John 14:16-17, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; {17} <Even> the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." --- 15:26-27, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, <even> the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: {27} And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." --- 16:7-15, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. {8} And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: {9} Of sin, because they believe not on me; {10} Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; {11} Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. {12} I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. {13} Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, <that> shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. {14} He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show <it> unto you. {15} All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show <it> unto you."

A. Before we get in the body of this message --- there is something I want every one to understand ---

Every Christian already has the Holy Spirit.

Rom. 8:9, "... Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

B. Now, The Holy Spirit is a Person --- He Can Be Known, just as God the Father & God the Son can be known.

John 14:7, "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him" V. 16-17, "... I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; {17} <Even> the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

C. Notice the Personal Pronouns used in reference to the Holy Spirit --- (John 14:16-17, 16:7-9)

D. The Holy Spirit is said to Do Things which are Only possible for a Person To Do.

1. He Reproves --- John 16:8

2. He Teaches --- John 14:26, 1 John 2:27

3. He Speaks --- Acts 8:29, Gal. 4:6

4. He Leads --- Acts 10:19, 13:2, 16:6-7, 20:23, Rom. 8:14, Gal. 5:18

5. He Appoints To Service --- Acts 13:2, 20:28

6. He Regenerates & Fills --- John 3:6, Eph. 5:18

E. The Holy Spirit has things Done To Him which can only be done To A Person.

1. He may be Vexed --- Isa. 63:10

2. He may be Grieved --- Eph. 4:30

3. He may be Resisted --- 1 Thess. 5:19

F. The Holy Spirit is not only a Person --- He is a Divine Person.

1. He is Called God --- Acts 5:3-4

2. He possesses the Attributes of Deity --- Gen. 1:2, Job 26:13, 1 Cor. 2:9-11, Heb. 9:14

3. He performs the Works of God --- Job 33:4, Psa. 104:30, Luke 12:11-12, Acts 1:5, 20:28, 1 Cor. 6:11, 12:8-11, 2 Peter 1:21

G. Truly the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of Christ.

H. In the Old Dispensation the Holy Spirit came upon men only for the accomplishment of Special Tasks --- Today, He takes up residence within Every Child of God.

John 14:17, "... the Spirit of truth; ... dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

I. Now, What Was The Purpose of the Holy Spirit coming into the hearts of God's Children to abide for ever?

I. The Spirit of Christ Communicates The Divine Life To The Believer.

A. A Christian is one who is Alive From The Dead.

1. Eph. 2:1, "And you <hath he quickened>, who were dead in trespasses and sins:"

2. A Christian is not one who has merely turned over a "new leaf" or made a "decision".

B. He has been made a Partaker of The Divine Nature.

1 Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

2 Peter 1:4, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

1 John 5:10-12, "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. {11} And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. {12} He that hath the Son hath life; <and> he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

C. Every true believer is a partaker of the life of Christ.

1. Gal. 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

2. However, Christ is in Heaven, So How Can I Partake of His Life? --- By the Holy Spirit who dwells within me.

Col. 1:27, "To whom God would make known what <is> the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

Rom. 8:9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

1 Cor. 6:19, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost <which is> in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

II. The Holy Spirit Unites The Believers To Christ & Makes Him A Member Of His Body.

A. 1 Cor. 12:13, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether <we be> Jews or Gentiles, whether <we be> bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

1. When we are Born Again, we not only receive a New Life, but also a New Family.

2. John 10:16, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, <and> one shepherd."

B. Before we were saved, we were "In Adam" --- after being born again, we are "In Christ".

1 Cor. 15:22, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

2 Cor. 5:17, "Therefore if any man <be> in Christ, <he is> a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

III. The Spirit of Christ Seals The Believers With The Assurance Of Salvation.

Rom. 8:14-16, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. {15} For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. {16} The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:"

Eph. 1:13-14, "In whom ye also <trusted>, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, {14} Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."

IV. The Spirit of Christ Reproduces The Character of Christ In The Believer.

A. Every real Christian Longs To Be Like The Lord Jesus Christ --- But, how can this transformation be accomplished?

1. Not by Effort, Trying or Strugging ...

2. Not by Imitation, But By Impartation --- by allowing the Holy Spirit to produce the "Fruit of The Spirit" within and through you.

B. Gal. 5:22-23, "But the Fruit of The Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, {23} Meekness, Temperance: against such there is no law."

C. The fruit of the Spirit is produced in us As We Abide In Christ.

John 15:4-5, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. {5} I am the vine, ye <are> the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

2 Cor. 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, <even> as by the Spirit of the Lord."

V. The Spirit of Christ Accomplishes The Work Of Our Risen Lord Through The Believer.

A. Real Christian service is Not Our Working For Christ --- it Is Christ Working Through Us.

B. For 3½ Years the Holy Spirit worked through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 1:1-2, "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, {2} Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:"

Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."

C. Today, God has sent the Holy Spirit to work In And Through Every Christian.

John 14:12, "Verily , verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater <works> than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."

VI. The Spirit of Christ Reveals The Things Of Christ To The Believer.

John 16:13-14, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, <that> shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. {14} He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show <it> unto you."

Psa. 119:18, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

1 Cor. 2:9-14, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. {10} But God hath revealed <them> unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. {11} For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. {12} Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. {13} Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. {14} But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know <them>, because they are spiritually discerned."

VII. The Spirit of Christ Makes The Presence of Christ Real In The Experience Of The Believer.

John 16:7, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."

Matt. 28:20, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, <even> unto the end of the world. Amen."

Gal. 4:19, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,"