Unit 3
Chapters 5 &
6
The Promise
of the Holy
Spirit
Characteristics of a Person That Are Ascribed to the
Holy Spirit
•The Holy Spirit has…
▪A mind (Romans 8:27)
▪A will (1 Corinthians 12:11)
▪Feelings (Ephesians 4:30)
•The Holy Spirit also…
▪Teaches (John 14:26)
▪Witnesses or testifies (Romans 8:16)
▪Speaks (Revelation 2:7)
▪Reveals (1 Peter 1:12)
The Holy Spirit Is…
▪The Spirit of God (Matthew 12:28) carrying out the will of God
▪The Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9) He comes in the name of Christ &
glorifies Him
▪The Comforter or Paraclete (John 14:16) stands behind/supports
believers
▪The Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19)seeks to imparts holiness &
sanctification to believers
▪The Holy Spirit of Promise (Ephesians 1:13) the manifestation of
God throughout the OT & NT
▪The Spirit of Truth (John 14:17) guides us to all truth & reveals
Jesus as the Way, Truth, and the Life
▪The Spirit of Grace (Heb 10:29) gives grace & power to live
victoriously
▪The Spirit of Life (Rom 8:2) gives & preserves natural &
spiritual life
Attributes of God
God is a Spirit. He thinks, feels,
speaks, and can have direct
relationship with creatures made in
His image. He cannot be seen with
natural eyes or perceived by our
natural senses. God can manifest
himself in bodily form and thus be
perceived by humans, but the
essence of God cannot be seen
(John 1:18; 4:24).
God is Infinite. He is not subject to
natural and human limitations. He is
throughout, and greater than, His
creation. He is eternal (1 Kings 8:27;
Rev 4:8–10).
God is Omnipotent. He is all-
powerful (Job 42:2; Matthew 19:26;
Rev 19:6).
God is Omnipresent. His presence
is everywhere (Psalm 139:7–10; Jer
23:23–24).
God is Omniscient. He knows all
things. His knowledge is perfect; He
does not have to reason, search, or
learn gradually (Job 12:13; Job 36:4–
5; Pro 3:19).
•God is All-wise. In addition to knowing everything, God applies that
knowledge in the best possible way to achieve the best possible
purposes (Daniel 2:20–22; Ephesians 1:8).
•God is Sovereign. He has the absolute right to govern and deal
with His creatures as He pleases (Daniel 4:35; Matthew 20:15;
Romans 9:19–21).
•God is Holy. He is morally perfect; He does only righteous acts
(Isaiah 6:3; Genesis 18:25).
•God is Faithful. He is absolutely trustworthy; His word will never fail
(1 Corinthians 10:13; Matthew 24:35).
•God is Merciful. For one of the most eloquent reminders of
the everlasting mercy of God, read Psalm 136. God’s mercy
was best manifested in sending Christ into the world (Luke
1:78).
•God is Love. This is the attribute that caused God to send
His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16).
•God is Good. God is good in all His dealings with us (Psalm
34:8; 52:9).
The Holy Spirit’s Part in Producing Holy Lives
We should not remain in the same condition in which we find
ourselves immediately after conversion. Christ expects us to
become more like Him. The process by which we become more
like Him is called progressive sanctification.
Progressive sanctification is the ongoing process of growing
into holiness that we should participate in throughout our lifetime.
This is different from instantaneous sanctification, which is
when God declares us holy, or set apart to Him, at the moment of
salvation.
Progressive Sanctification: becoming more like Jesus through
the work of the Holy Spirit
▪Presenting yourself daily more completely to God (Romans
12:1–2)
▪Growing from spiritual infancy toward spiritual maturity (1 Cor
3:1; 2 Peter 3:18)
▪Being continually cleansed (Ephesians 5:25–27; 2 Corinthians
7:1)
▪Being transformed day by day into a more Christlike person (2
Cor 3:17–18)
Sanctification –as written in the 9th Fundamental
Truth:
“Sanctification is realized in the believer by
recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and
resurrection, and by faith reckoning (aligning) daily upon
the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty (who
we are –our total self) continually to the dominion of the
Holy Spirit” (Romans 6:1–11, 13; 8:1–2, 13; Galatians
2:20; Philippians 2:12–13; 1 Peter 1:5).
—From the Statement of Fundamental
Truths
Chapter 6
The Baptism of the
Holy Spirit
•The Pentecostal experience, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, was what
empowered the rapid growth of the early church. It empowered
believers and led them to go as missionaries to the ends of the
known world.
•The baptism in the Holy Spirit as an experience that is available to all
believers.
•For believers, three purposes for speaking in tongues are found in
Scripture: (1) as the initial physical evidence of the baptism in the
Holy Spirit;
(2) as part of a believer’s devotional prayer life; and
(3) as a gift of the Spirit (along with interpretation of tongues) for the
edification of the body of believers.
Baptism in the Spirit
▪Available to all (Acts 2:39)
▪The promise of power to witness (Acts 1:8)
▪Subsequent to (addition to) salvation (John 20:19–22;
Acts 2:1–4, 8:5–17)
▪Evidenced by speaking in tongues (Acts 2:1–4,
10:44–46, 19:1–7)
Receiving the Baptism in the Spirit
▪Draw near to Jesus, the Baptizer (Matthew 3:11; John 7:35–37)…
▪with an attitude of faith (Galatians 3:13–14)…
▪in obedience to God (Acts 5:32)…
▪with right motivation (Acts 1:13–14)…Seek Jesus – not the
tongues
▪and with a commitment to ask and seek until you receive (Luke
11:5–13).
Three Distinct Purposes of Tongues
1. Initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts
2:1–4; 10:44–46; 19:1–7)
2. Private prayer & corporate prayer (1 Cor 14:14–19; Rom 8; Eph
5:18-20) –no interpretation
3. “Gift of speaking in tongues” - Messages of edification (spoken in
tongues and accompanied by interpretation) in the gathered
assembly of believers (1 Cor 14:26–28; 12:10, 28–30)
Summary:
The Pentecostal position that speaking in tongues is the initial
physical evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit is based on the five
instances of such infillings recorded in the book of Acts (chapters 2,
8, 9, 10, and 19).
In three of the five records, the believers all spoke in Spirit-given
languages upon receiving the Baptism.
In the other two instances, the speaking in tongues is implied: (1)
Simon, a sorcerer, desired to buy the gift of speaking in tongues
because of some obvious external manifestation (Acts 8:14–19);
(2) Paul obviously had the manifestation at some time, because he
later testified that he spoke in tongues more than the believers to
whom he wrote (Acts 9; 1 Corinthians 14:18).
*The Holy Spirit dwells in every believer, but not all believers have
been baptized in the Holy Spirit.
