The Spirit Who Is Not A Ghost!

The Spirit who is not a ghost:

Reading: chapter

Ill:

• In the first column rank each person in order of importance to society.

• In the second column rank each person in order of their importance to God.

• One, two, three etc.

• Doctor

• Soldier

• Criminal

• Policeman

• Tramp

• Waitress

• Teacher

• Bank Manager

• Nurse

• Engineer

• We will come back to this diagram in a bit!

• In some Churches the Holy Spirit is never mentioned.

• Ill: Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Bible!

• In other churches he is made the centre of attention.

• Ill: You can be made to feel second class Christian if you don't conform.

• Both extremes in my view are wrong

• As Christians we need a balanced understanding of the Holy Spirit.

Ill:

Pendulum.

(A). Quick overview of the Holy Sprit:

(1). The Holy Spirit is a person.

Quote:

• Life has been described as the seven ages of man:

• They are ‘Spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills’.

Remember the Holy Spirit is not human!

• But he is a person!

• He is not to be talked about or understood to be just a force or influence?

• As we scan through the Bible;

• We can see at least three proofs that the Holy Spirit a person:

(1). THE HOLY SPIRIT IS REFERRED TO AS A PERSON.

• He is always called a HE and never an IT!

• Quite deliberately Jesus described him to the disciples as a person (“He” & “Him”).

• And Jesus explained in John chapters 14 to 16;

• That he would do things that only a human could do.

e.g.

• Comfort them.

(2). THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PERSON.

• He has qualities that a force or an influence can never have.

• I have chosen just twelve examples.

Ill:

• He has a mind (Romans 8:27),

• He has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11),

• He speaks (Acts 8:29),

• He teaches (John 14:26),

• He convicts (John 16:8),

• He encourages (Acts 9:31),

• He guides (John 16:13),

• He has power (Romans 15:13),

• He creates and gives life (Job 33:4),

• He sanctifies (Romans 15:16),

• He indwells Christians (1 Corinthians 6:19),

• He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30).

• Can yow show me a force that can be grieved?

• Can you show me as force that can speak?

• Can you show me a force that has a mind and a will of its own!

• Of course not! These are characteristics of a person!

(3). THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD REPLACE JESUS TO THE DISCIPLES.

• i.e. The Holy Spirit would do for the disciples;

• What Jesus a real person, made of flesh & blood had been doing for them!

Ill:

Human body.

• Replace my arm for a metal artificial substitute.

• You could do the same with my leg or even my eyes!

• But you could not replace my brain!

• Because that is the key to my very life source!

In a similar way:

• When Jesus left his disciples on earth;

• They had lost their very source of life (there was no point anymore in carrying on).

• Jesus did not promise the disciples great leaders to follow him;

• He did not promise the disciples great experiences.

What he did promise was another helper (person) like himself:

• This one who replaced Jesus on planet earth (Holy Spirit);

• Was so real that these 11 men had never been as effective or as powerful for God!

(2). The Holy Spirit is God.

As Christians we believe in the doctrine of the ‘Trinity’.

• The word trinity is not mentioned in the Bible, but it is a very good descriptive word.

• The word is a Latin word meaning ‘three’:

Quote: Athanasian Creed:

“So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Spirit is God.

And yet there are not three Gods, but one God…….”

Ill:

• 1+1+1=3

• Or 1x1x1=1

• An Egg is made up of three separate parts, shell, white & yoke;

• Three distinct elements that put together form one egg.

• Water can be in three different forms, liquid, ice (solid), steam (gas);

• Three forms yet they are one substance H20.

• Space is composed of length, breadth and height.

• Time consists of past, present, future.

• Matter is energy, motion and phenomenon.

• Human being: body, spirit & soul.

From cover to cover:

• Both God the Holy Spirit & God the Son:

• Are said to do exactly what only God the Father can or has done!

• Which if the trinity is not true will leave you with a Bible full of contradictions.