Beverly's Blurbs: Lesson 2 (part 2): THE CHARACTER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT REPRODUCED IN YOU

In part 1 of this lesson we looked at three of the Holy Spirit's character names that are unique to God. Some of His other designations identify characteristics that apply to God but also represent character that the Holy Spirit desires to reproduce to some degree in our lives.

Looking at these seven names will help us understand the Holy Spirit's work in transforming our character as "He who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it." (Phil. 1:6)

YOUR GENEROUS SPIRIT (Ps. 51:12)

The Holy Spirit is called "Your generous Spirit" in Psalm 51:12. Generosity is certainly one of the character traits the Holy Spirit wants to develop in our lives. Generous people are liberal in giving and sharing themselves and their resources with others. Through His "generous Spirit," God "freely gives us all things" (Romans 8:32). As the Holy Spirit produces this characteristic in us, we will become increasingly generous in our willingness to give of ourselves and our resources to help others in need. Do you see the Spirit's character of generosity being reproduced in your life?

YOUR GOOD SPIRIT (Neh. 9:20)

Goodness is the absolute personification of all positive attributes. All that is good in the world comes from God. God is not made good by any good thing in the world, rather, things are made good by Him. Goodness is an intrinsic part of His nature.

And goodness is a character quality He greatly desires to see in you and me as well. The Holy Spirit will breathe goodness upon the world when people allow Him to do so. He will touch your life with goodness when you seek Him and He will be faithful to express His goodness through you. He longs for you to live in Him and let His goodness make you good.

If a video was replayed of everything you did and said yesterday, how much of the Holy Spirit's goodness would be on display?

THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS (Romans 1:4)

The name HOLY Spirit is the most often used character name of the Spirit in scripture. It's used more than 90 times in the Bible. Because the root meaning of holiness is "to separate or to cut off," holiness implies separation. In the context of our lives, it means that we are separated TO God and separated FROM sin.

God has really been dealing with me about holiness lately. I suppose it springs from the vision He gave our pastor for our church from Hebrews 12:14. I've been re-reading a couple of the old "classics" - The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges and The High Cost of Holiness by Phillip Keller - and coming to realize just how far short of the Holy Spirit's goal of holiness in my life I really am!

We have NO holiness of our own (read Isa. 64:6). It's the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that makes us holy. When we allow Him to live out His life in us and through us, holiness will become a part of our character. When we grieve Him and quench His work in our lives, the opposite will be true because we will be operating according to the desires of our flesh, the influences of the world or the temptations of Satan.

THE SPIRIT OF GRACE (Zech. 12:10)

A fourth transferable characteristic of the Holy Spirit is graciousness, a trait that is emphasized by the name "Spirit of Grace." It is only by the unmerited favor of God - His grace - that we became believers. We certainly did nothing to deserve the free gift of salvation, did we? Only God is the complete personification of grace, but the Spirit of Grace desires to reproduce this character in us so that we treat others graciously. When we treat others graciously, we do for them what is desirable, yet undeserved.

One of the major ways we can display our graciousness is in the area of our speech and conversation. Do you speak words that impart grace to the cashiers who ring up your purchases? to the servers who take your order in restaurants? to the people in your office? to your spouse? to your children?

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH (John 14:17)

The very essence and character of the Holy Spirit is grounded in the Truth. The Holy Spirit speaks only truth about the Father, the Son, God's will, sin and salvation. What the Holy Spirit says and does is always in perfect accordance with the Word of God.

If someone claims to have a revelation from God, but that revelation does not line up perfectly with the Word of God, we can reject it immediately knowing that it did not come from the Spirit of Truth. God will never contradict Himself. His Word is truth, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.

As the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit always points people to Jesus - who IS "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Those who follow the leading of the Spirit of Truth will do the same thing. They will not just argue doctrine or answer theological questions. When the Spirit of Truth fills a believer, they will bear witness to Jesus. Is that something that can be said of you, dear friend? Are truth and integrity authenticating marks in your life?

THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM (Isa. 11:2)

Wisdom is seeing things from God's point of view and APPLYING known truth. It means that we not only have insight into the problems of life; it also implies that we have the ability to make good decisions in response to those problems.

We grow in wisdom and understanding as we rely on the Holy Spirit in our lives for He is "the Spirit of Wisdom." He will give us the ability to make wise decisions as He fills us and leads us and guides us in our everyday lives.

THE STEADFAST SPIRIT (Ps. 51:10)

David prayed: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me." This is one of my favorite scriptures. David was asking God to give him a steadfast spirit on the grounds of the steadfastness of the Holy Spirit. This speaks of stability.

I long for stability in my life, don't you? I want to continue steadfastly just like the early disciples did (see Acts 2:42): in biblical teaching - in my fellowship with other believers - in my prayer life. I've learned from experience that I won't achieve that kind of stability on my own. I give up too easily when the going gets tough. This kind of stability will only be developed through the ministry of the Steadfast Spirit reproducing Himself in our lives.