The Person of the Holy Spirit

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Well, brother and sister, the greeting continues in the name of Jesus Christ. We have gathered here and we want to worship him. Just a comment about books yet before we go on to the message. Uh, some years ago, a minister told me this little counsel that he was given. He was a young man, and he was ordained to the ministry at a very young age, but before he was ordained to the ministry, an older brother gave him this counsel. [00:00:47] He said, when it comes time that you get to be 16 or 18 or 19, however old you are, when you get your first car, his counsel was, spend half as much money on books as you spend on your first car. Well, that was pretty good counsel. Books hold a tremendous amount of knowledge. Well, car prices weren't the same as they are now and all. But you know, I see books, I see titles, and it looks really interesting, and I buy books, but getting those books read is a different story. [00:01:25] But you know, there's a tremendous amount of knowledge to be gained by study. That's why Paul told Timothy, he said, study. Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Well, the Bible is the best study book in the world. There's a lot of books that help us gain understanding of the scriptures and all, but let's be sure to apply ourselves to what God calls us to in the matter of studying and reading and gaining knowledge of our Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. [00:02:02] It's good to be here with you. It's always pleasant to be with a group of people where you feel a kinship spirit. And that's what I find here. I thank you for coming this afternoon. Thank you for each time that you have been here as you will be here. It's encouraging to see you come because you have an interest in the scriptures and in Jesus Christ our Lord. It's always the most nervous place in this whole campus. [00:02:36] And it seemed like after 35 years or 36 years, it seemed like you wouldn't be quite so nervous. But it's still, it's still the same it seems. And I appreciate this afternoon if you breathe a prayer for me as I stand before you that the truth might be spoken clearly, it might be a blessing to your life. So you can breathe a prayer while you listen and I will appreciate that tremendously. We want to seek the wisdom of God and the spirit of God. We might understand the scriptures correctly, and that we might present it in such a way that the truth is presented, that we can find lodging in your hearts. [00:03:10] Well, take a few moments here by way of introduction to the person and the work of the Holy Spirit. The person of the Holy Spirit is on the program for this afternoon, the work of the Holy Spirit for tomorrow afternoon. Probably this afternoon, I don't know if I would call it a sermon necessarily, a study. We're going to look into the scriptures, we're going to study the scriptures. You can call that a sermon if you like, but it's not quite the same as I would see as a direct address called a sermon. Well, in John chapter 16, I have often said along the way that that's the Holy Spirit chapter. [00:03:49] Well, as I study this subject, yeah, there's a lot in chapter 16 of the Gospel of John about the Holy Spirit, But there's a lot in all the scriptures about the Holy Spirit. So I kind of conclude that the Bible is a book on the Holy Spirit rather than John 16 being a chapter on the Holy Spirit. Well, what would life be like without the Holy Spirit? Are we living in the flesh or in the Spirit? My brother just gave us a little challenge with that a few minutes ago. [00:04:22] We can live after the flesh or we can live after the Spirit. There really isn't any place there in between, except for that space where you include carnality with spirituality, and I don't quite get that put together. You know, we walk after the flesh, you know, all the dictates of the old nature, all the dictates of that nature within us that would love to direct our lives, we can either follow that, or we can mortify the deeds of the body, [00:04:54] We can put to death that old nature and allow Jesus Christ to sit beyond the throne and to rule our lives and to walk with him. That's what's walking after the Spirit. So are we living in the flesh or are we living in and walking after being led by the Holy Spirit? Have we thanked God for the Holy Spirit? Again, as I reviewed the outline on this study, it came back to mind. How grateful I should be for the Holy Spirit [00:05:27] The Holy Spirit is a beautiful person of the Trinity The Holy Spirit is a blessing to my life, a blessing to your life If you are in Jesus Christ Well, just think about a few scriptures here that have to do with the Holy Spirit These are taken from the New Testament We're going to spend some time in the Old Testament too as well In Matthew chapter 3 verse 11 it says Talking about John the Baptist He says that he will indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. [00:06:06] He's talking about Jesus Christ. One of the ministries of Jesus Christ is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and we'll talk about that a little bit later. Well, the Holy Spirit is the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ in the believer. In Romans chapter 8, he talks there about us being in Christ, the Spirit being in us. He said, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so, be it the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. [00:06:39] So, Jesus gives the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is the act of Jesus giving and us receiving the Holy Spirit. And then that is the evidence, that is the person of the Trinity that dwells within us while we are living this and walking this trek on earth. Well, in Romans chapter 8 also it says that the Holy Spirit is our inner witness that we are the children of God. Oh, we struggle so much sometimes. I have in my life in the past. Where am I with the Lord? [00:07:14] But God's design and desire for us is to have a sense of security in our lives, in our hearts. And His Holy Spirit is to dwell within us to give witness to that, to give testimony in our minds and our hearts. Yes, we are the children of God. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit for us. Well, in 2 Peter chapter 1, in verses 16 to 21, there it speaks about the Holy Spirit in relation to the scriptures that we have. And there it says that the holy men of old time, as they wrote the scriptures, were carried along, or they were guided by the Holy Spirit to write a message that was absolutely true and perfectly good for the design of the human race. [00:07:58] The Holy Spirit gave us, brought to us the scriptures. John 14, 26 says that the Holy Spirit will be a comforter. He will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance. Romans 8 again says that many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. We are the children of God if we have overcome, put down that old nature. The Holy Spirit is ruling our lives. He's given us the guidance for our steps. [00:08:32] We are the children of God. We are the sons of God, if that is our experience. In Ephesians chapter 1, verses 13 and 14, it says that we are sealed for God. And the Holy Spirit is that seal. It's God's mark of ownership upon us. When Jesus Christ baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. And God sees us as having the Holy Spirit. We belong to Him. That's His mark of ownership. You know, packages that come out from some company, they always have a little signia on somewhere that marks the ownership or where those packages came from. [00:09:16] Well, when God looks down and He sees the whole human race, six and a half billion people, one has the Holy Spirit, another one doesn't. The one that has the Holy Spirit is marked for God. He's the beginning part of the inheritance that we have coming, that we look forward to. Well, Romans 8 again, it says that victory for living is in the Holy Spirit, the power of the Spirit within us. It's the only power there is that will give us victory over the forces and the influences of evil. [00:09:49] In Acts chapter 2 verses 1 to 4 That's a familiar passage but that's the day of Pentecost When the Spirit came into the world And the church was born Oh, we're part of the church We're part of the bride The bride that's going to be received into glory There's going to be a marriage supper there I was just at a wedding this morning And a large group of people were gathered Because there's a certain reverence in the hearts of people for marriage Well, there was a groom and there was a bride. [00:10:21] Well, in the future time, when the trumpet sounds and the church is taken out of this world and received into glory, and there, there in glory, there's going to be a bride, a groom, and there's going to be a bride. And we are part of that bride, the church. And the Holy Spirit brought birth to the church. And the account there is in Acts chapter 2. Well, in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 then, it says that a time will come when he will be taken out of the world. [00:10:53] And in a premillennial view of things, you'd think that the Holy Spirit is taken out of the world when the rapture happens and the church is received up into glory. Well, we're not talking about eschatology this morning, and I think it is so foolish. I've heard things that disappoint me so bad sometimes when people take different views of how things are going to happen in the end time and they get angry and they break fellowship and it's so disappointing when those kinds of things happen [00:11:27] we do know, every one of us do know that we're living in a space of time this is the age of grace the age of the Holy Spirit in taking up residence in the church The church age. We all know that that time is going to come to an end. And then things are going to happen. And they're going to happen just exactly like the Bible says. Not one jot or one tittle shall in any wise vanish from the law, from the writings of the scriptures, or the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Nothing will be deleted. Nothing will be forgotten. It'll all happen. We just can't quite get it all together exactly so we all agree on how all that's going to be. [00:12:08] But it's the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us from where we were in our sins It's the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us from there to where we are in Christ And to take us from here to what we can yet become in Christ And then take us from there into glory The work of the Spirit of God Have you thanked God for the Holy Spirit? It generates a greater thankfulness in my heart when I think about how important and all that the Holy Spirit does. [00:12:43] Turn your Bibles to John 14. We're going to read a couple of verses from John 14 and a few verses from John 16 as a part of the introduction to this subject. John chapter 14, let's look at verse 16. Now it's Jesus speaking, these words are in red in my Bible. He said, I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him [00:13:16] but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. Now go over to verse 26 in the same chapter. But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. Now, turn over to John chapter 16, we'll begin reading there in verse 7, where he says, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. [00:13:47] For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you, and when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment, of sin because they believe not on me of righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more of judgment because the prince of this world is judged I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now how be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come he will guide you into all truth [00:14:18] for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall bear that shall he speak and he will show you things to come he shall glorify me For he shall receive of mine and show it unto you All things that the Father hath are mine, therefore said I That he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you Alright, those are some verses in the New Testament, the Gospel of John Speak very clearly of who the Spirit is and the ministry that he's going to have among us And that he is having among us as the people of God [00:14:50] Well, let's think a little farther then about the Trinity Now we think about the Holy Spirit as being the third person of the Trinity, normally I think that's the way it's thought of, but the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity. He is not the Father, he's not the Son, but he is the third person which is the Holy Spirit. In Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 and 17, we have a confirmation of these three persons who make up the Trinity. [00:15:21] This is the baptism of Jesus. It says, [00:15:53] Heaven saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. So here you have Jesus Christ coming to John the Baptist for baptism. And so Jesus is here in person. And then the Holy Spirit descended from heaven as a dove and lighted upon him. And a voice came from heaven which said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. So there you have all three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now, they are all equal in the Godhead, but they are different in function. [00:16:28] One brother said like this, he said to explain the difference in the function of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Do it like this, he said, the Father wills, the Son works, and the Holy Spirit witnesses to the will of the Father and the works of the Son. And that kind of fits in my mind. The Father wills, the Son works, and the Holy Spirit witnesses to the will of the Father and the works of the Son. Well, we'll get to that a little bit more later on, probably. So in the study of God, Jesus Christ is the easiest to grasp because of the Incarnation. [00:17:07] The Incarnation, Jesus Christ, taking on flesh and dwelling on earth and walking among men. John 1.1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And over here in verse 14 it says, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So, Jesus Christ came, took on the form of a man, and they touched him, they handled him, they walked with him, they saw him with their eyes. [00:17:47] So, it's easiest for us to grasp this picture of Jesus. And I believe that Jesus still has a human form today. In Revelation chapter 1, you'll find a description there of the glorified Christ, and it's still a sort of a human form. Now, what kind of a picture would you have of Jesus Christ before the Incarnation? Before he came to be born of Mary? He is eternal. When he came to be born of the Virgin Mary, that was not the beginning of Jesus Christ. [00:18:21] No, he's eternal. He's back there in Genesis 1-1. He's mentioned there. But we get that picture of Jesus and we grasp it fairly well. When you think about the Father, what kind of image do you have in your mind about the Father? Well, the Bible says a few things, and still I don't grasp it. It says that Jesus ascended into heaven, and he is there at the right hand of God. In John it says that God is a spirit. A spirit doesn't have flesh and bones. [00:18:54] And John also says no man has seen God at any time. But in Exodus it says that Moses will see the back parts of God. And in Acts 7, where the account of Stephen is, he looks steadfastly into heaven and there he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. So in my mind I kind of get a picture, well, God must have some kind of a form. Well, it says here something about his back parts, his face, his hands. But it says that God is a spirit and a spirit hath not flesh and bones. [00:19:28] Well, what about the Holy Spirit? What kind of a picture do you have there? Do you have any kind of a picture in mind? The Holy Spirit is a person. We'll start with that. The Holy Spirit is a person. A person has, the person of the Holy Spirit has the spiritual qualities of personhood, not the physical ones. The spiritual qualities of personhood [00:19:59] So we refer to the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity And in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit and the Father and the Son There is absolute perfect harmony There's a working relationship there That Jesus prayed for us to have, I believe When he prayed in John 17 Oh, he said that they might be one as we are He's talking about the Father, the Holy Spirit, along with Himself, a unit, a unity, perfect, in one, perfect harmony. [00:20:35] Oh, that they, the Church, that the Church might be united, that they might have a testimony of oneness as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have. Well, holy is that word before spirit. What does holy mean? Holy describes all three persons of the Trinity. Perfect in righteousness Absolutely separate from anything that would cast a shadow on perfection Nothing casts a shadow in the Trinity [00:21:06] There's nothing there that could even cast a shadow on righteousness and holiness In its fullness of perfection No trace of evil Alright, so let's go on then in this matter of the Holy Spirit We have Genesis chapter 1-1 In the beginning God Now, that word God there is a plural word for God, the plural name for God, which includes all three Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Elohim Then in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2, the Holy Spirit is specifically mentioned [00:21:40] The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters Alright, we're going to go from this introduction to an outline that I received at Rosedale Bible Institute about 35 years ago. When I went there for a class that was three weeks long, taught by Jesse Yoder from Michigan, and I get this outline out and it just helps me grasp a little bit about the Holy Spirit, who he is and what his ministry is for us. This outline is fairly comprehensive and we won't cover nearly all of it. [00:22:13] and if you're interested there's a there's a few copies back there on the table if you'd like to pick one up for yourself you're welcome to it's not perfectly done you know it was it was I took it home from my class all with handwritten notes copied off of transparencies and notes in classes and so on then my wife picked up what I had written and she typed it out the best way she could with my handwriting and all and so it's not perfect but there's a lot of information a lot of If you want to study the Holy Spirit, that would help you on your way. Well, let's think about the Holy Spirit, some of the biblical proofs of his personality. [00:22:55] The names given to the Holy Spirit imply personality. And one of those names is Comforter. The verse that I just read, Jesus said, It is expedient for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Comforter will not come unto you. Now the comforter, I believe, is a paraclete, one who stands alongside, one who is there to, so to speak, put his arm around you. Now he's a spirit, he doesn't have arms, but you know what I mean. Somebody can put their arm around you and comfort you and build you up and edify. That is the Holy Spirit. He's a comforter. [00:23:28] When someone has a serious loss, they're experiencing a serious disappointment or pain, some way, it can be emotional, it can be whatever, but the Holy Spirit's ministry is to stand alongside of us in that situation we find ourselves there he is, the voice of God to speak in our hearts and to comfort, to edify, to build up and encourage it's a comforter, it's one of the names of the Holy Spirit that implies personality well there are personal pronouns that are used in scriptures regarding the Holy Spirit as well [00:24:01] and in John chapter 16 There's a number of times, I think there's about a dozen times in those verses that I read that the Holy Spirit is referred to as he or him or himself and those kinds of personal pronouns are used to describe this person which is the Holy Spirit. Well, there's also personal qualities ascribed to him and there's quite a number of these. We won't spend very much time with them but we'd just like to think for a moment [00:24:32] that the Holy Spirit has knowledge. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit can search the deep things of God. The Holy Spirit grasps those things and since he understands them like he does he can guide us in our understanding and bring us in the way of truth. He has a tremendous knowledge and he has a will. When it comes to the matter of giving gifts to the church it says that the Holy Spirit was giving out the gifts. It says, He gives to every man severally as He wills. [00:25:04] Now, perhaps the Father had made the master plan, but there the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit takes the plan and He puts it into practice on the earth. He puts it in place and He gives gifts to everyone according to His will. He has emotion as well. He has emotions. He can be grieved. We'll talk about that a little bit more later on too. He can be grieved. Ephesians 4.30 says that we ought not to grieve the Spirit of God [00:25:37] whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption. No, he can be grieved. We'll talk more about that. There are personal acts that are ascribed to him. He speaks. If you read Revelation chapter 2 and 3, It gives admonition there. Hey, open your ears and listen and understand what the Spirit saith to the churches. The Holy Spirit is the one that directs the message. The Holy Spirit is the one that carried the prophets along to write perfectly the message that God had them to write. [00:26:13] The Holy Spirit also is an intercessor. And in intercession, it says in Romans 8 verse 26, Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. There's something the Holy Spirit does for us. He's an intercessor. And do you ever have a time when your heart is burning, you want to pray, [00:26:44] and you just can't seem to formulate the right words to kind of express yourself to the Father? Well, the Holy Spirit is one who intercedes for us, and he picks up where we leave off, and he takes to the Father the desires of our heart and presents them there at his throne. A beautiful experience, a beautiful blessing of the Spirit of God. And he also testifies. John 15, the words are written in red there, where Jesus said, When the Spirit comes, he will testify of me. [00:27:17] He will give testimony to the works of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit supports the works of Jesus Christ. That's his ministry. Point people to Jesus Christ. He teaches. Excellent teacher. Voice of God speaking in our hearts. He guides people in the way of their life and what they should do and where they should go. And the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, illustration of that, where he had desired he was going to go into Asia, but the Spirit said, no, not now, don't go there. [00:27:57] It's the work of the Spirit. Well, what would have happened if Paul would have went there? We don't know, but anyway, we do trust the wisdom and knowledge of God. God said through his Spirit, no, don't go there now. And so it's right for him to go somewhere else. Well, he works miracles. You know, Jesus Christ was here on earth and we have a number of miracles recorded that he did. But you know, there's a miracle recorded in Acts chapter 8. You know the story about Philip and Ethiopian eunuch? [00:28:29] When they were going down the road and Philip joined himself to the chariot and helped that Ethiopian man find his way of salvation in Jesus Christ and then, what does it say? Philip was caught away by the Spirit. I don't know exactly how that all happened, how it all was. I just have to take what the Bible says there and the best understanding you'll have of those words. Well, he has personal treatments are ascribed to him. He can be lied to. You know the story about Ananias and Sapphira? [00:29:02] He's a person. Somebody can lie to me. It's happened already. and the Holy Spirit is like a person. Here was Ananias and Sapphira. They thought they were talking to Peter but there was the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was hearing their voice. They were lying to the Holy Spirit. He can be lied to. It's a personal treatment that is ascribed to him. Well, he can be grieved and rebelled against. You find that back in the Old Testament there in Genesis and Isaiah [00:29:33] For it speaks about the children of Israel and how they were rebellious in their heart and the Spirit of God was grieved at their responses to the instructions of the Lord. And he can be done despite to. Done despite to. He can receive or he can feel responses of anger. He can feel responses that are against holiness. So it's the Holy Spirit. He is aware, He feels these personal treatments that people bring to Him. [00:30:11] Think about the divine attributes of the Holy Spirit. Well, it says in Hebrews 9, He refers to Him as the Eternal Spirit. Past, present, future. The Eternal Spirit. In John chapter 14 and 16 there, and in 1 Corinthians 2, It talks about the omnipresence, the omniscience, I'm sorry, the omniscience of the Holy Spirit. Then it also speaks about the omnipotence. [00:30:42] An illustration of that would be Mary's conception, where she was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. That is a miracle. That is something that the Holy Spirit alone had power to do. And then he is omnipresent. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent. He is everywhere present. Let's just read the passage in Psalms chapter 139. It's a beautiful passage that speaks about that. It says there words like this. [00:31:12] It says, and delight are both alike to thee. [00:31:45] Oh, yeah, the Holy Spirit, omnipresent, nowhere to go, nowhere to go to get away from the Spirit of God. Well, let's look at names of the Holy Spirit that are coupled in equality with the Father and the Son. We looked at one there in Matthew. But let's think about that word equality just a little bit. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, equality Here they are, each one of them a part of the person of the Godhead [00:32:19] And nothing less or more about one or the other In some of these attributes we're talking about Equality, let's use this for illustration Are men and women equal? Are they equal? I would say, for the sake of this illustration here Things we're going to talk about The answer to that question is yes Men and women are equal. They are equal in creation. They are equal in intellectual ability. They are equal in salvation. They are equal in prayer. [00:32:52] Yeah, they're equal. Well, maybe a mother may have a handicapped child and she might spend her lifetime taking care of this child while her husband, maybe her husband is the president or the CEO of the Ford Motor Company. Well, in our culture, in our culture, people would look at his mother and think, my, what a waste. They look at her husband, my, look what a tremendous person he is, all he's doing. But, no, they're equal. There's nothing that elevates her husband above her. [00:33:28] No, she has a place, she has a place, a function to fill that God has created for her, and there she is, she's filling that place and God blesses her in it. And if this other person is fearing the Lord, you know, he can have the blessing of God where he is. Maybe he's known around the world. But that's alright. Equality. Each one filling a place where God has placed them. Well, thinking about the divinity of all three persons in the Godhead They are equal there Omniscience, omnipotence, holiness, wisdom [00:34:01] But they're different in function Their function is different Like I told you, the Father wills, the Son works The Holy Spirit gives witness and testimony To all that are available to hear The Bible does say that a woman is a weaker vessel But in thinking about that in relation to this, I thought about that too. And that is, a woman is a weaker vessel, maybe that's referring to her physical stature normally and so on. But regardless of what you apply that to, and talking about this matter of being equal, men and women being equal, [00:34:37] for a woman being a weaker vessel, God will supply for her everything that she needs to fill the place where he's placed her. Just as much as you'll provide everything that a man needs to fill the place where he's been placed. So, you can think about all these things. Now, I'm not in favor of the women's liberation things and all those things. They don't fit. No, get the point. Yeah, they're equal, but their function is different. They're functioning in a different role. As long as a wife functions in her role, as long as a husband functions in his role, [00:35:14] There can be harmony and unity. That's what we have in the Godhead. There's harmony and unity because each one of them is functioning in their role perfectly without any question, no detail of dissension anywhere. Lucifer wasn't satisfied to function in his place so he said I'm going to lift myself up I'm going to be like the most high God I'll ascend up into heaven whoa no no he wasn't satisfied to function in the place where he was created for [00:35:46] well let's go on the Holy Spirit can be blasphemed and you probably heard this term along the way times and times again the unpardonable sin the unpardonable sin let's make a few comments about that before we go on here because it has direct relationship to the Holy Spirit blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a sin that is on the very very dangerous side it says you can grieve the Spirit [00:36:21] and he can turn away from you and when he does what will you do how will you ever come back to If the Holy Spirit turns away from you, and that can happen through the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. In Matthew chapter 12, verse 31, it says, Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. [00:36:52] But whoso speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him. Neither in this world, neither in the world to come Speaking against, with irreverence Taking the name of the Holy Spirit in vain And you've heard cursing and swearing, I'm sure, along the way Where God's name is taken in vain, Jesus Christ's name is taken in vain I don't think I've ever heard anybody take the Holy Spirit and speak like that against the Holy Spirit Maybe there's still a certain reverence for that principle that lives in the hearts of men [00:37:26] I'm not sure how that all fits In Mark chapter 3 I'd like to read another verse there It's verse 29 Mark chapter 3 verse 29 It reads like this But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost Hath never forgiveness But is in danger of eternal damnation So the Holy Spirit must be held in reverence Exodus 20 Go back to the Ten Commandments And there it says Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. [00:37:59] The God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, none of them. Christians are commanded not to take any name and use it in a way of irreverence in the presence of the Lord. And you can't get out of his presence. But he says that people can be forgiven if they use God's name or Christ's name, if I understand this right. They can take their name in vain and they can be forgiven. but blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is serious. Seems like it's on another level. Well, Hebrews 6 says that when people fall away [00:38:35] they can't be renewed again to repentance. And I don't just understand exactly how that means either but the least that I can say is that when somebody falls away or when somebody does some of these things I just mentioned to you about the irreverence for the Holy Spirit and all. He's in a very dangerous, dangerous, dangerous place. Well, the unpardonable sin. If we confess our sins, that's 1 John chapter 1, 1 John chapter 1. [00:39:07] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I think that today in making this comment about that the only sin that can't be forgiven is a sin that I will not repent of because of my proud arrogant spirit I'll not bend my knee, I'll not humble myself and apologize, I'll not humble myself and plead to God for the blood of Jesus Christ, I'm too proud that's sin, if you're not going to repent [00:39:39] sin will not be forgiven so a sin that I won't repent of will stay on the record, or a sin that I can't repent of. Now, give me what I'm saying here, and if I say something wrong here today, I've got a number of ministers here listening to me besides all the rest of you, if I say something wrong here, I bear correction. I want to say things right. I don't want to mistwist or whatever with the scriptures. So, this I would say, a sin that I can't repent of. [00:40:12] If the Holy Spirit is grieved and departs, you know back there in Genesis chapter 6, God said, My Spirit will not always strive with man. The Spirit of God strives to bring us to the cross, to bring us to repentance for the cleansing of our hearts if we reject Him and reject Him and reject Him and push Him off. Eventually we have a conscience that's dead, a conscience that's seared. And if your conscience is the voice of God speaking in your heart, you don't have a voice anymore. [00:40:43] How are you going to repent if there's no conviction, if there's no drawing to the cross of Jesus Christ? So the whole matter of grieving the Spirit, and I say this too, that the Spirit can be grieved by a continual rejection. I wanted to say the other one first. The spirit can be grieved by the kind of blasphemy I just talked about in these last few minutes. Or a spirit can be grieved by a continual rejection. He speaks to your heart. He speaks to your heart. [00:41:15] He prods you. You have a sin. You need to repent. Come to the cross. And it's just a continual rejection, rejection, rejection, rejection. The Holy Spirit can be grieved. And the conscience gets dull. And then it dies. It gets dead. Seared. It's a hot iron. So people, the admonition is when a still small voice speaks in your heart that's when it's time to repent. Take that sin off the record. Clear the record. The cross is there. The blood is there. [00:41:49] The Holy Spirit pleads for us to do that. All right. Look, just to About a minute and a half yet. We'll just give you a couple of the descriptive titles that are in the scriptures pertaining to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Living God, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Burning, the Spirit of Promise, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Grace, the Spirit of Glory, the Eternal Spirit, the Comforter. [00:42:28] Remember, all those are names that are given in the scriptures pertaining to this Holy Spirit that we have the wonderful opportunity to have live within us, dwell within us. And those titles are descriptive of different areas of ministry of the Holy Spirit. Well, let's look just for a little bit then at the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. From Adam to Noah, there you have the creation account that we talked about a minute ago. and there you have conviction in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 3 [00:42:59] where it talks about the Holy Spirit striving, striving with men. Now you look at the Holy Spirit from Abraham then to Christ and there are some negative aspects that we can look at there. It was the Holy Spirit's ministry was different in the Old Testament than it is in our time in the New Testament, in the church age. In the Old Testament, he was not given to all. Now, the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is God with us. The Holy Spirit in the New Testament is God with us. [00:43:31] I'm sorry, God with us in the Old Testament, God in us in the New Testament. That's the difference in term, the difference in area of ministry for the Holy Spirit. He is not spoken of in the Old Testament as a sanctifier. He was not given to those people to dwell within them to be a power to live righteously. That's our experience today. It wasn't the experience of those people in the Old Testament. Old Testament saints walked with God. I'm not just sure how that all worked. [00:44:03] If they didn't have the power, the in-line power of the Holy Spirit within them for holiness, how did they walk with God? How did they have a testimony that he was righteous before God if they didn't have that power within them? I'm not sure how that fits exactly. But in the Old Testament, you have the Holy Spirit working from the outside. In the New Testament, we have the Holy Spirit inside and working from within for us. Well, men were filled with the Spirit in the Old Testament. [00:44:35] And the filling in the Old Testament was the Holy Spirit would come upon someone for a special task, a special ministry, a special time period. Not for an indwelling presence that is ongoing and for power of holiness In the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon men for a special work without reference to character For example, follow the life of Samson The Spirit of God was working there with Samson Samson's character wasn't always above board [00:45:07] Well, he never baptized in the Old Testament Holy Spirit baptism is not Old Testament term. He did not indwell men permanently among them, but not in them. It's not said in the Old Testament that you're born of the Spirit. Well, there's some positive aspects in the Old Testament. There was that filling of the Spirit in the Old Testament. An example of that was that man Bezaliel, when they were making the tabernacle, and they needed someone with a very skilled craftsman to work with the gold and silver and those things that went into the structure of the tabernacle. [00:45:50] And it says that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Bezaliel and it enabled him to do the work for that tabernacle just right. He was able, the Spirit enabled him, enabled him to do that. Well, the Holy Spirit came upon the judges and gave them wisdom, a special ability for discernment. The Holy Spirit came upon David. David was filled with the Spirit. [00:46:24] Then to think further yet, now I mentioned a minute ago about the prophets in the Old Testament. There it says in 2 Peter, the holy men of God, they are back there in the Old Testament, these prophets that wrote all that Old Testament material. There the Holy Spirit would come upon them and fill them and use them to write accurately, to accurately record exactly what God wanted to be written. Well, now it's time, pastime. So, that comes to the end of our study here, as far as the Holy Spirit, who he is as a person, and then his work in the Old Testament. [00:47:04] Now, tomorrow afternoon, we get a little bit more practical in some of these things. When you think about the ministry of the Holy Spirit within us, what a blessing the Holy Spirit is. From the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, the whole matter then of being filled with the Spirit in our time, what does that mean? I think that the matter of being filled with the Spirit will be kind of the key note for this whole thing and the challenge for us. Because the Holy Spirit wants to dwell within us and He wants to fill us. [00:47:37] Are you filled with the Spirit? We'll try to answer that question or help you see through that question tomorrow afternoon. So come back tomorrow. God bless you.