Page 68 - Bible Doctrines II w videos short

The Holy Spirit is given to believers as a “first installment” to assure us that our full inheritance as
children of God will be delivered. The Holy Spirit is given to us to confirm to us that we belong to God
who grants to us His Spirit as a gift, just as grace and faith are gifts (Eph. 2:8-9). Through the gift of the
Spirit, God renews and sanctifies us. He produces in our hearts those feelings, hopes, and desires which
are evidence that we are accepted by God, that we are regarded as His adopted children, that our hope
is genuine, and that our redemption and salvation are sure in the same way that a seal guarantees a will
or an agreement. God grants to us His Holy Spirit as the certain pledge that we are His forever and shall
be saved in the last day. The proof of the Spirit’s presence is His operations on the heart which produce
repentance, the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), conformity to God’s commands and will, a passion for
prayer and praise, and love for His people. These things are the evidences that the Holy Spirit has
renewed the heart and that the Christian is sealed for the day of redemption.

So, it is through the Holy Spirit and His teachings and guiding power that we are sealed and confirmed
until the day of redemption, complete and free from the corruption of sin and the grave. Because we
have the seal of the Spirit in our hearts, we can live joyfully, confident of our sure place in a future that
holds unimaginable glories.
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Worshipping the Holy Spirit
We know that only God should be worshipped (see Exod. 34:14; Rev. 22:9). Only God
deserves worship. The question of whether we should worship the Holy Spirit is
answered simply by determining whether the Spirit is God. If the Holy Spirit is God, then
He can and should be worshiped. As we have learned, Scripture presents the Holy Spirit
as not merely a “force” but as a Person. The Spirit is referred to in personal terms (John
15:26; 16:7–8, 13–14). He speaks (1 Tim. 4:1), He loves (Rom. 15:30), He chooses (Acts 13:2), He teaches
(John 14:26), and He guides (Acts 16:7). He can be lied to (Acts 5:3–4) and grieved (Eph. 4:30). The Holy
Spirit possesses the nature of deity—He shares the attributes of God. He is eternal (Heb. 9:14). He is
omnipresent (Psa. 139:7–10) and omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10–11). He was involved in the creation of the
world (Gen. 1:2). The Holy Spirit enjoys intimate association with both the Father and the Son (Matt.
28:19; John 14:16). When we compare Exodus 16:7 with Hebrews 3:7–9, we see that the Holy Spirit and
Yahweh are the same (see also Isa. 6:8 as compared to Acts 28:25).

Since the Holy Spirit is God, and God is “worthy of praise” (Psa. 18:3), then the Spirit is worthy of
worship. Jesus, the Son of God, received worship (Matt. 28:9). So, Spirit of God would also receive
worship. Paul tells us that believers “worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:3)
There is one God who eternally exists in three Persons. When we worship God, we naturally worship all
three members of the Godhead. However, there is a flip side to concentrating all worship on the Holy
Spirit. The Bible says that the Holy Spirits job is not to glorify Himself but rather to glorify Christ (John
15:26; 16:13, 14). Thus, the Holy Spirit should not be singled out for worship. If the Spirit of God is
directing the worship of the saints, then, according to these verses, He will direct their attention to the
Son of God, Jesus Christ, as central in worship.

How do we worship the Holy Spirit? The same way we worship the Father and the Son. Christian
worship is spiritual, flowing from the inward workings of the Holy Spirit to which we respond by offering
our lives to Him (Rom. 12:1). We worship the Spirit by obedience to His commands (1 John 3:24). We see
here the link between obeying Christ and the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, convicting us of our need
to worship by obedience and empowering us to worship.

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