Thoughts on the Holy Spirit
Prayerfully, hesitantly, and reverentially offered, that we all might avoid confusion
Please note that when I share these thoughts, I’m trying to faithfully represent the Word of God, thinking of myself as a scribe, taking seriously the admonition from James 3:1, which says, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” My thoughts were inspired by the questions of a friend who approached me after hearing well-meaning descriptions of the Holy Spirit which she found both confusing and conflicting.
The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University recently released an American Worldview Inventory that demonstrated that the the worldview of most American “Christians” is actually Syncretism, a "fusion of disparate ideologies, beliefs, behaviors, and principles culled from a variety of competing worldviews into a customized blend.” The presentation of confusing and conflicting theology may be a demonstration of such Syncretism, and the need to return to the authority of Scripture for clarity. I have appreciated the early advice I received when I became a Christian to “never read more about the Bible than you read the Bible.” Even the best Bible teachers, with their hearts completely in the right place, are fallible. I love the example of the Bereans, with whom the apostle Paul shared the gospel, who “received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11b).
My friend’s questions about the Holy Spirit were inspired by a discussion of Ephesians 2, where Paul explains there is no longer division between Jew and Gentile because we have been reconciled by the blood of Christ and “through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). We are all “of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19b-22). The discussion centered on how we can know the Holy Spirit is within us and how that might be made manifest.
Our recent chronological Bible reading about the history of the nation of Israel in the first five books of the Bible is instructive for this revolutionary concept presented in Ephesians 2 that, after Jesus Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, our own bodies are now temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). After the nation of Israel, led by Moses, came out of slavery in Egypt, God instructed them, in the book of Exodus, how to construct the tabernacle, and all associated with it, so that His presence could live among them. Then in Leviticus, God instructed them in all that they should do in order to interact with His holy presence living among them. “The LORD said to Moses: ‘Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat’” (Leviticus 16:2). Once they entered the land promised to them, and dispersed from camping as one nation surrounding the tabernacle, God instructed, “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed” (Deuteronomy 16:16). Interestingly, God always made provision for the alien living among the nation of Israel to live just like the sons of Israel: “As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD” (Numbers 15:15). But there was a geographical requirement to access the presence of God, and only the high priest, after much ritual and sacrifice, could enter “into the holy place inside the veil” once per year on the Day of Atonement. It is highly significant that as soon as Jesus Christ died, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38). Jesus’ death changed everything.
Inspired by my friend’s questions, I used one of my favorite Bible study techniques and searched for “Holy Spirit” in Blue Letter Bible. I found 93 instances of “Holy Spirit” in the New American Standard Bible, 3 in the Old Testament and 90 in the New Testament. I augmented this search with “Spirit” and “Spirit of God.” I am attempting to share what I learned, but I highly suggest prayerful reflection, guided by the Holy Spirit, of your own word search of the Scripture on this subject.
The Spirit of God was present from the beginning (Genesis 1:2). It is described as both “in” or “on” men in the Old Testament. Hebrews 1:1-2a is helpful to me, teaching, “God, afer He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” John the Baptist was considered the last of the Old Testament prophets (Luke 1:76). He was “filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15b). Jesus “spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). Prior to Jesus’ resurrection, there seem to have been no guarantee we can easily understand by which people would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus, the Word of God to men, the means by which God speaks to us in these last days, told us before He died, “it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7b), and “when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13a). Jesus promised that after His resurrection, the rules would change: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his inner most being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive” (John 7:38-39a).” Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, taught, after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, “Repent, and each of you be baptized 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). Jesus promised, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 13:13). We read in Ephesians 1:13, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”
The record of Scripture teaches that, since the day of Pentecost, after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit has been promised to those who believe in Him. We can be assured of this. God’s presence no longer just dwells above the mercy seat within the holy place behind the veil in the temple in Jerusalem, but it dwells in all of us. We no longer need the physical structure of the tabernacle. There is no longer a geographic requirement for proximity to the presence of God. His Spirit now lives inside those who believe. Thus Paul’s words in Ephesians 2.
This transition is also beautifully described in Hebrews 9:1-14: "Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
A lot of the confusion about the Holy Spirit is about how the Holy Spirit is made manifest in those who believe. Before Jesus was glorified, when “the Spirit was not yet given” (John 7:39), signs and wonders demonstrated the activity of God. For example, God demonstrated signs and wonders through Moses so that people might know He had sent him (Exodus 4:38-31). Jesus Himself declared that His ability to miraculously heal demonstrated His authority, as the Son of God, to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6). The Holy Spirit came on the first day of Pentecost with a mighty demonstration of His power (Acts 2:1-4). The Holy Spirit manifested that same power when the apostle Peter first shared the gospel with Gentiles. “All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also” (Acts 10:45). Jesus had told His apostles, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:18). Just as God was gracious to give Moses signs to demonstrate that He had sent him, God was gracious to give signs of the Holy Spirit working in His apostles, and those who came to believe in the truth of His gospel, in the era of the early church, when the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ was revolutionary and difficult to understand. I am not at all saying that there are not signs and manifestations of the Holy Spirit today. I’m saying that some of the manifestations we look for to confirm the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit were exhibited, by necessity, during the earthly ministry of Jesus’ apostles because they were His witnesses, on His behalf, of the fullness of the truth of His gospel, which has now been revealed to the rest of us in its entirety through the Scriptures. The apostles were living, breathing, walking, talking Scripture in their day.
Paul himself wrote, “you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power” (Ephesians 3:2b-7).
Note the significance of what Paul was saying. He was taught by a revelation of Jesus Christ. He himself was taught by Christ, and then instructed to teach others (Acts 20:24).
“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:8-10).
Since we have been reading about Moses in our chronological reading, Paul’s reference to himself as “the very least of all saints” demonstrates some parallels between Moses and Paul. Moses was a murderer (Exodus 2:12). God appeared to him, sent him on an assignment, and demonstrated signs and wonders through him so that people might know he was His servant. Paul, similarly, approved of the murder of the saints (Acts 8:1, 9:1, 22:20). Jesus appeared to him (Acts 9:1-19), and sent him on an assignment, allowing him to demonstrate signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling him so that people might know he was His servant. Numbers 12:3 says, "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.” Moses understood his failings and was humbled before a holy God who would use him so powerfully. Paul too understood his failings and was also humbled that God would use him so powerfully.
“This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:11-12).
I marvel at the patience of God in revealing His plan, from the time of creation and the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden until the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This plan was mysterious until it was revealed in Christ in its fullness, and Paul was among those privileged to reveal the story. Paul, as a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5-6), understood all that had been required under the Law. Therefore, he understood the magnitude of the change that we now have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and we no longer need a high priest to mediate for us behind the veil within the holy place.
In His grace, God offered manifestations, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that His apostles were speaking and acting on His behalf, and manifestations in those who came to believe in the truth of His gospel. We can now hold the entirety of God’s revelation, by His Spirit, through His prophets, His apostles, and His Son, His Word, in our hands. We have the testimony demonstrated by the power of the Holy Spirit at the time of the early church, now recorded in Scripture, “suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10b). That testimony demonstrates that the Holy Spirit is promised to those who believe.
When we get tangled up in discussions about manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our day, do we have to search our hearts and ask is it because we want proof of the workings of the Holy Spirit in ourselves or others? Are we dangerously guilty of seeking after signs, which Jesus called sinful (Matthew 16:4), or of means to glorify ourselves, or others, in the spiritual gifts He has given us? Confident assertions about manifestations of the Holy Spirit can cause confusion in those with whom such opinions are shared, even making them question the presence of the Holy Spirt within them.
We can accept on faith, because Jesus told us, that we will be given the Holy Spirit if we believe in Him. We can also accept on faith, because Jesus told us, that He will guide us into all truth (John 16:13a). We rest on the sufficiency of faith in Jesus Christ to save us. We rest on the sufficiency of the Holy Spirit, and His revelation through the Word of God, to teach us. It is not that the Holy Spirit does not speak through people through other means. We just have to be much more careful in discerning what is of God and what is of men or, worse yet, of other spirits (1 John 4:1). Humans are fallible. Teachers are fallible. Every teaching or opinion or revelation that people write or utter, including mine, including anyone under stricter judgment because they claim to teach Christ’s word, must not be accepted as truth unless it is compatible with the truth revealed through Scripture.
At the end of Ephesians 3, Paul offered a prayer that gives us insight into the gift that is the Holy Spirit within us, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).
”Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).
May the Holy Spirit give us comprehension of the love of Christ. Glorifying Him and only Him, may He relieve all of us of any human confusion on this subject.
See also “More Thoughts on the Holy Spirit.”
I believe much of the confusion can be settled when we consider the difference between the gift of the Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit. God can prophesy through the ungodly (Saul) and even speak through a donkey but doesn’t mean the Spirit dwells within. The key is to consider Galatians and 1 John for the appearance of the Spirit filled life and the reassurance of being filled with the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
1 John 3:18-19
Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before him.
Thank you for bringing out an important subject that needs scriptural clarification.
"We rest on the sufficiency of faith in Jesus Christ to save us." Excellent post Dr. Milhoan. Thank you. I am currently reading "Thinking Orthodox" - an excellent book that looks back at the original church. Men can introduce philosophical and deductively-reasoned concepts into theology that really do not belong there. Kirk's comment below, especially 1 John 3:18-19, emphasizes the faith + action exhibited by the apostles. Happy Holy Week! Peace.