Sunday, November 25, 2007
A few weeks ago after we finished our “Live for This!” series, we started a new brief series about our core beliefs. These are 10
areas of doctrine that we here at Plattsmouth Bible Church and we in the Berean Fellowship, and actually any believers, hold as the
foundations of our faith – the things that we would literally die for if need be. We have ten of them in our statement of faith.
Today we’re going to spend some time looking at God the Holy Spirit, as we have mentioned in our worship focus. But I want to
list out the things we have looked at and the things we are going to look at through the end of the year which are vital to our faith
– things that each one of us needs to be aware of and have thought about as you seek to reach out to those around you.
We have already looked at the place of the Bible, the written Word of God. You can listen to that message on the website –
plattsmouthbiblechurch.org – which was October 21. The next important issue is the nature and character of God. We looked at
God the Father on November 11. Last Sunday we looked at God the Son. There is one God and His nature consists of three
aspects or personalities – the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Today we are looking at who the Spirit of God is. Our next area,
even though we have looked at the Son of God already, wer are going to look at the importance of believing rightly about Jesus
Christ who came and lived and died and rose again so that we could be freed from sin and live the kind of life God always
intended mankind to live. That brings up another vital issue to understand – the human race and what’s wrong with us. People
are not basically good as a lot of people think. The Bible tells us otherwise – God tells us, and He’s always right. Since humanity
is messed up and cannot bring about our own salvation or restoration to God, that leads to the next vital issue – salvation. God
Himself did the impossible and we will look at what He did for us. When a person is rescued by God, God makes it possible for
that person to experience life the way God intended it from the beginning – this is the issue of sanctification, living a holy life. As
we walk through life on earth as believers, we see that we are different from the rest of the world spiritually and God has given us
a place to find support and comfort and help and encouragement – the church. We will look at how vital the church is. We also
know that we have an enemy as we go through life and eternity – Satan. He is powerful, but he’s not as powerful as you might
think. We will see the truth about him. And then finally we will look at what God tells us about future events. I know many
people are interested in the end times – and we should be interested. There are things that are vital to know and believe and we
will take some time to get into those.
Obviously we are not going to finish this by the end of the year, but it is important that each of us have some general knowledge
of what we claim to believe. There are people in the world who we have interaction with who believe some strange things. There
are people in the world who we have interaction with who are seeking. There are people in the world who we have interaction
with who are off base. Part of our reason for being here – remember our purpose driven life stuff – is to have an eternal impact
on the people God brings into our lives – our mission. You can even start studying these things on your own – I have put some
passages on your outline under each section of our statement of faith items that you can investigate on your own or in your small
group.
As we prepare to look at our God the Holy Spirit this morning, let’s ask Him for His help when we open up His Word. PRAY
We mentioned over the last couple of weeks that the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, one God in
three “persons,” is very difficult to wrap our minds around. There is really no accurate comparison for who God is and what His
nature is. So everything we say and try to compare Him to comes up short. Remember that again today as we look at what is
possibly the most difficult aspect of God’s nature and character to understand. the Holy Spirit. We have kind of compared God
the Father with the soul or emotional part of God – He’s more than that. We have compared the Son of God with the physical
part of God although He is definitely much more than that. Obviously the Holy Spirit of God is the “spiritual” part, but He too is
much more than that.
The first time we see the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Bible is in the second verse – Genesis 1:2. READ. The Holy Spirit was
there at creation and we know from John 1, Colossians 1 and Revelation 4 that creation happened through the power of the Son
of God. The final mention of the Spirit is in Revelation 22:17 where, calling to the Lord Jesus, the Spirit and the Bride of Christ
say, “Come!” So He is there from beginning to end as far as mankind is concerned. In Hebrews 9 He is referred to as the
“eternal Spirit.” He has all the attributes of God and is called God in the Scriptures (Acts 5). The Holy Spirit is not merely a force
like in Star Wars, He is person who relates to the rest of the Trinity and to us in personal ways. Matthew 10:20, He speaks. He
can be grieved, Ephesians 4:30. He leads, Luke 4:1. The Spirit gives gifts to believers (1 Cor 12), He can compel people to
obediently do things, Acts 18:5. In Romans 8, the Spirit leads us, helps us and intercedes for us. So the Holy Spirit of God is not
something or someone we should ignore or be afraid of. His work and worth in our lives is fantastic.
In John 4, Jesus tells the woman at the well that God is Spirit and those who worship Him – those who are true worshipers of
God – must come in spirit and in truth. Let’s talk just a few minutes about what “spirit” means. In Hebrew, like in the Old
Testament, the word for Spirit is “wind” or “breath.” It is nearly the same in the New Testament – “breath” or “blast of air.” The
Spirit is the air, the breath of God. What does breath do for us? When we breathe in and out, it provides oxygen for our lives and
removes carbon dioxide. What is the first thing doctors get a newborn baby to do after it is born? Take a breath. What is the last
thing that happens before a person dies? He/she stops breathing. Breathing is an evidence that we are alive. Once again, not all of
this applies to God – He doesn’t worry about oxygen and carbon dioxide. But God gave us the picture of breath as a picture of
His Spirit’s importance to Him and to us. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God.
That helps us to know some of His responsibilities and work. One of the primary things the Spirit of God has done is found in 2
Timothy 3:16,17. READ. Those words “by inspiration of God” mean “God-breathed.” As God gave His message to human
beings, the Holy Spirit did His work in the lives of people God had chosen, using their personalities and abilities and experiences to
communicate His message to us. Right along with that, since the Spirit of God inspired the writing of the Word of God, it is also
His job to show us what it means. We call that “illumination.” Look at John 16:12-14. READ. The Spirit of God is the one who
guides us into the truth. The Spirit of God works with the Son and the Father regarding what He speaks. Part of the Spirit’s job
is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to 1 Corinthians 2:9-13. READ. Once again, God has revealed Himself to mankind
through the work of the Spirit – the deep things of God, it says in verse 10. It is the Spirit of God who teaches us and reveals to
us what God says in His written Word.
The Spirit of God also is directly involved in the work of salvation in those who believe. Go back to John 16:7-11. READ. One
of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin. When you and I or when anyone comes to the point where we
understand and know that we are sinners and we fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), that is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Those who do not believe are convinced of their need for the Savior God has provided as the Spirit of God does His work of
conviction in them.