The Truth about the Holy Spirit

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In February 2023, at Asbury College in Kentucky, students gathered for a routine chapel service. And something completely unexpected happened: revival broke out. For sixteen consecutive days, 24 hours a day: thousands of people from all over the country streamed into this little college chapel, worshiping and praying and confessing their sins. It was an amazing moment that captured the attention of the world, and it turned out to be a preview of similar revivals that would sweep college campuses all across this country over the next couple of years.  

Kevin Brown is the president of Asbury College, and in one of the many media interviews he gave during the revival, he told the journalist, “There is a hunger for something more.” So later, he was asking students at the college what they thought about that comment. And one student said, “Well, I know what you were trying to say, but I would say it differently. We don’t want something more; we want something less.” And Kevin Brown, the college president, explained it like this: “He was speaking to his generation’s desire for something distilled and real—an anchor amid the disorientation.” In other words, the world today—especially for people in their teens and twenties—is so overloaded with information and opinions and noise, and there is a hunger for something simple and clear and true to rise above the noise.  

And that’s why we’re doing this series. We’re taking this fall to teach through The Chapel’s Doctrinal Statement, which is way broader than The Chapel. These are ten foundational truths that Christians have held to for 2,000 years. This is the simple, clear truth that can anchor a life. And today we come to the eighth item on our Doctrinal Statement, which is about the Holy Spirit. Here’s what it says:  

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person and that He indwells all believers. We believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the sovereign work of God that occurs at the moment of conversion, whereby the Holy Spirit places the believer in the Body of Christ. 

So let’s break this down into three parts. First, Understanding the Spirit. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is, first of all, Powerful. Genesis, chapter one, verse one: 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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. Did you know that the Holy Spirit shows up in the second verse of the whole Bible? The Hebrew word that’s used here for “spirit” is ruach, and you can translate that word, “spirit, breath, or wind”—as in, a powerful wind. Less like a gentle breeze and more like hurricane Erin.  

Sinclair Ferguson describes it like this: “God’s ruach…expresses the irresistible force, the all-powerful energy of God in the created order. He cannot be ‘tamed’ by men. Instead, through his ruach he is able to ‘tame’ or subdue all things to fulfill his own purpose.” So in the Old Testament it says the Holy Spirit rushed upon Sampson, and gave him supernatural power. The Holy Spirit rushed upon Saul, the first king of Israel, and he started prophesying.  

In the New Testament, the Greek word for the Holy Spirit is pneuma, which also means “spirit” or “breath” or “wind.” In Acts chapter two, when the Holy Spirit arrives on the day of Pentecost and fills the first Christians, it says they heard the sound of a mighty, rushing wind. So when we approach the Holy Spirit, we are dealing with an immense power. Think about this: God wants you to live with power—to powerfully influence the world and bless the people around you. And the key to that power is the Holy Spirit.  

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is Personal. Did you notice, when the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit, it doesn’t use the pronoun “it.” What does it say? “He.” This is really important—the Holy Spirit is not an energy, the Holy Spirit is not just “God’s active force,” like the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. The Spirit is a personal being. 1 Corinthians 12 is talking about how different people receive different spiritual gifts, and look what verse 11 says: All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. The Spirit determines who gets what gifts! In other words, he has an opinion. He has a will. Energy does not have a will! Only personal beings do. Ephesians 4:30 says do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. You can’t grieve an energy. You can’t disappoint a force. Only personal beings can be grieved.  

So the Holy Spirit is powerful and personal; third, the Holy Spirit is Divine. Our doctrinal statement says “We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine person…” Go back to Genesis 1, and look at verse 26: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image… Why didn’t God just say, “I’m going to make mankind in my image”? Why the plural? Who’s this “us”? The only explanation that makes sense is to look back at verse 2—about the Spirit of God hovering over the waters—and realize that God must somehow exist in plurality: Father and Spirit, at least. So we are actually getting to peak in on a conference between members of the godhead as they plan out creation: “Let us make mankind in our image.” Whoa.  

You know what else points to the Holy Spirit being a member of the Trinity? In Matthew 28, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the…what? The Holy Spirit. So the Spirit is put on the same level as the Father and the Son. And that’s one of several places in the New Testament where the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the same breath as the Father and the Son. 

So the Bible presents the Holy Spirit as this powerful, personal, divine being, who functions in this world like a mighty wind: the ruach or pneuma of God. It’s an awesome concept. And here’s what makes it more awesome: the Holy Spirit is not just out there; Jesus taught that we can actually have the Holy Spirit inside us.  

Point number 2: Receiving the Spirit. All the way back around 600 BC, God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel—this is Ezekiel 36:26…26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. So way back then, God promised his people, “There’s a day coming when I’m going to put my Spirit in you.”  

Through the prophet Joel, God said this in Joel 2:28… 

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. 
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, 
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 

So any faithful Jewish person knew that God had promised this future time when people would have access to God’s Spirit in a way they had never had before.  

And then Jesus showed up. John 7:37 says 37b … Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 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. So Jesus is picking up on that Old Testament promise—that the Holy Spirit would come to live inside people. And he clarifies that it’s going to happen, specifically, to people who believe in him. And don’t you love how he describes it? Rivers of living water will flow from within them. Let me ask you: do you ever get bored with yourself? You get up and look in the mirror, and you’re like, “Oh—you again.” Seriously—don’t you sometimes get tired of you? Like, I just keep struggling with the same stuff; same failures; same sins; same fears. Does your life ever feel stale—like it’s the same thing over and over? Jesus says, “Come to me, and I will break you out of that rut. Because I can put a source of freshness and aliveness deep inside you. And you’re going to think of things and dream things and say things and do things that don’t originate with you—they’re from my Spirit in you—and the Spirit will keep on flowing, and life will get a lot more interesting. What an offer! 

And then, right before he went to the cross, Jesus said to his disciples in John 14: 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Remember: these guys had been friends with Jesus. They physically hung out with him for three years. Jesus had become the center of their lives. So the thought of losing him was crushing. But Jesus says, “Look—I’m not going to leave you alone. I’m going to ask the Father for another advocate—just like I have been your advocate, you’re going to get another advocate just like me—to be with you forever.” And look at that last phrase in verse 18: “I will come to you.” In other words, “having the Holy Spirit in you will be just like having me with you.”  

So this promise started with the Hebrew prophets; it continued all the way up through the life of Jesus. And then Jesus went to the cross, and on the third day he rose again and ascended into heaven.  

And then it happened. Acts chapter two, verse 1: 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4a All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit… When you look back at history, that was the turning point. Because that little group of people—who before that were so timid and so unequipped to do anything—became this bold, confident, evangelistic force that turned the world upside down. It all changed when they received the Holy Spirit.  

So here’s what our Doctrinal Statement says: We believe that the Holy Spirit…indwells all believers. Every person who received the Holy Spirit that day was already a believer in Jesus Christ. So in their case, there was a gap between putting their faith in Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit—because this was the first time the Spirit was given. But ever since that time, the moment a person receives salvation by believing in Christ, that’s when they receive the Spirit. Are you with me? You might not have felt anything happen, but if you were truly saved, you received the Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 says And 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. You see the timing? You believe; you receive the Spirit. 

That moment, when you believe and receive the Spirit, is sometimes called “the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13 says…For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now: there are some churches that teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second event, after salvation, where you receive more of the Holy Spirit, but Scripture is really clear that we receive all of the Holy Spirit the moment we’re saved.  

So one of the guys in my men’s group last week said, “Wait, if that’s the case—that we receive all of the Holy Spirit the moment we’re saved—then why does the Bible tell Christians to be filled with the Spirit? Ephesians 5:18 says don’t get drunk on wine; instead, be filled with the Spirit. But we already have the Holy Spirit—so what’s the deal?” Great question. 

Picture a glass of cold milk. The milk of your choice—whole you like 2% or 1% or skim or almond or cashew or oat or soy—whatever milk you prefer. And then picture taking a bottle of Hershey’s syrup and squeezing it into that glass of milk. Where does the chocolate syrup go? Right to the bottom. So at that point, is the chocolate inside the glass of milk? Absolutely—there it is, right on the bottom. If you took a sip of that milk, what would it taste like? Milk. What do you need to do? Take a spoon…and stir it. And when you do, every molecule of the milk is now permeated and colored and flavored by the chocolate. Right? You could say that the milk is now filled with the chocolate. You see where I’m going? It’s possible to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, but to not have the Spirit really affect our lives. We have to choose to stir up the Holy Spirit in us—through prayer and active dependence and trust—so our whole life gets permeated and colored and flavored by the Holy Spirit. That’s what it means to be filled with the Spirit—you’re not getting more from the outside; you’re stirring up what God has already placed inside. And when that happens, we don’t stay the same.  

Point number three: Changed by the Spirit. The New Testament has so much to say about how the Holy Spirit changes us, so I’m going to keep it high level. Here are three big ways the Spirit changes us: 

First, Fruit. Look at Galatians 5:22… 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23a gentleness and self-control.  When you look at those character traits, some of them are internal attitudes—like joy and peace. This life will always be messy and hard, and the Holy Spirit gives us a source of contentment that’s not dependent on everything going well.  

Some of the things on the list have to do with the way you treat people—like love and patience and kindness. Ian MacLaren said, “Be kind to all people, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” I love that advice, but it’s hard to be kind to everyone, because I have my own battles. Right? And I need the Holy Spirit’s help to treat people well.  

We’re not going to talk about everything on this list. But this is the kind of life the Holy Spirit makes possible. Those relatively few times when I have arguments with my wife, there have been times when I feel so frustrated and misunderstood and so right, and I’ll step out of the room for a minute and throw up a desperation prayer—“Lord—fill me with our Spirit and give me what I need.” And it’s truly amazing: I enter back into that conversation with a whole new level of patience and kindness and compassion. The only way to describe it is supernatural. It’s not the fruit of my efforts; it’s the fruit of the Spirit. 

Secondly, Gifts. When the Spirit entered you, you didn’t even know it was happening, but he started stirring and forming something inside you. It’s called a “spiritual gift.” So if you are a believer, you have a spiritual gift. At least one. The New Testament talks about gifts like evangelism, and pastoring, and teaching, and helping, and encouragement, and leadership, and mercy. You know how you can discern your spiritual gift? Affinity, ability, and affirmation. Affinity means you like doing it; ability means you’re good at it; and affirmation means when you do it, people tell you they’re blessed by it. Affinity, ability, and affirmation.  

Here’s how this worked in my life. When I was in fourth grade, my teacher assigned a creative writing assignment for homework. The next day she said, “Would anyone like to get up and read their story for the class?” Most of the kids were avoiding eye contact with her, but I said (raising hand), “I’ll do it.” So I walked up front, and read my story. And I could tell the class was listening, and laughing at the funny parts, and the teacher said I did a good job. And I just enjoyed it. It seemed to come naturally. Over the next few years I had similar experiences—which involved creatively writing things, sometimes with some research involved, and then presenting them to groups—and it always went pretty well. And that continued in college and seminary and when I started serving in churches. I started to realize that I had an affinity for—I really did enjoy it; I seemed to have some ability in it; and I was getting consistent affirmation. And I realized, “I think this might be the gift of teaching. There are so many gifts I clearly don’t have, but I think I have this one.” God just made it clear, because affinity and ability and affirmation all sort of converged. 

So ask yourself: what do I enjoy; what am I good at; and what do I receive affirmation for. And then here’s the most important thing: start finding ways to use your gift to serve.  

And then, finally, Guidance. The New Testament has two clear commands about how we should relate to the Holy Spirit. The first one appears right after the listing of the fruit of the Spirit—Galatians 5:25 says Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. In other words, learn to see where the Holy Spirit is moving, and keep in step—align your life with where the Spirit is leading. There’s guidance available. The second one, I referred to earlier. Ephesians 5:18 says Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. So instead of coming under the influence of alcohol, choose to come under the influence of the Holy Spirit.  

So let’s put those two together and think about how we make decisions. When we think about God’s guidance, we normally think about the big decisions, right? Should I take this job? Should I propose to this person? Should I buy this house? And that’s a good thing—to seek God’s will on the big decisions. But most of life is not big decisions. Most of life is going to school…going to work… going to the gym. Just regular life. So think about this: if you did those regular life things, drunk, wouldn’t it affect the way you did them? If you went to school, drunk, it would be a different kind of day. Right? If you took care of your home, drunk, it would affect the way you did it. You might fall off the roof. If you went to the gym, drunk. Etc. Everything about your day would be different. Do you see the point? God invites us to do the regular stuff of life under the influence of the Holy Spirit. And when we do that, we start to be in step with God’s larger purpose.  

Listen to this challenge from Francis Chan: 

Do you listen to the Holy Spirit as you stand in line at the post office? Perhaps He is asking you to begin a conversation with the elderly lady in front of you. Do you allow the Holy Spirit to lead when you are making your budget? Perhaps He will direct you to allocate the monies differently than you otherwise would. Do you submit to the Holy Spirit as you spend time with your family? Often it is family members who are most difficult to love, and we need the Spirit’s help to love them well.  

That’s what it means to be in step the Holy Spirit: to be alert and open to how God is working around you in ordinary life, and to realize that any moment can become a holy moment… when you’re filled with the Spirit.  

Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit fills us, it will be like rivers of living water flowing from deep within us. We need that. Our families need that. Our world needs that. Let’s pray for that as we close. PRAY