Born again – Part 2

Who Is The Holy Spirit? Cont.

In Jn 4:24, Jesus said, “God is Spirit.” This means God is not a physical being with a physical body limited to one place. He is present everywhere. Read Psalm 139—God is omnipresent. In Gen 1:26, God gave to human beings the image in which He was to appear visibly to them (Gen 18:1-2) and the form that His Son would one day assume (Luke 1:35; Phil 2:7; Heb 10:5). To have the Holy Spirit is to have Jesus in Spirit form. Jesus called the Holy Spirit “another Comforter” (Jn 14:16)

“Comforter,” Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as “another Comforter” (Gk allon paraklēton). “Counselor” (Gk paraklçētos) in classical Greek denoted someone called or sent to help. It was sometimes used in a technical sense as a counselor or spokesperson, not in a legal sense, but as a friend coming alongside to help. In John’s Gospel, it has that common everyday meaning of “helper.” Jesus called the Holy Spirit “another” (Gk allon, “another of the same kind”) helper. Jesus was, indeed, the helper of the disciples. He touched the weakness of Peter’s mother-in-law and gave her strength for service (Mark 1:31). He spoke to the helpless man at the pool and gave him strength to take up his bed and walk (John 5:8-9). Whenever the disciples were discouraged, tired or at odds with one another, He gave them unfailing help by example, teaching and miracle. He was always there when they needed Him. Jesus further told His disciples that it was to their advantage for Him to go away, for only then would He send the paraklētos to them (John 16:7). He, i.e., the Holy Spirit, would bring a closer relationship to Jesus and make His power available to them wherever they were or went.

God became a man in Jesus, so that Jesus could die for our sins. Jesus rose from the dead to offer salvation to all people through spiritual renewal and rebirth. When Jesus ascended into Heaven, His physical presence left the earth, but He promised to send the Holy Spirit, so that His spiritual presence would still be among mankind (see Luke 24:49). The Holy Spirit first became available to all believers at Pentecost (Acts 2). Whereas in Old Testament days, the Holy Spirit empowered specific individuals for specific purposes, now all believers have the power of the Holy Spirit available to them. For more on the Holy Spirit, read Jn 14:16-28; 16:5-15; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; and 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13,14.

For the New Testament Christian, the most important thing about the Spirit is not his power (Acts 1:8), but that He is “Holy.” His holy character, along with the manifestation of that holy character in the lives of believers, is what matters most (cf. Rom 1:4; Gal 5:22-26).

• Other names for the Holy Spirit
In the OT the Holy Spirit is referred to as The Spirit of God (Gen 1:2; 41:38; 1 Sam 19:20; 23; 2 Chro 15:1; Spirit of the LORD (Judge 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14,19; 1 Kgs 22:24; 2 Chr 11:23; 20:14; Is 40:13; 48:16; 59:19; 61:1; 63:14; Ezek 11:5,24; Counsellor (Is 40:13)

In the NT, The Holy Spirit is also called Spirit of God (Mat 3:16; 12:28; Rom 8:2, 91:14; 15:19; 1 Cor 2:11, 14; 6:11; 7:40; Eph 4:30; 1 Jn 4:2
Spirit of your Father (Mat 10:20)
Spirit of the Lord (Lk 4:18; 2 Cor 3:18)
God is Spirit (Jn 4:24)
Another Helper (Jn 14:16) NKJV
Another Comforter (Jn 14:16) KJV

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