Category Archives: Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit2

Holy Spirit2

The helper that was sent is the Holy Spirit.

First, the Holy Spirit does many things in the lives of believers. He is the believers’ Helper (John 14:26). He indwells believers and seals them until the day of redemptionthis indicates that the Holy Spirit’s presence in the believer is irreversible. He guards and guarantees the salvation of the ones He indwells (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). The Holy Spirit assists believers in prayer (Jude 1:20) and “intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:2627).

The Holy Spirit regenerates and renews the believer (Titus 3:5). At the moment of salvation, the Spirit baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ (Romans 6:3). Believers receive the new birth by the power of the Spirit (John 3:58). The Spirit comforts believers with fellowship and joy as they go through a hostile world (1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14). The Spirit, in His mighty power, fills believers with “all joy and peace” as they trust the Lord, causing believers to “overflow with hope” (Romans 15:13).

Sanctification is another work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. The Spirit sets Himself against the desires of the flesh and leads the believer into righteousness (Galatians 5:1618). The works of the flesh become less evident, and the fruit of the Spirit becomes more evident (Galatians 5:1926). Believers are commanded to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), which means they are to yield themselves to the Spirit’s full control.

The Holy Spirit is also a gift-giver. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them” (1 Corinthians 12:4). The spiritual gifts that believers possess are given by the Holy Spirit as He determines in His wisdom (verse 11)

The Holy Spirit also does work among unbelievers. Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8, ESV). The Spirit testifies of Christ (John 15:26), pointing people to the Lord. Currently, the Holy Spirit is also restraining sin and combatting “the secret power of lawlessness” in the world. This action keeps the rise of the Antichrist at bay (2 Thessalonians 2:610).

The Holy Spirit has one other important role, and that is to give believers wisdom by which we can understand God. “The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1011). Since we have been given the amazing gift of God’s Spirit inside ourselves, we can comprehend the thoughts of God, as revealed in the Scripture. The Spirit helps us understand. This is wisdom from God, rather than wisdom from man. No amount of human knowledge can ever replace the Holy Spirit’s teaching (1 Corinthians 2:1213).

Holy Spirit 1

Holy Spirit 1

It’s impossible to follow God unless we are led by the Spirit. And the only way to be led by the Spirit is to follow God’s command to be filled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Interestingly, God contrasts being filled with the Spirit with being drunk. Somebody who is drunk with wine or alcohol is controlled by and consumed by alcohol. But somebody who is “drunk in the Spirit” is controlled and consumed by the Spirit, who helps us live holy lives.

How are we filled with the Spirit? The Holy Spirit entered you when you decided to give your life to Christ, to become a Christian. But we need to continually ask the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to help us do the things God wants us to do. When we’re growing as Christians, we should allow the Spirit to take control over more and more areas of our lives.

The Holy Spirit plays many roles. You can read about some of them in these passages: John 14:15-27, John 16:5-15, Romans 8:1-17, Galatians 5:16-26.

In John 14, for example, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will comfort us when we’re hurting. “I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus says (14:18), promising that the Spirit will bring us peace (14:27).

Jesus also says the Spirit will help us recall the things we’ve learned about God (14:26)which also means the Spirit will help us when we tell others about our faith.

In John 16, Jesus refers to the Spirit as a “Counselor” who will guide us in our everyday lives. One way he’ll guide us is by convicting us of sin (16:8). And this is really a good thing: God wants us to get rid of the things that displease him, and the only way to identify those things is to be convicted by the Spirit. The Spirit works through our conscience to make us aware of sin in our lives.

Romans 8 tells us the Spirit will help us stop sinning and do the things that please God. A verse later in that chapter also tells us that the Spirit helps us pray (8:26). We’ve all gone to God and said, “Lord, I’m just not sure how to pray or what to say.” The Holy Spirit helps us in those times, and actually intercedes for us, saying the prayers for us.

Now, the Holy Spirit can’t do all the work for us. We’re still responsible to do our partespecially to consistently read our Bibles and pray, asking the Spirit to show us the truth and teach us how to live.

It’s important to remember that the Spirit will not prompt us to do anything that goes against Scripture. People sometimes justify their actions by saying, “My conscience told me … ” We need to make sure we’re listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, not the voice of our own desires. And we know which is which by checking this voice against the truth of God’s Word.

How can you tell if you’re being led by the Spirit? By the “fruit” of your lifeyour attitudes and actions. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Are these things evident in your life? Two verses later, it says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Comforter

Comforter

In the Bible, we are told of a Comforter who would come after Jesus. This Comforter would have very specific roles. Many times I hear that this Comforter is supposed to be Muhammad. Today, let us examine these claims and discover whether they are true.

According to the Bible, who is the Comforter?

The Comforter is called the Spirit of Truth.

Jesus says, “But when he, the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” John 16:13. This means everything the Comforter said and did would have to be truth. Not subjective truth that one person could decide was right and another person could decide was wrong, but absolute truth which would remain so regardless of culture or historical context. Did Muhammad do this? The answer here would have to be no. Muhammad allowed his men to kill and enslave their enemies. The Comforter says we are to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. Jesus said this in Matthew 5:44 and the Comforter agrees. This one example is enough to state that, because Mohammad did not always point people to truth, he could not be the Comforter written of in the Bible.

The Comforter will not speak on his own.

Jesus further describes the Comforter by saying, “He will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” John 16:13. When this was written, Jesus was saying that the Comforter would be speaking to His disciples telling them of what is yet to come. Historically, Muhammad never saw the disciples of Jesus, let alone spoke with them, so there is no way he could be the Comforter Jesus spoke concerning.

The Comforter would be eternal.

In John 14:16 Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter to be with you forever ” the Spirit of Truth.”

Historically, we are very aware that Muhammad was born at some point around 570 A.D. and that he died around 632 A.D. This statement alone which was made by Jesus disqualifies Muhammad from being the Comforter.

The Comforter would be “in” the disciples.

Jesus says in John 14:17, “But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you.” Only a Spirit can dwell inside a man. Muhammad was a man therefore could never dwell inside another man.

The Comforter would be sent in Jesus’ name.

Muhammad was never sent “in Jesus’ name but rather came with his own mission and his own “revelations” which he claimed were from God. Because he did not come in Jesus’ name, he could not be the Comforter.

The Comforter would remind people of what Jesus said.

Jesus states, “But the Comforter… will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” John 14:26. Again, Jesus was talking to the disciples. Muhammad could not possibly be the Comforter because he was not born when the disciples were living. Another reason why Muhammad could not be the Comforter is because he did not remind people of what Jesus said, but rather contradicted many things Jesus taught. An example where Muhammad contradicts the teachings of Jesus is where it comes to the treatment of enemies and slaves. Jesus taught people to love their enemies and treat servants like brothers. Muhammad taught that enemies should be given an opportunity to repent and if they didn’t they could be killed and slaves were to be treated like cattle if the owner desired to do so (see Qur’an 5:33, 8:12, and 9:5). Again, Muhammad is disqualified from being the Comforter.

The Comforter would be a spirit.

Jesus said, “But the Comforter, 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 (emphasis mine). Jesus clearly called the Comforter a spirit and not just a spirit but the holy spirit. This means the Comforter would be righteous, perfect, and Holy as God Himself is holy. Because Mohammad was a man and not a spirit, he could not be the Comforter.

The Comforter would testify of Jesus and He could be sent first to the disciples.

Jesus said, “When the Comforter 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. Did Muhammad testify of Jesus? Did he remind his followers of what Jesus said and did? AND did he do these things first with the disciples of Jesus? The answer to each one of these questions is a resounding no. He told stories about Jesus but contradicted Jesus’s claims. When speaking to his followers, he was not teaching them about Jesus. And, again, he was not born anywhere near the time of Jesus’ disciples and could not have been sent to them.

The comforter would bring glory to Jesus.

Jesus states, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” John 16:14. Muhammad did not take from Jesus and give to his followers teaching and ways of living which were in accordance to Jesus’ teaching and living. Muhammad gave his followers a different way of living and different rules to live by which Jesus would not have been pleased with. He therefore did not bring glory to Jesus and cannot be the Comforter of which Jesus spoke.