This nine-part series was originally developed for a class environment, and later adapted for use in a prison ministry conducted via correspondence. Because of that background, questions were developed for each lesson for participants to use in a setting conducive to discussion, or as handouts for private use if the lessons are presented as sermons. At the beginning of each part of the series, I will include the outline of the series.
OUTLINE OF THIS SERIES OF STUDIES
Part 1
Introduction, Holy Spirit as deity
Names of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
Part 2
Holy Spirit in the NT (apostles to receive power)
Gabriel’s message to Mary
Foreseen by NT characters—Jesus, John
What we learn from Jesus in John 14,16
The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost
Baptism in, or by, the Holy Spirit
Baptism of believers
Part 3
If I do not go away the Holy Spirit will not come
Men received and were dependent on the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Guarantee
Grieving the Holy Spirit
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Being Filled With the Spirit
Part 4
The Holy Spirit in the Functioning of the church (first installment)
(1 Cor 12; Rom 12; Eph 4)
Gifts of the Spirit
The Head
Grace as Gifts (did not delve into each of the gifts, or special aptitudes, given by the Holy Spirit)
Functions “God Has Appointed”
Tongues/prophesying
Part 5
The empowering gifts of the Holy Spirit
Bestowing honor upon less “presentable” members
Order of functions (First apostles, second prophets, third teachers) Teachers discussed in Part 6
Part 6
Teachers
First apostles, second prophets, third teachers.
Part 7
Ministries of the Holy Spirit
Are the Bible and the Holy Spirit the same?
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
Part 8
Fruit of the Spirit
The Spirit vs the Flesh
Attributes of the Holy Spirit
Part 9
Acting in opposition to the Holy Spirit
• Lying to the Holy Spirit
• Resisting the Holy Spirit
• Quenching the Holy Spirit
• Grieving the Holy Spirit
• Defiling the Temple of the Holy Spirit
• Insulting the Spirit of Grace (doing despite)
Intercessor (though mentioned previously)
How Can I Know if I Have the Holy Spirit?
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THE HOLY SPIRIT
Part 9
In this part we will examine scriptures that reveal various ways by which we may set ourselves in opposition to the Holy Spirit. Then we will consider the Holy Spirit’s role as the intercessor; and finally, to conclude this series of studies, we will consider the very important question, “How can I know if I have the Holy Spirit within me?”
Acting in Opposition to the Holy Spirit
The scriptures show several ways in which we may set ourselves at cross purposes with the Holy Spirit. This is a very serious matter, for in so doing we set ourselves against the Godhead, as was seen in earlier lessons. There is no conflict in purposes between the identities in the Godhead. They are in perfect unity in thought, purpose, and action. So to place ourselves in opposition to the Holy Spirit’s work within us places us on the wrong side of God’s work in the world as well as the saving work of Jesus Christ himself, whose principal purpose in coming was that the world should be saved. It is deadly for us to be in that position.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is one way we may be in opposition to him; however, since blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was discussed in detail in Part 7, we will not repeat it here.
Other ways of being in opposition to the Holy Spirit are:
Lying to the Holy Spirit
This is the first sin of which we have a record in the early church. In Acts 5:1-11 Ananias and Sapphira conspired with one another to deceive the apostles and cause them to think that they were giving all of their possessions to the relieving of those in the church who were needy. Peter asked, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” And later, he said, “You have not lied to man but to God.” Lying to the Holy Spirit is exactly the same as lying to God. Their deception cost them their lives, for on that same day they were dead and buried.
We need to remember the penalty they paid for such a sin. If we try to play mind games with God, he knows, and we always lose. As Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia,
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. (Gal 6:7)
The Holy Spirit cannot be mocked, or fooled by any pretenses we make to be what we are not, or any other false claims we make to ourselves or others. He knows what our real character is, and he will judge us accordingly.
Resisting the Holy Spirit
The Old Testament prophets were sent by God time and again to call the Jews back to him. They spoke (and wrote) by inspiration, meaning their message was “God-breathed” (See 2 Tim 3:16-17 regarding all the scriptures). The Jews had not only turned deaf ears to God’s Spirit working in the prophets, but had put those good men to death.
Toward the close of Stephen’s defense before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin council, he said:
You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! (Acts 7:51).
When one resists the known will of God for his life, he resists the Spirit; and therefore sets himself in opposition to God.
Quenching the Holy Spirit
This was the sin of which Paul warned the Thessalonians:
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:19–20).
This is the sin of counting lightly the Holy Spirit’s intended activity in one’s life. Today we no longer have the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, and therefore this passage’s application to those phenomena is no longer applicable; however, one could still take the revelations that were then given through God’s spokesmen lightly; impeding their intended effect.
And today the Spirit gives gifts unto God’s children of a permanent, non–miraculous kind (Romans 12:6–8). If the Spirit, for instance, gives a gift for use in the Lord’s work, and he despises this gift and does not exercise it, then he quenches the Spirit who gave him the gift, just as water extinguishes flame.
Grieving the Holy Spirit
This sin, mentioned in Ephesians 4:30, points out a truth that is often ignored. Paul says in Ephesians 4:30,
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
From this passage we learn in the context (vs 29-32) that we can grieve the Spirit by our speech. God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are made sorrowful through our attitudes and words. The little day–by–day things we say and do are important. The Spirit indwells us, and when we forget this and complain, quarrel and bicker, and speak in any unwholesome way, he is grieved.
Defiling the Temple of the Holy Spirit
One can defile the temple of God, the church of God, in various ways. One particularly destructive one is faction and division among Christians; and God has promised that he will destroy all those who cause this division. Paul warns the church at Rome:
Romans 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
Defiling the temple of the Holy Spirit can refer to us personally and individually. The temple (or house) of God is spoken of as the church, but also as your body in which the Holy Spirit has taken residence. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul says,
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The Lord’s temple of our bodies must not be defiled or destroyed by immorality and intemperance, or more broadly, disobedience and rebellion of any kind, however borne it might be out, for such is a defilement of the purpose for which it was created.
Insulting (“Doing Despite to” in KJV) the Holy Spirit
This was the sin of the Hebrew Christians in turning away from Christ back to Judaism (Hebrews 6:4–6; 20:26–29). Be sure and read these passages.
In Hebrews 6 we read that the Christians are “partakers [or sharers] of the Holy Spirit.” Those who go back into the world “hath done despite unto the Holy Spirit.” The words “hath done despite unto” mean “to use insult toward.”
This is so close to blasphemy against the Spirit that it would probably take the Spirit Himself to define the difference. When we act in any way that sets us in opposition to the Holy Spirit by seeking to thwart his purposes, we are thwarting God’s own purposes, for they are one and the same. In so doing, we make ourselves the enemies of of God. That is a terrible position to be in.
The Holy Spirit’s Role as Intercessor
In the Roman letter, Paul taught that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayers, presenting to the Father the desires of our hearts which we lack the ability to fully express in our own words.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
You may ask, “Do I have a need for an intercessor, or can I express my thoughts to God well enough?”
Other questions come to mind. Do our prayers have to be ultra-specific for fear that we will have an accident and send the wrong message? That God will hear what we say unintentionally, not what we mean? If I pray in some inappropriate manner, will the Holy Spirit repair it?
That does indeed appear to be the teaching of Paul’s message to the church at Rome. Because of the smallness of our understanding of his nature and his will; or because of some inadequacy in our own ability to express our thoughts, feelings and desires, it is comforting to know that the God of wisdom and love will take what is in our hearts, along with what we say in our prayers, amend it if need be, and with the breath of kindness blow the chaff away.
The Holy Spirit and Christ are both intercessors:
Isaiah, prophesying at length about Jesus wrote:
I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors. Isa 53:12
The writer to the Hebrews also recognized Jesus’ intercessory role:
…because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:24-25
There is no need for us to see this as a conflict needing resolution. If we set out to partition functional boundaries between the personalities in the Godhead, we will surely be frustrated, for as we have studied earlier in this series, God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ are three and at the same time, they are one. Very often in the scriptures, the same thing that is said of the doings of one is said elsewhere of another. Perhaps the best example is the opening verse of the Bible, which says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Yet we see Christ too as the creator, for the first chapter of John’s gospel tell us:
He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:2-3)
In the second verse of Genesis, we see that the Spirit of God was also present and active, moving on the face of the waters.
There is no conflict, for the Godhead is one. If there is any space between their roles as intercessor, there’s room for both Christ and the Holy Spirit in my prayers.
How can I know if I have the Holy Spirit in Me?
Have I been translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, made an heir of God, and become indwelt by His Holy Spirit? Observe that the Spirit and Christ go together: if we have Christ for our Redeemer, then we have the Holy Spirit for our Indweller. But if have not the Spirit, we are not Christ’s.
As we have seen in Romans 8:9,
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
What a chilling thought! How am I to be sure the Holy Spirit dwells in me? As we seek an answer to this question, several similar questions pop into our minds. Do we know by faith in the Bible’s promise that he is in us? We saw earlier in this series that 2 Cor 1:21-22, 5:5, Eph 1:13-14 all say we have the Holy Spirit as a seal, or guarantee, but is the knowledge of that as a sterile fact enough for us to be sure the Holy Spirit lives in us? Should I expect an absence of temptation and sin, telling me the Holy Spirit is present? If I have ongoing unconquered temptation, does that mean the Holy Spirit is absent?
Should there be some confirming event or succession of events in which the Holy Spirit makes his presence unquestionably known? May I know the Holy Spirit is in me because I experience the satisfaction of some need that I have? Does the Holy Spirit “speak to us” from within, advising and guiding us? Is the conviction of my sins and the “nudges” toward repentance that I feel but and cannot explain caused by the Holy Spirit within me?
The questions must be in every child of God, and we wonder, “Isn’t there some evidence that the Holy Spirit is in me by the way I feel?” But feelings are often deceptive and transitory, and cannot be relied on as firm evidence.
Or should I merely accept as known fact that the Holy Spirit is within me because “the Bible tells me so” in the verses cited earlier?
The questions are real, and are likely asked by everyone who contemplates the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in himself. So we may say to ourselves, “If I knew just exactly how the Holy Spirit works, maybe I could know he is in me. As we have studied, the Bible does reveal to us some of the functions of the Holy Spirit.
With regard to his indwelling, the ways of the Holy Spirit are often beyond our understanding, and we cannot find a crystal clear explanation in the Bible to tell us how the Holy Spirit works in every situation. But if we waver in our confidence that the Holy Spirit is within us, we are robbed of the purpose of our earnest, or guarantee of our inheritance.
We can be sure.
I believe each person can be absolutely certain the Holy Spirit is dwelling in him.
• not only by the knowledge that he is there,
• but also by a person’s experiences within himself
To an extent, the second one involves the way a person feels, though perhaps not in the way that first comes to mind.
Then how?
1. First, we must know something about the Holy Spirit to be sure he is dwelling in us.
We must know what to expect from the Holy Spirit or we are likely to look for something we think is the Holy Spirit, but may be the creation of our imagination. Yet however much we learn about him (and there is much that ought to be learned), we might still wonder, “Is he in me?” So we must look further.
2. We are sure that the Holy Spirit dwells in everyone who repents and is baptized (Acts 2:38).
But we might wonder if we have lost the Spirit along the way. We must consider further.
3. We know with certainty that the Holy Spirit is in all who make Jesus Christ their Lord.
I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 12:3)
One cannot make Jesus his Lord except by the Holy Spirit’s enabling. The very fact that you recognize and honor Jesus’ Lordship of your life is evidence that the Holy Spirit is in you. There is no other way to make Jesus your Lord but by the Holy Spirit’s draw. Conversely, you cannot curse Jesus with the Holy Spirit within you. But one may say, I think Jesus is my Lord and would never curse him, but since I sin, is he really Lord, or am I setting him aside—cursing him by my actions? So even though we mentally acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, is there still some defect in me that keeps the Holy Spirit away?
I believe those questions are quite normal and in fact it is useful to ask them, for to never question our own fitness as a habitation for the Lord’s Spirit smacks of arrogant pride. But I suggest there is another way we can know that does have to do with the way we feel.
4. Before reading further, read Romans 7:14-25 in your Bible.
Paul’s experienced a fierce struggle within himself. The passage requires little explanation, for every Christian, if he is honest, will see a struggle similar to what Paul found within himself. He may fear that the continuing struggle means the Holy Spirit is not present in him.
Our struggles with temptation and sin do not cause the Holy Spirit to depart, nor indicate that he has “moved out.” As long as we are struggling, and not surrendered to sin, THE STRUGGLE ITSELF is evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is not present, there is in his place an abyss of hopelessness and helplessness – but not a struggle between the Holy Spirit and our fleshly nature for if the Holy Spirit is not there, there is no struggle!
5. One may be a very imperfect believer, but if a person is truly a believer in Jesus Christ, if he has really been born again, the Spirit of God dwells in him. It is evident from the Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that the believers in Corinth were imperfect believers; they were full of problems. But Paul tells them that even when dealing with them concerning division, improper use of the Lord’s Supper, misunderstanding of the Spirit’s gifts, and gross immoralities, they are temples of the Holy Spirit:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor 6:19-20)
The Holy Spirit’s effects may be hindered in various ways, as explained earlier in this part; but the Holy Spirit is a willing resident in every child of God.
The Spirit vs. the Flesh
We found in Lesson 8 that the Spirit and the flesh are in direct opposition, and that they wage war within each of us.
As seen in the passage cited earlier in Romans 7, we are both Spirit and flesh, producing the internal civil war that rages within us. We are hosts to two natures. In Romans 8:2-11 Paul gives a full analysis of the two conflicting natures within the child of God (please read).
This battle of natures has always been there:
• Then the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh... Gen 6:3
• Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matt 26:41
• That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' John 3:6-7
• It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63
• But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 1 Cor 3:1-3
• you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:5
• Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Gal 3:3
If you are acquainted with the Holy Spirit and his work, and alert to his working, you are conscious of this war going on inside you, for the flesh is and always will be in opposition to the Holy Spirit. And you will turn to one or you will turn to the other.
The presence of the sinful nature notwithstanding, the indwelling Holy Spirit is a source of full and everlasting satisfaction and life. Jesus told the woman of Samaria, that her thirst would be quenched forever by living water. (John 4:14) The water that Jesus offers is the Holy Spirit, as he made plain at the Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths:
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:36-39)
There is a well inside you, and it is the Holy Spirit!
