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According to the Pattern

Robert D. Pace

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Holy Spirit, Who He Is and What He Does

John 14:15-18

By Robert D. Pace

Do you love God? Do you really love Him?  Jesus said there is a simple test that determines whether we love Him. He said, “If you love me you will keep my commands.”  In other words, if we obey His Word we love Him; but if we don’t obey His Word we cannot say we love God.

While obedience measures our love for God what measures God’s love for us? The Bible shows us that God’s love for us is calculated by what He provided for us.  And what has God given us?

Scripture shows that He has provided us salvation through Jesus Christ, His greatest gift. He has given us grace, mercy, goodness, power, companionship, and over 1500 promises in His Word.  No love matches God’s infinite, perfect love.

But how do we activate these promises and make them a reality?  We activate them through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is our greatest partner in life, and as we open ourselves to His presence He empowers us to live a supernatural life and receive from God.

That’s why Jesus gave the early Christians a precise course of action just before He ascended to Heaven.  He told them nothing was more important than to go to Jerusalem and wait for “power from on high”!

And in Acts 2 when this promise of power descended through the Holy Spirit, ordinary followers of Christ were transformed into spiritual powerhouses. Healings, signs and wonders, dreams and visions were commonplace among the early believers. The Holy Spirit does for us what nothing else on earth can do!

(Transition)  I want to talk about the Holy Spirit—Who He is and What He does.  First, let’s consider who the Holy Spirit is.  And the Bible clearly shows that the Holy Spirit is a person.

I.       The Holy Spirit Is a Person

For the most part Scripture uses symbols to personify the Spirit. That’s because symbols can easily explain what the Holy Spirit offers us. For example:

The dove symbolizes His provision of peace.

Fire describes His provision of zeal and enthusiasm.

Rain represents His refreshment.

Wind expresses His unseen strength.

Rivers symbolize His abundant blessings.

Oil typifies His favor.

Clothing represents His immediate presence.

Scripture employs more imagery toward the Holy Spirit than to the Father or Son. But these metaphors don’t mean the Holy Spirit is not a person.  As some would suggest, He can’t be relegated to being the force of God.  He isn’t God’s energy or influence.  He is God, the third person of the Trinity.

It wasn’t divine energy that overshadowed the Virgin Mary when she conceived Christ; it was God the Holy Spirit.

It wasn’t a charge of heavenly power that anointed Jesus to heal the sick, circumvent nature, and resurrect the deceased; it was God the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit as a person, not a mere force, spoke to Old Testament prophets and the New Testament Church.

Scripture reveals He can be lied to, grieved, blasphemed, fellowshipped with, walked with, and prayed through.  It describes Him as our Counselor, Helper, and Guide—all unlikely characteristics of an inanimate being or mystical divine energy.

When Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit He employed a very skillful use of the Greek language to describe Him. Listen to His words in John 14:16: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.”  Note those two words: “another” and “Counselor.”

The word, “Counselor” is derived from the Greek word Paraclete.  When the translators of Scripture searched for the appropriate English equivalent for the word Paraclete, they ran into a problem.  The Greek word Paraclete is a wonderful word that has a broad and varied meaning. That meant the translators needed to find one English word that could match the word Paraclete.  But they couldn’t! That’s why some versions of John 14 use the word Counselor, while others use Helper, and still others use Comforter.

Let me show you what I mean by defining the word Paraclete.

(Definition)  The word Paraclete describes the “presence of another person or another thing.”  It describes “something that is brought beside another.” We understand this Greek word para in our English words parachute, paramedic, paragraph, paralegal, paraphrase, or parallel.  These are things “brought beside another.” When Christ preached He used parables to bring an everyday illustration beside a spiritual concept.

When the Greeks of Christ’s day spoke of a Paraclete it described a person who was “called in to assist another; someone that eliminated another’s inadequacies.”  They applied this thought in numerous ways:

A Paraclete was a favorable witness called in before a court.

He was an advocate called in to defend someone facing serious penalty—like a lawyer.

A Paraclete was an expert counselor called in to advise someone desperately needing advice.

A Paraclete was a commander called in to infuse courage and hope within a dispirited battalion of soldiers.

A Paraclete was a conqueror called in to intervene and provide assistance for someone unequal for the task.

Do you see how wonderful this word Paraclete is?  Jesus recognized the nature of this term and that’s why He applied it to the Holy Spirit.

You see, the Holy Paraclete Christ promises to Christians is available to defend and protect us.

He is as our Teacher, Advocate, and Conqueror.

He is the One Who infuses courage, counsel, and supernatural power for whatever we encounter!

He is the omnipotent Companion that can be called in to eliminate our inadequacies.

No wonder the English translators had such a difficult time finding the one precise word to describe the Holy Spirit. He’s indescribable.  And the Holy Spirit is indescribable because He is just like Jesus!  Literally, He is just like Jesus! Let me show you what I mean.

In John 14:16 Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, but in 1 John 2:1 the apostle John called Jesus the Paraclete.  How can both be correct?

(Definition)  When Jesus said in John 14:16 He would provide “another Paraclete” He employed a unique word for “another.”  The Greek language offered two words for the English word “another.”  The word heteros “denotes a qualitative difference; another of a different kind,” such as two different fruits—an apple as opposed to an orange.  However, the word allos denotes “another of the same kind,” that is, no qualitative difference—one apple exactly like another apple from the same tree.

When Jesus said He would give us “another Paraclete,” in John 14:16 He expressly uttered the word allos in the Greek language, which meant the Holy Spirit would be of Christ’s exact un-depreciated, divine nature.

The Holy Spirit is a person of the same celestial nature as Jesus Christ.  He’s everything Jesus is, yet He is omnipresent and always with us.

(Transition)  The Holy Spirit is a person!  But now let me mention what the Paraclete does. And one of the primary functions of the Holy Spirit is to offer Christians guidance.

II.      The Holy Spirit Provides Guidance for Christians

(Illustration)  Before the days of modern navigation, when iron ships were relatively new, boats were equipped with two compasses.  One was attached to the deck for the captain’s easy access while the other was fastened atop the masthead where crewmembers would climb to inspect it. There was a reason the compasses were separated.  The steel and iron on those boats occasionally interfered with the deck compass.  But the masthead compass was above metallic influences.  That meant the most trusted guidance came from the compass above.

This is the type direction the Holy Spirit provides.  He guides us without any interference from the world.  And He guides our course with unerring precision.  But how does the Holy Spirit do this?  In what way does He make known His guidance?

1.       He speaks directly to us.  Abraham is a good example of this.  Genesis 12:1 says, “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.  (2) “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  (3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

I don’t know how God spoke directly to Abraham—by an audible voice, an angel, a vision—but I do know God clearly communicated with him.  And when God spoke, Abraham obeyed. And because he obeyed both Jews and Christians refer to Abraham as the Father of their Faith.

Let me tell you something.  An ounce of obedience is better than a thousand pounds of sacrifice!  When God speaks to us He wants us to obey the Heavenly Counselor’s expert advice! You won’t be disappointed. You may not know the outcome and the way may be challenging, but God has a divine purpose.

(Illustration)  I remember one of many occasions the Holy Spirit furnished me clear direction.  It was the last Sunday of October in 1986.  I rose early that morning to pray and prepare for my morning evangelistic message.  While praying the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart: “Today I will show you your next pastorate.”  Within an hour the phone rang from a distant city with an invitation to candidate for that church.  I hung up the phone and told my wife, “Well, I know where we’re going to pastor.”  And four weeks later I had completed my evangelistic itinerary and was driving a moving van toward a pastorate I knew was a divine appointment.

2.       God leads through an impression upon our heart.

When God speaks He doesn’t always use words.  His guidance comes by placing a strong inner knowing upon our heart.

(Example) The book of Acts says that the apostles made church decisions based on this type of direction from God.  Acts 15:28 says, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials.”

Have you ever prayed about something, and without ever hearing God’s audible voice, you just felt right about taking a course of action? You felt right because during your time of prayer the Holy Spirit, in an unexplainable way, placed a deep deposit of peace and assurance into your heart.  This is how the Holy Spirit works.

3.       God Leads through Others.

(Illustration)  Some years back a young man in my church was seeking employment.  His skills were best suited for hospital work and he had twice applied and been denied employment at a particular hospital in the city.  As I was praying for him the Lord impressed me to encourage him to reapply for employment at that same hospital.  Yes, that would make three applications!  Now he could have shaken his head in disbelief and refused, but he felt I may have heard from God, and to his amazement he was hired.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Do you know what Solomon is saying here? He is saying that regardless of how smart we think we are, there are times we need to recruit the advice of others to help us discern God’s will.

Don’t ever fear seeking advice from godly people. As a pastor who is called upon to make decisions I often want to secure a word of wisdom or a confirmation from spiritual people.  God speaks through others!

4.       He directs through anointed preaching and teaching.  Can you believe God uses preachers?  The Holy Spirit often furnishes direction and guidance and even warning when anointed preachers or teachers declare God’s Word.

How often have you been seeking God’s will and while listening to someone preach or teach God confirmed His direction for your life?

(Illustration)  During my senior year in Bible College I committed to earnest prayer concerning God’s specific direction for my ministry.  As I prayed I felt the Lord was speaking to me to move to Tampa, Florida and evangelize.  Now what young man wouldn’t want to live in Florida?  But I wanted to know the Lord’s will for certain.  I remember just before graduating hearing a minister speak.  As he spoke, God’s Word pierced my heart and instantly confirmed that Florida was where I was to minister.  Later that night a preacher from Florida phoned me and encouraged me to move there for ministry.  And from that day to this I have never doubted that was God’s perfect will for my life at that time.

5.       The Holy Spirit directs believers through dreams and visions.  I’m sure caution needs to be exercised at this point but caution should be exercised however Christians determine God’s direction.  The fact is, God has always directed His people with dreams and visions.

Joseph was warned that Herod would attempt to kill Christ unless they fled to Egypt.

Paul and his companions were directed not to minister in Bythinia and specifically directed to minister in Macedonia.

God gave Peter a vision to direct him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10).

Yes, God uses dreams and visions to guide His people.

(Transition)  Thirdly, the Holy Spirit not only is a person and provides guidance, He provides power.

III.    The Holy Spirit Provides Power

There’s an entire sermon to be preached on this point so I want to limit my comments.  But the main purpose of the Holy Spirit is to empower believers at every point.

That’s what Jesus meant in Acts 1:8 when He said: “you shall receive power—ability, efficiency and might—when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”  The Holy Spirit is our means of receiving power with God for whatever we face and whatever we do.

Think about how Christ lived on earth.  Jesus was the Son of God in undiminished deity.  But He didn’t use His own divine power to manifest Himself to the world.  When John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and all He did was done through the power of the Holy Spirit.  He lived, preached, worked miracles, died, and was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And He had to live that way. For Jesus to be our perfect Example He had to fellowship with and employ the power of the Spirit and not His own power.

But here’s one of the greatest dangers facing the twenty-first century church.  The church, by and large, has learned to have church apart from the power of the Holy Spirit.   We know how to arrange the service, sing the choruses, deliver the message, and stir the people.  But it’s often without the empowering of the Holy Spirit and His convicting presence.

But let’s not make a corporate indictment against the church; let’s personalize this.  Many Christians have learned to live out their Faith without significant evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power!

(Example)  Imagine something with me.  If God somehow permitted the apostles, prophets, or saints of Scripture to return to our generation do you think they would attempt to live without the power of the Holy Spirit?  No!  Then why should you or I attempt to live any other way?

Christ wants the Holy Spirit divinely impacting us today.  He wants us empowered for witnessing, praying, ministering, and leading our lives.  And the key to allowing Him to operate in our life is by asking the Heavenly Father to inundate us with His Spirit and then praying daily for opportunities to allow Him to move through us.

Conclusion

The infilling of the Spirit was an expected part of the New Testament experience.  And you should never doubt that the Holy Spirit is God’s divine will for your life.

In closing let me read one final Scripture.  Turn to Acts 2.  Acts 2:38-39 says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  (39) The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”