dear quest,
so, lately I’ve been reading all of y'alls blogs- wow! everything you say really affects me and my day and it's just awesome. great job guys. anyways, i'm gonna give you the low-down on the Holy Spirit like I did with the angels- it’s a lot of information, but it’s good to know so bear with me and take it in! Holy Spirit. i'm so sorry it took me so long. i've been getting caught up in school, sports, drivers ed, and just feel like i've been failing a lot lately. i'm kind of confused about the Holy Spirit since i found so many different thing and it's been hard nailing it down, so PLEASE give me feedback, any more that you know or have experienced with it would be amazing.
1. So, to begin with, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. Acts 5:3, Matthew 28:19, John 4:24 I believe it is one of the Trinity (the Holy Trinity is, well, I guess a way to describe it is that the word Trinity is pretty much a title that describes the fact that God is a unity of three different ''people''- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While I was writing this, and researching, I realized that I can't really explain what exactly the Trinity is to begin with, thoughts please? I found this awesome picture that pretty much describes how I think of it even if I can't explain it though-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shield-Trinity-Scutum-Fidei-English.png )
It is referred to as the “Spirit of the Lord” or the “Spirit of God” or the “Holy Ghost” or the “Holy Spirit”.
3. Anyways, the Holy Spirit is basically a connection with God in you- the part of your mind that’s joined with the Mind of God. 1 Corinthians 6:17 It's that voice you hear in the back of your head when you're doing something wrong- your conscience. The Holy Spirit is a part of God’s children, but also technically God- it’s not separate from you, and is part of you so that’s why it’s crazy important to listen to it. In Matthew 11:15, the Bible says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” I think that I need to be more aware of Holy Spirit through my thinking, then correcting my sinful thoughts, recognizing that voice in the back of my head, and then sharing that voice with others. Does that make sense? I mean, like, for me, I need to work on listening to that voice and recognizing that guilt I feel in the back of my mind whenever I’m doing something wrong, then stop doing whatever I was doing that wasn’t right. But yeah, I believe that people who haven't heard of Jesus can still hear that voice, and know morals and ethics even if they haven't read the Bible or been affected by the modern world. That’s what I believe but can I have your feedback? What are y'alls thoughts on that?
4. The Holy Spirit is in each of God’s children and can’t be taken out. I Corinthians 3:16. It’ll be with you forever. It’s a part of you that sees you and knows who you truly are since it is God and He is all knowing. Whenever I want peace in life, whenever God isn’t on my mind, and I remember the Holy Spirit, and that it knows who I am, and that it’s in me no matter what, waiting to join me up with the Lord, it brings me so much comfort and peace.
5. The Holy Spirit is referred to through metaphors and symbols. For instance, water signifies the Holy Spirit’s role in Baptism. 1 Corinthians 12:13 John 19:34 1 John5:8. It is referred to as fire, in the form of tongues ‘as of fire’; the Holy Spirit came into the disciples on Pentecost and enabled them to speak many languages Acts 2. The Holy Spirit comes to the Virgin Mary and Luke 9:34-35. It came in the form of a dove Matthew 3:16. It also comes in the form of wind. John 3:8, Acts 2:2-4.
6. The Holy Spirit is kind of how men receive power from God, through Jesus Christ bringing into fellowship with God. Acts 1:8
One more point I was gonna make was why the Holy Spirit was here, but I'm not so sure. I've tried peicing things together but haven't been able to come up with anything. Answers?
Anyway, here are some more verses just about the Holy Spirit, where it has occurred in the bible, and what it is. I’m not sure how to explain them so any help with that would be awesome.
Luke 3:16: John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Mark 1:7-10: And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove.
John 1:32-34 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.
7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Acts 2:33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Roman 9:1 I speak the truth in Christ- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (What does this mean??)
Genesis 1:2 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. (So...how does a spirit hover? Is it being literal??)
Isaiah 32:15 Til the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.
61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach 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.
The divine source of all life; a special manifestation of God’s divine Presences.
Anyways, one more thing- lately I feel like I’ve been failing- a lot (from school grades, to sports, to my driver’s ed test, to waking up wanting to praise the Lord, to struggling with sleeping and depression again) and am really nervous about starting a Bible study at my school. I’m starting it this Thursday and am really stressed. The Bible tells us “do not fear” so so many times, but it’s just been really hard to not be scared of failing or not being good for these people who I’m gonna be leading so I ask for your advice and prayer over this group? I love y’all so much!
2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
some of this information came from here: http://www.thevoiceforlove.com/holy-spirit.html