Apostles' Creed: The Holy Spirit Series

APOSTLES’ CREED: I Believe in the Holy Spirit

We live in a world in which people are seeking spiritual experiences. Many believe in guardian angels, spirits, or vague spiritual sensations—sort of a quiver in the liver. Some engage in meditation, or trying to connect with themselves, or an experience of oneness with the universe. Some turn to the occult, and some are attracted to Eastern religious practices, which may or may not bring them closer to the God whom we should worship.

In our study of the Apostle’s Creed, we began with God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth. Then we reflected on Jesus Christ the Son. Now, we think about the third person of the Trinity with the phrase, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.”

Growing up, we said the creed every Sunday. When I said, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” I might as well have been saying, “I believe in Mars,” because neither Mars nor the Holy Spirit meant much to me. The Holy Spirit WAS working in my life, through my family and church, and through the events and people in my life, but I did not identify the work of the Holy Spirit all around me.

Today, we want to think about two questions: “Who is the Holy Spirit?” and, “How can we develop a personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit?”

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

The Holy Spirit is God. Sometimes he is differentiated from the Father or Son, as the Bible says that the Father and the Son “send” him. Yet he is not separated from the Father or the Son, as the Bible refers to him as the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, or simply the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God, especially as he is active in relation to the world.

At creation, Genesis 1:1 says, “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Psalm 104 tells us that the Spirit continues to be active in creation: “All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send YOUR SPIRIT, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.”

At times in the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon people chosen by God: Bezalel, who created artistic tabernacle furnishings; Moses, along with the 70 elders in the wilderness; judges, like Othniel, Jephthah and Samson; Saul, the first king of Israel.

The Holy Spirit came upon God’s prophets. As 2 Peter 1:21 says, “Prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Yet in Old Testament times, a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit was rare. The prophet Joel said that in the last days, when Messiah came, all believers would receive the Holy Spirit: Joel 2:28-29, “Afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted that text, to explain the coming of the Holy Spirit for all believers.

Jesus promised his disciples that when he left them, the Holy Spirit would be with them. In John 14:16-18, he says, “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 will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” The Greek word translated “advocate” is “paraklesis,” one who stands alongside. Just as Jesus had been alongside them for three years, he promised that the Holy Spirit would be alongside them. In fact, it would be as if he himself was with them, for he said, “I will come to you.”

After Pentecost, all believers were given the Holy Spirit. Acts tells of times when people were “filled with the Spirit,” especially when they were in danger. Jesus had told his disciples that when they called to testify, the Spirit would give them words to say, and that was evident in Acts.

The Holy Spirit was evident in many ways in the New Testament. Sometimes he gave gifts of speaking or tongues or healing, but Paul was careful to say that the gifts of the Spirit were broader than that, including things like teaching, administration, hospitality, and evangelism. Paul also talked about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”