THE HOLY SPIRIT is NOT AN "IT"

THE HOLY SPIRIT is NOT AN "IT"
-by J. Lee Grady.

We charismatics celebrate the Holy Spirit, yet our theology of the
Spirit is often off balance.

Two popular charismatic speakers stood on a stage two years ago
and decided they should demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit.
One guy pretended to throw an imaginary "fireball" at his friend,
who promptly fell over as if he had been zapped by the divine power.
Then, feeling equally playful, the guy on the floor stood to his feet
and threw the "fireball" back at his friend-who fell after the "blob"
of God hit him.

Everybody laughed and had a hilarious time at this outrageous
party. There was just one problem. The Holy Spirit is not a blob,
a fireball or any other form of divine energy that can be thrown,
manipulated, maneuvered or controlled.

This scenario happened in a charismatic church-a place
where the ministry of the Holy Spirit is presumably honored
and understood. It's incredibly sad that many of us who wear
the charismatic label have forgotten what the Scriptures teach
about the third person of the Trinity. At the risk of sounding way
too elementary, I'd like to offer this basic layman's guide to
pneumatology-the study of the Holy Spirit and how He works:

1. He is the Spirit of the Lord. He is not a force (as in Star Wars),
a magical power or an "it." The Holy Spirit is God, and we should
revere Him as God. The concept of the Trinity doesn't make sense
to the human mind. Yet Scripture reveals God as a triune being.
As theologian Norman Geisler writes: "God is one what (nature)
with three whos (persons). This is a mystery but not a
contradiction."

2. He is our Regenerator. Jesus told Nicodemus that we are
born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5). True conversion is the
most supernatural thing we will ever experience! When a person
puts his faith in Christ for salvation, it is the Spirit who opens the
heart and quickens divine life. He then indwells us. While this is
an invisible process, it is no less miraculous. When we are
converted our hearts cry out, "Abba! Father" because the Holy
Spirit is "the Spirit of adoption" (Romans 8:15); He gives us
confidence that we are now children of God.

3. He is our Empowerer. When we are baptized in the Holy
Spirit we are "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49,
NASB). The Spirit who already indwells us fills us to the point
of overflowing. Jesus said the Holy Spirit's power would flow
out of us like "rivers of living water" from our innermost being
(John 7:38). This overflow releases supernatural boldness
(Acts 4:31) as well as the anointing for various gifts of the
Spirit including prophecy, speaking in tongues and healing.

4. He is the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit has access to all the
wisdom and knowledge of God. When we abide in Him, He
leads us continually into truth-causing us to grow and
mature spiritually. He wants to fill us with the treasures of
heavenly revelation. We can fully trust Him because He never
does anything to violate the Word of God. As our teacher
(1 John 2:27), He knows the difference between truth and error,
and those who depend on Him will walk in discernment and
avoid deception, pride and carnality.

5. He is our Counselor. This word is also translated "Advocate,"
"Comforter" or "Helper." The Greek word, parakletos, means "one
called alongside to help." It implies that the Spirit comes to our
legal defense when we are accused or troubled; it also means
He is a close friend who offers encouragement, consolation and
direction when we face any difficulty. He is truly a friend who
"sticks closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24).

6. He is our Intercessor. This is probably one of the greatest
miracles of grace. The Spirit who lives inside of us "intercedes
for us with groanings too deep for words" (Rom. 8:26). Even
when we don't know how to pray, the Spirit prays the perfect
will of God. No matter what kind of dark difficulty we face, the
Spirit travails for us until we emerge on the other side.

7. He is our Unifier. Like the master conductor of an orchestra,
the Holy Spirit pulls together each individual Christian-with all
of our diverse gifts-and causes us to flow in synchronization as
one body. The Spirit distributes His gifts to individuals (1 Cor. 12:11)
and He brings about the "fellowship of the Spirit" (2 Cor. 13:14)-
a supernatural, loving harmony among believers that overcomes
jealousy, envy, strife and bitterness.

8. He is our Refiner. The Spirit took the form of a dove at Christ's
baptism, but He is often portrayed in Scripture as a fire. He is
the "refiner's fire" (Mal. 3:2-3) who purifies us of selfishness, pride
and wrong motives. The Holy Spirit is indeed the fire of blazing
holiness, and He can be both grieved (Eph. 4:30) and quenched
(1 Thess. 5:19) when we disobey His promptings.

As we prepare to celebrate the day of Pentecost in less than a
month (it's on May 23), let's meditate on all aspects of the Spirit's
work in our lives-and invite Him to fill us in a fresh way.

-This article is being discussed at- http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com

-J. Lee Grady served as editor of Charisma for 11 years. His newest
book is 'The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale'.

-SOURCE: http://charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones/