The HOLY SPIRIT is neither an emotion nor an object but a person first encountered in the Old Testament during creation (Gen 1:2). In the beginning was the word which is Jesus, God and the Spirit (The Trinity). According to hermeneutics, the Hebrew word of the Holy Spirit is Ruach meaning air in motion. In JOHN 3:6-8 Jesus talks of the spirit being like a wind. In Greek, Holy Spirit is referred to as pneuma meaning current of air /breath / breeze as seen in GEN 2:6-7 where out of his own breath God made man a living soul.
The Holy Spirit convicts Christians of their sins and the need to get right with God. What amazes me is that the Holy Spirit convicts EVEN non-believers of the need to surrender and give their lives to God (John 16:7-11). When this occurs, it becomes the most crucial moment of decision making in one’s life. Upon surrendering, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within us giving us an inner desire to obey the commands of God.
To the believer Salvation is an assurance and the Holy Spirit the seal (Eph 1:13-14). At the cross of Calvary, the Lord said, it is finished, the price is paid, and the work is done! In Math 24:13, Jesus said that he who endures to the end shall be saved. What makes salvation such an assurance? While Jesus was with the disciples, they were still prone to err, even to betraying and denying him at the time of crucifixion. The Lord gave them the great commission, but didn’t go into great details about how they would achieve the goal. In fact, he told them to wait for the Comforter who came at Pentecost. Right away, it saw its first implementation as 3000 were added to the Church. The change was clear cut, and the effect torrential. Thereafter, we don’t see the disciples falling in their walk.
When Paul came to the new believers in Ephesus (Acts 19:2) he asked them, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you first believed?” The shocking thing is that they were already believers. Though believing in the Lord is the requisite for salvation, (John 3:16, Acts 16:31) the challenge is not just to believe, but enduring to the end. God, knowing our limitations and shortcomings, poured out Himself to us as the Holy Spirit to remind us everything that the son showed us of the Father. So meek and humble is the Holy Spirit that he only glorifies Jesus. Paul tells Timothy not to grieve the Holy Spirit whom he received by the laying on of hands. If Paul asked you today, have u received the Holy Spirit since u believed? What would your answer be? The Ephesians had no answer. Paul had to lay hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 3, Paul reminds them that they received the Holy Spirit not by law but by faith in Jesus.
Are you finding your walk in the Lord too hard? Do you engage in works of the law to clear your conscience to be right with God? Do you go to church on Sunday after sinning to feel good about yourself? It’s time to reconsider. Desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit!
By Maggie (Bchem 303) &Patroba (Med 505)
