INTRODUCING THE
HOLY SPIRIT

Steps for waiting on the Holy Spirit (Acts_13:1-3)

Come with a quietness of spirit. We are taking time out to listen for the "still small voice" of the Spirit (1_Kings_19:11-13). First we seek to open our lives to Jesus. We take time to pray for forgiveness for any sin in our lives. We listen for any inner conviction of unforgiveness held towards others - and put that right (Mark_11:25). We ask for the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. Now we are coming into His presence "with boldness" (Hebrews_10:19).

We invite the Holy Spirit to come and have control of the agenda at this time. All things are conducted decently and with order (1_Corinthians_14:32,33 and 40). Now relax and seek to sense His presence. Allow Him to lift our hearts towards God, and then "verbalise" what we are experiencing, one at a time, (such communication may be in pictures, words, convictions, impressions, Bible verses, hymns or songs etc.) Unless a major concern or problem is dominating our thoughts and feelings, peace, joy and a glorifying of God and Jesus should be evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence.

The nature and work of the Holy Spirit Jesus and the Holy Spirit were always one. At Jesus' public baptism by John, the Holy Spirit came upon Him to equip Him for His mission and to demonstrate to all that He is the Messiah - the one anointed by God as King and Lord of all. Now that He is ascended, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the truth about Himself, the truth about our own lives and to equip us for ministry. "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." (John_16:13-14). "When the counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." (John_15:26). The Greek word used for the Holy Spirit is `Parakletos' and is translated "counsellor". Literally this means `someone called to one's side', and sometimes this is translated `advocate', `comforter', `intercessor', or `consoler'. The Holy Spirit as communicator The Holy Spirit is our means of communication with God. He can speak to us in a way we can recognise. For example: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John_10:27). "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them..." (Acts_13:2). We need to develop new listening skills, to put aside the noise of the world, and hear the Holy Spirit. If He is received with grace and humility, with a teachable spirit (openness on our part), then we can receive God's blessing - His support, protection, strength, guidance and companionship. Our daily prayer is one way to listen to the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, if the Holy Spirit encounters hardness of heart, insensitivity, indifference, resistance or rebelliousness, we are in difficulty. The Bible warns us about this explicitly: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians_4:30); Do not resist the Holy Spirit (Acts_7:51); and Do not quench the Holy Spirit (1_Thessalonians_5:19). And the ultimate sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This is not just a swear word or a stray loose word uttered in ignorance - but a deliberate, wilful and knowledgeable insult against the Holy Spirit, attributing the works of the Holy Spirit as evil. It is a settled rejection of Him (Matthew_12:22-32_and Luke_12:10). Testing the "leading" of the Spirit It is very important to test what we perceive to be the leading of the Holy Spirit, to see if it is really of God. All of us can be misled through circumstances such as: Reading into a scripture something we want to be there. Bad advice or improper guidance from another. (Don't assume that someone who seems to have power must 'have it right'. Power of itself is no indicator of Godliness). Mis-hearing, or partial hearing from God. The Bible says to "test the spirits" (1_John_4:1). Here are some tests you can use: Take your leading back to God in prayer - is this from you Lord? Is the 'word to you' in unity with God's 'written word', the Bible? Does it glorify Jesus? What are its characteristics - does it bring liberty, love, peace (Colossians_3:15) and goodwill - or is it bringing pressure, worry and condemnation? Test your 'leading' in fellowship with one or more mature Christian(s) you trust; Is it being affirmed by practical circumstances in your life? Is it coming to your attention through a variety of different channels and timings - all with the same basic idea? God normally confirms His will to you. If you are not seeing it the same way as someone else, ask yourself - what is the 'spirit' they are coming from? Are they expressing a position of faith and the 'fruit of the Spirit', or are the expressing fears, doubts, negativity and dark clouds? When God speaks to us, not just one of the above tests will ring true, they probably all will. Test your leading by running it through this grid. If it's from God, it should come through such tests with a clear inner conviction and peace. Once we have a 'word' / 'vision' / 'leading' from God, we must be faithful to see it through. The Fullness of the Holy Spirit When we become Christians we are spiritually reborn, through the work of the Holy Spirit. Our Baptism with water is the sign and seal of our rebirth and the Spirit becoming resident in our lives. (Romans_8:9, Ephesians_1:13-14) One of the roles of the Holy Spirit in our Christian life is to empower us for mission and ministry. Every Christian needs the fullness of the Spirit in their life if they are to be joyful and effective in their life and witness. We should seek and pray that the Holy Spirit be in every part of our being. The New Testament exhorts us to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians_5:18). In the original Greek this is in the present continuous tense. Hence the full meaning is "Go on being filled with the Spirit". As Christians we are sometimes like a leaky bucket which has holes to be plugged, so that we need to be constantly filled with the living water that comes from Christ. Jesus encourages us to seek the Holy Spirit from God: "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke_11:13). In the early Church we have recorded a number of occasions when the disciples were filled with the Spirit, such as Acts_4:31: "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly". Sometimes in Acts water baptism preceded Spirit baptism, and on other occasions it was the other way around. From this we see that we can't put God in a box, or reduce His activities to neat equations in life! We will be studying this further in a later Unit. The Holy Spirit and the Body of Christ The following guide may help us search out some of the ways the Holy Spirit operates in the Church: The signs of the Holy Spirit His presence brings joy (Acts_13:52); a sense of God's presence; a love of Christ and of others; a desire to worship; a desire to read the Bible; a desire for fellowship; a love of the truth; and strength to handle testing and faith stretching situations. The fruit of the Holy Spirit These are listed in Galatians_5:16-26. Note that Jesus said: "By their fruit you will recognise them." (Matthew_7:16). This means that the reality of a person's walk with Christ should be tested by the fruit of the person's life, not by power or gifting etc. It is vital to recognise this distinction. Compare the positive fruits of the Spirit and the negative acts of sinful nature (see the table in the Personal Study section). The gifts of the Holy Spirit As we have already noted the sign of the Spirit's presence in our life is the fruits of the Spirit - "love, joy, peace ...". But gifts may also accompany the filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit in your life. There is a wide variety of gifts as we have seen. One of the gifts is "speaking in tongues" (1_Corinthians_12:10). This is not the sign of the Spirit's presence, but a sign. Some Christians experience this gift, others do not. It is definitely not the test of whether you are a Christian. The gifts are specific outworkings of the Spirit. They are 'equipment for service'. Some of these are listed in 1_Corinthians_12 and Romans_12:6-8. Take time to review these summaries and make a list by combining these scriptures. There are several things we may say about the gifts at this point: They are vital if the church is to be equipped and empowered; They are to be sought (1_Corinthians_12:31); They are given for the common good, not just to bless the individual (1_Corinthians_12:7); They are the work of the Spirit, given as He determines (1_Corinthians_12:11); and they are intended to be used as a part of team work - not one person having all the gifts, (1_Corinthians_12:29); They are not an indicator of a Christian's maturity; They are not to be a cause of division in the Church (1_Corinthians_12:25), but always to be exercised in love for the building up of the Body. The principal tests for the use of the gifts are: Do they glorify Christ, and Are they being used in love? They are to be encouraged, matured and developed through use and testing. The greatest gift of all More important than any ability or achievement, is love. In 1 Corinthians we have Chapters 12 and 14 about the gifts, and sandwiched in between is chapter 13 on love. There are four words for love in the classical Greek language, which include the following ideas:

Phileo	Tender affection, family and close relationships;
Prosphileo	Pleasing, agreeable, a warm feeling, liking to do something pleasant;
Eros	Sexual and emotional attraction; and
Agape	Unlimited and unconditional compassion and goodwill. This is a love that seeks the others highest good for others.

Agape is one of the least common words in classical Greek, where it expresses the highest and noblest form of love. A love which recognises something infinitely precious, a love which is unconditional, and seeks another's highest good. In the New Testament, Agape is almost always used to express love from God to us, from us to God, and between people, as in Jesus' command to "love one another" (John_13:34). This highest form of love is supremely the work of the Holy Spirit. It is imparted to those who seek after God. However, like joy, it is not something we obtain directly. It is more a result of our drawing closer to God, receiving the Holy Spirit into our lives, and allowing Him to have more of us. The gift comes as a fruit of His presence in our lives. The more He is allowed to be free with us, the more His love will be evident within us and through us. We must never take credit for this to ourselves, but rather seek to be a channel through which His love may flow. At your leisure, take time to carefully consider 1_Corinthians 13. The supreme act of love was Christ's sacrifice of His own life, to obtain our deliverance from sin. In this Jesus fully lived out His own words (John_13:1 and John_15:12-14) for us: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." We can know this love of Christ in His acceptance of us now, just as we are, unconditionally. He reaches out to embrace us, and draw us to Himself. This is love. And in return He commands us to love one another (John_13:34): "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this will all men know you are my disciples, if you love one another." In other words, we should lay down our lives to live for our friends! It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to love like this - as we decide to move with him, in His way. Appointed ministries The Holy Spirit also appoints and gifts the church with leadership and ministry, eg: Elders, (Minister, Pastor, leaders) deacons and those whose gift is to evangelise or teach, preach, prophecy, lead or pastor (Ephesians_4:11). When these gifts are recognised by the church we set these people apart for these tasks and acknowledge the authority and ministry given to them by God. eg: Acts_6:1-7, 1 Timothy_4:11-14 and 5:17. The following can be noted about these ministries: They are absolutely vital for the Church to grow, and they have nothing to do with a worldly approach to position, power or church politics. (The qualifications for spiritual leadership are humility, servanthood, Godly maturity and a teachable spirit. Matthew_20:20-28 and 1_Timothy_3); They are appointed by God and distributed according to His will (1_Corinthians_12:29-31); They are to be sought (1_Corinthians_12:31); They are given to build up the church (Ephesians_4:12) Their purpose is to achieve unity in the faith in our knowledge of Christ and the whole body grows as each part does its assigned work (Ephesians_4:16). The book of Acts The book of Acts could be entitled - the book of the acts of the Holy Spirit. We can't go into this now, but in your own time study Acts - to discover all you can about how the Holy Spirit worked in the life of the early church.

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Created on: 28 August 1997 Last updated: 28 August 1997