The Purpose of the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost
Part I: The Purpose of the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost
“Believe”
What does it mean to Believe or be a Believer?
Definition:
Believe: to
have confidence
or faith in the truth of (a positive assertion, story, etc.); give credence to.
Believe in,
- - to be persuaded of the truth or existence of- to have faith in the reliability, honesty, benevolence, etc., of
Recap:
When you receive the Holy Ghost you receive power to become
a son or daughter of God (John 1:12). As
we learned in our previous bible study, “The Baptism
of the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit”, we must be born again of the
water and of the Spirit (John 3). So you ask, “Why
must I be born of the Spirit?” Jesus gave several reasons:
- Except a man be born of the water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:3-7).
- God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
- Jesus promise to give us another Comforter to abide with us and he is the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-18; John 15:26).
- Jesus promise the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost will teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance that Jesus said (John 14:26).
- To belong to Christ you must have his Spirit (Romans 8:9).
(This is not an all-inclusive list of reasons. This bible study is an introduction to the
Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit)
John 1:11-13King James Version (KJV)
11 He came unto
his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name:
13 Which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
What does the bible say about believing and or being a believer?
Believe
For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and
going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted
themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed
him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye
had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
When you believe an action will
follow. As John the Baptist preached
righteousness, those that believed acted upon what he said. They repented of
their sins and were baptized in water. The
repentance and baptism is the evidence that they believed. When we are a believer in God’s eyes, we
believe unto righteousness, not our righteousness, which is as filthy rags
(Isaiah 64:6), but unto the righteousness in God’s sight, his
righteousness.
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is
at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Once again, the evidence of
believing the gospel is repentance. For
one to simply say, “I believe”, is not true belief. The devils also believe and tremble. When we believe our faith is activated, the
evidence of our faith is,” works”. Faith
with no works is dead faith.
James 2:18-20 (KJV)
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Promises
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.
There are two promises
pertaining to belief:
1st promise: He that believes and is baptized shall be
saved
2nd promise: He that
does not believe shall be damned
Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
Believer:
Acts 19:2-7 King James Version (KJV)
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7 And all the men were about twelve.
Remember
the Holy Ghost is a promise from God the Father to the believer by the laying
on of hands. Jesus himself baptizes you
with the Holy Ghost, John the Baptist baptized with water unto repentance.
Matthew 3:11-12; Acts 1:4-5, 7-8; John 14:15-18, 26.
Some
people think the Holy Ghost was only given on the day of Pentecost, however as
you read the scriptures, it is clearly seen the Holy Ghost was also given later
and he is to be received today. He is a
gift from God the Father, but you have to choose to receive him.
If
I came over to your house and presented you with a gift, you make the decision
to receive my gift or not. It’s the same
with the gift of the Holy Ghost. God
does not force his spirit into your life; he offers this amazing gift to you,
only to benefit you spiritually. But you must decide whether or not you want
the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
If
you are a believer you will receive the Holy Ghost.
Read the chapters below pertaining to these scriptures.
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and
having received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Then laid they their hands on them, and
they received the Holy Ghost.
Can any man forbid water, that these should not be
baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as
well as we?
And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord,
having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the
Holy Ghost.
What did you learn from these scriptures?
Signs that follow those that believe:
Mark 16:16-18 (KJV) (This is Jesus speaking)
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Jesus makes the signs of a
believer very clear:
- Ability to cast out devils
- Speaking in new tongues
- Taking up serpents
- Not hurt if drinking any deadly thing (this does not mean to tempt God, by drinking some poison)
- Ability to lay hands on the sick and they recover
These signs are demonstrated in the life of the believer
after being born again and receiving the power of the Holy Ghost. Flesh can never cast out a devil; a devil is a
spiritual being. Flesh cannot speak in
new tongues, this is a spiritual language, it is holy, it is from God (we’ll
see this later in our study). If you
accidentally or unknowingly drink something deadly, the Holy Spirit provides
protection so you will not be harmed.
The Holy Ghost also gives you power to lay hands on the sick through
prayer and they shall recover/be healed.
Evidence of a believer
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
But these are written, that ye might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name.
According to Jesus, when the
believer continues in his word then are we his disciples. As a believer in Christ, we do not have the
luxury of obeying the word of God when we choose and disobeying it when we
choose. If we are believers of Christ,
we are to always obey his word, that’s what it means when it says, “continue in
his word”. Obedience is not an option, it
is a requirement.
Attributes of a believer
And all that believed were together, and had all
things common;
And the multitude of them that believed were of one
heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which
he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
Howbeit many of them which heard
the word believed; and the number of the men was about five
thousand. (Now that’s soul winning!)
And many that believed came, and confessed, and
shewed their deeds.
A believer has the love of God
dwelling within. As you read the above
chapters for each scripture, you should have been able to see the attributes of
a believer. A believer loves his
neighbor as himself, seeks the good of others, believes God Holy Word, and
confesses and repents of their deeds.
What do we receive when we believe?
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name
whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of
repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him
which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Believers receive remission of sins and are saved by
faith in Christ Jesus.
Continue to study the Word of God on a daily basis. Take
time to fast and pray and ask God for understanding of his Holy
Scriptures. If you have not received the
Holy Ghost since you believed, please know his Spirit is waiting to dwell
within you. (We will study the
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit)
Please remember, this study is an introduction to the Purpose
of the Holy Spirit.
Next week we’ll study, “Speaking in Tongues”.
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church, bible study, conference, women’s ministry, special program, etc.
Please contact Minister Waters on her website listed below, on the “Speaking Engagements Page”.
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www.PureGoldEvangelisticMinistries.com
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