The Many-Faceted Of The Holy Spirit
God’s Holy Spirit is multi-dimensional; many-faceted. We are missing out, denying ourselves a closer walk with God by being ignorant or denying the existence of more aspects of God than we know.
I. If God has many identities that we have not become acquainted with, then so does His Holy Spirit.
A. Many facets of cut diamond serve to reflect and refract light passing through it.
B. knowing other facets is one level of knowing God
C. knowing how those facets contribute to the face we face is a deeper level of knowing God
II. Jesus, though of the God and the Holy Spirit, interacted with the Holy Spirit at different levels to convey something to us. For convenience, stay in Luke’s accounting though other examples exist in other gospels
A. Holy Spirit settles in bodily form – Luke 3: 22
B. Filled with Holy Spirit – Luke 4: 1
1. Filled (Strong’s #4134) pleres, meaning full.
2. derived from plethro (strong’s #4130) meaning to become or make full to capacity.
3. in classic GK, plethro is used
a. to describe air/wind filling sails of ship to point of beyond capacity.
b. to describe addition of color to glass of water and without stirring, over time the color will diffuse/disperse to fill glass with color.
B. led by Spirit – Luke 4: 1
1. lead (strong’s #71) ago, meaning take ahold for purpose of bringing, marshalling, escort
2. idea of grasping hand of child by adult for purpose of guiding direction of child for course correction or for assurance
3. classic Gk used to describe man laying hand on upper arm of woman to escort her or of soldiers on each side of person to direct or bring person to location.
C. in power of the Spirit – Luke 4:14
D. anointed by Spirit – Luke 4: 18, 21
1. Jesus reads passage
2. Jesus declares fulfilment as of that day
E. Note each interaction of Jesus with Holy Spirit is at different points in time as recorded by Luke.
III. So with disciples
A. Disciples instructed to tarry for the Promise of the Father – Luke 24: 49
1 the promise is the Holy Spirit
2 the command is to wait
B. Yet, how were the disciples able to cast out demons, heal the sick, preach the gospel as recorded in the scriptures prior to this point in Luke (after Jesus resurrected)?
John says the Holy Spirit had not been given yet John 7: 39. Harmony of the gospels reveal that at the time of John 7, all of Luke through chapter 9 had already occurred, which included disciple sent out and returning amazed even demons subject to them.
It is acceptable that the presence of Jesus enabled the disciples to do this.
It is equally plausible that the Holy Spirit did this through them.
C. John 20: 22 Jesus breathes on and commands them to receive Holy Spirit.
1Jesus is giving what He said He would do, i.e. Holy Spirit
2disciples must receive
D. Acts 1: 5, Jesus tells them that they will be baptized in Holy Spirit
E. Acts 1: 8, He tells disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.
F. Acts 2: 1-4
1. mighty rushing wind and tongues of flame…Holy Spirit in bodily form
2. verse 4 they are filled with Holy Spirit.
G. Acts 2: 17-18
1. Holy Spirit poured out on ALL flesh (not limited to disciples, believers…
2. A different pouring for servants of God
H. Acts 2: 33, received from Father the Promise of the Holy Spirit poured out on people (connect to III.A. above)
I. Disciples filled with Spirit (Acts 2: 4), yet…
1 Acts 4: 8 notes Peter is filled while speaking before religious leaders
2 Acts 4: 29-31, disciples pray for boldness to do works and declare gospel and again noted they were filled.
J. Ephesians 5: 18, be filled with Holy Spirit. Grammar to appreciate this verse. command to be filled is actually passive voice; present tense; and imperative mood
1 imperative mood means it is a command
2 presence tense means it is a continuous action
3 passive voice means the verb action is on the subject
4 altogether, this is a command that means
‘let me remain in the state of being filled by the Holy Spirit.’ In other words, filled with Holy Spirit is not a one-time occurrence. It is something I must start and continue to do.
5 filled here is same idea of wind in sails or color be dispersed throughout. Image of Holy Spirit permeating His pressure and presence in every aspect of our lives and being, every nook and cranny of our body and soul.
6 The same tense, voice, and mood is with the first half of this verse, only with a negative. So, it means to cease and remain ceased in being under external influence (such as drunkenness) leading to dissipation (decadence, debauchery, wasteful living)
7 so understanding the grammar, we could say the verse means ‘let us end us being under the influence of external sources that cause us to waste our lives. instead let us be continually being filled by the Holy Spirit.
IV. Religiously we are directed to seek the manifestations of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12: 7) as gifts or fruits or power. We have been taught religion so an experience or two of the Holy Spirit manifestations satisfy in a single step or two all dimensions of the Holy Spirit — that the baptism, gifts, fruit, filling, anointing, power, leading of the Holy Spirit is the same. This religious teaching keeps us from developing a deeper and stronger relationship with God through His Spirit.
A. John 7: 37-38 informs us that
1 we must thirst (realize there is more; admit we need more; and desire more)
2 we most go to Jesus for drink
3 believe that through Him we will have rivers (note: plural) of Holy Spirit flowing from us
4 Holy Spirit is not meant for us to hoard for us but for us to be conduits for the Holy Spirit to flow through us
B. Luke 11: 13, we need to be always asking if we want to be always having the Holy Spirit filling our lives
C. Pride and religious spirits inhibit our thirsting for more of God in our lives.
D. Moses, after all his experience with God, when on the mountain of God, asked to see God’s glory. He was thirsty for more of God and asked.
V. Watch for moving of the Spirit upon the people and lead (bring by laying ahold) them into the flow (new facets of Holy Spirit) for them to receive what they have been thirsting for…
