REVIEW
 
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.  
Second Corinthians 13:14
 
So, we have seen that just as the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father are critical things for us to walk in as believers, likewise the communion of the Holy Spirit is just as important. Yes, all three of these things—grace, love and communion—work together and are of equal importance just as the Trinity works together and is of equal importance with one another. 
 
So, we have spent time in this series defining this word “communion.” The first thing we noted is that it comes from the Greek word koinonia. We saw that in the New Testament, this word is translated as “fellowship” more times than as any other word, likely being the best translation of this word. But then we looked at the English word that is used in this verse and saw what it means in order to get a better understanding of what the communion of the Holy Spirit is. So, we saw that as communion is the word used to describe the Lord’s Supper, it describes a uniting of two things or people together. Therefore, the communion of the Holy Spirit could describe the “intimacy or union of the Holy Spirit.” Then we looked back at the root word for koinonia and saw that it means “common.” Therefore, having communion with the Holy Spirit is us having something in common with Him. In other words, we have something in common with Him and share a common goal.” Praise God, that is what it means to have fellowship with the Spirit of God.
 
Therefore, we learned that the Holy Spirit is not a goose bump—because you cannot have fellowship with a goose bump! Nor is He a cloud, a vapor, or a feeling! Yet if you asked certain believers who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, this is exactly how they see Him. They relate to Him through these physical manifestations that He gives us—such as the goose bumps they feel, the cloud of glory they see, or the emotions they experience. But the truth is this: He is a person with a personality and emotions. The Holy Spirit is as much of a divine person as God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ because He is, in fact, the Third Person of the Godhead.   
 
Therefore, we ended a couple of weeks ago with a quote from the late Dr. R.A. Torrey who once said, “If the Holy Spirit is a divine person and we know it not, we are robbing a divine Being of the love and adoration which are due Him. It is of the highest practical importance whether the Holy Spirit is a power that we, in our ignorance and weakness, are somehow to get hold of and use, or whether the Holy Spirit is a personal Being who is to get hold of us and use us...”
  
Church, it is time for us to recognize the latter—that He is indeed a Person who stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, desiring to use us. And when we decide to invite Him into all of the rooms of our life and give this perfect Gentleman full access, it is then that we, like both the Head of the Church and Early Church itself, will turn our world “right-side up.” Amen!
 
Now last week, we looked further into His personality by looking at some of the emotions that Paul used to describe the Spirit of God:
 
First of all, we saw in James 4:5 that the “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?” And what we learned from that is that the Spirit that has come to settle down, make His home and permanently dwell in us, is bent with an all-consuming, ever-growing, excessive, passionate desire to possess us totally, and is envious and filled with jealousy toward anything or anyone who tries to take His place. Then we saw in Ephesians 4:30 that the Holy Spirit can be “grieved,” similarly to how a betrayed spouse who has been hurt, wounded, betrayed, misled, lied to, and abused can feel because He is our partner and He hurts when we are unfaithful to Him. And we saw that, through having a personality, the Holy Spirit has the capability of being angry or sad. He is capable of being grieved or excited. Remember, He is the One who yields the fruit of the Spirit in us. Therefore, He is love, peace, joy, etc. In short, He is a Divine Person with a Divine Personality that we can and should have communion and fellowship with!
 
So then, we began looking at how the Greek word koinonia describes a partnership. We did this by looking at how an akin word was used in Luke 5:10 when James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were described as “partners” with Simon Peter. And we saw how this means that James and John were Peter’s “co-workers” or you could say, “co-owners” in Peter’s fishing business. So, we saw that just as the sons of Zebedee “partook” of the miraculous catch of fish because they were Peter’s partners, likewise we reap the benefits of being in partnership with the Holy Spirit. Yes, He throws the net, we help him pull in the miracle, and we are sitting on the beach with Him just relaxing and enjoying a tuna salad sandwich, sipping on an Arnold Palmer (sweet tea & lemonade)!   
 
So, we learned that the word koinonia also denotes “partnering together with something or someone.” Yes, koinonia carries with it the idea of “joint participation” or a “partnership.” Church, He is there to help! And we learned this from Romans 8:26 when Paul said that the Spirit Himself also helps in our weaknesses. We saw that the word “helps” here comes from a triple compound Greek word that basically means that Holy Spirit has come alongside of us, partnering together with us against our weaknesses, and is resolved to take ahold of them with us in order to get rid of them.  Therefore, we learned that to “help” doesn’t just mean that we ask the Holy Spirit to do it for us. This word in Romans 8:26 denotes that we have partnered together with Him. Yes, He is the One who brings the increase. Sure, He is the One who builds the house. But there is a cooperation with Him that must take place where we yield our bodies to Him and invite Him to work in and through us to accomplish His kingdom purposes.  
 
So, we learned that we have a partnership with the Holy Spirit? We are a team! We work together to see God’s kingdom come and His will be done! And, finally, we saw in the Book of Acts that He has been given to us to make us Christ’s witnesses. Notice Jesus did not say that when we receive the Holy Spirit we will “go witnessing;” He said we will be witnesses! You see, witnessing is not just something you do; a witness is something you are. It is not just about going door to door, handing out tracks. Witnessing is testifying to something you have both seen and experienced. And the tragedy is when we go around trying to tell people about a Jesus that we’ve never experienced. Church, we need to see Him! We need to experience Him! We need to experience the power of His resurrection in our lives (see Philippians 3:10) so that we can be a true witness that Jesus is alive and still doing miracles in the earth today!
 
You see, the Holy Spirit is our partner, church! And when we begin to see Him as such and utilize this wonderful resource our Heavenly Father has given us, we will become better witnesses—witnessing both the power and presence of the Lord in us and through us. Amen and amen!
 
THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP
 
Now let’s look at another instance where this word koinonia is used in the New Testament--Philippians 1:5: In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he addresses a group of believers who understood the meaning of “fellowship.” In chapter one, Paul begins by saying how thankful and prayerful he was for them (vs.3-4), and then in verse 5, he explains why he was so excited about them: He says, “for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.” Now when you consider the context, you will find that Paul was not just talking about their relationship in the gospel, but rather to their financial “partnership” in the gospel. So, Paul was filled with joy every time he thought of their faithful partnership in the gospel that God gave him.
 
So, let’s move to the end of his letter and pick up in Philippians 4:15 where Paul continues describing this church’s partnership in the gospel: “Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.”
 
Now this verse is why those maps in the back of your Bible are so handy. Paul said that when he departed from the province of Macedonia that the Philippians were the only church to keep “sharing” with him. What makes this so significant is when you consider how far Paul was away. He was several hundred miles away from them yet they still gave consistently into his ministry. Now in our modern society this would not be that big of a deal but back then they did not have a telephone, fed-ex, e-mail, etc. The Philippians had to make a special effort to find out where Paul was even at, much less send someone to find him and give him his offering. For these Philippians to go through that much trouble teaches me several things. Namely, it teaches me that my seemingly inconvenient times to give are nothing compared to the inconveniences they had! And it was not like they were a prosperous people either. Actually, they were living in deep poverty while they partnered with Paul’s ministry (2 Corinthians 8:2)! This gives us no excuse to not be extravagant givers and faithful partners since we live in the most prosperous nation on the planet!
 
Now that leads me to my next point: We know that one church that we know Paul was making reference to here was the Corinthian church because he corrected them in Second Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 for their laxness in the area of giving. In Second Corinthians 8:1 Paul begins to tell the church of Corinth about how the churches of Macedonia (one being the church of Philippi, a city in the region of Macedonia) had been extremely liberal in their giving. He said that they had gone well beyond their ability and even implored Paul and his companions to take their gifts to their brothers and sisters who had needs (vs. 2-4). Paul used the example of the Philippians giving to spur on the church of Corinth.
 
Now notice that Paul did not just say “giving,” but he also said “receiving.” This is because Paul knew that “giving and receiving” go hand in hand. With giving comes receiving! This is the law of sowing and reaping! In Second Corinthians 9:6 Paul says, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” This means that with the same measure that we use in our giving, it will be measured back to us in our receiving. (see Luke 6:38).
 
SHARING FELLOWSHIP
 
Interestingly enough, the term Paul used for “shared” here in Philippians 4:15 is an akin word to koinonia. Therefore, being in fellowship with someone describes also both partnering with them and sharing with them as well. Therefore, another possible definition for the word koinonia that is used in Second Corinthians 13:14 would be the word “sharing.” You find this word translated with the word “sharing or contributing” in several other passages of Scripture. So, let’s look at some of them:
 
Paul also used the word koinonia in Second Corinthians 9:13 when he said, “while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,”
 
Now this is obviously referring to the sharing of material things. There is no mistaking that—for in Second Corinthians chapters 8 & 9, the subject is strictly on giving, where Paul was attempting to stir up the church of Corinth to get in on this “fellowship” of giving and “sharing” with God’s people.
 
For example, in Second Corinthians 8:4, Paul describes how the churches of Macedonia were “imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” Again, this is “fellowship” of ministering to the saints was obviously referring to them giving a gift to help these poor saints. 
 
But do you see here just how excited they were to give in this verse? Paul didn’t have to work them up at “offering time.” No, they were imploring him to let them get in on this, not him imploring them to give. So, this verse shows us that these believers took the initiative in their giving. They did not wait for “offering time!” They actually approached Paul and begged him to let them get in on ministering to the other saints. You know why they were so pushy to get in on it? It was because they saw it as a “fellowship” with Paul’s ministry—that is, they knew they would get in on his reward for it. In other words, in their mind, “fellowship” was akin to “sharing and giving.”
 
In fact, it is also used this way in Hebrews 13:16 when the writer(s) exhort us to not forget to do good and to share for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. So, we can see that things like doing good and sharing with others is the kind of sacrifices that God is looking for under our new and better covenant—the sacrifice of giving to others.
 
Another example of this is found in Galatians 6:6 where Paul tells us that we who are taught the Word are to share in all good things with him who teaches. I think what some people have taken that to mean is that when someone teaches them the Word, that they are supposed to come share with the teacher their revelation or what they think. No, that’s not the kind of “sharing” that he’s talking about. The “sharing” there is talking about giving to them—no, not your opinion, but offerings. Amen. For this is befitting in the eyes of the Lord.  
 
THE SPIRIT’S CONTRIBUTION
 
In Romans 15:26, Paul used this same word in the same context of financially supporting the poor saints in Jerusalem, stating that if these Gentiles (from Macedonia and Achaia) have “shared” in their spiritual things, then it is fitting that they, in return, give their material things (see verse 27). But in this verse, Paul says, “For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.” The word “contribution” here comes from the word koinonia.
 
Now it is clear that what he is talking about here is that these Gentile churches were happy to “give, sow, or share” their material things with their Jewish brothers and sisters. And this was apparently an appropriate time to use the word koinonia too. Therefore, we can see that one thing that is involved in “fellowship or communion” is a sharing back and forth between those who share this kind of relationship. Amen?  
 
So, let’s consider this for a moment: First of all, how can we “share” with the Holy Spirit whom we are in fellowship with. How can you and I “contribute” to Him? Well, we can begin by simply acknowledging Him every day—giving Him the fellowship that He yearns for. Then, we can “contribute” to Him by (like we see here in Romans 15:26) ministering to the needs of the saints around us. Didn’t Jesus say that whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done it unto Me (see Matthew 25:40)? So, when we “give, share, or contribute” to others, God takes that personal, and I just love what He says in Proverbs 19:17— "He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.” In other words, when we give to the poor, it is like we are contributing to God Himself, and when we do that, God will never be any man’s debtor. He will pay it back (with interest, I might add)! Also, one of the benefits of giving is the giving of praise and thanksgiving from those who receive to the Lord for His provision. (See 2 Corinthians 9:11) We can cause God to be praised more!
 
So, this is how we can contribute with the Holy Spirit, but I want to primarily focus on how He contributes to us: What this shows us is that when you are walking in communion with the Holy Spirit, He is there to “contribute” to you when you feel poor and are spiritually bankrupt. Yes, when you feel broke—whether it be spiritually, emotionally, or physically—the Holy Spirit is there to make a “contribution” into your spiritual bank account.
 
For example, in Philippians 1:19, Paul says, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
 
The word “supply” comes from the Greek word epichoregeo which means “to fully supply” or “to abundantly provide.” This Greek word’s literal meaning is “on behalf of the choir,” as it was used in classical Greek to describe how a choir that had practiced hard and that had it all together received a “supply” that enabled them to perform. You see, this choir had practiced, they had prepared, they had done everything they knew to do on their part, but there was only one problem. They didn’t have the funds to travel and perform. That was when a very wealthy person stepped in and donated a large sum of money for their traveling expenses. He put the money in an envelope and wrote on it, “on behalf of the choir.”
 
You see, the choir had done all they could do to be successful but there was something extremely important that they needed in order to perform—they needed the finances. Likewise, we can do everything we know to do in order to be spiritually successful, but we need that extremely wealthy benefactor to step in and give us the “contribution” that we need. And we can clearly see here that this “supply” comes through the Spirit of Jesus Christ—that is, the same Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ had! Yes, the same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead and deposited into Him regularly throughout His ministry, is the same Spirit that will supply us with everything that we need to finish the task God has called us to. Yes, He is our wealthy benefactor who deposits the needed resources into our spiritual bank accounts that fully funds us to do what we are called to do. So when you come to the end of yourself, the Holy Spirit can come in and supply your need and get you through.
 
Yes, church, the Holy Spirit is a giver, a supplier, and a contributor! You know, there is a lot in the word of God in regard to us being givers. God is always encouraging us to give, give, give. But have you ever thought why God is so big on this? It’s because this is what He is! Yes, you have never met a bigger giver than God! Therefore, there is no one more apt to give than the Holy Spirit! Glory to God! He’s your greatest “contributor!”    
 
This is something that when you are in the position that we are in here stewarding a local church that you better understand—because you can be tempted to look to man as your source. So, as much as we certainly appreciate everyone here who tithes, gives offerings, supports special projects, etc., we look at God ultimately as our “contributor.”
 
Now Pastor Trey and Shannon give here. Pastor Robert and Doreen give here. And hopefully everyone else gives to this ministry. But the truth is we’ve had people that have come here that gave generously to this church, but now they’re gone. But we haven’t lacked. In fact, we are doing better now than we were doing then. And do you know why? Because God sent you and put on your heart to give your material things here. Therefore, He is one who “contributes”; He just chooses to use you and I to meet the needs.
 
Oh, and what a privilege it is to be used of God—for when we are obedient and purpose in our hearts to give, we cannot out-give the Giver Himself. He will give it back—pressed down, shaken together, and running over will He give into our bosoms (see Luke 6:38).
 
 WHAT MAKES LIVING WATER?
 
But I have personally found that the way that we tap into this fountain of living waters that supplies every thirst and meets every spiritual need, is by giving out like this.
 
Do remember the words of the Master in John 7:37-39 where we are told: “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
 
You see, there is a reason that Jesus described the Holy Spirit as flowing, living waters here. It is because there is an activity that is expected. Church, we are not created to be lakes or ponds that just collect water but never give out. What happens to a body of water that doesn’t have a way of giving out and taking in? It starts to stink and it looks nasty. We are supposed to constantly be giving out while also taking in. This is what creates life in us.
ADDICTED TO GIVING
 
And, church, let me tell you, this koinonia of ministering to the saints is addictive! We see this terminology used in First Corinthians 16:15 when Paul said, “I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)” Giving is an addictive thing. But it’s a good addiction! We always associate addictions with bad things, but we ought to be addicted to good things like the Word of God, prayer, and GIVING.
 
You see, when you start doing it—the joy you receive from giving cannot be obtained in anything else—and just that joy itself makes it all worth it. But that’s not the only benefit! You will also reap what you sow. Therefore, when you give, it comes back to you!
 
Bless God, it’s like sowing any physical seed. When you sow watermelons, you reap watermelons. But guess what else you get inside those tasty watermelons? You get more seed! Hallelujah! So, when you sow watermelon seeds, you reap watermelon fruit (which in this case would be joy), and you reap more watermelon seed to start the whole process over again. Glory be to God forever!
 
So, when you start getting a positive cycle of this working in your life, you don’t want to start giving less; you want to give more! Yes, you get addicted to giving!    
 
So, when someone starts to notice the change in you, and pick up on the fact that you have gotten yourself addicted to something, get ready to give an answer to those who ask— “You look well. What is it that you have that I don’t?” Like it’s a disease, you just tell ‘em, “I got “the Stephanas” and there ain’t no cure!” LOL!   
 
THE KEY TO THE COMMUNICATION OF OUR FAITH
 
Now, in conclusion, let’s look at another time where the apostle Paul uses the word koinonia in the Scriptures: It is found in Philemon 6. In this verse, the apostle Paul says, “that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
 
Now the word “sharing” here in this verse is again from the word koinonia, but this sharing is not just referring to the giving of material things. Here, it seems to be referring to all aspects of the fellowship of our faith from the “communication, fellowship, partnership, and sharing of our faith—both monetarily and verbally.”
 
But I want you to notice how our fellowship is going to be more effective, energized and powerful; it is going be accomplished “by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
 
Now there are certainly a lot of good things that Christ Jesus has deposited into us, but arguably the largest deposit that He ever made in all of us was the Holy Spirit. Yes, the mighty Holy Spirit—the One who works many of these good things in us—is who we need to begin acknowledging. Therefore, this applies to the communion of the Holy Spirit by showing the importance of a lifestyle that is enveloped in communication. We need to stir ourselves up to communicate with Him, and we need to be open to having Him communicate back with us. In other words, keeping the lines open (i.e. not hanging the phone up). When we learn to acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will be able to direct our paths (Sounds like a good Scripture😊). Sharing with Him opens the doors to Him being able to share with you. Amen.

REVIEW
 
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.  
Second Corinthians 13:14
 
So, again, in this verse, the apostle Paul was concluding his second and last letter to the church of Corinth with this prayer for them. Now I have made the point that this was the last verse of 29 chapters that Paul wrote to the Corinthians (when you combine both his first and second epistles together), and were most likely the last words that he ever spoke to their church. And the reason this is important to understand is because these must be super-significant words to both the apostle Paul and to the Holy Spirit who inspired Him to write this prayer.
 
So, we have seen that just as the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father are critical things for us to walk in as believers, likewise the communion of the Holy Spirit is just as important. Yes, all three of these things—grace, love and communion—work together and are of equal importance just as the Trinity works together and is of equal importance with one another.  
 
So, we have spent a little time all three weeks defining this word “communion.” The first thing we noted is that it comes from the Greek word koinonia. We saw that in the New Testament, this word is translated as “fellowship” more times than as any other word, likely being the best translation of this word. But then we looked at the English word that is used in this verse and saw what it means in order to get a better understanding of what the communion of the Holy Spirit is. So, we saw that as communion is the word used to describe the Lord’s Supper, it describes a uniting of two things or people together. Therefore, the communion of the Holy Spirit could describe the “intimacy or union of the Holy Spirit.” Then last week we looked back at the root word for koinonia and saw that it means “common.” Therefore, having communion with the Holy Spirit is us having something in common with Him. In other words, we have something in common with Him and share a common goal.” Praise God, that is what it means to have fellowship with the Spirit of God.
 
Now, in this series, we are spending some time looking at the Book of Acts—as it illustrates to us how the Early Church operated. And we saw that they were a Body of believers who were completely dependent on their communion with the Holy Spirit. No, they did not have the privilege you and I do today to have the complete Word of God because throughout those 28 chapters, the New Testament had not even been written yet. So, they were completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, teach and instruct them. Now through understanding this, compare the results of the early church with the results of the church today. It would be an understatement to say that they had more of an impact on their world than we are having on ours today. Amen?  It is for this reason that I believe the modern-day Church is not nearly as effective as the early, First Century Church was. Yes, it is because of the church of today’s lack of respect for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
 
So, even though most of our Bibles title this Book— “The Acts of the Apostles” — I believe a more accurate title would be— “The Acts of the Holy Ghost through His Church.” You see, it was not just apostles who did the things we see described in the Book of Acts. There were deacons, pastors, evangelists, and even children who were playing a part in turning the world “right-side up.”
 
So, we began in Acts 1:1-3 and saw how even Jesus did the things He did “through the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, even He walked in the communion of the Holy Spirit—doing all of the mighty works that He did through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Then we saw how Jesus said in Acts 1:4 that He had taught His disciples about HIM. And we looked at some of these verses and found that in just 9 verses contained in John chapters 14-16, He referred to the Holy Spirit with a personal pronoun 22 times! 
 
So, we learned that the Holy Spirit is not a goose bump! Nor is He a cloud, a vapor, or a feeling! Yet if you asked certain believers who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, this is exactly how they see Him. They relate to Him through these physical manifestations that He gives us—such as the goose bumps they feel, the cloud of glory they see, or the emotions they experience. But the truth is this: He is a person with a personality and emotions. The Holy Spirit is as much of a divine person as God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ because He is, in fact, the Third Person of the Godhead.   
 
Therefore, we ended with a quote from the late Dr. R.A. Torrey who once said, “If the Holy Spirit is a divine person and we know it not, we are robbing a divine Being of the love and adoration which are due Him. It is of the highest practical importance whether the Holy Spirit is a power that we, in our ignorance and weakness, are somehow to get hold of and use, or whether the Holy Spirit is a personal Being who is to get hold of us and use us...”
  
Church, it is time for us to recognize the latter—that He is indeed a Person who stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, desiring to use us. And when we decide to invite Him into all of the rooms of our life and give this perfect Gentleman full access, it is then that we, like both the Head of the Church and Early Church itself, will turn our world “right-side up.” Amen!
 
Again, church, this recognizing Him as a person and then relating to Him as such is what makes us more usable. It is like a marriage—you and your spouse can live under the same roof but if you don’t have communion (that is, you are not intimate, you don’t enjoy fellowship, or you are not unified), then your marriage relationship will not be as productive as it ought to be.
 
Let’s look at a few verses that describe more about our Divine Partner—because I believe it will show us more of what His heart longs for. As I have said, we cannot have communion with a goose bump. Therefore, it is imperative that we see Him as He is in truth—the Third Person of the Trinity:
 
THE EMOTIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
 
Since He is a Divine Person that means that He has a divine personality. He has emotions and feelings just like we do. In James 4:5, the Word of God says, “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’?”
 
Now the language here is very impacting when you understand what James was saying: First of all, notice that he describes the Spirit as “dwelling” in us. This word describes someone “residing” or “inhabiting” somewhere permanently. We would say that they are “living in their home.” Then the word “yearns” describes how someone would “greatly desire or long for” someone else because of their heart for them. And, finally, the word “jealously” is the common word used for “envy”—which is always (except for this one time) used to describe a work of the flesh, not a work of the Spirit. So, is the Holy Spirit violating His very nature here? Heavens, no! This simply describes His heart of love for each of us, and His unwillingness to share us with anyone or anything else. Yes, the Holy Spirit greatly desires, longs for, and yearns for you and I! And why? It is because His personality and emotional makeup is to have fellowship with you, and you with Him, that is not unfaithful in the least!
 
Now I am not sure where the specific Scripture reference that James is referring to here is located but I do know that there are a lot of references in the Old Testament to the Lord’s desire for his people to be faithful and not “play the harlot.” So, there are certainly a lot of examples that we can draw from in the Old Testament that describe the Lord’s desire to have this kind of “unadulterated” relationship with His people. Not to mention, this statement is preceded by verse 4 that calls us “Adulteresses” if we make ourselves friends with the world. That is because we are “married” to God and when we try and have a relationship with our ex-husband, the world, we are being unfaithful to our current mate. The Holy Spirit represents that current mate here and the Word says that He “yearns jealousy.”
 
Therefore, a paraphrase I like to use of this verse is as follows: “The Spirit that has come to settle down, make His home and permanently dwell in us, is bent with an all-consuming, ever-growing, excessive, passionate desire to possess us totally, and is envious and filled with jealousy toward anything or anyone who tries to take His place.”
 
Ephesians 4:30 portrays something similar: It says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” The word “grieve” is the Greek word lupete and is most commonly translated to be sad or sorrowful. I have heard that it is used to denote the emotions of a betrayed spouse, such as, being hurt, wounded, betrayed, misled, lied to, and abused. He is our spouse and partner and He hurts when we are unfaithful to Him.
 
But a good question then is: What are some things that “grieve” the Holy Spirit? Well, the verses surrounding this one speaks of “lying, anger, stealing, corrupt communication, bitterness, wrath, unforgiveness” and so forth. This includes how we talk, and reminds us of the old rule, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Therefore, some of the things that make the Holy Spirit feel betrayed are when we choose these other things above what He desires and wants for us. Again, it is like choosing to be intimate with another, which has similar effects on the Spirit as that would have on our spouses.
 
You see, when we willingly turn our hearts from what our Divine Spouse desires from us, we not only “grieve” the Spirit, but we also can “quench” Him as well (First Thessalonians 4:18). “Quenching the Spirit” can refer to extinguishing the gifts of the Spirit, but I believe it also can refer to what happens when we continually grieve Him. The word “quench” means “to extinguish or to put out.” I believe this is why the majority of baby Christians lose their zeal and enthusiasm in serving the Lord. It’s because when the Holy Spirit starts to deal with sin in their hearts, they get to a point where they are unwilling to cooperate with Him, thus throwing sand on the fire that He’s given them and “quenching” the flame. We must honor and esteem His council in order to remain a gracious host for Him to live in. When we don’t do this is when the fire goes out of your relationship with Him.
 
So, through having a personality, the Holy Spirit has the capability of being angry or sad. He is capable of being grieved or excited. Remember, He is the One who yields the fruit of the Spirit in us. Therefore, He is love, peace, joy, etc. In short, He is a Divine Person with a Divine Personality that we can and should have communion and fellowship with!
 
THE SPIRIT HIMSELF IS THERE TO HELP
 
Now someone might have said throughout all of the references we have used to describe the Holy Spirit as a Person, “Aren’t there two verses in Romans chapter 8 that use the word ‘itself’ in reference to the Holy Spirit? I recall in my King James Bible these times where the Holy Spirit is referring to as an ‘it.’” And the answer to that question is this: “Yes, there are in the Romans 8:16&26.” The King James Version translates the Greek word autos “itself” in both of these verses. However, this word is translated “he, him, himself, etc.” over 3,000 times as opposed to “it or itself” which is only used 190 times. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the King James translators made the wrong decision in translating this word in these two verses.
 
And it is interesting that we are here in Romans chapter 8 because this chapter is such an important chapter in describing to us one of the benefits of walking in this communion with the Holy Spirit.
 
Did you know that the Holy Spirit is only referenced a couple of times in Romans chapters 1-7, but in Romans chapter 8 itself, He is referred to over 20 times! What that shows us is that, just as there is an obvious emphasis placed on the Holy Spirit in Romans 8, there is obvious importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives today to walk out our salvation!
 
You see, so many times, we feel like the person Paul described in Romans chapter 7. The servant of God described in this chapter wanted so much to please God and to do the right thing, but he lacked the power to perform those desires. His testimony was “Oh, what a wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24). And this is exactly what having a desire to do one thing, but lacking the strength and ability to fulfill those desires will do to us.  It will utterly frustrate us and make us miserable.
 
But, praise be unto God, we don’t have to live that way!  We have the solution to this dilemma in Romans chapter 8!  And the gist of Romans chapter 8 is the same as that of Philippians 2:13—that we have God living on the inside of us in the person of the Holy Spirit, and He is working in us not only the desire to do what is right, but also the ability to live what is right. This is the power of the Spirit-filled life, my friends!  He enables us to do what we could never do because of the weakness of our flesh. Thank you, Jesus!
 
Isn’t that wonderful, church? We have something in common with the precious Holy Spirit! And guess what that is? It is that the Body of Christ and the Spirit of Christ agree on seeing the kingdom of Christ increase more and more! Amen!
 
In fact, one of the Scriptures that we just looked at in Romans chapter 8 describes this beautifully. Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses…” The Greek word for “help” here is actually a triple-compound word. It is the word sunantilambano (That would make a great password, wouldn’t it?). When taken apart, this word literally means “with, against, and to take,” meaning He is “with us” denoting partnership, that He has partnered with us to be “against” something, and to “take hold” of it. So, you can translate, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses”, as “Likewise the Holy Spirit also partners with us in being against weaknesses by taking hold of them.” Therefore, we have this thing in common with the Holy Spirit: We are both against our weaknesses, and we are both resolved in taking hold of those weaknesses and getting the help we need. Amen!
 
But “help” doesn’t just mean that we ask the Holy Spirit to do it for us. This word in Romans 8:26 denotes that we have partnered together with Him. Yes, He is the One who brings the increase. Sure, He is the One who builds the house. But there is a cooperation with Him that must take place where we yield our bodies to Him and invite Him to work in and through us to accomplish His kingdom purposes.   
 
For example, like in this verse, we might have a situation where we don’t know how to pray. We are at a loss, and don’t know what to pray for. Well, this is when that wonderful prayer language we have been given comes in handy. We simply yield ourselves to the mind of Christ within us and pray in other tongues for an extended period of time—believing God to give us the answers and pray out His perfect will through us. This is one of the ways we yield ourselves to Him and cooperate to see all things work together for our good. Yes, I spend time communicating with the Holy Spirit—both doing what I know to do and doing what He tells me to do—and then I can fully expect the Holy Spirit to help me in my weaknesses.  
 
You see, say I asked someone to come “help” me move the pulpit, but when they came up to help me, I sat down and expected them to do it themselves. That wouldn’t be them “helping” me; that would be them doing it for me. But the fact is, the Holy Spirit has been sent to help us and as we learn to be led by, yield to, and cooperate with Him, all things are possible for us because the “Helper” has something to work with. Amen!  
 
So, do you see that we have a partnership with the Holy Spirit? We are a team! We work together to see God’s kingdom come and His will be done!
 
PARTNERS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
 
And, in fact, this is another way that the Greek word koinonia—the word used by the apostle Paul to describe the communion of the Holy Spirit—is defined.  So, let’s dig a little deeper into this Greek word for “communion” that the apostle Paul used in Second Corinthians 13:14.  
 
Again, we have seen thus far that this word means “fellowship, union, and intimacy,” but I want to show you yet another interesting description of this word that goes along with what we’ve just seen: The word koinonia also denotes “partnering together with something or someone.” Yes, koinonia carries with it the idea of “joint participation” or a “partnership.”
 
Let’s look at another passage in the New Testament where a derivative of this word is used because I see it as a good illustration of what it means to have “communion” with someone: In Luke 5:10, the Bible says, “…James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon…” So, an akin word to “koinonia” is what is being translated “partners” here. Therefore, we might say that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were Peter’s “co-workers” or you could say, “co-owners” in Peter’s fishing business.
 
Now let me give you a good word of encouragement here: Just as the sons of Zebedee “partook” of the miraculous catch of fish because they were Peter’s partners (You see, their boat was filled too (see Luke 5:7), likewise we reap the benefits of being in partnership with the Holy Spirit. Yes, He throws the net, we help him pull in the miracle, and we are sitting on the beach with Him just relaxing and enjoying a tuna salad sandwich, sipping on an Arnold Palmer (sweet tea & lemonade)! Glory be to God!    
 
So, koinonia carries with it the idea of an intimate joint participation with someone or something. And like I made mention of last week, the root word koinos means “common.” So, when you apply this to “koinonia” you can see how “koinonia” carries the idea of “having something in common with somebody or having a common goal.” So, we could translate that part of Second Corinthians 13:14 like so: “and the partnership of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
 
BECOMING A WITNESS
 
So, let’s conclude today’s teaching by going back over to the Book of Acts and looking at some things that describe how the Holy Spirit partners together with us today:
 
Let’s pick back up in Acts 1:4, where the Lord was telling his disciples to wait for the promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;” Then he goes on to say in verse 5— “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Even John the Baptist said this in Matthew 3:11 when he said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
 
Now we will get more into this in the future, but it is important for us realize that being baptized with the Holy Spirit is for all of the Lord’s disciples. As important as being baptized in water is, the baptism in the Holy Spirit yields its own wonderful benefits in our lives—and one of those benefits is found in the following verses…
 
But like so many in the church today, Jesus’ disciples didn’t get it here. They immediately transitioned to the natural side of things by asking Him if this was the time that he was going to restore the kingdom to Israel (see verse 6). But Jesus turned it back around to what was important when He said, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (see verses 7-8). Let me paraphrase what I believe Jesus was saying here— “Times and seasons are not to be your concern. That is God’s sphere of authority, not yours. What is important, however, is that you understand what is in your control—and that is that you receive and walk in this power that the Holy Spirit will endow you with. For this is what enables you to be the kind of witnesses I need no matter what time or season you are living in.”
 
You see, church, so many people in the church today like to get into things like dispensationalism, end time events, etc.—trying to figure out when this is going to happen, what that is going to look like, etc. But what the Lord was communicating to His disciples, both yesterday and today, is that our focus needs to be on being quality witnesses for Him no matter what happens in the world around us. In other words, our attention doesn’t need to solely be on being able to tell what is going to happen; our attention needs to be primarily on being ready for whatever happens. Amen?
 
In fact, we see this illustrated in just a few verses when Jesus was supernaturally taken up and received into a cloud after He had spoken these very words to them. We are told that as the disciples continued to look steadfastly into the heavens that what were obviously two angels stood by them, asking them, “Why are you guys gazing up into heaven? The same way Jesus was taken up is the same way He will return” (see verses 9-11)
 
You see, too often believers put their attention on things that do no good. For example, there are those who keep looking for supernatural things that happened in the past (like His disciples were doing here) and become ineffective in the present. Others turn their attention to the heavens, only looking for His soon return, and are useless in the world we live in today. Saints, we certainly need to be cognizant of the fact that He is coming back soon and very soon, but not at the risk of taking our hand off the plow and seeking first the kingdom of God in our everyday life.
 
We need to be His witnesses in the time and season that we are presently living in, church! And the only way we can be effective witnesses for the Lord is by receiving this partnership with the Holy Spirit!       
  
Now notice that Jesus said that when they had received this power after the Holy Spirit came upon them that they would be witnesses. And when Jesus had spoken in Luke 24:49 about them being “endued” with this power, that word meant that they would be “clothed” or “transformed” with the power. So, it is when the power comes that we are enabled to be His witnesses. I bring this up because, how many Christians are trying to be witnesses for the Lord without ever receiving the power (or, ability) of the Lord? No, Jesus did not say that when we receive the Holy Spirit we will “go witnessing;” He said we will be witnesses! You see, witnessing is not just something you do; a witness is something you are. It is not just about going door to door, handing out tracks. Witnessing is testifying to something you have both seen and experienced. And the tragedy is when we go around trying to tell people about a Jesus that we’ve never experienced. Church, we need to see Him! We need to experience Him! We need to experience the power of His resurrection in our lives (see Philippians 3:10) so that we can be a true witness that Jesus is alive and still doing miracles in the earth today! When people see His goodness in and through us, it will validate what we are saying as His witnesses. That is what it means to be His witnesses! Amen!
 
And notice where Jesus went on to say that they would be His witnesses: “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
 
Notice that the first place that Jesus mentioned for His Jewish disciples to begin was in the city where they were currently living—Jerusalem. Then He told them in all of Judea and Samaria, which was the surrounding country and region. And, last but not least, He included all of the earth so that they were not confused about His intention to preach the gospel to everyone everywhere.
 
But I believe this shows us a practical model for witnessing: We start where we are at—that being with our neighbors, in our city, or where we are at in our hearts. Then we move on to the next sphere of influences in our lives (i.e. our Judea’s and Samaria’s). And finally, we aspire to witness for Him even to the ends of the earth.
 
My point is this: The Holy Spirit is the One who makes us Christ’s witnesses! But, you know, many believers are terrified of witnessing. And why? One of the main reasons is because they are afraid they will not know what to say, but this is why we were given the Holy Spirit! He is in us to help us through those occasions where we are witnessing to an unbeliever. You see, He knows that person inside and out. He knows everything about them. So, all we have to do is approach the person when the Holy Spirit leads us to and then listen with the ear of our heart to how the Holy Spirit coaches us through it. He will give us creative examples to minister to them. He will bring Scriptures to our remembrance. He will prompt us when to listen and when to speak. He will guide us through the whole process if we will just depend on Him. I like to say that the Holy Spirit is witnessing made fun 😊! He will make us look good in witnessing (and in life in general) if we will just heed His instruction and learn to work together with Him.
 
The Holy Spirit is our partner, church! And when we begin to see Him as such and utilize this wonderful resource our Heavenly Father has given us, we will become better witnesses—witnessing both the power and presence of the Lord in us and through us. Amen and amen!