Charles Stanley - Your Convictions About The Holy Spirit

Life can sometimes be difficult and draining, especially when you’re trying to serve God. But that’s why Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force; He is the third Person of the trinity who empowers, convicts, guides, and comforts all believers.

Even as Christians, it’s possible for us to be unaware of one of God’s most awesome blessings. Although we may know we’ve been saved, we might not realize that the Holy Spirit came to live within us at that moment. And even if we’ve heard this truth, we may not understand who the Spirit is or why His indwelling presence is significant. The Scripture tells us everything we need to know about this amazing gift of the Holy Spirit sent to us from our heavenly Father to enable us to become and do what He desires.

The Holy Spirit is a person, not just a power or force. Even if a translation of the Bible may occasionally refer to Him as it, the overwhelming original Greek terminology signifies that He is a person.

Why did the Father send the Holy Spirit? Before His ascension, Jesus gave His disciples the assignment of proclaiming repentance for the forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations, beginning with Jerusalem. He told them He’d send His Father’s promise upon them, but they were to stay in the city until they were clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:47-49).

Christ’s words were fulfilled shortly thereafter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-6). While the believers were gathered together, suddenly they heard a noise from heaven that sounded like a violent rushing wind. “There appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them” (v. 3). They were all filled with the Spirit and began speaking in tongues (or languages) to the Jews from various countries, who were gathered in Jerusalem, and each one heard the message in his own language.