LEARNING DAILY

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into Hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit; The Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.   The Apostle’s Creed

 

John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  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 depart, I will send Him to you.”   Jesus

 

The Helper, The Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Trinity are names for the Holy Spirit.  In John 14:26, Jesus call Him the “Comforter sent to His disciples by the Father in Jesus’ name”.  For Christians today the important aspect of the Spirit is that He is “Holy”; His holy character being demonstrated in them through the lives they live and the words they speak.  Paul speaks to this in his letter to the Galatians when he contrasts the works of the sinful nature with fruit of the Spirit.  Let me explain this by what Jesus said the Helper would do when He was sent to Believers.

 

His principal work will be to “convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment” (John 16:8); He would expose and convince individuals of sin and unbelief in order to awaken their consciousness of guilt and the need for forgiveness.  Part of this awakening is to make the results of continuing in their sin clear.  Once this is done a choice must be made – the right choice leads to repentance and turning to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

 

The Holy Spirit also convicts of righteousness.  He convinces people that Jesus Christ is the righteous Son of God and of the previous beliefs already discussed in the Apostles Creed.  The Holy Spirit makes Believers aware of God’s standard for righteousness in Christ and shows us what sin is and gives us the power to overcome the world’s way of thinking (Do we ever need this today!).

 

As far as judgment, the Holy Spirit convinces Believers of Satan’s defeat at the cross.  God is judging the world today and, as was discussed there is judgment coming upon this world and the living and the dead.  Believing this is important for each Believer; we need to live a victorious life in Jesus Christ and stop allowing Satan and his angels dominate our circumstances.  In other words, Satan is not behind every bush and beneath every rock that we encounter.  When one of God’s Believers stands in the name of Jesus, Satan has to flee.  So, stand!

 

An encounter with Jesus Christ will save you.  Allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth will change you.  Again, look to God’s Word.  Read about the power of John the Baptist “who was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth”.  He exposed the sin of the Jewish people and called for them to repent.  Read about Peter, “who filled with the Holy Spirit” preached so that 3,000 people repented and were forgiven of their sinful life.  Read about Saul who was knocked of his horse by the Lord Jesus, was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit and became an apostle to the Gentiles.  He wrote most of the New Testament.

 

The Holy Spirit will do the same for each Believer.  He will help us to teach, correct, and guide others into truth and glorify the Lord.  I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and His ability to transform lives.  I am living proof!

There are volumes written on the Holy Spirit.  This is not intended to be an extensive study but a challenge for each of you to do your own study.

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