them, allowing them to be sold by the Assyrians as slaves into all the world (722 B.C.). When the Jewish Southern Kingdom no longer walked in the laws of the LORD they were carried off into Babylonian captivity (587 B.C.). There the saying came true: “Whenever need is the greatest the Lord is the nearest!” Within the total bankruptcy of the chosen people, the Holy One of Israel revealed through the prophet Ezekiel that He had answered the prayer of repentance of David regarding the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in repentant sinners: His own divine Spirit will take up residence in the despairing, give them compassionate hearts, and help them to follow His laws. Their uncleanness will be washed away and their mortal evil will be overcome by the immortal God. Their slavery will be transformed into freedom (Isaiah 40:1-5). Ezekiel 37:14 In a dramatic vision of the dead field of Israel (Ezek. 37:1-14) the Lord assured His prophet that He would breath into the dead bones of His people and revive them. This was after they had returned home from their Babylonian banishment. Various translations (in Israel, the USA, Germany) speak here of the Spirit of God, who will enter the newly raised up Israel. In the event the Holy Spirit cannot reside in the Jewish nation following thorough repentance, then it will have to remain a spiritually dead society, with all the negative consequences. Spirit-enabled Jewish Christians are today a lighthouse of admonition for all residents of their land. Joel 2:28-32 Among terrible visions of the last judgment, it was revealed to the prophet Joel that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was not to be limited to the twelve tribes of Israel. Much more, this mercy of God should be offered to all mankind. Not only were the pious old and the passionate young to be revived by the Spirit of the Lord, but foreign workers and slaves were also to benefit from the privilege of this Spirit. The Spirit of God will not be reserved just for men, but reach women and girls in the same way. This revelation signified a revolution in Jewish thinking and demolished the borders of the Old Covenant in numerous ways (Isaiah 49:6). “Whoever calls on the Lord shall be saved!” PRAYER: Father, we thank You through Jesus Christ, Your Son, that You not only touch us with Your deity, but also desire to fill us, in that Your Holy Spirit desires to indwell all followers of Your Son. Furthermore, we thank You that this offer of the Spirit´s indwelling is valid for all races, men and women, lords as well as servants. Who are we and who are You?! We do not deserve Your grace and are unworthy to receive Your love. Permit us to offer heart-felt thanksgiving, to trust and to testify to Your truth! The Spirit of God at the Rebuilding of the TempleHaggai 2:4-9 Zechariah 4:1-7 Zecharia 6:7-8 These promises primarily deal with the construction of the second temple in Jerusalem at the hands of the politically appointed Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua. The time followed the release and return of a selected number of captives from the Babylonian deportation. The Lord assured them of His faithfulness and of the presence of His Spirit, especially to those who preferred their desolate homeland to the lofty culture of Babylon. To be sure, they possessed inadequate financial means to restore the temple of God. Nevertheless, the Lord guaranteed them that His Spirit was endlessly more important than military strength or economic power – for the Holy Spirit is Himself the Lord, to whom all gold and silver belongs and to whom all the Host of Heaven stand at His disposal. Whoever trusts in Him “abides and is victorious”, regardless of unsatisfactory conditions. Perhaps the prophecy in chapter 6:1-8 refers to the missions-movement of Paul and his co-workers, who established churches in regions north of Israel, where the Spirit of the Lord chose to dwell. The church of Jesus is the promised glorious temple of God that will be built up through His Spirit. This promise is especially realized where poverty, weakness and want are predominant (1 Cor. 1:18-31; 2 Cor. 12:9-10). The Lord promised to severely shake all the nations so that everywhere repentance would take place, and that all those cleansed through the blood of Christ would let themselves be built up into the temple of God (Eph. 2:20-21; 1 Pet. 2:5-10). The Spirit of Grace and Prayer upon Israel at the Second Coming of ChristZechariah 7:11-12 Zechariah 12:2-3.9-10 The spirit of resistance and opposition to every shattering of pride and an imagined righteousness of works did not retreat from most members of the Old Covenant. Their hearts were hard like diamond. They grieved the Spirit of God. Their hardness and hatred increased toward all preachers of repentance, who called them to be reconciled to God. They cast off their promised Messiah and let Him be crucified by the Romans. Most of them also closed themselves to the message of the apostles of Jesus, so that they missed both the merciful gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as the Spirit Himself. Once again they were dispersed among the heathen nations. At the end of time, however, when Jewish immigrants will have once again built up Jerusalem without their Messiah, all nations will futilely attempt to solve the legal problems between Israel and the Palestinians. Jerusalem will become a chalice of poison for all humanists and Free Masons! The rumbling of war in the Middle East will grow louder from day to day. The depravations will become unbearably great, while still those in Israel refuse to repent (Matt. 23:37-39). Only when the crucified and risen Messiah comes in glory will they, in horror, look on Him and recognize their king “whom they have pierced” (John 19:37; Rev. 1:7). A special outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the despairing will unite them at the last moment in a great prayer of repentance and national mourning. The Spirit of God in the God-FearingWisdom 1:4-7 Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 34:13-16 There is a hint of the hidden working of the Holy Spirit in the God-fearing in the Jewish wisdom literature. He is understood to be the Spirit of discipline, of truth and of wisdom. The Holy Spirit compels the God-fearing to love all people, while not denying the deserved punishment of the evil. This Spirit searches our hearts, knows every thought, and hears every word that we speak. Those who fear God believe in the victory of the Spirit of God in our world, which will encompass the entire globe. The Spirit of the Lord cannot die. He is eternal, just as God is eternal. Blessed is the one who trusts Him, who fears and loves the Lord. Prayer: We worship You, Father, and thank You from our hearts, for You have promised to sink Your own Holy Spirit into our unruly, evil generation! Your Spirit is powerful, and will not be overcome or stained by our malice. Indeed, the very opposite happens: Your spirit overcomes us, the depraved, according to the greatness of Your wisdom. He sanctifies us through and through by grace. By Your Spirit You create eternal life in dead matter. Your promises are closely knit together with the coming of the Messiah, who Himself was baptized and anointed by Your Spirit. From His fullness we have all received grace for grace. Have compassion upon the hard-hearted children of Abraham! You love every one of them. We await a new heaven and a new earth, born from Your Spirit, and in where righteousness dwells. Amen. I will |