THE
COMFORTER (Part 1)
Memory Verse:
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom
the Father will send in my Name, will teach you all things and will remind you
of everything I’ve said to you.” (John
14:26) NIV.
LESSON
OBJECTIVE AND FOCUS
We shall by the end
of the lesson be able to better understand the Person and attributes of the
Holy Spirit.
LESSON INTRODUCTION
It is not unusual to
come across Christians who misunderstand the Personality of the Holy Spirit.
Some people refer to Him as an “it”, a “force”, “feeling” or a “something”.
Why would none
of us like to be described in such terms?
Just as we are
persons that have personality, and not a non-living “it” or a passing
“feeling”, we shall find the Holy Spirit is also a Person with a Personality.
When we look at some
O.T. stories where we could mistake Him to be just a “force”, a closer study
will confirm we are indeed dealing with a Person. For instance, in the life and
activities of Samson, we read that “the
Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power” (Judges 14:19; 15:14), and each time he went on to carry out incredible deeds of
raw power. Even if we think these were just cases of “infusion” of power or
force from above, by the time we get to Judges 16:20 we find it was none other than God Himself, and not just
some force, Who was active in Samson’s life.
And by the time we
get to John
16:5-11, we find that the
Lord Jesus clearly refers to the Holy Spirit as a Person.
LESSON OUTLINE 1: WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
He certainly is not
an “it”, a “force”, a “feeling”, an “influence”, or some “holy emotion”.
Who then is He?
1. He is the third Person of the Trinity. See Gen.1:26;
Rom.1:1-4 & 2 Cor.13:14,
and judge for yourself if He is less than God.
2. He is described as the Comforter or Counselor in John 16:5-7.
3. He is the One Who enables us to do what the Lord did, and
even greater works as well. John 14:12.
4. He is the One Who points, or testifies, to the Lord Jesus. Jn. 15:26.
5.
He is the
revealer of so much about God, I Cor. 2:9-10:
§
God’s plans, e.g. of salvation;
§
Making the things of the Lord clear to
us, John
14:25-26.
§
The riches and glorious inheritance God
has stored up for us, Eph. 1:17-18.
6. He is the One that confirms the sonship of the sons of God, I Pet. 2:9.
7. He inspires bold messages and testimonies about Christ. Acts 4:1-13;
6:7.
These
are definitely the activities of a Person, and not those of an “it”,
“influence”, etc.
LESSON OUTLINE 2: WHAT ARE HIS ATTRIBUTES?
What
does He “carry in His bag” when He comes to us?
1. He brings with Him the “oil of gladness” (Isa.61:3). Neh
8:14
tells us the “joy of the
Lord” is what strengthens
believers in all circumstances.
2.
He pours out God’s
love in our hearts (Rom 5:5)
so we are not overwhelmed by whatever trials we may be going through. Isa. 43:2-3a.
3. He is the One that enables us to render high praises to God (Psalm 149:6), the sort that brings supernatural defeat upon our enemies (2Chron.
20:22-23).
4.
He also brings favour
with Him, causing us to have favour with both God and men (Num 6:24-26;I
Sam.2:26;10:3-4).
SUMMARY:
The Holy Spirit is the fullness of believers.