HS the one to communicate truth to you

"The one thing that sets the computer, a robot, apart from you and me is the ability to have a functional will," explains Preacher Richard Jordan.

"They can have knowledge, they can learn how to interact with other people, but that issue of will is a personality issue. God the Holy Spirit is a person; He has a will that He exercises.

“When the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit, it uses terms and descriptions that describe the personality; a person, not an influence. Not some power that emanates from God, but a PERSON who IS God.

“As the Divine Person, the Holy Spirit is an ever-present loving member of the godhead who dwells in you.

“Paul says in Ephesians 4:30, ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.' That's the emotional response of a personality.

“Having knowledge is a characteristic of a person. I Corinthians 2:9-11 says, [9] But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
[10] But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
[11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

“Romans 8:27 talks about the mind of the Spirit: [27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

“God exercises a will that comes out of a thinking process that makes choices in relationship to what goes on. He searches and that’s the action of a person.

“Galatians 4:6 says, ‘And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.’

"The Spirit of God cries; He speaks. Acts 13:2 says, [2] As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

“The verse says He talks; He speaks. That’s describing a living, breathing, real person!

“Romans 8:16 says, ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.’ He can testify. Romans 8:26 says He intercedes for us. These are all things that happen when you’re a person.

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"Jesus, in John 15:26-27, says, [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:
[27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

“The Comforter is the Holy Spirit. Notice there’s God the Father, God the Son and then the Holy Spirit all in one verse. That’s the godhead; that’s the tri-unity.

“I John 5:6-7 says, [6] This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
[7] For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

“That verse tells you the godhead is made up of God the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost. They’re one; they’re all three God.

“By the way, prior to the incarnation, to the Creation, the name of the second person of the godhead was the Word. You see that’s a capital ‘w.’ That’s His name.

"John 1:1 says, [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

“If the Word was God, He’s God. If He’s with god, that means they are separate but they’re both God. We’re in room here with skaddles of people; we’re all equally human but we're also distinct and individual persons.

“If you can understand that, you can understand the godhead. In the godhead there are three distinct, individual people who all share equally the essence of deity, like we all share the essence of humanity.

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“By the way, you see that expression the Holy Ghost? That title is only found about a dozen times. Only one time is Holy Spirit a name. In Ephesians 4, when it says that ‘holy Spirit of God,’ the word holy is not capitalized. That’s an adjective, not a proper noun. That’s a description of the function, not his name. Now, His name is the Holy Ghost.

“In Luke 11:13 (‘If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?’) That’s the only place that says Holy Spirit with both in caps. All the other times the word ‘holy’ is not capitalized and it’s not describing His name, it’s describing His function.

“If you take the word God and the word host and you contract it, you get the word ‘ghost.’ It’s describing the Spirit as a person. We think about Casper the Ghost, throwing a sheet over a person for Halloween, but the idea is there’s a person under that sheet and the term ghost is describing not a spook, not a spirit that runs it--it’s talking about a person.

"Here is a person who contains all that it is to be God. He’s a Spirit. God is a Spirit.

“He’s how God the Father and God the Son work in their creation. When you go through your Bible and look at where it talks about Him being a Spirit, the Spirit of life, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, that is consistently a reference to the function, the working; what He’s doing.

“These are not just titles thrown out and used indiscriminately; they all refer to different activities and different functions that the Spirit of God is working in our lives.

“That’s why it’s important in Ephesians to see that when he says holy Spirit, He’s the Spirit designed to produce holiness. He’s the spirit designed to produce the life of Christ you’re set apart to in your salvation. His function is to produce that life.

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"I John 5:1 says, [1] Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

"Jesus, in the Upper Room talking to His apostles. says in John 16, [12] I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
[13] Howbeit 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.

“That capital ‘s’; that’s Him. Now He’s the Spirit of truth. He’s going to be the one to communicate truth to you. When He comes, He’s not going to be talking about Himself; ‘He’s going to be talking about me,’ Christ says.

“When you hear people sing, ‘Sweet Holy Spirit come,’ He didn’t inspire that kind of singing. He inspires, ‘Come Lord Jesus,’ and, ‘Worthy is the lamb.’ That’s His focus, so it isn’t that we are omitting Him when the focus is on the Father and the Son. What we’re doing is demonstrating His thinking; His activity. We’re honoring His work and His function.

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“When you study Scripture, one the great titles you learn from God is ‘Jehovah.’ It’s in Bible with the word ‘Lord.’ Jehovah can refer to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

“There’s a verse where the Holy Spirit is called God. Acts 5:3-5 says, [3] But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
[4] Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
[5] And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

"Exodus 16:7 says, [7] And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

“This is Moses chiding Israel for their murmuring about wanting something to eat and drink. He says, ‘For he hath heard your murmurings.’

“They murmured against Jehovah. Hebrews 3:7 says, ‘Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice.’

“This time when He speaks, He actually writes it down. I mean, He’s a person. Who’s the me? The Holy Ghost.

“Who did Exodus tell you they were tempting and proving? Jehovah. Who does Hebrews say they were tempting? The Holy Spirit. Which was it? It was both. Why? Because they both share the same title.

“In Isaiah 53, it says, ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ Jehovah laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ our iniquity.

“In Zechariah 12:10, Jehovah says that ‘when I come back, they’re going to look upon me, Jehovah, whom they pierced.’ Who’s that? That’s the Lord Jesus.

“Jehovah God the Father placed upon Jehovah God the Son our sins. They pierced Him and Jehovah God the Spirit. So that title, that name . . . my point to you is that the Spirit of God is God. He’s eternal. Hebrews 9:14 talks about ‘who through the eternal Spirit.’ If you’re eternal you have to be God because you’re outside of time, outside of creation.

“Psalm 139: 6-7 says, [6] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
[7] Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

“Where can I go to get away from you, Lord? Nowhere. Why? Because He’s everywhere. See what He says in verse 7? Who’s everywhere? God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

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“Genesis 2:7 tells us, [7] 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.

“Job 33:4 says, [4] The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

“You know what God breathed into his nostrils? God the Holy Spirit gave life to Adam. He’s the life giver. He’s the author of this Book. ‘Holy men of old spake as they were moved by God.’

“Paul says in Acts 28, ‘spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers.’ Peter says in Acts 1, ‘As the Holy Ghost spoke by David in the psalm.’ Jesus says in Mark 12, ‘As the Holy Ghost wrote.’ Who wrote the Book? The Holy Spirit. Paul says all Scripture is given by inspiration of who? God. You follow that? The Holy Spirit is the third person of the godhead.

“You hear people talk about the new birth. It’s a fascinating thing to me, you hear people talk about the new birth and my first question is, ‘What is the new birth?’ You never find anybody that knows. They’ll tell you how to get saved or something.

“Jesus, talking to Nicodemus in John 3:6 says, [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

“Who is it that gives you everlasting life? Who is it that ‘begats’ you into the family of God? Paul says were the born ones of God. He says, ‘By the gospel I have begotten you.’ Who is it that does that? God the Holy Spirit is the one who gives you life.

“John 6:63 is a verse you need to commit to memory. It says, [63] It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

“You get that? Your flesh is not where the profit is; it’s the Spirit that gives life. How does He do it? ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’

“You see, the Spirit of God is God. That’s why Jesus would talk about people being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. That’s why you find those three put together over and over and over in the Bible. Separate persons but equal in their nature and in their ability to have a relationship with creation.

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“Paul uses a lot of different titles for the Holy Spirit designed to demonstrate His function, His working.

“I Corinthians 3:16 says, ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?’ He’s the spirit of God and He dwells. Chapter 6:19 says, [19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

In one place it says you’re ‘the temple of the Spirit of God.’ God Himself is going to come and function and work in you. He’s going to find a dwelling place; a working place. But in chapter 6 he says, ‘Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.’

“You have the personal presence and the personal relationship with the one who has set you apart in the Lord Jesus Christ and He’s the one who is the transforming agent who’s to bring about the transformation. He’s the one by whom you can glorify God in your Spirit and in your body. It comes from a personal relationship with Him.

“II Corinthians 3:3 says, [3] Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

“Notice it’s written by the Spirit of the living God. That’s God able to live in you, in the circumstances of your life, in the decisions, in the uprisings and the downfalls, in the traumas and the blessings.

“In everything in your life, He’s there living, functioning in your life. He is there as a part of your life. In fact, He is your life! He’s the living God. That’s how He writes Christ into your heart.”