Bible verse

Theme: The Holy Spirit

Bible reading: John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

Questions: As an introduction, please discuss any aspect of the Holy Spirit you would like. Here are some suggestions —
• Who is the Holy Spirit?
• What does the Holy Spirit do?
• Why is that important to you?
• What is your personal experience of this verse, or other verses about the Holy Spirit?
• What is the “unforgiveable sin”, and how is this so?

Related verses: Page on verses related to the Holy Spirit

Who is the Holy Spirit?

We touched on this when we looked at the Nature of God, various bible verses refer to the Holy Spirit as God himself.Wonder

What does the Holy Spirit do?

These statements have been summarised from the related verses on the Holy Spirit. I plan to redo this list with the bible references for each, as it is a very useful reminder.

We are born anew by the Spirit, the Spirit gives life, a life no longer enslaved to this world
All who believe in Jesus receive the Spirit, His Spirit for whatever He equips us to do
The Spirit of truth is our Helper, who dwells with us and is in us forever
Our relationship with Jesus is given through the Spirit
The Spirit convicts us of our sin, of God’s judgment, and gives us a hunger for God’s righteousness
guide you into all truth
will be given to you in that hour what you should speak, the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you ought to say
shall be witnesses to Jesus, speak with other languages
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
spoke the word of God with boldness.
the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. (Gentiles)
delivered from the law, to serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
made me free from the law of sin and death
the Spirit is life. the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, and will also give life to your mortal bodies
circumcision of the heart
pours out the love of God in our hearts
sets our minds on the things of the Spirit.
the Spirit helps in our weaknesses.
we do not know what we should pray for, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
the Spirit searches all the things of God that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
These things we speak in words which the Holy Spirit teaches, the things of the Spirit of God are spiritually discerned.
the Spirit of God dwells in you?
you were washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God.
Gifts of the Spirit – no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, the interpretation of tongues.
the Spirit in our hearts is a guarantee.
if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit
for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Why is that important?

Through the Holy Spirit, God is present with us and within us; it is through the Spirit that the victory won by Jesus on the cross is made ours.

Personal experience

There are times when I feel an inner tension, ranging from pain to exhilaration, that overrides everything else, similar to when I feel the loss of loved ones.

• The uplifting feeling when I look at the Fig Tree Avenue in the Botanic Gardens to see the sun filtering into the vault of the trees;
• or some haunting music like Enya,
• or the sense of otherworldly presence I felt when I was alone all day in the wilderness of the Flinders Ranges,
• or a sensation of longing for how this world was meant to be free of such chaos, pain and suffering,
• and the painful times are with memories of wrong things I wish I had not done, and would love to rewind time to undo.

I touched on that in the About section of my personal painting website (under Why Paint?), where I referred to a song by Enya called “How can I keep from singing”, which speaks of an inner joy that demands expression in song. It’s adapted from an old hymn. I take it as “How can I keep from painting?”, as that same inner joy is what I see in the beauty of this world and life around us, and my painting is a celebration of that joy. I find the original lyrics to the old hymn explain that joy, and here are some of them:

My life flows on in endless song, above earth’s lamentation.
I catch the sweet, though far-off hymn that hails a new creation.

No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Love is lord of heav’n and earth, how can I keep from singing?

… It finds an echo in my soul, I know my Saviour liveth, The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, All things are mine since I am his!

But it is not just painting which the Sprit drives me to do. It is all those things which are not self-directed, which I am driven to do regardless of my own wishes, but which I find are ultimately far more rewarding than my selfish desires. And it includes that sense of “ought” our bible verses talk about, of knowing God’s path for my life, of being called to things far greater than what the Law can prescribe.

I praise God for those quiet times when distractions vanish, and I am ready to know the presence and guidance of His Spirit.