I Believe in the Holy Spirit

As we begin our time in study, let’s recite the Apostles Creed together. When I began this mini-series, I pointed out that the Apostles Creed is Trinitarian in its structure. There are three major sections, confessing what we believe about the nature and works of each person of the Trinity. So, we’ve seen the nature and works of God the Father as sovereign, creator, and father. In Jesus, we’ve seen his Lordship, sonship, and his works of suffering, sacrifice, resurrection, and rule. Now we come to the third section of the creed on the nature and works of the Spirit. So, this section begins, “I believe in the Holy Ghost.” Unfortunately, as with the other persons of the Trinity, there is no lack of confusion about the character and works of the Holy Spirit. As we’ve done in past sermons, I want to explain who the Holy Spirit is by first explaining what we don’t mean and then what we do.

First, in confessing that we believe in the Holy Spirit, we don’t mean that we believe in some impersonal life force. Many people treat the Holy Spirit as if he were similar to Karma, believing that if you have enough faith or live in a certain way, you can access the blessings of the Holy Spirit. Others treat the Spirit like a fickle force that can be manipulated through incantations, mood, or music. I heard of one youth event in which the worship leader called on the congregation to count to three, at which time the Holy Spirit would be released. As we will see in just a bit, the Holy Spirit is not a force, he is a person.

Second, we do not believe that the Holy Spirit is realized through the emotional or ecstatic experience. In the second century, there arose a sect of Christianity known as the Montanists. They believed that they were the true church because they had the gifts of prophecy and tongues, and because they had more sincere, ecstatic worship. This belief has continued even to this day in the Pentecostal movement. While the gifts of the Spirit do include prophecy, healing, and tongues, it should be noted that there are severe limits placed on these in Scripture, and Paul even advises against fascination with them. Additionally, there is nothing in the New Testament that indicates that an experience of the Holy Spirit results in some sort of emotional outburst or ecstatic experience. Yet, many today assume that if a person is more emotional or passionate, he must be “filled with the Spirit.” Be wary of this. I’ve known many a church that has been deceived by a smooth talking, emotionally relevant false-teacher. Also, many false beliefs and abuse have been ignored because of a church leader’s sincerity and passion.

Now that we understand what we don’t mean, let’s consider what we do mean when we confess our belief in the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Spirit is a person, he is powerful, and he is the presence of God with us.

First, the Holy Spirit is a person. To see that, flip over to John 16:1-15. There is much we could say about this passage, but I want you to notice three personal attributes of the Holy Spirit that Jesus brings out here. First, notice that the Holy Spirit is spoken of in personal terms. In verses 7, 8, 13, and 14, Jesus uses the personal pronouns “he” and “him” to refer to the Holy Spirit. In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is always a “he”, not an “it”. This matters because the Holy Spirit is not a impersonal force. He is a full, personal member of the Trinity.

Second, notice in verse 7 that Jesus gives the Holy Spirit the title of “Helper”. The Greek word means far more than “helper”. It’s actually a legal title similar to our concept of a defense attorney. For the believer, the Holy Spirit is an advocate who comes along side of us and defends us.

But, Jesus also does an interesting play on this idea, which brings me to my third personal attribute. Notice in verse 8, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of righteousness and judgment. See the play on words? To the believer, the Holy Spirit is an advocate who defends his own, but to the unbeliever, he is a prosecutor who convicts of sin and judgment.

This brings me to the second characteristic of the Spirit. The Spirit is powerful. To see this, I just want you to take a stroll with me through the Bible. The first time that we see the word, “Spirit”, in our Bibles is in Genesis 1:2, and there we find that, as God is creating the world, the Spirit is hovering over the face of the deep. The Hebrew word that we often translate as “Spirit” is “ruah”. It literally means “wind” or “breath”. So, when we read that the Spirit of God was hovering, it literally says, the “Breath of God” was hovering. Here is why that matters. Later on, in Genesis 7:22, it records that terrible judgment of God in the flood, and as the flood waters are rushing over the earth, we read that “everything in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.” That word for “breath” there is the same word used for “Spirit” in Genesis 1:2. So, one way that the Holy Spirit is powerful is in the fact that He is the life-giving power of God. When God created the world, life came to be by the power of His Spirit. When God formed the shape of a man out of the dust of the earth, that clay became a living being only when God breathed his Spirit into man.

Now, we see something even more beautiful in the New Testament. The Greek word for “Spirit” is “pneuma”, which also means “breath” or “wind”. It’s the root word for our “pneumonia”. There is a masterful way that Jesus plays on this word in John 3:1-8. Remember there that Nikodemus comes to Jesus at night because he wants to ask how someone can enter the kingdom of God, and before he can ask his question, Jesus tells him that in order to see the kingdom of God, you must be born again. Now, Nikodemus, the good Pharisee, asks how he might do that. He’s even willing to consider entering his mother’s womb a second time. But Jesus tells him, in verse 6, “unless you are born of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. 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.” Understand what Jesus is saying here. Jesus is saying that the only way that you can be saved is if the Holy Spirit causes a second birth in your life. Just like Adam was a lump of clay until God knelt down and breathed His Spirit into him, so too you were a dead man walking until God changed your heart through the power of His Spirit. The conversion of any man or woman from rank sinner to believing saint is a miracle that is wrought by the power of God’s Spirit alone.

So, the final characteristic of the Holy Spirit that I want you to see is that the Spirit is the real presence of God. To see this, let’s consider Acts 1:8. Here, Jesus promises his disciples that the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon them, and when he does, they will be his witnesses throughout all the world. This passage is just one example of how God is with us in the presence of His Spirit. The Spirit enables us to understand His Word. The Spirit gives us Godly wisdom. The Spirit convicts us when we sin. The Spirit gives us the words to pray when we don’t know how. The Spirit empowers us to tell others about Jesus. And the Spirit reminds us that we belong to God.

Friend, the Holy Spirit may this very hour be calling you to salvation. It may be that you have heard every argument, you know all the facts about Jesus, you’ve heard all the stories, and now you feel the conviction of the Spirit calling you to profess faith in Christ. Won’t you come and trust in Jesus today? 

Brothers and sisters, whether we know it or not, we have the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit at work in us, even this very moment. I’ve been asked many times by believers why they don’t feel the power of the Spirit. Let me suggest one reason: perhaps you don’t experience the power of the Spirit because you don’t trust him to act. Like in the parable of the Talents, you have received the gift of the Spirit, but you’ve horded it, thinking that there is no way you can put this power to use. Instead of sharing the Gospel, you shrink back and allow any little excuse to prevent you from seeing God at work through you. Instead of stopping in any moment of need to pray that God would give you wisdom or strength, you choose to bull through and do it by your own might. Experiencing the real power and presence of the Spirit is not some magical trick or some second blessing. It’s as simple as being obedient to the difficult things to which God has called you. If you are in Christ, you have his Spirit. Now live like it!