We need the Holy Spirit for He is God’s presence at work in us. Only through Him can we grow into the fulness of the stature that belongs to Christ, Ephesians 4:13. This changes us from the inside out. He  inhabits an eternal ‘Here’, plays an important role in God’s eternal plan and enjoys all the attributes of the Godhead.

Who is the Holy Spirit

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One in the great I Am That I Am, Exodus 3:14. All are to be worshipped equally for everything God did in creation and redemption He did by His Spirit. All Scripture is breathed out, or inspired by God, 2 Timothy 3:16. No true prophecy was ever made by an act of human will. Men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God, 2 Peter 1:21.

The Holy Spirit appears in the second verse of the Bible. The Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters, Genesis 1:2. He is the major factor in the New Testament new creation, 2 Corinthians 5:17. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit, John 3:6. You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you, Romans 8:9.

In the last chapter of the Bible the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come’, Revelation 22:17. ‘Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts,’ Hebrews 3:7. We do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, with our mind set on what the Spirit desires, Romans 8:4, 5.

Gift from God

The Holy Spirit is a gift from God, Acts 2:38, for He is the life giver, Luke 1:35. He gives life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that dwells in you, Romans 8:11. The Spirit raised Christ from the dead, Romans 8:11. No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God, 1 Corinthians 2:11.

It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can have an intimate relationship with God and know Him as our “Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:6. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, Romans 8:16,17.

Like Christ, we should wait until we are clothed with power from on high, Luke 24:49. The only power God recognizes in His true church, is the power of His Spirit, not the power, desires, or ambitions of man. We are totally dependent on God and need to submit our whole being under His mighty hand.

Teacher

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak. And he will declare to you the things that are to come, John 16:13. He is our teacher, 1 John 2:20.

We can only comprehend spiritual truths through the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 2:13, in a world that is full of confusion. This is not in words taught by human wisdom, for the things of the Spirit are foolishness to the natural man, 1 Corinthians 2:14. They are things into which angels long to look, 1 Peter 1:12.

Need the Holy Spirit the Comforter

The Holy Spirit is a Comforter whom the Father sent in the name of the Son, John 14:26. He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, through wordless groans that are too deep for words, Romans 8:26, 27. The Holy Spirit is also our Advocate before the Father, John 14:26. He helps us in our weaknesses.

How can mortal man comprehend the things of God? We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit helps us align our prayers with God’s will, Matthew 6:10.

Grieving the Holy Spirit

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption, Ephesians 4:30. The majority of the Christian community not only denies a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit but denies the power of the Spirit.

You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit, Acts 7:51. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.

Need the Holy Spirit Infilling

Paul instructs us to be filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18. This is not a one-off experience, but a continuous, ongoing, daily experience. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water, John 7:38. The river flows only from a constant infilling.

Much controversy has risen over speaking in a heavenly language, or speaking in tongues, 1 Corinthians 14:2. It is a language which bypasses our seat of knowledge and heart of emotions. It is a deep spiritual experience. However, our need of the Holy Spirit is not about speaking in tongues, but a yearning to be daily infilled with the Holy Spirit. If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me, Luke 9:23.

That means no more ‘pretend’ Christianity. It requires a true desire for a deep and meaningful relationship with God. It requires recognizing that we are all sinners, Romans 3:23, and desperately need the power of God to live God’s way.

How to Receive

The word baptism means death. Water baptism is the symbolism of dying to the old creation and rising up out of the water as a new creation in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:17. John the Baptist then said Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, Matthew 3:11. That baptism is to die to self and all it means of the old sin nature, in a daily experience.

Stand quietly before the Lord expectantly and ask for this infilling. When you ask for bread He will not give you a stone, Matthew 7:9. Believe that you will receive and leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit. He will grant you the desires of your heart, Psalm 37:4. To know God is to know the Holy Spirit and the power of His work in you.

As a leader, see others infilled with the Holy Spirit in the same way. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, 2 Corinthians 13:14.

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Dr. Wendy Stenberg-Tendys is a servant of the Lord who researches Biblical topics and shares words of encouragement from the Word of God. She asks the hard questions.

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