Last week we looked at who the Holy Spirit is, the role He plays in salvation. Today we will look at how He appears or manifests to us.
How Does the Holy Spirit Manifest?
There are several ways the presence of the Holy Spirit is seen in the lives of believers.
He Intercedes for us:
Romans 8:26-27: 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
He knows our needs. He knows our weaknesses. Sometimes we do not know what to pray, and He prays through us, with groans (not tongues, on this occasion). He intercedes for us in accordance with the will of God.
He Baptises Us:
Every believer has been sealed but not every believer has been baptised with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:1-6. We read of those who were believers but had not encountered the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul prays and they began to speak in tongues and prophecy.
It’s like having a car. You may be the owner and can prove that with legal documentation, but that car is going nowhere without fuel. It needs filling (or charging). It also needs constant filling. It was not designed to sit outside the house and do nothing.
Ephesians 5:18: 8 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit
Acts 1:8: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The power the Spirit gives you is not primarily a power to live a good life, although that is a part of it. It is primarily the power the go and tell others about Him. But it is deeper than that.
For the word translated here as witness, has the same root in the Greek as martyr. It means that the Spirit gives us power to live for Jesus above our own selves.
We live differently to the world. Which is why it can be a struggle sometimes, when someone says they are born again but they live no differently to the world. They are still sexually immoral, still out clubbing, still swearing, still doing all the stuff they did before they met Jesus.
I don’t doubt that they are saved. I do doubt that they have met the Holy Spirit in power!!
He Gives us Gifts:
Acts 2:2-4: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
1 Corinthians 12: 7-11:Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
These are just nine of the many gifts the Spirit gives.
Note there is amazing diversity in the gifts.
Note that it is Spirit who determines who gets what gift(s).
He is Symbolised in Many Ways (based on Jack Hayford’s teaching):
The symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible gives us pictures of the different ways he works.
The Holy Spirit Comes as Rain:
Rain has a dual implication. First as refreshing where there has been dryness and barrenness (Joel 2:23-29). Second, as restoration where there has been loss (Isaiah 28:11-12).
The “pouring out” Peter refers to at Pentecost (Acts 2:17) is not an abstract use of the word; it has to do with “latter rain” that brought about the hastening of the harvest and fruitful crops.
The Holy Spirit Comes as Rivers:
Rivers are channels or conduits to places where the refreshing of water is needed. John pinpoints that the work of the Spirit as “rivers of living water” was to become available after Jesus’ ascension (John 7:37-39).
The Holy Spirit Comes as Wind:
The Holy Spirit, coming as wind, depicts His power and His guidance. When Jesus tells Nicodemus about the new birth experience (John 3:8), He tells him that it is not like a tangible birth where you can see the baby is born and check the clock for its time of arrival. The work of the Spirit breathes into a life, and something transpires that people cannot recognise.
There’s a dynamism but also a gentleness, like the wisp of a breeze.
At Pentecost (Acts 2:3), it wasn’t a light breeze that blew in; it was the sound of a rushing wind—like a hurricane.
The Holy Spirit Comes as Oil:
The anointing—the oil of Scripture—is directly related to the Holy Spirit’s work in our life (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). The Holy Spirit’s anointing makes us sensitive (1 John 2:20).
The Holy Spirit Comes as Wine:
Ephesians 5:18 draws an analogy for the symbolism of the Holy Spirit as wine. In the Gospels, Jesus describes the new work of God, conveyed by the ministry of the Spirit, as new wine coming into old vessels. So it’s a perfectly appropriate symbol in light of the Word.
Still, let me ask you, what does it take to excite your life? The issue isn’t just alcohol; the issue is, how much of what the world offers does it take to get you going?
The Holy Spirit Comes as Fire:
At Pentecost, the Bible says that tongues as of fire appeared over the heads of each of those who gathered together (Acts 2:3).
The Holy Spirit comes as fire to work something deep into the substance of our lives that will shape things around us, rather than us taking on the shape of the world.
As fire, He works in a dual way: to probe the inner recesses of our life and to refine us as gold or silver is refined in the fire; and to temper our personalities by causing there to be the penetration of fire into our system.
The Holy Spirit Comes as a Dove:
The Holy Spirit, coming as a dove, is gentle and a symbol of peace. What the dove did is important as well—the dove came and rested on Jesus (Matthew 3:16).
A dove never rests on dead flesh, a corpse. A dove is easily startled and will fly away. There needs be something about us that makes the Holy Spirt want to rest upon us, the alight on us and to remain there.
Pentecost is not all fireworks, there is the abiding presence of the Spirit. I believe the Spirit, when He alighted upon Jesus as a dove, remained there.
The Holy Spirit wants to come and rest upon you and me. Not sweeping throughout the world as a tidal wave of revival, but to come to each of us personally.
Wrapping This Up:
Today, I want to ask you to invite Him by saying, “Holy Spirit, come upon me.” Let Jesus minister the richness of the Holy Spirit to you. The Bible says it is Jesus who baptises with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8), and He will:
- Pour rain on you
- Open rivers in you
- Breathe wind into your life
- Anoint you with oil
- Fill you with holy wine
- Refine and temper you with fire
- Send the Holy Spirit to come to you
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