Holy Spirit refers to third person of the Holy Trinity, Who exercises the power of God, the Father and the Son in creation and redemption. This is why the relationship of the Father and the Son is more prominent in the Good News because it is through the eyes of the Holy Spirit that the Father and the Son relationship is viewed.

The Holy Spirit is the Advocate, the Paraclete or the Helper, whom Jesus promised to the apostles, prophets, disciples, followers, and believers after His Ascension. The triune family of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are unified in ministering to believers. The unified ministry of the Holy Trinity is also seen as the Spirit brings the world under conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit guides believers into all truth with what He hears from the Father and the Son.

I shall ask the Father,
and He will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever,
that Spirit of truth - John 14:16 -

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you. - John 14:26 -

When the Advocate comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,
He will be My witness,
And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with Me from the outset. - John 15:26-27 -

Therefore, the Father and the Son honor the Holy Spirit by commissioning Him to speak in their name. It is a remarkable fact that each of the persons of the Trinitarian family serves the others as all defer to one another. The Son says what He hears from the Father; the Father witnesses to and glorifies the Son. The Holy Spirit honors the Father and the Son by helping the community of believers.

The Holy Spirit also inspired holiness in the Old Testament believer. "Since You are my God; may Your good Spirit guide me on to level ground." - Ps. 143:10 - In the long span of Old Testament prophecy the Holy Spirit plays a prominent role.

King David declared: The Spirit of Yahweh speaks through me, His word is on my tongue. - 2 Sam. 23:2 -

Prophet Ezekiel declared: It said, 'Son of man, stand up; I am going to speak to you.' As He said these words the Spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard Him speaking to me. - Ez. 2:1-2 -

The prophecy of Isaiah is a 'Trinitarian' preview of the working of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who is the branch of Jesse. Thus, we come full cycle to the New Testament where the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled all these prophecy in Himself.

A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse,
a scion thrusts from his roots:
on him the Spirit of Yahweh rests,
a Spirit of wisdom and insight,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh. - Is. 11:1-2; 42:1 -

The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh has been given to me,
for Yahweh has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up hearts that are broken;
to proclaim liberty to captives,
freedom to those in prison.
to proclaim a year of favour from Yahweh,
a day of vengeance for our God. - Is. 61:1 - Luke 4:18-19 -

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day He gave His instructions to the apostles He had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown Himself alive to them after His Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days He had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God.

When Jesus had been at the table with them, He had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. 'It is' He had said 'what you heard Me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.' - Acts 1:1-5 -

In the Old Testament; Scriptural/Biblical references to the 'Feast of Weeks' include Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:15-21; Numbers 28:26-31; Deuteronomy 16:9-12; and 2 Chronicles 8:13. This feast was observed early in the third month of the 50th day after the offering of the barley sheaf at the 'Feast of Unleavened Bread.' It included a 'Holy Convocation' with the usual restriction on manual labour.

The Book of Numbers chapter 28:26-31 describes the number and the nature of offerings and the Book of Deuteronomy chapter 16:9-12 describes those who were to be invited to this feast. (Feast of Weeks) They include servants, sons, daughters, Levites, the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger, and Israelites/Hebrews/Jews were to be reminded of their bondage in Egypt on that day.

Therefore, this 'Feast of Weeks' was also known as the 'Feast of Harvest' as well as "PENTECOST." The early Christian believers, who gathered in Jerusalem for observance of this feast (Feast of Weeks or Feast of Harvest or Pentecost) encountered and experienced the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit in a miraculous way.

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

Now they were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. 'Surely' they said 'all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome - Jews and proselytes alike - Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvel of God.'

Everyone was amazed and unable to explain it; they asked one another what it all meant. Some, however, laughed it off. 'They have been drinking too much new wine' they said.

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed them in a loud voice: 'Men of Judaea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, make no mistake about this, but listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you imagine; why, it is only the third hour of the day. On the contrary, this is what the prophet spoke of:

In the days to come - it is the Lord who speaks -
I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind.
Their sons and daughters shall prophecy,
your young men shall see visions,
your old men shall dream dreams.

Even on my slaves, men and women,
in those days, I will pour out my Spirit.
I will display portents in heaven above
and signs on earth below.
The sun will be turned into darkness
and the moon into blood
before the great Day of the Lord dawns.
All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. - Acts 2:1-21 -

Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you all know. This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified by men outside the Law. You killed Jesus, but God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power since, as David says of him:

I saw the Lord before me always,
for with him at my right hand nothing can shake me.
So my heart was glad
and my tongue cried out with joy;
my body, too, will rest in the hope
that you will not abandon my soul to Hades
nor allow your holy one to experience corruption.
You have made known the way of life to me, you will fill me with gladness through your presence.

Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead and buried: his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne, what he foresaw and spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption. 

God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God's right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit. For David himself never went up to heaven; and yet these words are his:

                                                The Lord said to my Lord:
                                                Sit at my right hand
                                                until I make your enemies
                                                a footstool for you.

'For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.' - Acts 2:22-36 -

That very day (Pentecost) about three thousand (3,000) were added to their number. - Acts 2:41 -

The Lord Jesus Christ.......

                                                                  Page 26
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

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Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -