The Evangelist Speaks

by Evangelist Carolyn Griffin

Meet the Holy Spirit

If we are to understand Spiritual Gifts and their importance in the lives of believers and the growth of our churches, we must first “Meet the Holy Spirit”. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is a person that resides within the born again, spirit filled believer. He is not an it, a thing, or something that you catch or temporarily feel.  Jesus speaks of The Holy Spirit as He prepares His disciples for His return to the Father. 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 forever; 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. John 14:15-17 KJV. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:  And ye also shall bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. John 15:26-27 KJV.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  Of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged John 16:7-11 KJV. Although we were not with Jesus from the beginning, we are His disciples today. His introduction of the Holy Spirit to the original twelve serves as our introduction to the Holy Spirit today. We must get to know Him as a person. We need to understand His Presence, His Power, and His Baptism if we plan to operate effectively in the Kingdom of God by using our spiritual gifts for His Glory and for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.  

As believers, we have been involved with the Holy Spirit since we first heard the good news that Jesus died for us and bore the penalty for our sins.  It was the Holy Spirit, through the Word, who made the truth that Jesus was raised from the dead a reality in our hearts.  I Corinthians 12:3 states that no man says Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Ghost. It was the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit that made us new creatures. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and overshadows us.  Spiritual death is erased from our spirit, and we are born again into a new life and a new spirit. The Holy Spirit within not only imparts the nature of God to the spirit of man, but it also lives in us as new creatures and reveals to us the knowledge of God. The Spirit gives us life and it also sustains our life. Once we are born again and receive the life of God, the Spirit who gave that life begins to dwell in us.  Many believers choose to stop there, but there is more! Much more!

It is the Power of the Holy Spirit that we must have to operate effectively in the Kingdom of God. The disciples had the Spirit within, but were commanded in Acts 1:4 - 5 to wait for the promise of the Father; they would be baptized with the Holy Ghost.  Acts 1:8 states, but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.   Some tend to argue that that was only for the early church. I choose not to debate that point. I will only say that we are his disciples today. If we are going to be witnesses  of Him in our homes, churches, schools, communities, cities, state and nations;  we too must have the Power.  Too many people are trying to do the work of the ministry without the Power of the Holy Ghost.  Acts 10:38 says Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and power.  On the day of Pentecost, the disciples received that same power! This enduement of power was necessary for them to be able to carry out the work Jesus set before them.  Nothing has changed. The Body of Christ today is still under the same mandate.  We must not only have the Spirit within, we must have the Sprit upon.  Have you met the Holy Spirit in His fullness?  If you haven’t, it’s time. The Body of Christ needs you!!