Have you ever struggled to really understand a topic? I mean you work hard desperately trying to comprehend the facts, but they just seem to elude you. And then suddenly one day, the light just seems to come on and the pieces fall together. Does this sound familiar to you?
I had this same feeling when it came to the topic of the Holy Spirit. In my mind, I grasped the concept of the Trinity, meaning, how scripture reveals it as God revealed as one essence existing in 3 distinct persons who share a common divine nature. They possess a perfect unity of one nature and essence.
Scripture goes on to say that, of the persons in the Godhead, none is God without the others, and each, with the others, is God.
OK…Whew!
Fortunately, this post is not about the Trinity because even though I understand the words above in meaning, to truly grasp how that can happen is why God is God and we are not. I do look forward to the day when I can ask Christ himself about the Trinity and also see it for myself.
So today, I wanted to share with you some interesting things I learned about the Holy Spirit which I think can help all of us. To be honest, I think it is essential that believers recognize the importance of the Holy Spirit and the function He plays in God’s redemptive or saving purpose. I really did not understand the role He plays in the Trinity or for that matter, what he does for you and me
So let me start with a question, what difference do you think would it make if there was no Holy Spirit in this world?
Let me help answer that.
- There would be no Creation
- There would be no Universe
- There would be no Human race – Genesis 1:2, Job 33:4
- There would be no Bible – 2 Peter 1:21
- There would be no New Testament – John 14:26, John 15:26-27, 1 Cor.2:10-14
- There would be no power to proclaim the Gospel – Acts 1:8
- There would be no Faith
- There would be no New Birth, or being born again
- There would be no Holiness
- Finally, there would be no Christians anywhere in the world
This is a staggering list and my guess is, you really never thought about this have you? Me neither, but when I investigated scripture, I realized He (the Holy Spirit) was present in all of the activities I mentioned above. Moreover, He is always working in a complementary and not contradictory manner towards the efforts of God. He is perfectly efficient.
Throughout scripture, the Holy Spirit is revealed as a person with an individuality all His own (2 Corin. 3:17-18). He is a divine person just like God and Christ so we can’t just think of him as merely an influence or just power.
Additionally, He has personal characteristics like the examples I listed below:
He thinks:
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Rom 8:27
He feels:
I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Rom 15:30
He wills:
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. 1Co 12:11
His main job is to help you and me. Period. He was sent into this world to bring believers into the intimate presence and fellowship of Christ and most of the time, we forget He is there ready, willing, and capable of helping pull us out of the mud or wherever we happen to be stuck.
I encourage you guys that when you pray, ask for the presence of His Spirit in your daily lives. Think of Him as a person that is just there to help you. Jesus did the exact same thing when Satan tempted him. He relied on the strength of the Holy Spirit to help him get through that. You can do the same-
I have a few more notes on this topic that I will get organized and try to get you another post about this topic. Hopefully, you found this as interesting as I have.
Until next time guys-
Iron Sharpens Iron, Men Strengthen Men 