There Is One Spirit Series

Introduction:

A. The story is told about a Christian who arrived in Heaven and was excited to meet many people from Old Testament times and he had lots of questions for them.

1. To Noah, he asked what it was like to be in the ark with all those animals.

2. To Joseph, he asked what it was like to understand dreams and be second in command of all of Egypt.

3. To Moses, he asked what it was like when the Red Sea parted.

4. To David, he asked what it was like to take down Goliath.

5. To Solomon, he asked what it was like to have such great wisdom.

6. To Daniel, he asked what it was like to be protected in the lion’s den.

7. Each of the great people of the Old Testament answered the Christian’s question, but then each of them asked the Christian the same question: What was it like to have the Spirit of God living in you?

B. See, as great as all the displays of God’s power in their time, none of them had the promised Holy Spirit living in them.

1. The promised Holy Spirit living in us is a new covenant promise for Christians.

2. I hope we can appreciate how unique and wonderful the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is.

C. As you know, we are in a new sermon series called “7 Ones Equal Unity” based on Eph. 4:4-6, where Paul declared . 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

1. The seven ones that lead to unity are: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father.

2. In the first sermon in the series, we looked at the context of these verses in the book of Ephesians, in general, and in chapter 4 of Ephesians, specifically.

a. It is God’s desire that we live a life that represents the worthiness of our calling.

b. A life worthy of our calling includes a life characterized by humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and a commitment to keeping the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph. 4:1-3)

3. Last week, in the second sermon of the series, we talked about the fact that there is only one body.

a. There is only one body, meaning there is only one kingdom of God, one family of God, one church of God, one church of Christ, and one temple of God.

b. When we obey the Gospel then God adds us to the body, the church.

c. The other thing we talked about last week is that the universal, spiritual body of Christ is also made up of smaller, individual bodies of Christ, congregations of people.

d. In each of these congregations of God’s people, each part of the body must be equally cared about, and each body part has a part, and must play their part.

D. Now let’s turn our attention to the second “one” that leads to unity and it is that there is one Spirit.

1. Let’s begin by asking: What is that one Spirit? Or better yet, who is that one Spirit?

I. Who is the One Spirit?

A. There are various names and descriptions used in the Bible to identify the Holy Spirit.

1. The Greek word “pneuma” is the word that is translated “spirit” or “ghost” (KJV).

2. It literally means “wind” or “breath” and can be used to describe many things, including: the One Spirit of God, the human spirit, the inner person, a disposition (like the spirit of gentleness), a type of gift (like a spiritual gift), and just physical breath and wind.

3. When the word is used in reference to God, we often see it with a capital “S” and sometimes designated as the Holy Spirit – Romans 1:4 describes the Spirit as “the Spirit of holiness.”

4. The Spirit is also called “the Spirit of God” or “the Spirit of the Lord.”

5. Three times in the Gospel of John, the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:17; 15:26; 16:13) – this points to the Spirits role in revealing God’s Word and truths.

6. The Holy Spirit is also described as “the Spirit of grace” (Zech. 12:10; Heb. 10:29).

B. It’s important for us to understand that the Holy Spirit is God and is a distinct and separate person in the Godhead.

1. The Spirit isn’t just a manifestation of God the Father, or of God the Son in a different form.

a. Christians believe that we serve one God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.