Seven Things That the Holy Spirit  Was Not Given For The Holy Spirit is God. Jesus promised to send his apostles the Spirit of Truth. He told them what the work of the Holy Spirit was going to be. The Bible tells us a lot about the work that the Holy Spirit came to accomplish. Many people today have altered, changed or distorted the work of the Holy Spirit. Here I would like to write about seven things that the Holy Spirit was not given for. 1. The Holy Spirit was not given to make people brag. Simon, the ex-sorcerer, wanted the Holy Spirit so people would applaud him saying he was a great one. He was not given the Holy Spirit because he had a wrong motive - his intention was to boast (see Acts 8:9-11; 18:23). If Simon was not given the Holy Spirit, it is obvious that God cannot give anyone his Holy Spirit for the sake of boasting. You will hear many people saying that the Holy Spirit drives them to do their mighty deeds - In denominational tent meetings you will hear someone saying, "I can perform miracles." Usually if he claims it, his audience thinks he is someone great from God. This man does not have the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit was not given for boasting. 2. The Holy Spirit was not given to protect people from temptations. Those people who are running after the Holy Spirit believe that if they can get the Holy Spirit, he will protect or immunize them from temptations. I hear people testifying in pulpits that they have the Holy Spirit that guides them. He protects them from temptations and they don't sin any more. But I find the very same people in immoralities and many other sins! In Galatians 2:11-14 you will find that Peter and Barnabas were tempted and sinned. These men had the Holy Spirit. Peter was an apostle who had been with Jesus; Barnabas went preaching with Paul and there is no doubt that he had the Holy Spirit. This explains to us clearly that the Holy Spirit was not given to protect people from temptations. 3. The Holy Spirit was not given to keep people always well. Those who claim to have power from the Holy Spirit think he was given to heal everyone and keep everyone well. Some have even taught that if you go to the hospital you have little faith. Many people have died because they refused to go to the hospital. 4. The Holy Spirit was not given to tell people whom to marry. This is a wrong idea believed by many people in this country, especially in black communities. They believe that you can't get married unless the Spirit of God tells you to do so. If the Holy Spirit was for telling people whom they should marry, those who get married before becoming Christians are not married at all! Therefore they would be committing adultery. If they are committing adultery they must repent. If they repent they must abandon their spouses until the Holy Spirit tells them the right partners. But that is not true. A married person is married irrespective of whether they married before or after their conversion to Christ. In 1 Corinthians 7:2 Paul says, ". . . let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." In this verse he doesn't tell us to wait until the Holy Spirit tells us whom to marry. In 1 Corinthians 9:5 he says, "Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife?" From these verses there is nothing about Christians being told to wait for the Holy Spirit to tell them anything to do as far as getting married is concerned. 5. The Holy Spirit was not given to roll people on the ground and make them dirty. Many denominational churches teach that if you receive the Holy Spirit you must fall down and become dirty. To them this shows that you are submitting yourself; therefore some people will fall down and roll if they think they are receiving the Holy Spirit. 6. The Holy Spirit was not given to harm or injure people. A woman was telling a certain preacher that if she receives the Holy Spirit she runs and harms herself with thorns and stones. But that cannot be the Holy Spirit. Her problem is either mental, psychological or some other thing which causes her to run out and hurt herself. 7. The Holy Spirit was not given to make people indolent and not read the Bible. Sometimes we are faced with the problem of those people who will not reason with us by the Scriptures. They claim to have the Holy Spirit so they will not let anyone reason with them in the light of the Bible. Some even say, "No, don't keep on memorizing verses. Just be filled with the Spirit." These people will not search the Scriptures; they receive anything that comes to their minds. In Acts 17:11 we have an example of noble-minded people who searched the Scriptures daily to see whether the things preached by Paul were true. Paul in Ephesians 3:3-4 emphasized reading the Bible. He said that if we read we may understand the mystery that was made known to him through revelation. Conclusion From these seven points we can all see that the Holy Spirit is not a toy to play with. He is God. In John 16:8 the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit was given to Jesus' apostles for three reasons: "to convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment." Therefore do not run after the Holy Spirit. He has accomplished his work. We now have the New Testament to follow. It is inspired by the Spirit of God. It is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17)