We're in a study regarding the personality of
the Holy Spirit. And I want you to follow me
very closely with the Word of God. Every statement
that I make, I will back up with God's Word.
Therefore, I'll wait just a second until you
get it. out your Bible. And remember again that
the Holy Spirit is a person with a definite personality
who has always been in existence. That's one
thing that's so difficult for folk to understand.
I don't know why it is. But we have proof that
the Holy Spirit has always existed. Turn, if
you will, Pete, to the 9th chapter of Hebrews,
the 14th verse. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit...
Who is the eternal Spirit? The Holy Spirit? Here
we have Jesus. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit...
Through the Holy Spirit, offered himself without
spot to God. Purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God. As the Holy Spirit,
the third person of Godhead, has existed from
all of eternity, it stands to reason that if
we would pursue the same course of speaking and
writing about him and thinking about him and
preaching, and interpreting the word regarding
him as we do about the person and the work of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, then much of the
mystery and misunderstanding as to his person
and work would very quickly disappear. We have
never been taught regarding this third person
of the Trinity. So many people feel that suddenly
there appears in our midst a new person. A new
personality. And how often recently I have heard
folk in discussing the Holy Spirit talk about
this wonderful new person. This new movement
that is upon us. But he is not a new person.
This is not a new personality. We have never
been taught regarding the third person of the
Trinity. If you will, please, turn to the 26th
chapter of Job. I want you to see the work of
the Holy Spirit when it comes to creation. And
we read in Job the 26th chapter, the 13th verse,
by His Spirit. And always when the Bible speaks
of His Spirit. or the Spirit. It always refers
to the Holy Spirit. By His Spirit, He hath garnished
the heavens. In other words, by His Spirit, by
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit made the heavens
beautiful with stars and suns. The work of the
Trinity in creation has been described thus.
God the Father created the matter. God the Son
molded it into shape as seen in the heavens and
the earth and every visible object. And God the
Holy Spirit breathed into all creation life.
He gave creation life. And here we see... All
three persons at work in creation. Read it. It's
there. The 13th verse of the 26th chapter of
Job. By His Spirit, He has garnished the heavens.
By the Holy Spirit, He made the heavens beautiful
with stars and suns. Mm -hmm. God... The Father
created the matter. For it's God the Father who
is the great creator. God the Son molded it into
shape. And the Holy Spirit breathed into creation
life. For the Holy Spirit is the part that raised
Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit is... resurrection
life. He is the power of the Trinity. There we
see all three persons at work in creation. You
cannot, it is impossible to leave one of these
persons out in speaking of the creation, in speaking
of the creation of man. For remember the word
said, let us. God is speaking. When he was about
to create man, he said, let us. To whom was he
speaking? To Jesus Christ, his son. To the Holy
Spirit. Let us make man in our... image and after
our likeness. Now go back again, if you will,
please, for just a minute to Genesis, the second
chapter, the seventh verse. And the Lord God
formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life and man
became a living soul. And here we see the threefold
work of God. The Father made the dust of the
ground. The Son, like a mighty sculptor, molds
the clay into a statue, formed the dust in the
shape of a man, and the Holy Spirit breathed
into its nostrils the breath of life. And there
you have the three persons at work in the creation
of man. And the earth was without form, and void,
and darkness was upon the face of the earth.
And the Spirit of God. Again, we have the Holy
Spirit. For I just told you, every time the Word
of God speaks of the Spirit of God, it always
refers to the Holy Spirit. No, the Holy Spirit
is not... A new personality that has suddenly
come upon the scene. And the Spirit of God, the
Holy Spirit, moved upon the face of the waters.
And here again, we have the work of the Holy
Spirit in the restoration of the earth. And this
reveals to us that the work of the Holy Spirit
in creation was to impart and restore life. Let's
turn to the Old Testament and see what we find
regarding the work of the Holy Spirit in lives
of individuals. For very often I find men and
women who feel that the Holy Spirit only came
upon individuals to the 120 at the day of Pentecost?
No. If you study the Word of God very closely,
if you study the work of the Holy Spirit in the
lives of individuals in the Old Testament, you'll
find that even before the experience in the upper
room on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit
had... come upon men and women. Now there are
a number of passages of Scripture that may be
cited to show that there were men who were indwelt
by the Holy Spirit of God and who had this special
privilege given to them by God. Now the first
reference we find to this indwelling of the Holy
Spirit is in the 41st chapter of Genesis. The
38th verse. And here we have a word from a heathen
king. Pharaoh of Egypt spoke concerning one of
God's chosen ones, Joseph. And what Pharaoh said
about Joseph was one of the greatest compliments
that a man can know. Joseph was never paid a
higher... compliment then he was paid by a hidden
king and this is what pharaoh of egypt said about
joseph can we find such a one as this man is
a man in whom the spirit of god is He sensed
something different. He knew what it was in Joseph.
It was something that's supernatural. It was
something that set him completely apart from
all other men. He recognized the presence of
the Holy Spirit in the life of Joseph. And I
still contend that even the unbeliever could...
They will recognize the Holy Spirit in the life
of a man or a woman who is filled with the Spirit.
I do not believe that Pharaoh understood what
he was saying, for he was very ignorant of the
Trinity. I believe he was very ignorant regarding
the Holy Spirit, ignorant of the third person.
But Pharaoh recognized that there was something
manifested in God's servant. that was not observed
in other men. It was something that Pharaoh had
never seen before, even though he'd been surrounded
by multitudes of priests in his own religion.
Mm -hmm. There was something different. Oh, my
friend, there's that same... difference today
in the life of an individual who has been filled
with the Spirit of God. You can be born again.
You can be a Christian. And yet, if a person
has been filled with the Holy Spirit, there is
still something about it that is by even the
unregenerated man. Now, let's go a little further.
In Exodus, the 28th chapter, we find a reference
to men who were given the gift of the Holy Spirit
in order to enable them to work as skilled craftsmen
in erecting and building the tabernacle in the
wilderness. This is something that to me is very
thrilling. In the third verse of the 28th chapter
of Exodus, we read these words. And thou shalt
speak unto all that are wise -hearted, whom I
have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they
may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him,
that he may minister unto me in the priest's
office. The same Holy Spirit that we know. Mm
-hmm. Thou shalt speak unto all that are wise
-hearted, whom I have filled with the Spirit
of wisdom. Go a little further. In the 31st chapter
of Exodus, concerning the workmen who would erect
the tabernacle, I quote from the Word of God,
I have... Build him with the Spirit of God in
wisdom and in understanding and in knowledge
and in all manner of workmanship to devise cunning
works to work in gold and in silver and in brass
and in cutting of stones to set them and in carving
of timber to work in all manner of workmanship.
You understand? The tabernacle was to be erected
according to a divine plan. God held the blueprint
to this wonderful tabernacle that was to be erected
according to his plan, a divine plan. There were
to be no imperfection in its design. There was
to be no imperfection. in the craftsmanship with
which it was built. And God gave the Holy Spirit
as a gift to these craftsmen so that the work
that they accomplished with their hands should
be a perfect work in order that there should
be a perfect temple in which God could dwell.
And to have a perfect temple with perfect craftsmanship,
perfect work, using imperfect men, he filled
them with the Holy Spirit, that he would have
a perfect work of art, a perfect temple in which
God could dwell. And God said, I have filled
him with the Spirit of God. Oh, no, beloved.
The Holy Spirit is not a new personality. Many
of the Old Testament saints were filled with
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came upon them.
Go a little further, if you will, please. The
11th chapter of Numbers, and here we find Moses.
Associated with him were 70 men who were set
apart to become counselors and advisors and assistants
in the responsibility of supervising Israel.
And I'll tell you, that was a terrific responsibility.
That was a tremendous responsibility. Here was
Moses, having been called of God for a very definite
work. But, along with this great responsibility,
there were associated with him 70 men. And they
were advisors. They were assistants. They too
had the responsibility of helping to supervise
Israel. And God said, I will come down and talk
with thee there, and I will take of the spirit
which is upon thee, and will put it upon them,
and they shall bear the burden of the people
with thee. that thou beareth not thyself alone.
If you want to have a board of deacons in your
church who are under the direct guidance and
authority of the Holy Spirit, they must... all
be spirit -filled men. Because if they are all
spirit -filled, then they will have the mind
of the same spirit, the one spirit. And it's
just like that. That's the reason, you see, it
is impossible when it comes to an organization.
I'm not talking about this great organism, the
body of Christ. I'm talking about a religious
organization. The reason we have so much dissension
and there's so much backbiting and let's just
face it, if you're looking for a perfect church
to join, you'll never find it. I don't care whether
it's Methodist or Baptist or Nazarene or... Assembly
of God or Foursquare. I don't care whether it's
Catholic or Protestant. If you're waiting to
find a perfect church, I'm talking about an organized
church, not the great organism. I'm not talking
about his church. Because, my friend, this organization
is made up of human beings. And you cannot find
human beings who are perfect. If they are to
have one mind, they must have the mind of Christ.
And you can only get the mind of Christ when
men and women are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Then and then alone will they work. together
in perfect unity if they continue to be led of
the Spirit. God saw the importance of that. That's
the reason not only was Moses filled with the
Holy Spirit, but when these 70 men who were set
apart to become counselors and advisors and assistants
in the responsibility of supervising Israel,
also filled the Seventh -day with the Holy Spirit
so they could work in perfect oneness in the
Spirit and have the same mind. That's something.
Now, as far as I can determine, the Scripture
has not previously said that Moses was indwelt
and empowered and made wise by the Spirit of
God, yet God said in this passage that he would
take... the Spirit that was given to Moses and
would give it to the 70 also. And thus we would
see that since the Spirit was taken from Moses
and given to the 70, Moses himself ministered
by the gift of the Holy Spirit that was given
to him. And in the same chapter, notice something
else. The Lord came down in the cloud and spake
unto him and took of the spirit that was upon
him, and gave it unto the seventy elders. God
singled out not one man, as he had done with
Joseph, but seventy men, and gave them this gift.
And as far as we can tell, there was just these
seventy men among all the multitudes of the children
of Israel, besides Moses. and besides Aaron,
who possessed this particular gift of the Holy
Spirit to empower them for this work of leadership.
And I still contend that we need spirit -filled
men and women in the places of leadership today.
God bless you.