(April 29, 2023) Dr Robert McQuillan shares some more thoughts on the Holy Spirit…

Dr Robert
You said you’d share more about ministering the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). Someone has said we should learn… know… about the Holy Spirit first. Kelvin.

Hi Kelvin

Yes, you’re right! It’s vital to know the giver of these ministry gifts! As you know, the giver is the blessed Holy Spirit, the third person of the godhead and as He’s done from early church days, more than ever it seems He seeks to guide the church, not just leaders but all Christians in these dark times.

Of interest, Kelvin, in our article this month (Dare-to-say-yes-lord), Maureen and I share some of our personal experiences with the Holy Spirit, especially the importance of hearing His soft, gentle voice within.

I’ll share a few more things about Him below…

• He’s for real! A person, not an ‘It’
  When I was a kid, I asked a Presbyterian curate about the Spirit and he hesitatingly said, ‘Oh, I think it’s the power of God.’ He quoted Romans 8:16 and 26, which in those ‘old KJV days’ read ‘the Spirit itself’ (The NKJV says ‘Himself’). Glad to say that a few years later I learned the truth about Him such as –
  
  
• As a person, He has names
  + Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11),
  + Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20),
  + Spirit of God (Romans 8:9),
  + Helper (John 14:16),
  + Friend (John 15:26NIrV). Incidentally, Kelvin, personally I call Him My Forever Friend!
  
  
• And Personality
  1) Characteristics…
  + Intellect (Knowledge) 1 Corinthians 2:10-13…
  + Will (decides) 1 Corinthians 12:11…
  + Emotion (feels) Romans 8:26…
  2) Actions… such as teaches (Luke 12:12); inspires (2 Peter 1:21); guides (Roman 8:14)… and so much more!
  3) Susceptibilities… can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29), resisted (Acts 7:51), grieved (Ephesians 4:30)…
  
  
• Titles
  The Spirit of –
  + Truth (John 16:13),
  + Lord (Judges 14:19),
  + Love (Romans 15:30),
  + Power (Luke4:14-15)…
  
  
• Symbols
  Such as –
  + oil (Acts 10:38),
  + dove (John 1:32),
  + water (John 7:37-39),
  + wine (Acts 2:15ff)…

My friend, I’ll leave this intro at this point. As you’ll appreciate, I could be adding much more teaching here, never mind many other scriptures. The above is enough to encourage you to use a concordance and search for scriptures that refer to the Holy Spirit.

Pastors, Bible teachers, and leaders can speak or write about the Holy Spirit and the gifts – but the next move is up to ‘ordinary Christians!’ In other words, we need to move out of the pew and manifest (actionise) the Holy Spirit! This next move is not up to church leadership alone but to every Christian! It’s up to us if we want to see things happen in our churches. Not just the pastor(s)!

We must follow Jesus’ example – He ‘… arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the devil’ (Acts 10:38Mge).

Reflection: Next time, I was going to give you a briefing on the gifts to encourage you further. But I think I’ll share on the anointing first, especially as Pentecost Sunday is next month (May 28).

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Got a question for Dr Robert or Pr Maureen McQuillan? Email either: OnlinerConnect@gmail.com
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