875: Holy Spirit (Pneuma Hagion) – 3 – Lesson 3 Part 3 Book 73

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

**LESSON 3 * PART 3 * BOOK 73**

HOLY SPIRIT (PNEUMA HAGION) – 3

Psalms 51:11 and Luke 24:49

Ok, it’s good to see you all back again. This is program #3 this afternoon. Again, to our television audience, we want to welcome you to an informal Bible study in case you’re new. For those of you that have been with us and are so faithful—my, we’ve got faithful listeners, haven’t we, Iris? We’ve got the same people that have been supporting us from almost the first year. And that really warms our hearts. So, we want to thank you for your prayers and your financial help and everything.

Ok, we’d like to remind our audience that we still have our question and answer book. It contains eighty-eight really good questions with the answers from program material in the past—for only $11. We’re finding they make such good gifts to our loved ones.

All right, we’re going to shift gears, as I call it. We’re going to move away from the series on the incarnation, and we’re going to look at the third person of the Trinity. Everybody is always making mention of Him, but I think very little teaching is really done with it. I’m probably going to make some surprising statements in the next two programs. Don’t get all shook up if you disagree with me. That’s fine, but I’m just going to have to go by what happened to me many years ago.

A fellow in one of my classes said, “Les, have you ever really made a study of the Greek term Holy Spirit?” I said, “No, I guess not.” He said, “Well, you ought to. You might be surprised what you’ll learn.” Well, I’m going to put you on hold for a little bit, and I’m going to tell you something that has already shocked some of the people here on the front row. How many times do you suppose the term Holy Spirit is used in the Old Testament—from Genesis through Malachi? How many times do you think?

Only two times in the whole Old Testament can you find the term Holy Spirit. Now, the Spirit is used over and over: the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of this, the Spirit of that. But the term Holy Spirit is only used two times. However, we’re going to look at the first one, and that’s in Psalms chapter 51. Now remember, the Holy Spirit is that third person of the Triune Godhead. And He’s a person. We’re going to show you that in just a little bit. But here we have the first instance of the usage of the word Holy Spirit, and that’s in Psalms 51:11. David, I think, is the writer of this Psalm.

Psalms 51:11

“Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” Now, here is a good example of rightly dividing Scripture. Does that apply to us today?

Do you and I even have the right to say something like that? I’m not tricking you. NO! No! God can’t take the Holy Spirit from us once He’s been given, because we have that kind of assurance that David himself didn’t have. The Holy Spirit’s modus operandi all the way up through the Old Testament was: He could come upon somebody and leave them. My best example of that is Samson. When the Holy Spirit was upon Samson, what could he do? Well, the impossible. But when old Delilah wiggled it out of him, what happened? The Holy Spirit left. And what was Samson? No more than any other Jew in Israel. But when the Holy Spirit came back upon him, he was able to pull down the temple.

And that was the way all the way through the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit could come upon, and He could leave. They didn’t have the constant abiding that we have. All right, so that verse is a good example. You can’t go back here and say, “See, the Holy Spirit can be taken away from me, because that’s what David said.” David’s not in our economy. David was under Law. David was in the Old Testament. We are now under the Dispensation of Grace.

And beginning, especially with Paul’s out-calling of the Body of Christ, we now have the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer permanently. Never to leave us for all eternity!

All right, so there’s a good example. The next one is in Isaiah 63, and it will be down at verse 10. Now, I don’t know about your versions, but in my King James they are not even capitalized. Did you notice that? They are small h’s and small s’s. That’s another thing I’ve learned since I dug into this. A lot of times different editors will use capitalizations and small letters differently than somebody else. For example, the original King James a lot of time may have had a small h and a small s, where now in our King James we’ve got capitalized letters.

So, that’s why somebody wrote in and asked me awhile back, “What about the capitalization?” Well, you can’t always go by that. You’ve got to know from the text what we are talking about. You can’t just go and say that it’s capitalized so it must be, because that depends on the whim of the editor, not the translator, but the editor. All right, now Isaiah 63:10 is the second instance in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 63:10a

“But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit:…” Now the word holy is a small h in my Bible, and the Spirit is capitalized, right? Does anybody have something different? Ok, I’ve got one hand back there. How’s yours? Both of them are capitalized. This is what you’ll see. All the way through the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament now, the Holy Spirit may both be capitalized or both small. So, that’s what we wanted to point out. All right, read it again—verse 10.

Isaiah 63:10

“But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.” All right, it’s just the use of the term Holy Spirit as we see it now in the Book of Isaiah. Now, as we come over to the New Testament, I’m going to bring you over to Luke 24:49.

While you’re looking that up, I’m going to put my words on the board. I’m not as good as Sharon, and Sharon has got a health problem at the moment, so we’re missing her. We’re going to be looking at the Greek terms Pneuma Hagion. That is Greek for the Holy Spirit. What do we get from the word Pneuma? Pneumatic. What is Pneumatics? Stuff you do with air. Now come back, what is Pneuma? Air—you can see the effects of wind, but you can’t see the wind.

All right, that’s the spirit element. So, Pneuma is the Greek word for spirit. All the way through my Strong’s, with one exception, it was always Pneuma Hagion, and this means what we call the Holy Spirit. Oh, I didn’t get Spirit up here, yet, did I? Pneuma is spirit, and Hagion is holy. All of your New Testament references are speaking of the Pneuma Hagion or the Holy Spirit. But, as this individual pointed out to me years ago, he said, “Les, have you ever recognized that there’s a difference between the giver—the person of the Holy Spirit, and his gifts?”

Now, for all the years that we’ve been producing these programs, I go clear back up there to the other side of the lobby, and I have a minute of my private prayer time. You know what my basic prayer is? “Lord, just pour on your Pneuma Hagion.” What was I talking about? This is what we’re going to show you. Luke 24:49, I hope this is as interesting to you as it’s been to me. Luke 24:49 and this is the Lord speaking just shortly before He left planet earth.

Luke 24:49

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Now think a minute, is power from on high a personality, or is it something a personality extends? It’s a gift, not the giver. Oh, this is just going to explode in you. What is Jesus promising? Not the person, but rather the power, the gift.

All right, let’s move on. Acts chapter 1 and again Jesus is speaking to the Eleven just before He ascends up to Glory from the Mount of Olives. Acts 1:4—and remember what you just saw in Luke, wait for the promise of the Father which is the power from on high.

Acts 1:4-5

“And being assembled together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, (See, this is a quote from Luke 24.) which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5. For John truly baptized with water; but (flip side) ye shall be baptized with (or in) the Holy Spirit not many days hence.”

Now, that question comes up periodically. What’s the difference between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost? Oh, that troubles a lot of people. They’re one and the same. It’s just in the matter of nomenclature I read one time, and it’s the best explanation I’ve ever seen. You’ll notice that I never use the word ghost. Somebody asked me why I don’t, and I said, “Well, I’ll do with you like I’ve done with people throughout the years. When you see or read or think the word ghost, what one day on our calendar do you immediately think of? Halloween!!” Come on now, let’s just be upfront, all right?

Exactly what happened, if I can trust what people have written, is that when the King James translators were coming to this thing, they ran into a problem. About half the fellows wanted to use the word ghost, which really came from one of the Scottish terms, and the other half wanted spirit. So, rather than have a fight and lose the work, they compromised. So, there is no difference. I’ve never been able to find a single portion where the word ghost means something different from the word spirit.

It is a matter of choice. So, when you see me ignore the word ghost and use the word spirit, you know where I’m coming from. I don’t want to associate anything about Halloween with the Scriptures, so I don’t use ghost, but that’s beside the point. All right, he says in verse 5, again:

Acts 1:5

“For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence.” What days is He talking about? Pentecost—the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would come down.

All right, just turn the page, at least in my Bible, to verse 8. Maybe I should read verses 6 and 7. Yes, let’s just read it on through. We’ve got time enough, so far, verse 6:

Acts 1:6-7

“When they therefore were come together, (Jesus and the Eleven) they asked him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7. And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.”

Acts 1:8

“But ye (the Eleven) shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit, (The Pneuma Hagion, you can check me out in your Strong’s.) is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Now, we know they never got that accomplished, did they?

Remember, the Nation of Israel rejected and rejected, before the Twelve even got out of Jerusalem. They did get up to Samaria, but they never got any further. God had to do something different by raising up the Apostle Paul to go to the Gentile world to begin the Body of Christ (I Timothy 1:15-16). So the Twelve (the Eleven here) never did get that accomplished.

All right, but the thing we want to point out is that the Pneuma Hagion is: (1) the person, (2) it’s the gift of the person of the Holy Spirit. All right, now let me come across to verse 15 in chapter 1.

Acts 1:15

And in those days Peter stood up in the mist of the disciples, (That is these followers of Christ as Israel’s Messiah, separated from the mainstream of Judaism, now.) and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) 16. Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Spirit by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. 17. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.” All right, here we now have that they are waiting for the coming in of that promise of power from on high.

All right, let’s go over to chapter 2 and drop in at verse 15, where Peter is speaking to that crowd now gathering for Pentecost. They’ve been speaking in all the languages of the then known world that were represented by these Jews coming in for the feast day. So Peter said in verse 15:

Acts 2:15-16

“For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;” Now he quotes from Joel. We have done this more than once. And he says:

Acts 2:17-18

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out of my Spirit (Pneuma) upon all flesh: (That is so far as Israel’s flesh is concerned. This isn’t talking yet about the whole then known world.) and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:”

Now stop and think, and I’m going to do this all the rest of the afternoon. Is this the person or the gift? I will pour out of my Spirit, of is the key word, or from the Spirit. So, what is it? It’s the gift. They’re going to witness the power of the person of the Holy Spirit. It’s the gift.

All right, now lets go over to chapter 4 verse 8. Now wait, before we go any further, the thought just comes to me. Maybe we should go back to John’s Gospel. Let’s just look at this a moment in chapter 14 verse 16. Now here again the Lord is dealing with the Eleven, just before the crucifixion.

John 14:16

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, (Capitalized and in the Greek it’s the Paraklete—someone who is called along side as a helpmeet.) that he may abide with you forever;” All right, now what are we talking about? The person! The person—the Holy Spirit has mind, will, and emotion—just exactly like anybody else. All right, verse 17:

John 14:17-18

“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, (Because, after all, spirit is invisible just like the wind.) 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.” In the person of the Holy Spirit. All right, lets jump across to chapter 16 verse 7, and Jesus again is speaking.

John 16:7

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: (He’s going to go back to the Father.) for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Now, that goes back to what I said earlier this afternoon. Why was a three person Godhead so necessary? It just had to be. Now as one was on earth, two were still in glory. When the Lord went up, the Holy Spirit came down. Now verse 8:

John 16:8a

“And when he is come, he (What’s the next word?) will…” Now, does that ring bells? What did I say earlier? What is one of the three attributes of being a person? The mind, the will, and the emotion. All right, here we have the Holy Spirit definitely expressed as a personality. He has will, and we’re going to see He also has emotion. He’s going to be grieved.

John 16:8b-10a

“…he will (express His own desire by) reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9. Of sin, because they believe not on me, 10. Of righteousness, because I go to My Father,…” And so on and so forth.

All right then, let’s come on over to Romans chapter 8 and see another part of the personality of this person of the Godhead. And the reason I’m emphasizing this is because I’ve read of more than one who does not feel that the Holy Spirit is a person like God the Father and God the Son. But He is, and this is what I want to show from Scripture.

Romans 8:26-27a

“Likewise the Spirit (The Holy Spirit—now it’s capitalized, at least in my Bible.) also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself (Now see, I think it should be the pronoun Himself and not Itself.) for the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,…” See that? The Spirit has a mind. Now, we’ve already got will and mind. Now I’m going to show you next the emotion.

Let’s go to Ephesians 4:30. Then we will see that He definitely, definitely has emotion. Ephesians 4:30—and what’s the admonition from the apostle?

Ephesians 4:30a

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,…” What kind of a word is grieve? Well, it is an action word. Don’t make Him sorrowful. Don’t hurt His feelings. Don’t grieve Him. Well, what part of the person is affected? The emotion. So, we’ve established the Holy Spirit has will; the Holy Spirit has mind; the Holy Spirit has emotion. He’s a full personality. Ok?

Now, I think I should have done this earlier, but let’s come back again to Acts, if you will. We were in chapter 4 verse 8. Here’s where I’m going to shake up a few of you. This is what I’ve been doing for the last several years. Here Peter is dealing with these Jews in the area of Jerusalem, shortly after Pentecost.

Acts 4:8a

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,…” Now remember what we saw from John’s Gospel? God was going to send that other person of the Godhead, the Comforter, the Paraklete, and that’s what happened on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came down. Well, all right now, we’ve got to be careful, verse 8.

Acts 4:8a

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them,…” Now, was Peter filled with the personality, or was he filled with the gift? The gift—“The power from on high.” Come back to Luke 24. I want to just keep that hammered into you, because it’s so easy to slip out of the groove if we’ve been thinking for years and years along these lines. Go back to Luke 24:49 again.