I want to talk to you this morning about the meaning of the Name ‘Holy Spirit’.
Firstly, let me remind you that the Bible teaches us about the Divine Trinity of God the Father; the Lord Jesus Christ His Son; & the Holy Spirit.
The very name of the third member of the Divine Trinity, namely, the Holy Spirit, is a message from God to us. God didn’t name Him …. Moses or Mary or David or William or Harry or any other human name…. for a reason. The primary reason is that the Holy Spirit never became a human being, as JESUS did.
Each name of the members of the Divine Trinity conveys a message to believers and readers of the Bible.
The name of God, the Father tells us that God is the Source of our very being. There would not be; and there could not be a human race, nor any other thing in all creation without God. “in the Beginning, GOD…”
FATHER willed it; SON spoke it; H/S did it. We also learn from this Name that God cares for us and treats us as the PERFECT Father would care for and treat His children.
The Name of JESUS was the name given by the Angel Gabriel to both Mary who carried Him in her womb and gave birth to Him in Bethlehem; and to Joseph, who raised Him in Nazareth. This name means “The Lord SAVES” … and it was given to JESUS, because He (& He alone) saves people from their sins. (Matt. 1:21)
JESUS saves us from the punishment of our sin; from the guilt & shame of our sin; and from the power of sin and bad habits that lead to sinful behaviour.
William Barclay: Meaning of “Salvation”
(1) Conclusion from the Old Testament
“Salvation” describes the saving, preserving, providential power of God in the crises of history and the crises of the individual life. It speaks of a care which does not stop in this life and a care which makes the person, who is wrapped around by it, sing with joy.
(2) Conclusion from the New Testament
“Salvation” is that which saves a person from all that would seek to ruin his soul and body both in this age and in the age to come.
N.T. “salvation” is a TOTAL SALVATION, because it means saving a person’s soul, in the eternal, spiritual realm AND saving a person’s body and mind, through the ministry of healing.
As I said, I want to focus this morning on the Name of the third member of the Divine Trinity, namely, the Holy Spirit. God wanted to tell us certain things by our consideration of this Divine Name.
The Word ‘Holy’ tells us 4 main things: Firstly, it tells us that God is pure; clean; and perfect like Jesus, the ONLY Person Who has NEVER SINNED. He was tempted in every way that we are; yet He did not commit sin. ONLY He ‘fit’ 4 Heaven.. we enter IN HIS NAME.
This part of the Name also tells us that HOLINESS is V.I.P. to GOD. The Bible says we are all sinners; we all need JESUS to be our Saviour.
The Bible teaches that GOD’s love for us is un-conditional; but it is also un-compromising.
The Word ‘Holy’ tells us that God expects, in fact demands, that His followers, His children live a lifestyle that avoids and rejects sin & evil.
JOKE: Pastor in a hurry; parked illegally in the city and left a note for the traffic warden “please don’t book me – remember the Lord’s prayer says deliver us from evil”. When the pastor returned to his car, he found a notice of a fine having been issued with the comment – “the Lord’s prayer also says: lead us not into temptation”.
Secondly,the word ‘Holy’ in the Divine Name “The Holy Spirit” means Devoted to God. (Joshua 6:18,19 = ‘devoted’ & ‘sacred’)
This refers to God’s passionate desire for us to choose to be, and prioritise our lives so we actually are, in close, personal ‘devoted’ relationship with God.
Thirdly, the concept of being HOLY, meaning ‘devoted’ to the Lord, refers to the irrevocable giving over of persons or things to the Lord. (NIV Study Bible pg. 342)
To be truly ‘saved’; to become a truly ‘born-again Christian’; to live a truly ‘Holy’ lifestyle means a person must give his/her whole life, for the rest of their earthly life, over to the Lord. Fully & permanently surrendered, submitted, consecrated to God.
We cannot ask JESUS to be our Saviour, without submitting to His Lordship in our lives. No-one can treat God as if He were a fool, or our servant. When a person becomes a Christian they must put a sign over their life, saying UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. God is not merely our Hell-fire Insurance agent; Nor is He some kind of heavenly waiter, Who comes rushing to answer our prayers, and to shower us with good things, whenever we snap our little fingers… but Whom we are free to ignore while we have a good time on His Earth;
nor is God a heavenly police Rescue or Ambulance Officer that we call upon in times of trouble, but forget about the rest of the time.
Yes God does forgive us & allow us to go to His Heaven, rather than the devil’s Hell. God does provide for us, because He delights to bless His children… and He protects us; He rescues us; He repairs & heals us; He changes us …. BUT He doesn’t do these things consistently in our lives unless & until we act according to the fact that He is our Lord, our Boss… not our servant.
This aspect of being HOLY means that we must be OBEDIENT to the Lord and UNRESERVEDLY COMMITTED to Him, His Word & His Ways. As Christians, we must live under His authority, which means under the authority of God’s Word, and the various authorities in our lives whom God puts over us.
We cannot ‘bargain’ with God. He will not accept imperfect sacrifices; any more than you would be pleased if someone gave you an old, second-hand, broken, worthless gift for your birthday.
God will not change His Word, Will or Ways for anyone. We must meet Him on His turf, under His conditions … and that means we live on Holy Ground. Don’t expect God to make exceptions for you.
He paid the Ultimate Price by giving His Only Son, JESUS, on the Cross for us; so GOD expects, NO, He demands that we come to Him, without agendas, excuses or reservations.
Earlier I said The Word ‘Holy’ tells us 4 main things
Firstly, it tells us that HOLINESS is V.I.P. to GOD. The Bible teaches that GOD’s love for us is un-conditional; but it is also un-compromising.
Secondly, it tells us that we must be Devoted to God, by living in close, personal ‘devoted’ relationship with God.
Thirdly, being ‘devoted’ to the Lord, means we must be OBEDIENT to the Lord and UNRESERVEDLY COMMITTED to Him, His Word & His Ways.
Fourthly, The Word ‘Holy’ means we are to be made holy; restored; made ready; made whole; IF we fully obey & believe GOD ! TOT sacrifices & priests had to be unblemished, without defect. Psalm 23:3a He restores my soul.
2Tim. 1:7 God has NOT given us a spirit of Fear, but of Power, Love & a Sound Mind.
1 Thessalonians 5:23,24 NLT
23May God Himself, the God of peace, make you holy in every way. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24God, who calls you, is faithful; he will do this.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 = God is faithful = He will do it = ‘change you’ = ‘make you’ = empower you to become the person God designed you to be AND to do what the Lord has planned for your life’s destiny.
I am going to turn now to the second part of the Holy Spirit’s Divine name.
The Word ‘Spirit’ tells us a lot about God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Firstly, He is INVISIBLE; He is REAL; He is HERE, NOW.
COMPARE ‘invisible’ verses about Jesus & God.
1 Peter 1:8,9
8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Timothy 6:14-16
14… keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
Secondly, as the verse in Timothy says God is IMMORTAL (i) He is ETERNAL
Hebrews 7:3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.
Hebrews 5:9
9….. JESUS became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
(ii) God is UN-CHANGING Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Malachi 3:6a I am the Lord, I change not….
Numbers 23:19,20 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? 20 I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
(iii) God is FAITHFUL
1 Thessalonians 5:24 = God is faithful = He will do it
Jeremiah1:12 He watches over His Word to perform it.
Thirdly, the Word ‘Spirit’ reminds us that God does not have a GENDER.
Although the Lord has chosen to reveal Himself as a masculine Father & Son and Jesus used the Masculine pronoun “He” in reference to H/S, God is a spirit. He is neither Male, nor Female.
The Lord uses these masculine words in order to indicate His Divine PERSONALITY. The H/S is NOT an ‘it’ = He is not like electricity. He is a REAL PERSON.
This non-gender aspect of God’s Nature tells us that the Lord is non-discriminatory towards women.
illustrate: Reinhard Bonnke tells of a BITTERLY DIVORCED Kenyan lady, who now has a very successful evangelism ministry. GOD CHOSE TO SHOW HE CAN USE A BROKEN VESSEL !
Eternal relationships will not be prioritised by gender or sexuality. THERE WILL BE NO orgies in Heaven; and THERE WILL BE NO orgies in Hell.
Fourthly, and Finally, the word ‘Spirit’ in the Divine Name ‘Holy Spirit’ tells us that God is Limitless
(i) He is not confined to Earthly limitations. HE IS A ZERO-GRAVITY GOD. He is not even limited by calories.
(ii) He is not limited by GEOGRAPHY - Philip zotted to Azotus; - local prayers have global impact !!!!!!!!!!!!!
(iii) He is not limited by TIME - He’s God of all our Yesterdays; Todays; Tomorrows; - it’s never too late for God; - it’s not over unless & until God says it’s over
(iv) God is certainly not limited in POWER, … Nor Any OTHER RESOURCE
Jeremiah 32:17,27
17 "Ah, Sovereign LORD , you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
27 "I am the LORD , the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
There is NO ‘KRYPTONITE’ the enemy or man can use against God to weaken Him in any way or in any degree.
Matthew 28:18-20 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[1] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
