3. Bible Basics about the Spirit in the Life of Christians, Part 1

The Spirit is mentioned most often in Acts and the Epistles. Let’s discover together how the Spirit works in your life and in the church as a whole, biblically speaking.

The primary goal of this post is for me to learn what the Spirit does and how he works in the church, biblically. I write to learn. One secondary goal I have is bring balance and a biblical basis for our growth and life in the Spirit. There are too many foolish and unbiblical practices in the Renewal Movements. We need to get back to the Bible.

This post is long because I quote the verses. If you need to find a verse, type ctrl-f (for find). A little search box should appear on the upper right side. Type in your reference.

I follow a simple outline format.

I use the NIV. If you would like to see other translations, go to this link: biblegateway.com.

These two-part posts are divided into these sections:

Part 1

I. The Holy Spirit Was Promised.

II. He Causes Conversion and Rebirth.

III. How We Receive the Spirit.

IV. The Spirit is Truth and Teaches Truth.

V. He Sanctifies Us.

Addendum 1: The Holy Spirit Is a Person

Addendum 2: Total Number of Times “Spirit” Appears in NT

Part 2

VI. He Provides God’s Daily Presence.

VII. He Produces Fruit and Distributes Gifts.

VIII. He Guides and Directs.

IX. He Empowers Our Service to God.

X. He Dwells in the Christian Community.

XI. He Gives Believers a Future and a Hope.

Personal Application

Addendum 1: The Holy Spirit Is a Person

Addendum 2: Total Number of Times “Spirit” Appears in NT

Let’s begin.

I. The Holy Spirit Was Promised.

A. The promise of the Spirit in the Old Testament.

The prophet Joel foresaw a great outpouring of the Spirit on all people.

²⁸“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.
²⁹Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)

Moses wished for all of God’s people to have the gift of prophecy. It’s a great story about answering the Israelites’ complaint about not having meat to eat. Moses felt the burden was too heavy, so he asked God for help. God gave him seventy elders who received the gift of the Spirit to prophesy on that one occasion. Joel said the gift would be permanent and offered to all humanity.

The rest of the story is so wonderful, here it is in its entirety:

²⁵Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.

²⁶However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

²⁹But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” ³⁰Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. . (Num. 11:25-29)

B. Fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy at Pentecost.

Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost. God poured out his Spirit on all humanity, so this is a democratization of the gift of prophecy and dreams and vision. It also fulfills what Moses wished for.

¹⁷“‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18)

C. John the Baptist predicted Jesus’s ministry as Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.

To be baptized in or with water or the Spirit is to be immersed.

¹¹“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matt. 3:11)

When Peter preached to Cornelius, a non-Jew (Gentile), he had to give a report to the Messianic leaders in Jerusalem. He remembered what Jesus had said in Acts 1:5

Here is what Jesus had said:

⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:5)

Peter remembered what Jesus had said some years ago.

¹⁶Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ (Acts 11:10)

D. Peter promises the gift of the Spirit to us.

All those who are “far off” means both geographically far from Jerusalem and generational far off past the day of Pentecost, two thousand years later (and counting).

³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38)

E. Jesus had already promised the gift of the Spirit.

He’s commanding the eleven apostles.

⁴⁹I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

He is also commanding the eleven apostles.

⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5)

Anyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit. The (implied) logic of Romans 8:9, next, is simple.

If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, then he does not belong to Christ. But they do belong to Christ. Therefore, they have the Spirit of Christ.

In any case, here is the verse.

⁹You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (Rom. 8:9)

II. He Causes Conversion and Rebirth.

A. He causes us to be born again.

This passage speaks of our initial entry into the kingdom of God. The Spirit does this.

⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)

B. He gives us rebirth and is lavished generously on us.

In the next two verses, we see salvation, not by righteous works but by God’s mercy; washing; rebirth; renewal by the Spirit, whom God generously poured out on us. These two verses (plus v. 3) may be the richest ones there is for salvation and sanctification.

⁵he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, (Titus 3:5-6)

Basic Biblical Regeneration: What Is It and How Does It Work?

Does Regeneration Precede Faith?

III. How We Receive the Spirit.

A. We must repent of our sins.

Peter just finished his great Pentecost discourse or sermon. It cut the listeners in the heart. They asked a desperate question and got the best answer.

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “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. (Acts 2:37-38)

B. We must believe in Jesus.

Cornelius, a Gentile (non-Jew) and his Gentile household, just got saved and filled with the Spirit. But devout Messianic Jews asked him, Can a Gentile get saved? The leaders in Jerusalem asked for an accounting. Peter replies. Here is the end of his report. We get the gift of the Spirit when we believe (v. 17).

¹⁵“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. ¹⁶Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:15-17)

The next verse says that if we not have the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ. This implies that if we do belong to Christ, then we have the Spirit. The key is to surrender to his Lordship. Then the Spirit causes rebirth (see Roman Numeral II, above).

Next, Paul asks a rhetorical question. Did the Galatians receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what they had heard? Answer: By what they had heard. What had they heard? The gospel about Christ (see Eph. 1:13, below). When they believed, they were redeemed. So by faith they received the promise of the Spirit. This “promise” in v. 14 is the key term for the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2:38.

²I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? ³Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? […] ¹⁴He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Gal. 3:2-3, 14)

When we heard and believed the gospel of our salvation, we were marked with the Holy spirit. Here is the word “promise” again:

¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, (Eph. 1:13)

C. We must be baptized in the name of Jesus.

We saw this important verse, above. Being baptized “in the name of Jesus” merely means that Jesus is being introduced to the travelers and Jerusalemites. It was important to know that he is now the way of salvation. For us, it is best to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19).

³⁸Peter replied, “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. (Acts 2:38)

The next passage is long, but worth it. About twelve disciples were traveling through Ephesus. But whose disciples were they? They explained they were water baptized by John the Baptist. (It’s amazing to think they traveled all the way from Israel to Asia Minor.) However, Paul had to tell them that John’s baptism served a limited purpose with an expiration date, but the way of full salvation was now through the Messiah.

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples ²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

⁴Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19:1-6)

D. We must pray to receive him.

We should never be afraid that when we ask our loving heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name we will receive an evil spirit. Step put in faith and ask.

¹¹“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13)

This next passage is Philip’s missionary efforts in Samaria. John and Peter went there to check out the new revival. Water baptism is insufficient for salvation. The Samaritans had to filled with the Spirit. It looks like the Samaritans did not even have to ask; they just received!

Peter and John just arrived in Samaria.

¹⁵When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:15-17)

E. We are commanded to receive the Spirit.

Ananias, resident of Damascus and a Messianic Jew devoted to the law, whom all the Jews respected (Acts 22:12), said that Saul, who was in Damascus, had to be filled with the Spirit.

¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17)

This next verse is in the present continuous tense, in the command or imperative. Keep on being filled with the Spirit.

¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, (Eph. 5:18)

IV. The Spirit is Truth and Teaches Truth.

A. He reveals God’s secrets to us.

This is a long excerpt, but as usual with Paul, it is very rich in its theology and practical application to our lives. We have the Spirit, who teaches us about spiritual realities through Spirit-taught words.

¹⁰[…] these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?” [Is. 40:13]

But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:10-16)

B. He teaches us about Christ.

The Advocate is the Holy Spirit. The advocate is the Paraklete, a Greek term which literally means someone who is “called alongside” (para = alongside and klete = called). It could be translated as the Encourager, the Strengthener, the Comforter, The Exhorter, the Defender / the Attorney (related to advocate), the Counselor, or the Helper. All of these meanings can be bundled up together in one Greek word!

²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

²⁶“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. (John 15:26)

C. He reveals truth.

I like how the Spirit will glorify Jesus. Too often, in the Renewal Movements, the platform speaker / performer get the glory. In any case the Spirit makes know what he receives from Jesus.

⁴He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” (John 16:14-15)

D. He reminds believers of what Jesus said.

We already saw this verse.

²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

E. He enables us to discern the truth and test spirits.

False prophets have gone out into the world, and we are to test every spirit. How do we recognize the Spirit and the fake spirits or bad spirits or teachers? The incarnation–Jesus has come in the flesh.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3)

He teaches bad things to watch out for, particularly doctrine of demons.

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1 Tim. 4:1)

F. He teaches us what to say in times of trial.

Some religious people will believe that they are doing God a favor if they kill God’s disciples who proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

¹¹“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, ¹²for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:12)

G. He gives wisdom and understanding to believers.

Colossians 1:10 says that we receive wisdom and understanding so that we may live lives worthy of the Lord and please him every way, bearing fruit in every way and growing in the knowledge of God. So God’s wisdom and understanding produces practical living. They are not irrelevant abstractions. Here is verse 9.

⁹For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, (Col. 1:9)

Ephesians 2:17 expresses the same truth. We must be filled with wisdom and revelation.

¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Eph. 2:17)

F. He teaches truths in the Old Testament are illustrations of New Testament truths.

The context is that the Spirit used the old tabernacle as an illustration of a better tabernacle, a heavenly one.

⁸The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. (Heb. 9:8)

V. He Sanctifies Us.

A. He empowers us to live the Christian life in the Spirit, not the flesh.

Another long passage, but it is rich and it boils down Christian living, which is Spirit-filled living. There is a sharp division between the mind set on the flesh or dinful thoughts and our sin nature (one the one hand), and those who live according to the Spirit because he lives in our (on the other). Life in the Spirit produces peace and life, not degradation or strife and chaos.

⁵Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

B. He sanctifies us.

I really like how Gentiles (non-Jews) are seen, metaphorically, as offerings at the temple In the Old Testament, the offerings were sanctified by the presence of the temple, by being in or near its precincts. Now we have the Spirit living in us and he causes us to be uncommon and holy.

[…] He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.(Rom. 15:16b)

Before this next verse, Paul listed the vices and sinful practices that that Gentiles (non-Jews) did before their conversion. But their conversion and salvation was a game-changer.

¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:11).

Paul writes to the Thessalonians to be thankful that God chose them to be saved through the sanctification process.

¹³But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. (2 Thess. 2:13)

C. He washes sinners.

I got to quote it one more time, since it is so rich and wonderful.

¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:11).

D. He justifies the repentant.

There are (at least) two different justifications in Paul’s theology: judicial (forensic) and ethical (or moral). Here Paul has in mind ethical or moral justification, a change in the heart.

Here’s the verse one last time!

¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:11).

E. He makes our bodies temples.

People are involved in all sorts of sexual immoralities. Without realizing it, they are sinning against their own bodies. But those who have surrendered their spirit, soul, and body to the Lordship of Jesus are no longer their own masters or lords. Their bodies have been bought with a price–the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, who surrendered his own body to God and for us.

¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. ¹⁹Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Cor. 6:18-20).

F. He circumcises the heart of its sin nature or cuts it away.

²⁹No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. (Rom. 2:29)

Addendum 1 Total Number of Times “Spirit” Appears in NT

I added them up the best I could, using a concordance and distinguishing between a human spirit or an evil spirit or the Holy Spirit. I did not sort out the parallel passages in the synoptic Gospels. I counted “advocate” in John’s gospel. It’s a sure thing I may have omitted a verse or two or added one or two, but I believe the totals reflect a reasonably accurate number. I did not keep track of when a pronoun (he) referred to the Sirit.

Matthew: 12

Mark: 6

Luke: 17

John: 19

Gospel Total: 54

Acts: 53

Narrative Total: 107

Paul’s Epistles

Romans: 29

1 Corinthians: 22

2 Corinthians: 11

Galatians: 18