THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR SEAL

STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (IV)

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR SEAL

SCRIPTURE:

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 1 Corinthians 1:22

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:20

OBSERVATION:

In the letters of Paul, time and again, he described the Holy Spirit as a seal on every Believer, as a deposit, guaranteeing what was to come. The Greek Word for Seal “Sphragis” denotes an emblem of ownership and security, combined with that of destination. A person might go to the market and pay a deposit for a carpet and that carpet would be set apart as already owned by that buyer and not to be sold to any other third party. In that sense, the moment we put our trust in Jesus Christ, He puts the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a seal for us, which says that we belong to God.

It is as if God has taken a chop and chopped on our foreheads “belonging to Jesus Christ”. The more powerful a person or body was, the more strength the seal would have, and the less likely anyone would dare to tamper with it. Therefore, if we are sealed by God Almighty Himself by the Holy Spirit, we have a powerful and secure guarantee indeed!

What are we sealed for? Ephesians tells us that it is for the day of redemption. It reminds us of the Lord’s promise that He will one day return for us and then we will be with Him forever.

How do we know we are saved? We know it mentally based on our belief in the Word of God but we know it spiritually, because we know that the Holy Spirit is with us. How do we know the Holy Spirit is with us? It is when we can sense His presence with us, giving us a deep peace in our hearts. It is when we are able to think of God and feel love flood our hearts in thanksgiving and praise for Him. It is when we are able to worship God, and feel His presence wash over us.  It is when we find ourselves praising God easily and naturally, spurred on by the Holy Spirit from within us. When we have these inclinations, and especially a strong sense of thinking of God and turning to Him, we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Holy Spirit is in us.

However, when we find ourselves being more drawn to the things of the world, and God becomes absent in our thoughts, when we become entrenched in sins we refuse to give up, and when we start keeping away from the people of God, these are dangerous warning signs for us that something is wrong. It is like our Seal begins to recede and fade as we think less and less of Him. Can we lose this living Seal who is the Holy Spirit? The Scripture warns us that the Holy Spirit can be quenched in us, when we refuse to listen to Him, when we refuse to believe Him. We can grieve the Holy Spirit, and in places where the Holy Spirit is quenched and grieved to greater and greater degrees, His presence may not abide for long.

APPLICATION:

How precious is our Living Seal, our precious Holy Spirit. He is our Seal, our Guarantee of the Salvation we have in Jesus Christ. Yet, we must never take Him for granted, but yearn to allow Him to work with us, to shape our lives into homes that He delights in dwelling. To have the Holy Spirit strongly in us is to be willing to yield to Him, to trust Him, to depend on Him to lead us, to guide us, to empower us.

How precious it is to walk by the Holy Spirit, to live by Him, to go about life being aware of His power and presence with us!

PRAYER

We praise thee, Father in Heaven, Lord Jesus Christ, Precious Holy Spirit. You gave us the Seal of Your Living Spirit, who resides in our hearts, who guides us and protects us and gives us peace. You are marvelous O Jehovah, Mighty and Worthy of All Praise! Help us O Lord, cooperate with You and allow You to work Your precious work in us. Change us and help us we pray, precious Lord. In Jesus name, Amen. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR GUIDE

STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (III)

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR GUIDE

SCRIPTURE:

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. John 16:13

Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same Spirit? 2 Corinthians 12:18

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Acts 15:28-29 (From the Council in Jerusalem to the Gentile believers)

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. Acts 16:6

OBSERVATION:

Another important role of the Holy Spirit is as our Guide. The Greek meaning of guide here means to lead the way, like to lead a blind man. On our own, we are spiritually blind, and we need the Holy Spirit to help us and guide us as we walk this earth and live this life. We can choose to walk on our own, but will end up stumbling and making lots of wrong choices, but if we choose to let the Holy Spirit guide us, He will lead us on level ground.

In the book of Acts, we see that this is how the early Christians lived. The Church Council consulted the Holy Spirit before passing their decision regarding requirements for the Gentile believers, and later Paul and his companions found themselves being kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching in the province of Asia. It is the Holy Spirit who knows best, whether in day to day decisions or important church policy matters.

APPLICATION

Remember how the Lord said not to worry about tomorrow, but to take each day as it comes, seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Practically, we seek this in the best way by seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit. There are many times that we fail, many times that we fall back and make carnal decisions. However, whenever we can, let us come back to that spirit of wanting to be led by the Holy Spirit, of being conscious of how He may lead us. Our attitude should be one of uttermost humility, like a blind man dependent on his guide and we should learn to trust the Holy Spirit more and more, all the while becoming more and more ingrained in His Word.

How do we know we are being led by the Spirit? There are many who have thought they were led by the Spirit but went down wrong paths. Here is where, being grounded in the Word of God is so important, and understanding the tone of Scripture. The Scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself, and His leading cannot deviate from the Scriptures. Rather, it will bring out portions of Scripture all the more clearly to us in our time of need. Word and Spirit must always go hand in hand.

PRAYER

Precious Holy Spirit, we thank You so much that You are our perfect guide, and we can depend on You and trust You to lead us in everything. Help us, Lord, learn to develop a lifestyle of seeking You and listening to Your guidance. Sustain us, O Lord, and bring us back to trusting in You, even when we fall, and become ashamed. Let us always learn to look forward, forgetting our past, and straining towards what is ahead, always hoping and aiming to be led by You more and more! Be so real in our lives we pray, precious Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR TEACHER

STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (II)

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR TEACHER

SCRIPTURE:

He (David) gave him (Solomon) the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. 1 Chronicles 28:12

 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26

 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:14-15

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord Isaiah 11:2

OBSERVATION:

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was already active as teacher, giving clear instruction to Moses concerning the tabernacle and later to David concerning the temple to be built to God.

In the New Testament, Jesus also described the role of the Holy Spirit as teacher. While He walked the earth, Jesus was the Great Teacher, but after He went back to Heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit to be our Great Teacher. Specifically, the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of everything Jesus has said.

Focusing on the characteristic of the Holy Spirit described in Isaiah, we see that He is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel, of knowledge. God the Holy Spirit is Omniscient. He knows everything that there is to know. In everything branch of science and learning, the Holy Spirit knows everything perfectly. Whatever problem we have, whatever difficulties we face, the Holy Spirit knows the perfect solution, and He dispenses His knowledge carefully as He sees fit. To let us know too much at this time may not be good for us. He also knows what knowledge He needs to reveal to us for that particular moment of need. Our part is to trust Him, and believe that He is able and willing to teach us what we need to know for a given situation. After all, as the Scripture writes, anyone who lacks wisdom should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault.

The Holy Spirit also plays an important role in reminding us of everything Jesus has said. The Holy Spirit does not take away from or supersedes the Lord’s teaching. Instead He brings us back to it, always highlighting to our minds the specific portion of teaching that is relevant for a particular situation. Again, there is that reminder for us to be well versed with the Word, especially the gospels, for it is from the Word that the Holy Spirit teaches us. The more the Word dwells in our minds, the more effectively the Holy Spirit comes alive in teaching us as we live life.

Besides that, the Holy Spirit also teaches us from Lord Jesus in Heaven. What Jesus tells the Spirit, He will tell us. The Holy Spirit does not tell us anything that He does not hear from the Son. Again, whatever the Holy Spirit tells us must be consistent with the Word. Otherwise, we must beware lest we are hearing from another spirit….

APPLICATION:

Remember that our Holy Spirit can be our teacher in all things. There is nothing that He does not know. Whatever specialization we are in, the Holy Spirit knows even more than us. Just like Jesus who knew far better than the fishermen the best place and time to fish, the Holy Spirit knows far better than us whatever job we are doing or need to do.

Remember that the Holy Spirit teaches us from the Word that He inspired. Particularly, we need to read the Gospels and be thoroughly familiar with them as the more effectively we do this, the more real the Holy Spirit will bring to our remembrance the relevant Scripture we need to know in time of need. For example, when beset by hunger, the Holy Spirit may bring to our remembrance “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord!”

Remember too, that our Holy Spirit teaches us from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Whatever we learn, whatever help we receive, comes from our Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is still our Great Teacher. In Him we can learn all things.

PRAYER:-

Thank You, Heavenly Abba Father, precious Lord Jesus, precious Holy Spirit. You are our Great Teacher, bringing Your perfect wisdom and knowledge to us in time of need. Help us learn to be good and attentive students, to listen for Your teaching, and to ask of Your wisdom in different situations, believing that as we ask You will answer and show us the way. We thank You and worship You and praise You, precious Lord.                                              

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR ADVOCATE

STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (I)

THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR ADVOCATE

SCRIPTURE:

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. John 14:15

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7

OBSERVATION:

Time and again during His ministry, the Lord reminded His disciples of the Holy Spirit whom He would send to them. The Greek Word that He used to describe the Holy Spirit was “Parakletos”, which literally means “one called to one’s side”. It was commonly used in a court of justice to denote a counsel or advocate for the defense. In its widest sense, it means Helper or Comforter. All this gives us the picture of the role of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, our Helper, our Advocate, our Defender.

Note how the Lord said ““another” Advocate. The Greek Word to denote “another”, means “someone else similar”. When Jesus was on the earth, He spoke up for His disciples, protecting them and helping them whenever they were in need. Once He left, He promised He would send another like Him to be our Advocate. In fact, He said it was good that He went away so that this Advocate would come to us. Limited by his human body on earth, the Lord was able to only impact a certain number of people. However, the Holy Spirit who is unlimited in nature, is able to impact and help infinite numbers of believers all over the world all at the same time.

APPLICATION:

Meditate on the Holy Spirit as our Parakletos, our Advocate, our Defender, our Helper, our Comforter. Thank God for the precious gift of His Holy Spirit. An Advocate speaks on the client’s behalf, to stand up for him, and speak for his rights in a way the client is unable to on his own. If God is for us, who can be against us? We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit, our precious Advocate. It is He who will help us and stand up for us when we are in need.

The word Advocate also reminds us that we are in a courtroom, before God. And thank God that we have not just one, but two powerful Advocates, for Jesus is also our Advocate. While the Holy Spirit is our Advocate with us on earth, Jesus is our Advocate before the Father in Heaven. And it is based on His Finished Work on the Cross that Jesus pleads our righteousness.

The next time guilt condemns us, and weighs heavily on our spirit, do not despair, but pray to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, thanking them, that they are our Advocates, defending us, helping us, speaking for us!

PRAYER:

Precious Lord Jesus, precious Holy Spirit, I thank You that You are my Advocates, my Helpers in time of need, my Comforters, my Deliverers. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that I have righteousness in You, not of my own, but completely from Your finished work on the Cross! Thank You, Holy Spirit, that You too are my Advocate, helping me and speaking for me, even after the many times I fail. Help me, precious, Lord. Let me not remain in guilt and hopelessness, but teach me to look forward and trust in You, that in all things You will defend me. Bless You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.