1. The Holy Spirit is God:

Acts 5:3-4 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? ⁴ “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why have you conceived this deed in your heart?  You have not lied to men, but to God” (emphasis added).

This passage is part of an account of an incident of a couple, Ananias, and his wife, Saphira, who lied about the sale of a piece of real estate.  From this passage we see that Peter says in verse 3 that Ananias has lied to the Holy Spirit and in verse 4 Peter says that Ananias has lied to God.  They are One and the Same Person.

2. The Holy Spirit Lives within Every Believer

1 Corinthians 16:9 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

2 Timothy 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit comes as a “soul resident” Advisor/Counselor. That new relationship which the believer has with God inevitably produces wonder and gratitude in every true believer.

3. The Holy Spirit’s Role in the Believer’s Life

     a.  To Teach Believers What is Right - Jesus said, John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to
you.”

God gives every soul that is born a conscience (Romans 2:15, 9:11).  The conscience can be a good advisor, but it can also be a bad advisor, depending on what it uses for a filter.  When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit teaches the conscience and causes the believer to remember what the Lord Jesus said.

     b.  To Give the Believer Power for Daily Living -

Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 This I say, then, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

We are not left alone, thankfully. We are carefully watched over by our God and Savior.  He has provided us with His Holy presence in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

First Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”

Q: Do you know how God keeps the believer from being “over tempted?”  By the indwelling Spirit, that’s how!

The word “if” in Galatians 6:25 above should be translated “since.”  One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to empower the believer to live in a way that reflects the Spirit of God. This power is made available by the Holy Spirit to every single believer - God shows no partiality.

     c.  To Give the Believer Power to Witness -

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Telling the story of Jesus and His death for man’s sin (i.e. witnessing) is not optional. It is the promise of Jesus Christ that He will give each person on whom the Holy Spirit has come upon (all believers) the power to witness of Him.

4. The Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment -

John 16:8 And He (speaking of the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment.

For unbelievers, God has sent His Holy Spirit to convict them of their sin because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and because of the coming judgment which will apply to all those who reject Jesus Christ as their Savior.

For believers, the Holy Spirit also convicts them of their sin and it is that conviction and the resulting repentance that brings about sanctification in the believer’s life.

Without the ongoing sanctification in a believer’s life, the Holy Spirit’s presence is certainly in question. We are not saved to live in the same way and to do the same things that we did before our conversion.