The Person and work of the Holy Spirit (Part Two)

From the heart of Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Th.D., Bible Teacher & Expositor. As we focus here on the Holy Spirit, we shine the spotlight on Him who doesn’t desire or seek to be the center of attention. The Spirit seeks always and only to point away from Himself to the Son and through Him to the Father. How do you tell which movements and which churches have more of the Holy Spirit today? It is those which exalt Jesus the most. He doesn’t draw attention to Himself. He points to Christ. In other words, when the Holy Spirit gets hold of a Christian He makes him a Christ-centered Christian. The person who thinks most highly of Jesus, the one who adores Him and exalts Him and obeys Him the most, is the person who is most filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). And when the Holy Spirit is at work in a person’s life, then He will be drawing their attention to Christ and exalting Christ in their eyes. In speaking about the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:14-15). The Holy Spirit’s role is not to glorify Himself, but Christ. He does not call attention to Himself, but to Christ. He does not "show up and show out!" He does not lead us to focus on our experiences, but on Christ. When people continually emphasize the Holy Spirit and their supposed experiences in the Spirit, they are not filled with the Spirit. The Spirit exalts Jesus Christ, not Himself. When Jesus says, “All things that the Father has are Mine,” and that the Spirit will take these things and disclose them to the apostles, He is referring to all the glorious truths about Himself that are written in God’s Word. Jesus said, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me” (John 15:26). In other words, the Holy Spirit's ministry is not to be the focus of attention, but rather to point people to Jesus and glorify Him. This means that while the Spirit works powerfully in believers’ lives, His actions are subtle, imperceptible, and not designed to draw attention to Himself or any person. Many have said to me, “Brother Taylor, the Holy Spirit showed up and showed out at service today.” That would mean He's drawing attention to Himself! That behavior is not possible for the Holy Spirit! The idea that the Holy Spirit compels individuals to holler, run around, shake, dance or fall down is a false interpretation of the Holy Spirit's influence. They are not products of the Spirit’s presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit's role is to testify about Jesus, rather than causing uncontrollable physical reactions. Be encouraged!