About The Holy Spirit

Who is The Holy Spirit?
Yes, who. The Holy Spirit is not a what, or a thing it is a who. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity of God. He is fully God. He is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, has a will, can speak and is alive. He is a person, just like you an me, but He has all the power of God and knows how to guide us in the way that we should go.

You know that little voice in your head that tells you God is real?
You know that little voice in your head that says 'I believe in Jesus"?
You know that little voice in your head that tells you right from wrong?
You know that little voice in your head that tells you "Go this way today, not that way"?
Well, that little voice inside your head is none other than the Holy Spirit. Surprised? Do not be. God uses the Holy Spirit in order to point us in the right direction. He is always around, giving the lost the nudge they need and when the time is right He will reveal the truth.

However, the only way to know the Holy Spirit personally is through salvation, by accepting Jesus Christ into your life, He is the person who took the place of Jesus when He ascended up into heaven. Jesus Said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. 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. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." - John 14:12-20.

The Holy Spirit is the bridge to God within you, through the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the comforter that Jesus sent in His place. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit resides with us and guides us the way that Jesus would do if He were here on earth.

If it was not for the Holy Spirit, this website would not be in existence, He alone has been my inspiration, my guide, and my teacher. I would have not even known most of the things that I learned here myself if it were not for the Holy Spirit, in fact I have had to redo many pages because i tried to do them on my own instead of letting Him guide me.

Below you will learn more about the Holy Spirit, who He is, what He does for us after we get saved, and what He we get as we yield to Him. He is a wonderful instructor, guide, corrector, and friend that you will come to know deeply as long as you are willing to know develop a lasting relationship with God.

The Anointing of The Holy Spirit

The word anointed means to apply an oil or similar substance to the forehead during a ceremony in order to dedicate ones service to God. There were three different types of anointing in the Old Testament.

First, there was the anointing of the priests, with oil, "And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him." It is noteworthy that this anointing took place only one time for each priest." - Leviticus 8:12. This type of anointing was used to sanctify a priest and get him ready to serve God. In the Old Testament only the priest had access to God.

Second, there was the anointing of the kings, with oil, "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah." This anointing was likewise a one-time ritual." -I Samuel 16:13. This type of anointing was used to inaugurate a man as king.

Third, there was the anointing of the prophets, with oil, "And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel- meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room." Again, it took place only one time for each prophet." - I Kings 19:16. This type of anointing was to bless a prophet and get him ready to serve God.

Our Lord Jesus was a priest, king, and prophet, but He was not anoited by oil, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." - Luke 4:18. The anointing of the Holy Spirit was and is like the anointing of a king, priest, or prophet. When one was chosen to be a priest, he was anointed with oil, symbolic of the Holy Spirit coming upon him and giving him power, wisdom and ability for the task set before him. The same was true when a king was anointed and when a prophet was anointed.

So, How Does One Become Anointed by The Holy Spirit?
Let's take a look:

1. The Anointing is Done Upon Accepting A New Responsibility.
When a Christian accepts a new responsibility, he should be anointed by the Holy Spirit for that task. When a pastor is called to a new church or when a Christian is chosen to be a Sunday school teacher, a choir member, a choir director, a departmental superintendent or an usher, he should be anointed by the Holy Spirit. Any new task to which a child of God is chosen and any new responsibility that God has given to him is so important that the Holy Spirit should anoint him upon the assumption of his new responsibility. Likewise, as the Christian ministers and continues to fulfill the work to which God has called him, he should constantly be being filled with the Spirit. However, the doctrine of being filled should not be mistaken for the doctrine of the anointing. "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." - I Corinthians 12:27,28.

2. Anointing Equips One For a Task.
When God calls, He qualifies, He equips and He prepares. When a Christian is called to a new responsibility, he needs to be equipped. Hence, he needs to be anointed by the Holy Spirit as God appropriates to him what he needs to fulfill his new calling and equips him for that calling. "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." - I Corinthians 2:12-14

3. Yielding to The Spirit For His Anointing.
A Christian being called to do work for God should yield himself and surrender his will and present himself for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Get alone with God, plead with Him to equip you and anoint you for the task to which God has called you. This anointing will not take the place of the fullness of the Spirit. After the king, priest, or prophet was anointed by God, he still from time to time was filled with the Holy Spirit, but we who are have accepted Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit at all times, but it is up to us to yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him know that we acknowledge Him and that is "being filled" with the Spirit.

4. God Giving His Mind to The Task.
Being anointed by the Holy Spirit is a private inauguration, letting you know that no matter what God calls you to do He is with you and inspiring you to do the task.

Are you weary of laboring in the energy of the flesh? Are you tired of going through the motions of serving God without having been anointed for the task that is yours? Tiptoe into the woods somewhere. Drive away from civilization for awhile. Spend some time with God. Tell Him that the task is bigger than you and the responsibility is too great for the flesh. Ask Him to anoint you, to sanctify you, to equip you, to inaugurate you for the job ahead. Ask Him for His mind as you serve. Ask Him to tell you what you need to do to get things done. 

Remember that the anointing of the priest took place at the beginning of his ministry, the anointing of the king took place at the beginning of his reign and the anointing of the prophet took place at the beginning of his work. Perhaps no human bands will place olive oil on your brow (though this is certainly not out of order), but at such a time of surrender the hand of God could take His Holy Spirit and equip you for a task for which by nature you are not equipped.

The Holy Spirit And The Bible

Everything that God has ever done and everything that He will ever do is by His Word. If one would take the time to look up many of the worlds most historic events one would have found them prophesied in the Bible long ago. If it were not for the Word of God we would not know much about life at all, leaving everything under the assumption of man and we all know how corrupted we can become that way, all one had to do is take a look at the theory of evolution to figure out that we really have no clue what is going on in the world.

So, How Did We Even Get The Word of God?
We got it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Bible was written using about forty men, whom were all guided by the Holy Spirit, beginning with Moses (Genesis) and ending with John (Revelation), over a period of fifteen hundred years. In order to know the true Word of God, one must know the Holy Spirit personally. I can not emphasize enough about reading the correct Bible, there is a difference between the True Word of God that was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and a false Word of God which was written by man in order to make a profit. The True Word of God will not eliminate important key facts and instructions that we need, that are literally a matter of life or death.

1. The Word of God is Eternal.
The Word of God along with the Godhead (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit), is eternal. "For ever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in Heaven." - Psalm 119:89. The word of God is eternal in Heaven, meaning the entire Word of God was in Heaven even before the world was created. The last verse in Revelation was I heaven before the first verse in Genesis was ever given to man. This forever settles the truth of verbal inspiration. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men." - John 1:1-4

2. God Gave His Word to Man.
The eternal Word of God was given word by holy men of old as the Holy Spirit breathed the Word of God into them and upon them. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." - II Peter 1:20,21. What this means is that the Holy Spirit prompted godly men (preachers, teachers, ministers, etc.) to write His Words in a book for all mankind to know. For example, The Holy Spirit prompted Moses to write the book of Genesis, he wrote down word for word what God had told him to write. When He said to write "In the beginning God created the heaven and earth", Moses wrote, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." - Genesis 1:1. That's verbal inspiration.

3. The Holy Spirit Accompanies The Word of God.  
Without the Holy Spirit the Bible becomes simply a story, that is why many people, including Bible and Theological scholars, never truly understand and explain God's Word. "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" - I Peter 1:10-13. The Bible alone is not the answer, teaching and preaching the Bible in the power of the Holy Spirit is the answer. There is nothing more wonderful than to preach the Book that the Holy Spirit gave to us and while we preach it have Him speak to the hearts of those who hear it. The Holy Spirit speaks from the outside through His Word and then He speaks from the inside as He confirms His preached Word to the hearer. It is also a wonderful thing to read His Word as the Holy Spirit accompanies it.

The Holy Spirit And Salvation

By now all should know here that the only way to heaven is by accepting Jesus Christ into our lives, but many are unaware of what happens after He is accepted. First, the Holy Spirit kind of hangs around, nudging one to take the next step and that is to get baptized, that is why it is very important to get baptized shortly after one gets saved. Once one is baptized he/she becomes "born again".

Jesus said that unless a man was "born again" he will not see the kingdom of God, "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto the, Ye must be born again." - John 3:1-7. What this means is that unless a man or woman receives salvation from Jesus Christ he/she will not get to heaven. No term has been used more carelessly and lightly in our generation that the term, "born again.".

So, What Does it Mean to Be 'Born Again?
Let's take a look. 

1. Being Born Again Means Being Born Anew.
"Marvel not that I said unto the, Ye must be born again." - John 3:7, The word "again" in this verse comes from a Greek word which means, "from the first," or "from the beginning." Actually it means, "the beginning born in you." What this means is that Jesus is the beginning, when a person is born again, the "Beginning" is born in him. The Book of Revelation tells us Who the Beginning is: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." - Revelation 22:13. 

2. The New Birth is Not a Change of Nature.
Being "born again", is not the old nature changing into a new nature. One becomes new and reconciled with God as we accept Jesus into our lives. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." - II Corinthians 5:17-19

3. The New Birth is Not The Beginning of A New Nature.
Being born again is not a new nature being begun; it is the nature of Christ Himself entering into us as we are crucified with Christ and reborn with a new character. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:16-2.

4. Being Born Again is The Coming of A Divine Nature.
If somebody says, "I am a new man." This does not do an injustice to the Scripture, but it is not exactly accurate. Our actions, to be sure, are different, but what has happened is that the very nature of Christ has entered into us. "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity." - II Peter 1:3-7.

5. Eternity is Born in The New Convert.
The word eternal is defined as being without a beginning or end, lasting forever, and always existing. The Bible tells us that all who believes in Jesus has eternal life. "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." - John 3:15-17. This is not that nature which was born at physical birth joining up with a new nature that is born at conversion. It is that nature that was born at physical birth joining up with the eternal nature of Christ!

Certainly one does not do an injustice to the Scripture when he talks about the old nature fighting with the new nature, but in reality, since that new nature is Jesus in us, we are really fighting the Son of God Himself when we "do our own thing," go our own way and go contrary to the Will of God. When the Christian observes a lustful television program, it is Jesus Whom he fights. When he listens to rock music, it is Jesus Whom he fights. When he observes a lustful movie, it is Jesus Whom he fights. When he defiles the body, it is Jesus Whom he fights.

However, when one puts his faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit, in response to that faith, brings Him Who was from the beginning into the believer's life. He is not a new creature, nor is he simply creating a new nature; rather, he is uniting with the beginning, whom is Jesus Christ. In other words, we are being born as one with Christ.

God's Gifts And The Holy Spirit

Once we are anointed by the Holy Spirit He indwells in us and we begin to develop special gifts that allow us to be used for God's purpose in aiding with Soul Winning (reaching the lost with the Gospel). Jesus told us that we would do the same works that He did while He was here, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." - John 14:12. What this means is that all who believe in Jesus will receive gifts to be able to do the same things that He did.

So, What Exactly Are We to Do?
Before Jesus ascended up to heaven He gave us a command. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:19,20. This is also what is known as the Great Commission. What this means is that every believer is to do the work that Jesus did while He was physically on the earth. We are commissioned to win the lost to Christ, get them baptized, and then we are to teach them how to win the lost to Christ and get them baptized. This is our task, it seems easy enough, but it may not be as easy as one thinks, do not get me wrong, many times the Holy Spirit will use even the lost to get someone who is lost saved, but there is more to the Great Commission than just telling someone how he/she can get to heaven. For this reason, God gives us all gifts that allow us to reach the lost in different ways.

We All Have Special Gifts
God through the Holy Spirit, gives all of us special gifts in order that the work of evangelizing might be done more efficiently and effectively. "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit...For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit..For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked. That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." - I Corinthians 12:1-4,8-13,24-28.

I have been soul winning in my neighborhood for some time now and I will tell you that my social skills are not very strong, but God knows that I am good with computers and communicating with people on the internet. So, He gave me these skills so that I can be a soul winner on the internet as well. Through the Holy Spirit, He guides me to the right place at the right time, then when that someone who is lost is looking for something to give them answers he/she finds me and the angels rejoice because another lost soul has been found.

Now, one thing I would like to point out here is that these gifts are not given as substitutes for soul winning, but rather aids for soul winning. It should be noted also that soul winning is not one of the gifts. Soul winning is a command given to all believers, whereas each Christian is given a gift or different gifts in order to aid in soul winning being done more effectively.

God established the New Testament church so that the Gospel of Christ might be produced more effectively. In a church, somebody plays the organ, somebody leads the choir, somebody cares for the church business, somebody works in the PA room, somebody has a special gift to pray for the sick, another has exceptional faith, etc. All of these gifts simply oil the machinery so that soul winning might be done more effectively.

Be Careful of False Teachings
There are those who choose one of these gifts and insist that every Christian is to have a particular gift. Some say that if a person does not have one particular gift, he is not even a Christian. Others say that the obtaining of one particular gift is an evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit, but all of these assumptions are incorrect.

The Bible plainly teaches how ridiculous it would be to assume that all would have the same gift. "For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?" - I Corinthians 12:14-17. It is also evident that each of us needs the gifts of the rest of us.

Many churches are encumbered by multitudes of unnecessary committees who have been delegated responsibility of doing the work of the various gifts. When these duties have been discharged, these committees feel that they have done their work for the Lord, while an unsaved world perishes without the Gospel. There are thousands of churches all over this nation and all around the world who have treasurers, finance committees, deacon boards, music committees, Christian education committees, and even committees on committees and yet there is not one soul winner to be found! These dear saints have been deceived into believing that the using of their gifts is their main service for God. So the well-oiled machinery works beautifully while Hell enlarges herself. It is a sin, it is a shame, and it is a crime that hundreds of churches in America do not baptize one convert a year.

A good illustration is that of the fire department. Every fireman is hired for one main purpose, and that is to fight fires. However, in the fire station there are duties that must be performed. Suppose, for example, one fireman is given the duty of sweeping the building. Another is given the duty of cleaning the rest rooms. Another's gift is that of caring for the paper work. Now these duties are not substitutes for the fire fighting, but simply duties that allow them to be the best firemen that they can be when it is needed.

Now the gifts are important, but they are important ONLY as they improve our soul- winning work and help us to do the Lord's work more efficiently so we can win more souls to Christ. It must be emphasized again and again that the gifts are not given to some so that they can make it easier for others to go soul winning; the gifts are given to all so that ALL of us can make it easier for ALL OF US to go soul winning and to do it decently and in order.

Are You Ready to Accept Your Gift(s)?
Each of us is to give himself to soul winning. Bow your head now and promise God that you are going to obey the commission of our Lord, that you are going to start telling people how to be saved and leading them to Christ. Then, find a local New Testament church (if you have not found one already), be faithful and busy.

Do not see, a certain gift, but ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and show you where to serve, and as He gives you a place of service, He will give you the gift to fulfill that place of service, but do not accept any place of service unless it will aid in the carrying out of the Great Commission, that of soul winning, baptizing and teaching, training and growing Christians to be mature so they can go soul winning, as we all together obey the command that God has given us and as each of us uses what gifts God gives to us to aid all of us in pointing people from an eternity without Christ to the glories of salvation and eternal life.