Teachings on the Holy Spirit, from one of America's greatest living theologians All students of Scripture can benefit from this concise, practical study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. All the doctrinal essentials are here, clearly organized and explained by the renowned scholar who prepared the Ryrie Study Bible . Avoiding confusion and trendiness, Dr. Ryrie sticks uncompromisingly to the revealed Word of God to answer questions like: What is Spirit baptism? - What is the sin against the Holy Spirit? - What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? - What about the spiritual gift of tongues? - What is true spiritual power? This revised and expanded edition includes two new chapters on contemporary issues related to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, new overview charts, handy subject and scripture indexes for quick reference, and an updated selected bibliography for further study. All students of Scripture can benefit from this concise, practical study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. All the doctrinal essentials are here, clearly organized and explained by the renowned scholar who prepared the 'Ryrie Study Bible.' CHARLES C. RYRIE (A.B., Haverford College; Th.M. and Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary; Ph.D., University of Edinburgh; Litt.D., Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary) was a renowned author and scholar. He wrote numerous books, including The Ryrie Study Bible, Basic Theology, Balancing the Christian Life, The Holy Spirit, Dispensationalism Today, Revelation, Survey of Bible Doctrine, and So Great Salvation, which rank among his best-selling titles. The Holy Spirit By Charles C. Ryrie Moody Press Copyright © 1997 Charles Caldwell Ryrie All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8024-3578-1 Contents Acknowledgments, 1. Spiritual Power, 2. He or It? The Personality of the Holy Spirit, 3. God or Ghost? The Deity of the Holy Spirit, 4. Representations of the Holy Spirit, 5. The Holy Spirit's Part in Creation, 6. The Holy Spirit's Part in Revelation and Inspiration, 7. What the Holy Spirit Did for People in Old Testament Times, 8. The Holy Spirit's Ministry to Our Lord, 9. Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit, 10. General Grace, 11. Special Grace, 12. Regeneration: Born of the Spirit, 13. The Spirit Lives Within, 14. Baptized by the Holy Spirit: A Secure Position in the Body of Christ, 15. Sealed by and in the Spirit: Secure Eternally, 16. The Spirit Gives Gifts, 17. The Gift of Tongues, 18. The Filling of the Spirit, 19. Some Other Activities of the Holy Spirit, 20. What Is the Anointing of the Spirit?, 21. The Spirit's Ministry in the Future, 22. History of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, Helpful Books on the Holy Spirit, Index of Subjects, Index of Select Scripture Passages, CHAPTER 1 SPIRITUAL POWER Spiritual power! What images and hopes that brings before the believer's mind! And rightly it should, for spiritual power is a proper longing for God's people to have. However Christians may differ on the means to spiritual power, all agree that it relates to the work of the Holy Spirit. Understanding the ministry of the Holy Spirit, therefore, should be important to the believer. A Christian is one who has received Jesus Christ; a spiritual Christian is one who displays Christ living through his life, and this is accomplished by the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Spirituality, then, is Christlikeness that is produced by the fruit of the Spirit. What better portrait of Jesus Christ is there than "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22–23)? These characteristics describe the fruit of the Spirit, and they picture our Lord. Spiritual power is not necessarily or usually the miraculous or spectacular, but rather the consistent exhibition of the characteristics of the Lord Jesus in the believer's life. And this is the activity of the Holy Spirit, of whom the Lord Jesus said, "He shall glorify Me." An understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is basic to Christian living. But one cannot fully comprehend the work of a person without also knowing something about that person. Likewise it is necessary to know something about the person of the Holy Spirit in order to fully appreciate His work. It may seem dull to the reader to pursue the study of the Spirit's personality and deity; but who He is is foundational to what He does, and a knowledge of both His person and work is basic to Christian devotion and living. No other group among the totality of the people of God has ever been the beneficiary of so many of the ministries of the Spirit as has the body of Christ which began on the day of Pentecost. For example, the permanent indwelling of every believer by the Holy Spirit was not experienced before that day. His work of joining believers to the risen Christ was impossible before the resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost. His teac