Who is the Holy Spirit; Is He a “He”; Is He an “It”; Is He some “Force”; and why is He here? These are some of the questions that I personally or others have asked me over the years. “He” is real; “He” is the Spirit of God and of Jesus Christ and “He” is not the “Force”, as in Star Wars. “He” is however a force to be reckoned with, as “He” is the third person of the Godhead.
Why then is He here? We will cover that in our four points this morning.
Jesus had a somewhat sad discourse in the upper room just before He was crucified. In that setting, He told His disciples several things they most likely did not enjoy hearing; at least not at first. There was a traitor among them and He, Jesus Christ, their teacher, was leaving them.
He told them that He would send someone in His place that would be to their advantage; of course, at the time, this most likely did not sit well with them. Why would we want to lose our teacher for some other person; they may have asked themselves—at least once?
From this discourse, we derive four facts about the Holy Spirit that might help us or those to whom we converse in regards to Him.
#1 THE HOLY SPIRIT IS AN ADVANTAGE TO US
Jesus had just “rocked their world” if you will. But, now they are faced with a replacement for Him. Jesus was going somewhere they could not go and that too did not sit well with them; at least not at first. How could this Spirit be an advantage? The short answer was, and is, He will live in us. That is an advantage because no matter where they went; no matter where we go; He is with us.
#2 THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL CONVICT US
He does not just convict you and I but instead the whole world. He is the Spirit of the Truth and so He confronts each one of us with our sins. Because you and I might believe in Jesus Christ, although many do not, He implants in us a feeling of guilt when we sin. He demands our faith in Jesus Christ and will accept nothing less.
He is concerned about the ministry that Jesus left for you and I and as part of that He makes many an unbeliever run to the cross, that they might be saved. And oh yes, He judges the ruler of the world (v.11) who is Satan.
#3 THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES US
Jesus told us that He does not act on His own authority but instead declares (relays) to us what we are to hear. He always guides us in the way of the Truth and we know Jesus is the Truth. He guides us to glory as we glorify our Lord and avails us to all that Our Father and His Son has to offer (which is much).
Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will tell us of things to come. Does He or is He telling you of things to come? If not, perhaps you are not listening. Perhaps things are too noisy around you.
#4 HE IS OUR HELPER
Everyone needs a helper. My wife is still looking for hers (so she tells me). In Romans 8:26, we are told that He will help us in our weaknesses. This is plural—meaning in all weaknesses, regardless. He will help us with our prayer life. Many have told me through the years that they have such a hard time praying; especially out loud. The short answer is: ask the Holy Spirit for guidance; ask Him to help you with that.
It says here in Romans that the Holy Spirit will also intercede for us “with groanings which cannot be uttered.” What’s up with that? We all groan, according to Romans 8:22; eagerly awaiting our redemption. We as mankind have been cursed and some of us anxiously await our full redemption.
The Holy Spirit shares these same groans in our behalf. Perhaps we don’t understand His groans but we can rest assured that He is groaning in our behalf and often what He groans is an utterance we shall never fully understand.
What then does the Holy Spirit have in store for us? Have we asked Him point blank? Are we sometimes afraid of what His answer may be? Do we really want Him to work in us? Has He spoken and yet been ignored to-date? How long can we continue in that vein? Jesus is coming back and His Spirit is attempting to pave the way for us—if we would only listen and do. Amen.
