There is perhaps nothing more astounding to the human mind than the concept of holy spirit. God is Holy Spirit, and the gift He gives, when a person is born again, is holy spirit.
Our five senses logic cannot quite grasp the magnitude of how a person can in one moment of time believe God’s Word unto salvation (Romans 10:9) and receive a whole new essence of life, the gift of holy spirit.
The colossal gift of holy spirit is associated with the Day of Pentecost. This unmatched gift puts us into a family relationship with God and affords us with power to do the miraculous works of Jesus Christ. The hint of what was to come was the last recorded words of Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:8a:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
This promise was realized on the Day of Pentecost when believers were first born again of God’s spirit and operated the power of God by speaking in tongues.
Acts 2:4:
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
What is “holy spirit”? God is Holy Spirit and the fantastic gift from God is holy spirit. The Greek word for “Holy Spirit” and “Holy Ghost” are the same. It is pneuma hagion.
Jesus Christ taught much about the coming of the “comforter” and later identified, the gift of holy spirit.
John 14:16, 17 and 26a:
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, …
The value of having holy spirit cannot be measured by the five senses. It is the presence of God forever in your life. There was a time in the Old Testament that believers could lose the holy spirit that God put upon them. This is reflected in the following verses:
Psalm 51:10-12:
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Thankfully in the New Testament, the gift of holy spirit is permanent and cannot be lost or taken away. We have to distinguish between the spiritual body and the natural body.
I Corinthians 15:42-47:
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
God’s Word speaks of a distinction between spirit life and flesh life.
Romans 8:8-11:
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
1Co:15:47: The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
We may not be able to fully comprehend what holy spirit is, but it does not restrict us from receiving it in our lives and using it.
The power of the holy spirit is realized in the operation of the nine manifestations of the spirit (I Corinthians 12:7-11). Just by identifying each one, opens vast opportunities to exercise them.
A side note: Many Christians are taught that these nine operations of the spirit are gifts given by God at His discretion. Everyone is given the same measure of holy spirit with the ability to operate all nine manifestations. It is up to the individual to learn and grow in the use of these manifestations so that they can truly be a glory to God.
The nine manifestations are: speaking in tongues, interpretations of tongues, prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits, faith, miracles and gifts of healing. God wants us to use all nine of these manifestations.
The more we focus on our spiritual nature and not the flesh, the greater blessing we will be to the Heavenly Father Who made it all available for us.
Thankfully, through a knowledge of God’s Word we can understand and appreciate the significance of God being Holy Spirit, along with the gift of holy spirit that He gives to those who are born again.
Bob Lindfelt
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