Who is the Holy Spirit? - Alpha Course 08
Video of the complete Livestream where John asks, “Who is the Holy Spirit?”
Talk: Who is the Holy Spirit?
For a long time in the church, I think the Holy Spirit has been ignored. We hear a lot about God the Father, God the Son, but not so much about the Holy Spirit. And sometimes, he's referred to as the Holy Ghost. And this can sound a little spooky, a little scary, and can also mean that his identity is misunderstood.
Often the Holy Spirit is resisted. Some people are a bit nervous about him. So before I begin, I think it will be helpful to say that when I think of the Holy Spirit, I try to think of him as much as a person, as I do God the Father or Jesus. Because the Holy Spirit is someone with whom I have a relationship. Sometimes it can be more challenging because the word spirit or ghost throws us off. But the Holy Spirit isn't something new. And what I want to do in this talk is to try to explain who the Holy Spirit is by what he does.
The Holy Spirit and the Creation
The Holy Spirit goes right back to the creation of the world. So I want to take a quick whistlestop tour through the history of the Holy Spirit from Genesis one, right through to the end of the Bible. We might need to miss out on one or two verses in between, but we'll see how it goes. So here is Genesis one,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
The Holy Spirit was involved in creation. He was hovering, waiting to create, to do something new. The Holy Spirit was there at the beginning of time, creating, out of chaos, the cosmos, out of disorder, order. He is a creator, he always brings new things, and he does this in our lives, too. He brings new attitudes, desires, ways of worship, and new songs. And I think sometimes we are a little bit conservative by nature. Most of us often don't like change. I, for one, like change on the whole. I get bored of the same routine. So I find new things refreshing.
My wife Anna grace, on the other hand, is the opposite. She loves her routine. She loves her traditions; she's not so crazy about change. When she was growing up in America, she celebrated Thanksgiving with her family every year. And every year, they would have their Turkey roast dinner with stuffing and veggies and everything else. And anytime someone in the family suggested changing something to the meal or altering it, Anna Grace would refuse and demand that everything stay the same. But now that Anna Grace lives in England with me, she's not always able to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. And so now they can eat whatever they like. Sometimes they might change things around; they might swap out the turkey for fish or something like that.
The Holy Spirit comes on specific people in the Bible
So the Holy Spirit is a creator. He wants to bring new things. We see him right at the start of the Bible. Then as we go on through the Bible, we see that the Holy Spirit comes on particular people at particular times for specific tasks that he's calling them to do.
1. Bezalel
He comes upon a man named Bezalel. In Exodus 31, verse 1-5, it says this,
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.”
It says I have filled him with the Spirit of God to make artistic designs. So the Spirit of God fills people. You can be a talented musician without the Spirit of God. But the Spirit of God brings a new dimension to everything we do. And you see that, in the course of history, how in extraordinary ways the Holy Spirit fills people. People like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Johann Sebastian Bach, Handel.
I sang Handel's "Messiah" growing up in a choir. And there's something compelling about that piece of music. In 1741, Handel suffered a stroke. He had a paralysed right arm, blurred vision; he was in bad health. His sight was deteriorating; work had dried up. And he was asked to set some of the bits of the Bible to music. And he composed the work for the Messiah, the whole thing in 24 days. Incredible! His biographer wrote this,
“Handel's Messiah has probably done more to convince thousands that there is a God than all the theological texts ever written. And perhaps the works of no other composer so largely contributed to the relief of human suffering.”
That's high praise! And of the Hallelujah chorus, Handel said,
I did think I saw heaven open, and I saw the very face of God.
- George Frideric Handel
He said that about when he was writing the chorus. Crazy! It's not just in the past, either. Today, God is filling people with the Holy Spirit for artistic ability. There's an artist called Charlie Mackesy, and you might have heard of him. He did a sculpture of the prodigal son, which has inspired so many people to understand God. It helps us know that God is a loving father who wants to embrace us in his arms.
The Prodigal Son, by Charlie Mackesy
So, the Holy Spirit fills us for whatever we're involved in. It could be music, art, or in your workplace, anywhere. The Spirit of God wants to supply us with skill, ability and creativity, to do the things we do.
2. Gideon
So after Bezalel, in the book of Judges, the Spirit comes upon Gideon with leadership ability. Now, Gideon called himself the lowest member of the weakest family in that region. Isn't it amazing that God uses people who feel powerless, inadequate, ill-equipped and fills them with boldness to lead?
3. Samson
Later the Spirit came upon Samson. You might have heard of him as well, the story of Samson and Delilah. So the Spirit comes upon Samson in power and gives him the physical strength to break free from his bindings. So often, what physically happens in the Old Testament happens spiritually in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit gives us the freedom to break the habits, the addictions, the stuff that keeps us spiritually bound.
4. Isaiah
In Isaiah 61, verse one, the Spirit gives Isaiah the ability to prophesy. The Scripture says this,
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,”
Often, we want to be a help to people. But we don't always know how or feel we don't have anything to give. But when the Spirit of God fills us, we can help people. We can bind up the brokenhearted and declare freedom for those who live in spiritual darkness by the power of Jesus's name. Some of these people are delivered instantly. But for others, it's a longer-term thing.
Bono, the lead singer of U2, the band said this,
"For all that I was lost, I am found, it's probably more accurate to say, I was really lost and I'm a little less so at the moment, and then a little less, and a little less again."
- Bono, U2
So Jesus sets us free. He sets the captives free. And the Holy Spirit gives us that freedom. And we can proclaim that, and we can bring that to the people. What a huge blessing that is!
The Promise of the Father
So, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit comes upon particular people at particular times for specific tasks. But as we go on, there's a rising sense of anticipation that he's going to do something new again, similar to creation, but a new creation. And this new thing is called "The Promise of the Father". So what is this promise?
God speaks in the book of Ezekiel, this is in the Old Testament, in chapter 36, verse 26, and it says,
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
In the Old Testament, it was all these laws and decrees. And people looked at them and said, they're good rules, good things, but we can't keep them, we can't follow them. And therefore, they became a burden. And people just felt guilty because they couldn't do these things. And God says, Look, it will be different when my Spirit comes to live within you. It won't be a heavy burden of all these rules. You will have an inner desire. In that passage, God says he'll take away our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh.
There's a woman called Jackie Pullinger. She has spent her life working with sex workers, triad gang leaders, heroin addicts, all sorts of people. And what she's done is see them set free by the power of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. She once said this,
“God wants us to have soft hearts and hard feet. The trouble with so many of us is that we have hard hearts and soft feet.”
- Jackie Pullinger
When the Spirit of God comes, he softens our hearts. He gives us compassion and hard feet, a willingness to go anywhere. That's the "Promise of the Father".
To whom will the Promise of the Father be given?
Joel 2 verse 28 says this,
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
And that's God speaking. So regardless of gender, race, rank or background, God says it will be for everyone. So, we've got a creator, the Holy Spirit, in the creation. We've got the Holy Spirit, doing things with particular people at particular times for particular tasks. And then we've got the Promise of the Father.
And the people of Israel in the Old Testament wait and think great, this is exciting! But after Joel's prophecy that we just read, nothing happens for hundreds of years. And then suddenly, there's the birth of Jesus. And it's like a trumpet sounds, and everyone surrounding the birth of Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit.
In the book of Luke, chapter 1, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is told that the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and she'll bear a son, who will be the Son of God. Then Mary visits her cousin, Elizabeth, who is filled with the Holy Spirit when she sees Mary. And then, John the Baptist, Elizabeth's son, says in Luke chapter 3, verse 16,
“I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Now, baptism means to drench something or immerse something. It's like when a ship sinks. And I think our hearts sometimes can be like those old fashioned sponges that are a little bit crusty on the outside, and you put them in water, and the water doesn't even go into them. But after you leave the sponge in there a little while, it starts to soften. And once it's soft, it takes in the water. And then, when you take the sponge out of the water, the water pours out the sponge. That's what happens when we're filled with the Holy Spirit. It's like we're being baptised; we're being drenched, being filled and immersed with this life. And we read in Luke chapter 1 verse 22,
“and the Holy Spirit descended on him.”
That is Jesus in bodily form. So Jesus was also filled with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. And he continued his ministry full of and in the power of the Holy Spirit. He even quotes the passage from Isaiah 61, which we read earlier, which declares the Spirit of the Lord to be upon him. Jesus says it is talking about himself. And he sits down, and he says, today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Even more, in John chapter 7, Jesus says,
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
And by this, Jesus meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Until that time, the Spirit had not been given since Jesus had not been glorified. It's talking about Jesus's death and resurrection, which went on to happen, but still, you know, the disciples and all the people of God were waiting for this promise to come. They're waiting for this outpouring of the Spirit that Joel spoke about. And finally, in Acts, Jesus talks to his disciples. He says,
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. ”
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
So there's this rising sense of anticipation. The disciples are waiting. When is the Promise of the Father going to be fulfilled? And it's almost like a champagne bottle being shaken. And then, in Acts chapter 2 verse 2, the cork flies off.
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Notice there it says, each of them, not just particular people at particular times. All of them!
And some people were amazed when they saw this. They thought it was incredible. Some were confused, while others made fun of them. They said, "Oh! They must be drunk; they've probably been drinking too much wine." They gave a natural explanation for something supernatural.
And Peter, one of the followers of Jesus, who's just been filled with the Holy Spirit, says, Let me explain to you what's happening. This is the Holy Spirit. He says this was prophesied in the Bible. And he quotes from the prophet Joel that we read earlier. "In those days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people." He says this is Jesus.
And then, most impressive of all, he says in verse 38, this is for you. Peter says,
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Peter says, this promise, the promise of all the things we've been looking at, the promise of life, of harmony, of beauty for ashes, of creativity, newness, of strength, of freedom, of compassion, anointing, of living water, this promise is for everyone. And this promise is for you!
CONVERSATION STREET
Questions we ask this week
Conversation Street is part of our live stream, where the hosts (in this case, Matt & Rach) chat through John’s talk and answer questions that were sent in through the live stream. You can watch the conversation in the video, it starts at 32 min 43 seconds into the live stream, or you can go straight there by clicking the button below. This week’s questions and topics of conversation are:
Do you like change or find it difficult?
Does God bring change to challenge & redirect us?
How do you explain the Trinity?
What is your story of the Holy Spirit?
What was one of the strangest misunderstanding you had in your head about the Holy Spirit?
Have you seen the Holy Spirit work in people’s lives?
