WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

AN ANALOGY HELPS TO EXPLAIN THIS

The Holy Trinity represents the three different ways God interacts with the universe and with people.
They are:

• God the Father
• God the Son (Jesus)
• God the Holy Spirit

Properties of the persons of God:

• Properties of God the Father
  1. Cannot normally be seen by men.
  2. When seen by men, He is hidden inside a cloud to protect men from the intense light.
  3. Has simultaneous access to the entire universe.
  4. Has infinite power.
• Properties of God the Son
  1. When present is seen to be a man.
  2. Is Jesus Christ.
  3. Has simultaneous access to the entire universe.
• Properties of God the Holy Spirit

  The Holy Spirit has several different ways of interacting with people, depending on the relationship each person has with God:

  1. The person has no interest in God at all:
     • Normally the Holy Spirit has no interaction with someone who does not want to believe.
     • If God has a special interest in the person, the Holy Spirit may give guidance to that person.
  2. The person is interested in knowing God:
     • The Holy Spirit gives guidance in the form of "nudges" in the right direction to direct the person toward knowing God.
  3. The person has accepted Jesus Christ:
     • Every person who has received Jesus Christ as personal savior has many of the gifts listed below available for use as needed.
  4. The person is filled with the Holy Spirit to do God's work:
     • When God is using the person to actively do work for God, the person is filled with the Holy Spirit.
     • God can take over and direct the person to do things for God or prevent the person from doing things that work against God.
     • God can cause miraculous events to happen through the person. But the person has no control over this. God sends the power to do the miracle through the Holy Spirit.

Some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit:

• wisdom to know what to do
• knowing what is true
• understanding the Scriptures
• knowledge of the Scriptures (finding what you need quickly)
• counsel (advice from God)
• messages from God
• fortitude (courage to do what is right)
• loving the Lord
• fear of the Lord
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• long-suffering
• gentleness
• faith in the Lord
• modesty
• self-control
• abstinence
• prophecy
• service
• teaching
• exhortation
• giving
• leadership
• mercy
• gifts of healing
• distinguishing between spirits
• speaking other languages
• interpreting other languages
• helping others
• administration
• speaking

Note that no person has all of these gifts. Each person is given the gifts he needs.

How people get messages from God through the Holy Spirit:

• Recalling a Scripture that answers the question
• An urge to look something up in a particular part of the Bible
• Your pastor says something in his teachings that answers the question
• Something or someone in the field of view of the person is highlighted
• A feeling of what the right answer is with a feeling of peace
• An urge to do something the person had not planned to do
• A verbal message in your mind
• A dream telling the future later comes true
• A seeming coincidence that teaches something (God has perfect timing)

The analogy:

The Holy Spirit is effectively God's network connecting Himself with every person who belongs to Him.

Some teaching coincidences and messages the page author has received:

• After the preacher had just made a good point, an illegally overpowered CB radio got into the PA circuits: "Ten-four, good buddy!"
• The page author saw the name of a person highlighted when he was sorting files. That person later became a large part of the author's life.
• An urge to go back into the church after services let out led the page author to find a fallen sick person and to get help for her.
• The page author ignored an urge to avoid a certain street. Someone driving while on a cell phone turned in front of him, causing an accident.
• The pastor's point about not disobeying God was punctuated by a very loud thunderclap. It was raining at the time with only distant thunder.
• The pastor had just asked God to deliver us from the evils of today when a loud delivery truck drove into the business next to the church.
• The pastor asked God to show us the everyday distractions that keep us from spending time with God. Then someone's cell phone rang.
• The page author had an urge to go to a foyer in the place he worked. He met his future wife there.