ROLES OF THE

HOLY SPIRIT
Acts 19:1, 2; John 14:15-18; 15:26; 16:7-15
Acts 19:1,2
1And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at
Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts
came to Ephesus: and fi nding certain disciples,

2He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost

since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have
not so much as heard whether there be any Holy
Ghost.
 John 14:15-18
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:
but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be
in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 15:26

26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will

send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of
truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me:
INTRODUCTION
• One thing we must realize and will hopefully learn from this lesson is
that the Holy Spirit is not just an innocent bystander with very little
activity given to Him in the Godhead.

• We must also realize He is a person, not just an active force of God,

and not just the breath of God. These are false teachings of cults.

• The question Paul asked these people in Ephesus might be one we

ought to ask ourselves, were it not for the fact the Bible teaches that
when a person gets saved, he receives the Holy Spirit.

• Of the three members of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit seems to be the
most misunderstood, and thus perhaps the most mysterious member
of the Trinity.
INTRODUCTION
• Some have stated the Holy Spirit is God’s breath. Others, not
understanding the Greek language, believe He is not a person, but an
it, an infl uence only.

• We know, however, from what Jesus told us, that the Holy Spirit is a
unique person. He has important roles.

• His ministry in the age of grace is diff erent from what it was in the Old
Testament days. What are His roles? Well, the best place to fi nd out
is in the word of God He inspired and the Son of God who told us what
they would be!
ROLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
I. The Holy Spirit in creation (Gen 1:2)—“The Spirit of God moved upon the face of
the waters.”—it reminds me of the same way He moved men to give us the Scripture.

II. The Holy Spirit in the Scripture (2Ti 3:16, 2Pe 1:21)
A.Scripture is given by inspiration—the word means “God-breathed” but not to
suggest the idea that the Spirit is just His breath.
B. Scripture was guided by the Holy Spirit—the men were moved or guided along by
the Holy Spirit.

III. The Holy Spirit in conviction (John 16:7-15)

C. Of sin—a person will never get saved unless the Holy Spirit convicts him of sin.
D.Of righteousness—a Christian is guided in righteous living when he allows the
Spirit to do so.
E. Of judgment—“because the prince of the world is judged.”
John 16:7-15
7Never theless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if
I go not away, the Comfor ter will not come unto you; but if I depar t, I will send
him unto you.
8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment:
9Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
15All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take
of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
ROLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
IV. The Holy Spirit in conception and conquest
A. Conception of Jesus (Virgin Birth) (Mat 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35)
B. Conquest of Jesus (resurrection) (Rom 8:11)

V. The Holy Spirit in the Christian (John 14:15-18; 15:26; 1Co 14)—
note that in the Old Testament era, He only came upon believers; He did not indwell them.
A. Sealing, indwelling, securing the believer
B. Gifts of the Spirit
C. Comfort in the loss of a saved loved one

VI. The Holy Spirit in the last days (Rev 1:10 and the book of Revelation)—in the tribulation period,
the Holy Spirit will once again come upon believers, but not indwell them.
A. Showed John the things to come
B. Still woos with men right to the very last soul to be saved (22:17)
C. Warns against adding to His word or taking away from it (22:18, 19)
Conclusion
• The Holy Spirit is not some mysterious being that God has given some secondary place
of unimportance or very little mention about.

• He is a person distinct in the Godhead—the Trinity.

• No, we will never understand it as humans completely. We are only required to

believe it.

• Yet, God has given some simple ways to show His presence in a Trinity; the two often
used are the egg and water. Each have three parts, or manifestations, yet they are one
unit.

• As we study the many purposes God has shown us the power of the Holy Spirit is for,
in each case the more we develop, depend upon Him for them, and demonstrate these
roles in our lives, the more power of the Holy Spirit we will have for that purpose.