The Holy Spirit: Who He Is Series

The Holy Spirit: Who He Is

John 14:15-26

The First in a three part series of messages on the Holy Spirit…

1. Who He is (John 14:15-26)

2. What He Does (John 16:7-15)

3. The Source of His Power (Romans 8:1-17)

One of the things Christian people struggle with the most is God’s Holy Spirit…It’s kind of like studying the book of Revelation. So many have shrouded it in mystery that most folks don’t even try to understand Him.

Even the phrase…”filled with the Holy Spirit” invokes fear and misunderstanding even among the churched.

The manifestations of the Holy Spirit have been abused by unscrupulous ministers and wolves among the flock until the genuine filling of the Spirit is filled with suspicion and ridicule… How sad…

The greatest help that we as believers will ever receive this side of heaven is the very presence of God Himself in the person of The Holy Spirit.

He is where our understanding, our comfort, our answer to prayer, our very knowledge of the things of the Lord come from.

He is conviction for sin, healing for our hurts, and the power to radically transform ourselves into the very image of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this scripture Jesus reveals to us the identity of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:15 - 26 (NKJV) 15“If you love Me, £keep My commandments. 16And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” 22Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. 25“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26But 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 things that I said to you.

1. The Requirement!!! You cannot know and experience the Holy Spirit of God without a Love for the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

1. Obedience is not optional for believers. Jesus stated a simple fact that must be clearly understood: "If you love me you will keep [tērēsete PWS: 2224] my commandments." This is the correct translation. Jesus is not giving an optional commandment, "If you love me, [then, optional] keep my commandments." He is saying that the man who truly loves Him will keep His commandments. To the believer, there is no option. He loves Jesus; therefore, he keeps His commandments. In this the believer is not claiming perfection, but he is claiming to love Jesus and to believe with all his heart that Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore, he diligently seeks Jesus, and he seeks to please Him in all that he does.

2. In other words, if a person is not saved, He will never experience the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit…

3. Without the Holy Spirit of God living within us, we would be absolutely miserable…Why?

4. Because every good thing we can experience in this life is a direct result of God dwelling in us…

5. Listen as Jesus describes who the Holy Spirit is, and ask yourselves this question this morning…as we look in on the attributes of who He is…would I like to be without that???

2. First of all Jesus says the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, and Helper…

1. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter

Comforter (paraklēton PWS: 637): one called in, one called to the side of another. The purpose is to help in any way possible.

(1) There is the picture of a friend called in to help a person who is troubled or distressed or confused.

(2) There is the picture of a commander called in to help a discouraged and dispirited army.