The Holy Spirit 01 Who Is the Holy Spirit — Svend Christensen

Thank you. We enjoyed that good singing, good song reading. It's a joy to be here again tonight. Turn to the Gospel of John tonight again, please. John Chapter 14. We're bringing a series on the Holy Spirit.

The New Birth Through the Holy Spirit

This morning we spoke on the new birth, being born of the Spirit. Unless you're born of the Spirit, you're not a believer, you're not a Christian. Except the man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.

If any man had not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of this. The Word of God says examine yourselves as well as you be in the faith. It's very, very important that you know, that you know the Lord Jesus, your Savior, and that you are born of the Spirit.

Through the preaching of the Gospel we saw this morning, and the working of the blessed Spirit of God, we're born again. Except the man be born of water, the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, he cannot see nor enter the Kingdom of God.

Now we want to read from the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, Verse 16 and 17. The Lord Jesus is speaking, and he says, And 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 see'd him not, need it knoweth him. But ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his Holy Word.

The Holy Spirit as a Divine Person

Now, as a way of introduction, what we want to say tonight, particularly about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we want to give some background. Who is the Holy Spirit? Many think he's some type of an influence.

We want to just check it out from the Word of God and a few scriptures, and we'll appreciate better when we come to the truth of the indwelling Spirit. The Holy Spirit, is he equal with the Father and with the Son?

It would be the Word of God teaches that he is. He's lined, he's linked up together with them. You remember Matthew, Chapter 28 and the Great Commission, where they were to baptize the believers in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

He was together with the Father and the Son in the Great Benediction in 2 Corinthians, Chapter 13, the last verse, where we have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the comfort of the Holy Ghost, as they are mentioned, linked up too with the Father.

The Trinity is together in that commendation. In the verse we read this morning in 1 Peter 1, 2, we have that we were set apart by the Holy Spirit, the sprinkling of the blood of the Lord Jesus. We were left according to the foreknowledge of God.

You have the Trinity there in that verse. You see them many times associated together. Then also we know from the names that are given to him. I just wanted to list some of the names that are given to him.

It can only be given to one who's God and who's a person. You notice in that verse we read too that he may abide with you forever. We're not speaking too much tonight about the personality of the Holy Spirit as a deity.

He's called in the Word of God the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus called him that in Luke 11, Verse 13. He's called the Spirit of Holiness in Romans 1 and 4. These names are very, very suggestive. When God the Holy Spirit indwells us, of course, he should make us a holy people because he's holy.

He enables us to be holy, and apart from him we couldn't be holy. He's called the Spirit of God in 1 Corinthians 3, 16. He's called the Spirit of Jehovah Isaiah 61, 4. He's called the Spirit of Christ in Romans 8, 9.

He's called the Eternal Spirit in Hebrews 9, 14. He's called the Spirit of Light that has made us free from the law of sin and death in Romans 8 and 2. He's called the Holy Spirit of Promise in Ephesians 1, 13.

He's called the Spirit of Glory in 1 Peter 4, 14. There it says, If ye be reposed for the name of Christ happier ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God rested upon you. And then he's called another comforter, as we have here in this verse we read.

And I'll pray and solicit the Father to give you another comforter, one that's equal to the one that was with us before, the Lord Jesus. Does he possess the attributes of deity? In Hebrews 9, verse 14, we read that Christ offered himself through the Eternal Spirit.

He's eternal. In Romans 15, verse 19, he's spoken about there, but God has revealed them through the mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit of God. He's omnipotent. You only have to read the book of Acts to see something of the majestic power of the Spirit of God.

We'll deal more with that at a later date. Then he's also omniscient. First Corinthians 2, 10 says, For God hath revealed unto us these wonderful hidden things by the Spirit. He searched all things, yea, the deep things of God.

He knows everything. He's omniscient. And he's also omnipresent, as we read in Psalm 139, where the psalmist said, Whither shall I flee from thy Spirit? Whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, behold thou there.

The Spirit's Work in Creation, Revelation, and Redemption

If I make my bed in hell, behold thou there. So we see he is omnipresent. Now does he do the work of deity? We mentioned this morning he moved in creation. The Spirit of God moved upon the deep. He was very active in creation.

In fact, the whole Trinity reads the same in the book of Job, how his spirit was active in creation. Job, chapter 26 and verse 13, or the 33 and verse 4, very active in creation. We want to bring home to us who he really is.

He's the creator, too. Then he, of course, was very active in the inspiration of the Word of God. Holy men of God, they wrote, as they were moved to cede along by the Spirit of God. All scriptures are given by inspiration of God.

And this is the wonderful thing. Remember in John 16, we'll take up some of it later, how he would glorify the Lord Jesus. How he'd bring things to remembrance concerning him. And I said, I was thinking about that.

I just want you to just turn for a moment. What the Spirit would like to do to the Song of Solomon, chapter 5. One of my favorite portions in the Song of Solomon, chapter 5. The Spirit of God, in inspiration, presents before us the loveliness of the Lord Jesus.

He wants to make Christ more precious to us. The question is asked of the bride, What is thy beloved more than another? O thou fairest among women, What is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou hast so charged?

And she goes on to say, My beloved, this is the Lord Jesus. In Song of Solomon, chapter 5, verse 10. He's white and ruddy. Absolutely pure. He's the cheapest among ten thousands. And let's get on to you that believe he's precious.

Who makes him precious to us? The Spirit of God. He wasn't precious before we were born again. I could take the Lord's name in vain and it didn't bother one little bit. But after I was saved as a different thing, never once have I ever taken the Lord's name in vain since.

Why? He's precious to me now. His name is an ointment toward forth. And you can't use a name like that in vain. Or in cursing. His head is of the most fine gold. His lawyer's deity is the Lord Jesus. His locks are bushy and black as ravens.

His eyes are the eyes of doves. Remember, he looked in the multitudes and he was moved with compassion. His cheeks are a bed of spices, as sweet flowers. Oh, the marvel of the gracious words that were seated above his lips, above his mouth.

His lips like sweet flowers. And his cheeks are a bed of spices. The cheeks that were plucked. But then his lips like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. Remember, the Lord Jesus said that Solomon in his glory was not arrayed like the lilies.

The Lord's words were like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. Never may a man speak like this. Now, the Holy Spirit gave inspiration. He draws us to the Lord Jesus in all his loveliness. And then he speaks about his legs are a pillar of marble set upon sockets of fine gold.

His countenance is leavened. His diction is seated. We could go on and on, but I just want to read this. His mouth is the most sweet. Yea, he's altogether lovely. This is my beloved. This is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

The Spirit of God. Seeing that he does the work of deity in the inspiration of the Scriptures. Then he was very active too in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I might say in the death too.

According to the verse in Hebrews, he, through the eternal Spirit, speaks about Christ dead, dying for us, shedding his blood. The Spirit of God was very active in the death of Christ and in the resurrection.

If you turn to Romans chapter 1 and verse 4, it speaks about the resurrection there and the Spirit of God. And he was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from that among the dead.

You have the Spirit of God active too, as we said this morning, in regeneration. And I should have also mentioned he was active in incarnation. Remember he told Mary that that holy thing that would be born of her was because the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power from on high shall overshadow thee.

And that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. God, the Spirit, the Spirit of God. If you ever called God yet in Acts chapter 5, remember when Satan came in and the first sin that was directed by God himself, the sin of Ananias and Sapphira of lying, professing to do something they didn't.

And you remember Peter said in verse 3 of Acts chapter 5, Peter said unto Ananias, Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? And then down in verse 4 he said, Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

God's Desire to Dwell With His People

He is God. I want to just establish that before we go into, so we see more the beauty and the wonder of what we're trying to bring before you tonight. The wonderful thing about the Lord, all down through the old times, all the way through, he always wanted the fellowship with men and dwell with men.

Remember right in the beginning of the garden when he came there, the cool of the day was the fellowship with Adam and Eve. And you remember Satan had been there and deceived the woman and Adam had taken the fruit and seen it come in.

But there was God's desire. God walked, Enoch walked with God. You remember he was converted when he became a senior citizen at 65. And he walked with God for 300 years. Well, it wasn't 300 years. We'll all be walking the streets of gold.

But he was walking with the Lord. God wants the fellowship with people. In the ark he said, Come down thy house into the ark. He was already in there. Back in the days of Moses, if you turn to Exodus chapter 25 and verse 8,.

And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. It was God's great desire. In 1 Kings chapter 6 and verse 13 to David. Beginning in the middle of verse 12,. Then I'll perform my word with thee which I speak unto David thy father, and I will dwell among the children of Israel.

Now turn please to 2 Chronicles chapter 6. You remember God's great desire. Now comes the temple, Solomon's temple. And Solomon is offering a beautiful prayer dedication. He says in verse 18,. And will God in very deed dwell with men on earth?

Behold, heaven and the heavens of heaven shall contain thee. How much less this house which I have built. Solomon with that magnificent temple as opposed to the most elaborate building that was ever built.

He says, Can God in deed dwell with men upon earth? And you know the history of Israel. As the glowing clouds that filled the house they eventually departed. Then, in John chapter 1, John chapter 1, In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God.

And in verse 14, The Word was made flesh, and He tapernacled among us. God came to earth in the person of His Son. He had been coming and wanting to dwell the Father in the Old Testament. Now for a period of some three and a half years, He that had seen me had seen the Father, said the Lord Jesus.

He came to unfold and reveal the Father. But because of His physical bodily presence, He was limited to be with people that He was with. But He said, I'm going to go back to heaven. That's what we read in John chapter 14.

And when I go back to heaven, I'm going to send you another Comforter. And that Comforter, He's going to come. And He's going to dwell with you. The Old Testament says He's going to be with you forever, and He's going to be in you.

And that's the glorious truth of the indwelling Holy Spirit. God, the Spirit, now this is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. One of these first nights I want to speak on the baptism of the Spirit. But tonight it'll take us all the time we have to deal with this subject.

But the Holy Spirit came, as you know, in Pentecost. And He came to dwell here and to stay here. And He came that time, and all the believers, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Will God indeed dwell with men upon earth?

We thank God we can answer in the affirmative. He has come, and He says to the collective carnal Christian, Christians, know ye not that ye are the temple of the body of Christ. And then He says to us as individuals, know ye not that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Isn't that marvelous? God living in us. This is a tremendous great truth. And I hope we can appreciate it and laugh at it, that God, who filleth the heavens, whose glory is so great, who is so holy that He has to even look to humble Himself, and He's so great and so high to behold the things that are in heaven.

And now God in the person of the Spirit has come to dwell in us. And I believe that's one of the great truths that we have in the New Testament. That's the dispensation that is the Holy Spirit. He has come.

The Comforter has come! And He's come to take up His abode, and He'll dwell with you forever. You know, in the Old Testament, He came upon men. It says of Betheliel that the Spirit of God came upon him, prepared him for the work he should do in connection with the tabernacle.

The Spirit of God came upon Gideon. The Spirit of God came upon Samson, and He moved them. The Spirit of God came upon David. The Spirit of God came even upon evil men, Saul and Balaam. It tells us that the Spirit of God came upon Balaam.

When he had certain things to accomplish, He came upon men. But in the New Testament sense, He never came to indwell them. And that's what happens when we are born again. The Spirit of God takes up His residence in our hearts and our lives.

And that's such a tremendous thing. It's hard for us to take in. See, God the Spirit dwells in our hearts. And I want to give you some scriptures for that. Now, connection with the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Old Testament Promises of the Indwelling Spirit

Let me first bring before you some other scriptures. First, the promise to turn back to Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 11. The Holy Spirit was promised in the Old Testament, Ezekiel chapter 11, verse 19. And I'll give them one heart, and I'll put a new spirit within you.

This is most important. Sometimes people come and ask, Have you received the Holy Spirit? They see promises, I'm going to put the Holy Spirit within you. Ezekiel 36 and verse 26. Maybe we'll start at verse 25, Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, and I'll cleanse you.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit. And I happen to have a new Bible, and he puts that in capital letters. A new spirit will I put within you. That was promised back in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 36, 26 and 27.

Then the gospel of John, just turn to chapter 4, where the Lord was dealing with the woman at the well. John chapter 4, verses 13 and 14. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.

And friend, if you're here tonight and you're not saved, you can go in for everything this world has to offer, and you'll thirst for more. You're never truly satisfied. There's nothing satisfying down here.

People with all their riches and all their things of amusement and entertainment and everything else. What's happening? They're committing suicide, they're divorcing one another and everything else. Nothing down here is lasting or satisfying.

But the Lord Jesus said, Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst for the water that I shall give him, shall be in him. I like that. Be in him. A well of water. Peter refers to a joy unspeakable and full of glory coming from within.

The joy of the Lord. You'll find out as you read the book of Acts when the Spirit of God really had its sway, there was much joy. You'll read that over and over again. You see a Christian that's long-faced and says it all the time, he doesn't know the presence and the power of the Spirit of God in his life like he should.

Living Water and the Promise of Pentecost

John, chapter 7. These are the promises. I don't think I'll finish this message tonight, but we'll continue it again probably on Tuesday morning. John, chapter 7, verse 37. In the last day of that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.

He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. Isn't that a tremendous promise? Let the Spirit of God in the believer. For this speak he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.

For the Holy Ghost was not yet given. Why? Because Jesus was not yet glorified. You can't have a body in earth until you have a head in heaven. And it was dependent on the Lord going back to glory. Except I go away, he said in John 6 and 7, the Comforter will not come.

But if I go, I will send him. And he did. On the day of Pentecost he came, and he came for the express purpose of baptizing all believers into one body, and every believer becoming a member of the same body, and everyone being indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

We're living in a great day. I thank the Lord that I'm living in the day of grace. We need to praise the Lord for that. Rivers of living water. Then we read that promise in John 16. That's great, and we'll pick up more about that.

Now, when the Lord Jesus was here in Luke 11, verse 13, he said this, but you then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children. How much more should your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

This, I ask you to remember, this was before Pentecost. This was before the Spirit was given. And on the day of Pentecost, I'll be speaking more about that. There's probably one aspect of that praying, but he still hasn't come.

But once the Spirit has come, there's no need to ask for him anymore, because if you're a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit. What he needs is he needs to have more of you and more of me. He has come.

You don't have to ask God for something that's already here. I remember reading the late H .P. Barker illustrating this. He said there was a friend of his, one time invited him to take his tent to his town to hold tent meetings.

So Mr. Barker said, well, the best way to bring it about is you pray for it. So he kept on praying. The Lord would allow Brother Barker to come there with his tent and pitch his tent on this man's land.

Well, the day came, and the Lord opened the way, and Mr. Barker pitched the tent. Now then, after the tent was set up, they went into the tent, and that man that owned the land, he says, now, Brother, let's just ask the blessing now on the tent meeting we're going to have.

Before he came, he prayed for the tent. Now that the tent had come, he didn't have to pray any more for the tent, but he prayed that God would bless the ministry of the Word given forth within that tent.

And that way the Holy Spirit had come. It's certainly all right for us to pray that we might be strengthened by the Spirit, and that we might not quench Him, we might not grieve the Holy Spirit. We can pray like that, but you don't have to pray for His coming.

He has come. Sometimes we hear people praying, and properly, Lord, and forgive us all our sins. You don't have to pray that any more, because they use a little word, have. Ephesians 4, 32, Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you.

Forgiving you all your sins, past, present, and future. Your sins are forgiven you, for His name's sake, says 1 John 2, 12. They're all forgiven. Now, a believer doesn't have to pray, Lord, give me eternal life.

God says you have eternal life. John 6, 47, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. Right now. You don't have to pray and ask the Lord to make you fit for heaven.

He has made us accepted in the Beloved. He has made us meet for the inheritance of saints and the like. That's something we possess. And that's the same thing about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, He came just like the Lord Jesus came.

The Lord Jesus died once, and that's all sufficient to put away every sin in this world. The Holy Spirit has come once. And when He gets saved, He's come to indwell you, and take over His reign, and take control of your life.

The Holy Spirit Given to Every Believer

We want to speak on that on a future night, too, and the filling, or the fullness of the Spirit being filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, notice some of these scriptures from the Word of God. Acts 5, 32.

And we are His witnesses of these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God hath given to them that obey Him. He hath given Him, 2 Corinthians 1, 22, who hath sealed us, and given the earnestness of the Spirit in our hearts.

He hath sealed us. Something that's accomplished. You have the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5, 5. Now, He hath wrought us for the selfsame thing as God, who also hath given unto us the earnestness of the Spirit.

Galatians 4, 6. And because He is Son, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son, crying in your heart, He hath given the Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 4, 8. He therefore hath despised and despised not man, but God, who hath given unto us His Holy Spirit.

He hath given us the Holy Spirit. I say, praise the Lord. Marvelous to have God dwelling in us. 1 John 3, 24. And He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in Him. And hereby know we that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given to us.

He hath given us the Holy Spirit. The truest of every believer. 1 John 4, 13. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit. Remember when Peter preached to the house of Cornelius?

Peter said, after these people have received the Spirit of God, he said, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? They received the Spirit of God upon their leaving.

So does anyone ever lead you astray about that, trying to seek something that you already have? God hath given us the blessed Spirit of God. Peter says when he recounts that in Acts 11,. For as much then as God gave them the light gift as He did unto us at the beginning.

He gave us the very same gift, the Holy Spirit. Romans 5, 5. And hope maketh not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. The love of God is shed abroad in our heart.

And you know the fruit of the Spirit is love. And we are void of love. Doesn't it say something? We are lacking the Spirit of God to control our lives because He brings out that love. The love of God shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8, 23. And not only they, but all cells also which have the firstfruits of the Spirit. We have the firstfruits of the Spirit. There's a carnal conviction that the truth draws. Now, we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God.

We have received it. Let me bring a few practical remarks in the end. This is a wonderful truth. But with great privilege comes great responsibility. Oh, how we need to guard against that. We'll probably deal more with that and about grieving the Holy Spirit.

Walking in Holiness and Reflecting Christ

How do we grieve Him? Well, you know what He thinks of Lord Jesus. And we bring great delight and pleasure to Him when we're occupied with Christ and we talk about Him and His loveliness and His beauty.

He's the Holy Spirit and we allow sin in our lives, unclean thoughts. The Word of God speaks about any thought brought into captivity and obedience to Christ. God's Word says you're to be holy even as I am holy.

And I think my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. How we need to realize this is God's dwelling place. And you know, we're really filled with the Spirit, we're full with the Spirit. Don't you think it's going to manifest Christ in our lives?

And you look at the fruits of the Spirit, we'll look a little more at. And you'll see in them the Lord Jesus. He's the only one that fully brought out all the fruits of the Spirit in their fullness. And as we abide in Him and His Word abides in us, and the Spirit of God has control of every activity and we are saturated in the Word, then we're going to become more and more like Him.

Like the hymn says, oh to be like Him. That's to build great desire. Like our blessed Lord. Oh, what a lovely person, what a wonderful person. We sang that about Him, what a wonderful salvation. Tonight, may we indeed who are indwelled by the Spirit of God give Him much thanks.

And may we not be afraid, He's God. He'll never lead you contrary to His Word. Give yourselves to Him completely and that way we'll be more occupied with the Lord Jesus. Remember Stephen? Man full of Holy Spirit in His eyes sees Jesus.

What did they say about Stephen? His face shone like the face of an angel. The reflection of Christ coming out of that holy man's face. Oh, to be more like Him. May God help us to be yielded to the Lordship of Christ and the control of the blessed Spirit of God that dwells in each believer.

Now if you're not saved tonight, you're none of His. That's what Romans says, if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. This is Barnabas, what a prayer. Father, we thank Thee for this wonderful dispensation we're living in.

Remember in the Old Testament that is only come and dwell among men and come upon them. Even in the days of Lord Jesus, He came here bodily. But oh, we thank Thee. He said, well, I go away, I'll send a comforter.

And He shall not only be with you like the Lord Jesus was, but He should be in you. And we thank Thee for this great mystery that Paul speaks about in Colossians. Christ in you, the hope of glory. We thank Thee for this great privilege to live in this dispensation of grace.

Give us thankful hearts and appreciative hearts. And we truly appreciate Thy love and Thy grace and Thy presence. We commend ourselves to Thee in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.