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The Holy Spirit
Who the Holy Spirit is, what he does, and when he comes to a believer.
- 1Who is the Holy Spirit?The Holy Spirit is God himself, the third person of the Trinity, not a force, a feeling, or God's power in the abstract. He is there at creation, hovering over the waters. He speaks, teaches, and can be lied to, and when Peter confronts Ananias he says the lie told to the Holy Spirit was a lie told to God.
- 2What does the Holy Spirit do?He convicts the world of sin, guides believers into the truth, teaches and reminds them of Jesus's words, and produces a different kind of life in them: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. His work always points to Jesus rather than to himself, and its fruit shows up in character, not in show.
- 3When do Christians receive the Holy Spirit?At conversion, when a person hears the gospel and believes. Paul tells the Ephesians that in Christ, having heard and believed the word of truth, they were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. The Spirit is not a second stage reserved for a spiritual elite. He is the seal of everyone who belongs to Jesus.
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