Perhaps for many people the Holy Spirit is a mysterious and supernatural force, for others it is something strange or maybe a little scary. But in the Bible, the Holy Spirit is not an obscure force but a person you can get to know. It is not an additional option, but it has the main role and is located in the center. It has not been invented recently. It existed from the beginning and all things were created through Him.
In the beginning there was God. The earth was empty, formless and dark, and the shadow of God was over the waters, and God said to create light. Then came the day after the night. With each new day, a new being was created.
Vast oceans, wider skies, green and bright earth. The Holy Spirit, the Creator Spirit, brought the world out of chaos, order out of disorder, harmony out of confusion, and beauty out of deformity. Universe, galaxies, sun, moon and all stars. Animals of all shapes and sizes swam and flew and roamed the earth.
God created man and woman in his own image and breathed life into them.
God sent His Spirit to His chosen people to guide them, to give them gifts for a specific purpose and time to do God’s work on earth.
God sent his spirit to a man named Bezalel and gave him the gift of creativity and artistic knowledge to turn metals and precious stones into art and a house for God.
The Spirit of God breathed on Gideon, a weak and timid man, so he became a brave warrior who saved God’s people. Imprisoned Samson, God also sent his Spirit to give him extraordinary power to free himself from the ropes that bound him. Then the Spirit of God blew on him and the ropes that were on his arms became like linen that is burned in the fire and the bonds fell from his hands. God placed in others from his spirit for prophecy, to be his spokesperson and give direction and hope to people. The Spirit of God also descended upon the children of Israel to give glad tidings of hope. The Spirit of God is upon me because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor, he sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to proclaim freedom to the captives and release to the captives.
It was revealed to Ezekiel: And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and make you follow my statutes and you will keep my statutes. In addition, the Spirit of God spoke through Joel: We understand who this promise is for and how it will happen. After that, I will pour out my spirit on all mankind. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old people will dream and your young people will see dreams. Also, in those days I will pour out my spirit even on the slaves and the maidservants. God’s promise was that He would do a new work, not just for certain people at certain times and for certain tasks, but for all. All people regardless of position, age, gender, ethnicity or race. Then with the birth of Jesus, it was as if a drum sounded and all those who stood around when Jesus was born were filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary, Mary’s mother, Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, John the Baptist and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove and filled with the Holy Spirit, he began to teach, heal the sick, free the captives and heal the broken hearts. Whatever happened physically in the Old Testament, happened spiritually in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit always brings new things, new attitudes, new desires, new ways of worship, new songs, etc. to our lives.
The Holy Spirit wants to put skill, ability and creativity in you. Today, the Holy Spirit brings freedom to break habits, addictions and things that limit a person spiritually. The Holy Spirit is a comforter, a helper, a gift giver, a guide and softens our hearts. He takes hard hearts like stones from us and gives us soft hearts. The Holy Spirit helps us break bad habits, it also controls the desire to love others and help those in need.
Experience the Holy Spirit
Experiencing the Holy Spirit is not only about what is felt, but also about making a difference in the world. God can use you. God promised through Joel that the Holy Spirit will no longer be reserved for special people at special times and for special purposes, but will be for all people. But this promise was not fulfilled for many years. Then, with the birth of Jesus, we see a significant increase in the activity of the Holy Spirit. An angel said to Mary, the mother of Jesus: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of God Almighty will overshadow you, and for this reason, that holy baby will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 And then it was the turn of Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby moved in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:41 John the Baptist was the first person to communicate between the Holy Spirit and Jesus. Yahya said to all the people: I will baptize you with water, but someone more capable than me will come, whose shoelaces I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3:16
The main meaning of baptize is to sink, to immerse, to dive, to get wet. That’s what the Spirit wants to do, it wants to soak and fill us. In this regard, we can give the example of a dry sponge. When a sponge is very dry, even when you put it in water, it doesn’t absorb water at first because the outside is very hard, but then when we keep the sponge in water, its side gradually softens, and when its edges soften, the sponge can Absorb a lot of water. The sponge is inside the water, but the water is also inside the sponge and when you lift it, the water comes out. We are also supposed to be like this, full of Holy Spirit. Jesus was completely filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately after John baptized him in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove (Luke 3:22). In a synagogue in the city of Nazareth, Jesus read words from Isaiah 61 and applied them to himself. God’s spirit is on me because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor… Today, when you listen to this writing, it will be fulfilled (Luke 4:18 and 21). Jesus went to the Jewish festival called the Feast of Tabernacles. Thousands of Jews go to Jerusalem to celebrate this festival and thank God for the water he gave them last year. They also prayed that God would do the same next year. When Jesus arrived at that feast, he predicted that the Holy Spirit would descend on everyone. On the last day, which was the great day of Eid, Jesus stood and called out with a loud cry, whoever is thirsty, come to me and drink, whoever believes in me, as the scripture says, from his belly will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-39), said this about the Spirit that those who believe in Him will find it because the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. Jesus’ glory meant his crucifixion and resurrection. He said that the promises of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others are not fulfilled in a place, but in a person, i.e. in himself. After his death and resurrection, while Jesus was eating with his companions, he said to them: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father that you heard from me. Because John was baptizing with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the farthest parts of the world (Acts 1:8). A sound like a rushing wind came from the sky and filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw the tongues of fire separating and riding on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages. The Holy Spirit enabled them to do this. Something amazing and supernatural was happening. People didn’t know how to explain it and gave natural explanations like they drank too much wine and got drunk. Peter stood up and said let me explain to you what happened. They are not drunk, it is 9 am. This is the Holy Spirit. This was prophesied in the Old Testament and Peter was quoting from Joel. In the last days, God says I will give my soul for all people. Then he says something even more amazing. He says this is for you. Repent and be baptized each of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because this promise is for you and your children and all those who are far away, that is, whoever God our God calls him (Acts 2:38-39). The promise of the Father, the promise of life, harmony, beauty for ashes, creativity, newness, power, freedom, compassion, Christ, living water, the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was once revealed to specific people at a specific time and for specific purposes and is now for us. The gift of the Holy Spirit is no longer only for certain people, at certain times and for certain purposes, but for everyone.
Today in the article : Who is the Holy Spirit? We reviewed useful information about the Bible and the way of Jesus. If you wish, you can view other articles of Ali Vahidi about Christianity
