The Three Major Ministries of the Holy Spirit
Bob Yandian
The Spirit and the Word
Jesus said in John 14 that He would pray to the Father, and the Father would send another Comforter, another Helper of the same kind. The Holy Spirit did not come as someone less than Jesus or more than Jesus. Everything He does is to give honor to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit and the Word always work together. One amplifies the other, and God has given both of them to the believer.
The New Testament teaches many works of the Holy Spirit, but those works fall under three major ministries. Jesus introduced two of them in John 14:16 and 17 when He said that the Spirit of truth dwells with you and shall be in you. The first ministry is the Holy Spirit with us. The second is the Holy Spirit in us. The third is found in Acts 1:8, where Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” With us, in us, and upon us, these are the three major ministries of the Holy Spirit, and every other ministry flows from one of these three.
The Holy Spirit With Us
The Holy Spirit with us is a holdover from the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the people of God knew the presence of the Lord. Jehovah Shammah means the Lord is present. The Holy Spirit was with them, but He did not live inside them. Jesus said the Holy Spirit was with the disciples, present tense, and would be in them, future tense. That tells us there was something they already had, and something greater that was still to come.
The Holy Spirit is with us as our helper, guide, counselor, and comforter. He stands beside us all the time. Whenever a believer feels alone, he should stop and remember, “I have my best friend standing right beside me.” The Holy Spirit is with us from the point of salvation on, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus said the Father would give the Holy Spirit, and He would remain with us forever.
This is important in the day we live in. The world is falling apart so fast that even sinners can see something is wrong. Unbelievers are saying something is wrong. Hardened people who never expected to admit it are looking around and realizing things are not right. If the world can see it, Christians ought to be able to see it, but Christians also have someone standing beside them, the Holy Spirit. His ministry is to bring comfort and peace in the middle of all the bad situations we see.
The Holy Spirit In Us
The second ministry of the Holy Spirit is that He is in us. Jesus said He dwells with you and shall be in you. The Holy Spirit did not dwell in believers until Jesus Christ arose from the dead. Before that time, the presence of the Holy Spirit was in the tabernacle, the tent of David, or later in the temple. If someone wanted to be close to that presence, he went to the place where the presence of God dwelt.
When Jesus arose from the dead, something happened. The veil of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom. It was not only torn so man could come in, it was torn so the Holy Spirit could come out. Fifty days later, He moved into the temple God had designed from the beginning, not a temple made with hands, not one made of rocks and mortar, but a living temple. He moved into believers. Now every person who receives Jesus as Lord and Savior becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit.
This is far beyond what anyone in the Old Testament had. They had the Holy Spirit with them, but He lived over there. Now He is with us, and He lives in us. The believer is the living temple of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 6:19 says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in us, whom we have from God, and we are not our own.
The Anointing Within
The Holy Spirit is in us for everlasting life. Jesus said in John 4:14 that whoever drinks of the water He gives will never thirst, but that water will be in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. The Holy Spirit is also in us for the assurance of salvation. First John 4:13 says, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is also in us as the anointing. The anointing is no longer over there in a building. The anointing is in here. We carry the anointing on the inside of us. First John 2:27 says the anointing which we have received from Him abides in us. That does not mean we no longer need teachers. It means the Holy Spirit inside us bears witness with the truth and helps us understand the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit Upon Us
The third ministry is the Holy Spirit upon us. Acts 1:8 says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me.” He is with us for companionship. He is in us for life. He is upon us for power. The Holy Spirit comes upon us for supernatural power to witness, and when He comes upon us, He gives divine supernatural power and a supernatural language.
Witnessing is supernatural. It cannot be reduced to a list of questions and answers. No two people are exactly the same, and the world cannot be placed into a few categories. Someone may ask a question that is not on the sheet. Someone may raise an objection that was never covered in class. That is why the believer needs the Holy Spirit. The believer can wake up and say, “Holy Spirit, arrange for me to meet people today, and give me the answers I am going to need.”
There are times when the Holy Spirit gives the right answer in the moment. A person may say he does not believe Jesus is the only way to heaven, and the Holy Spirit can bring the right illustration to answer him. Jesus was not arrogant when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He simply meant it. There is no other way to heaven except through Him. The proper response is not offense, but thanksgiving. Thank You, Jesus, for telling us the truth.
There are also moments when a question comes suddenly and the believer has nothing in himself. In that moment, he can say, “Holy Spirit, help me.” The Holy Spirit can bring Scripture to mind. He can supply words that make the gospel clear. God did not kill His Son. Jesus laid His life down when He wanted to, and He picked it up when He wanted to. On the cross He said, “Father, into Your hands I dismiss My spirit.” Because He died of His own free will, God laid our sins on Him, and whoever believes in Him has eternal life.
This is why believers should walk out of the house in faith, expecting to find someone who needs Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They may not receive Him immediately. Sometimes one plants, another waters, and God gives the increase. The believer’s responsibility is to be available, to speak when the Holy Spirit gives the words, and to trust God with the results.
Spiritual Growth and Refreshment
The Holy Spirit upon us also brings spiritual growth by revealing the Word. He gives spiritual rest and refreshment. Isaiah 28 speaks of stammering lips and another tongue, and that rest and refreshing are connected with speaking by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us when we do not know how to pray. Romans 8:26 says He helps our weaknesses, because there are times we do not know how to pray as we ought. As smart as we may think we are, we come across situations where we do not know where to begin or how to form the words.
Thank God for praying with tongues. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who makes up the gap for what we cannot pray. He reveals things to come, brings sensitivity to know God’s will, edifies us and builds us up on our most holy faith, and opens the door to the gifts of the Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the first step into being used in spiritual gifts. In Acts 19, when Paul laid hands on believers at Ephesus, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. They spoke with tongues first, then they prophesied.
Jesus Anointed With the Spirit
Jesus was the first One on whom the Holy Spirit permanently came. John said he saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon prophets, priests, and kings for a time, and then He could be taken off. But when He came upon Jesus, He remained. Jesus began His public miracle ministry after the Holy Spirit came upon Him.
Acts 10:38 says God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil. It does not say God anointed Christ of heaven. It says God anointed Jesus of Nazareth. Deity did not come from Nazareth. Humanity came from Nazareth. If God anointed the humanity of Jesus, then God can anoint any believer. If God could anoint Jesus of Nazareth, He can anoint Bob from Tulsa.
The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh
Joel prophesied of this day when God said He would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. Sons and daughters would prophesy. Old men would dream dreams. Young men would see visions. Menservants and maidservants would receive the outpouring of the Spirit. This is the day we are living in. God does not anoint only apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. He pours out His Spirit on all flesh.
In the Old Testament, someone had to be a somebody to be anointed, but on the day of Pentecost God began to anoint nobodies and make somebodies out of them. If someone presents himself as the great need meter, the great man or woman of the hour, God must deal with that pride. The door opens when a person says, “Lord, without You I am nothing.” That is when God can use him.
Moses was a somebody in Egypt, but God put him on the backside of the wilderness for forty years until he said he could not even talk. Then God said He would be the talker inside him. Saul of Tarsus was well known, but God took him aside until he became unknown by face. When he came back, he was a different man. God has always known how to make nobodies into somebodies He can use.
The Day of Pentecost
Jesus prophesied that this same experience would come upon us. Luke 24:49 says, “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you, but wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from above.” That word means clothed upon with power from above. On the day of Pentecost, the 120 were all in one accord in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Divided tongues like fire sat upon each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not the ending. It is the beginning. It is the doorway into a life of praying in the Spirit, praying with tongues, and walking in supernatural power. Tongues is a praise and prayer language. On the day of Pentecost, the people heard them speak in their own languages the wonderful works of God. No one got saved until Peter stopped speaking in tongues and preached the gospel in a known language. Tongues arrested their attention, but the gospel brought them to salvation.
The same pattern appears in the house of Cornelius. While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon those who heard the Word. The Jews who came with Peter were astonished because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. How did they know? They heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Whenever they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke with tongues.
In Us for Life and Upon Us for Power
The Holy Spirit is in us for life, and He is upon us for power. He is in us for salvation, and He is upon us for service. He is in us to bless us, and He is upon us so we can bless others. He is in us for heaven, and He is upon us for earth. He is in us for eternity, and He is upon us for time. He is in us for relationship with God, and He is upon us to minister for God. He is in us for the fruit of the Spirit, and He is upon us for the gifts of the Spirit.
As believers study the Word of God, they should also pray in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the best teacher of the Word while we study line upon line and precept upon precept. No author and no commentary set can apply the Word personally like He can. He can show things from the Scripture, bring truths together, and make them alive for the moment we need them.
Praying in tongues does not mean every answer comes immediately. It means God begins to set things up for the future. He starts working things together for our good. Then one day, in the middle of controversy, strife, or need, those things come together. The Holy Spirit brings the Word to life, gives power to witness, opens the door to the supernatural, and equips believers to minister in the last days.
The Believer’s Life in the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has always been with man, but before Pentecost His ministry was limited. He lived in a temple made with hands and came upon individuals at certain times for certain tasks. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the veil of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom, not just to let us in, but to let the Holy Spirit out. From that day until this, the Holy Spirit desires to live in every person who is born again and to fill believers with life and power.
What a day to live in. The Holy Spirit is with us forever. He is in us as the temple of God. He is upon us with power from on high. The believer does not have to live alone, empty, or powerless. He can walk with the Holy Spirit, carry the anointing within, and minister in the power of God. The same Spirit who came upon Jesus has been given to the church, and He is still helping, teaching, refreshing, strengthening, and empowering believers today.
The Holy Spirit’s Ministry in the New Testament
Read the first chapter: click here
The Holy Spirit has always been with man, but in a limited ministry before the day of Pentecost. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit lived in a temple made with hands and came on individuals at certain times to do certain tasks. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom. This was not just to let us in, but to let the Holy Spirit out. From that day to this, the Holy Spirit desired to live in every born-again Christian.
In Life & Power, Bob Yandian carefully examines the Holy Spirit’s ever-present role in your daily life, types and shadows that explain His ministry, and how the world was changed when He came rushing into the Upper Room like a mighty wind filling New Testament believers with boldness and power.
119 Pages
Paperback
This video curriculum is the companion to Bob Yandian’s “Life and Power” book. It works well for group, or individual study.
In Life & Power, Bob Yandian carefully examines the Holy Spirit’s ever-present role in your daily life, types and shadows that explain His ministry, and how the world was changed when He came rushing into the Upper Room like a mighty wind filling New Testament believers with boldness and power.
(Includes a Copy of the Book)
Message Titles:
The Good Samaritan
3 Main Ministries of the Holy Spirit
The Blood and the Oil
The Manifestation and Blessings of Speaking with Tongues
Final Questions Answered
5 - 40 Minute Videos
Available on DVD or Flash Drive.
Salvation is just the beginning of our walk with God and ensures our place in heaven. The infilling of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God to give you power while on earth. This dynamic teaching addresses the importance of tongues and why they are still available today. Discover the differences between the Holy Spirit’s presence with you, in you, and on you and experience new power and revelation in your life today!
3 Lessons