“The Person of the Holy Spirit”
John 14:15-21, 25-27
Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
We can grasp the concept that God is our Father, and we especially identify with Jesus, Who walked this earth as one of us…but it’s harder to conceptualize the Spirit; people tend to call the Spirit “it” rather than “he”. Why is that? Because it’s hard to think of the Holy Spirit as a “person”. We think of the Spirit as a force, as energy. The archaic term “Holy Ghost” is particularly misleading. We think of ghosts as disembodied people scaring trick-or-treaters at Halloween. The Bible occasionally speaks of the Spirit using impersonal symbols such as wind, fire, oil, and a dove…yet also refers to the Spirit using personal pronouns. We struggle to grasp what can’t be measured by natural means. Although we may feel less connected to the Spirit, we can discover that we have a vital connection to the third Person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the presence of God within all believers. In our Gospel reading, Jesus knew His disciples were about to feel abandoned. He assures them that they would continue to experience the divine presence; not with Him, but with the “Comforter”. He promises “another Counselor” is coming to sustain the church; this word “another” means of the same essence, the same kind. The Spirit is His replacement. Jesus cautions that “the world cannot accept” the Spirit because He speaks a heavenly message.
Yet the Holy Spirit wasn’t a new concept. Jesus’ disciples don’t question Who the Spirit is; they weren’t thinking that Jesus was, like an author, introducing a “new character”. As far back as Genesis chapter 1 we encounter the Spirit, Who in verse 2 is hovering over the face of the waters. Throughout the OT we encounter the Spirit empowering and leading God’s people. David prays in Psalm 139, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” In the NT on the Day of Pentecost the Spirit came in power, enabling the early church to transform the world. “The work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church” (Grudem).
But how does all this impact our day-to-day lives?
The Spirit empowers, purifies, reveals, and unifies us today.
(outline taken from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology)
1. The Spirit empowers us—He first draws us to Christ, convicting us of sin, revealing our need for pardon, opening our eyes to God’s truth, persuading us to trust in the saving work of Christ. He gives us new life, bestowing the gift of faith. He equips us to live effectively, filled with wisdom and free from fear. He imparts spiritual gifts, abilities to better function as Christ’s followers. Have you ever accomplished something that you sensed was not by your own strength? Some challenge came that you were surprisingly able to meet; in retrospect, you sensed that your strength came from Above. The Spirit also helps us when we pray to express our inner concerns. He is “in” us; we are “filled” with, “baptized” by the Spirit. The Spirit is un-bound, unlimited; He is everywhere, a comforting presence in an unfriendly world. When we feel alone and anxious, we know that no one can separate us from the Spirit. We may not always feel His presence; we all go through some periods of spiritual dryness (which is normal), and God may seem absent, but we know God the Holy Spirit is with us. A mistake some church-goers make is seeking an experience rather than seeking God. Seeking a feeling is not worship (Warren). Jesus said that in this fallen world we’ll have troubles, but the Spirit gives us a sense of peace. You can buy sleep in a drugstore, but only the Spirit can give you serenity in spite of all that’s going on around you.
2. The Spirit purifies us—We are in an on-going process of spiritual growth, directed by the Spirit. He sanctifies us, making us “new creations”, leading us toward holiness. The Holy Spirit was given to live inside those who believe in Jesus, in order to produce God’s character within us. In a way that we cannot do on our own, the Holy Spirit brings us toward maturity. His work in us is seen by the “fruit of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). He produces in us evidence that we are born from Above. And when we pray to be kept from temptation, the Spirit helps keep us pure. This is why 12-Step groups rely on their “Higher Power”. The arm of flesh will fail us; we need to go higher than our own ability to overcome temptation…but the Spirit does not produce in us sinlessness. When we stray from His path, He can be “grieved”. Have you ever felt that God the Holy Spirit was especially pleased or displeased with you? Though we’re far from saintly, we’ve a better shot at righteousness by the Spirit’s help. We’ll never be perfect in this life, but the Spirit helps us make progress in our pilgrimage. Growing up in Heidelberg, Germany, I used to take a trolley-car to go places; the trolley was connected to an overhead cable. In our walk with God, we’re connected to a spiritual power-source that energizes us, directs us, and enables us to live for Him.
3. The Spirit reveals to us divine truth. He inspired and preserved the most tangible evidence of His activity, the Scriptures, and He enables us to understand God’s word. Paul writes that Scripture is “spiritually discerned”, meaning that the Spirit illumines God’s revelation, enabling us to clearly grasp and interpret its meaning and then apply it to our daily lives. Have you ever been reading in your Bible, and suddenly you’re hit with an insight that makes a difference in your life? That’s the Spirit at work. Peter states that the writers of our Bible were “carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1:21). He also bears witness with us inwardly that we are God’s people, giving us assurance of our spiritual standing. Our security comes from within. Philip Yancey writes that our “sense of God’s presence may come and go. Yet the believer can have confidence that God is already present, living inside, and need not be summoned from afar.” He is as close as prayer. The Spirit doesn’t speak audibly to us, but impresses us, so that we live by divine guidance and direction. When people speak of having a calling, they mean that the Spirit is leading them in a particular way that is verified by others. Paul writes that he was “constrained” by the Spirit. When we seem to lose our way, the Spirit helps us get back on track. He gives us enough light to take the next step.
4. The Spirit unifies us—He gives us a sense that we are part of an extended family, the family of God, which connects us to all believers. However, we know the roster of Christian groups is quite diverse. What unites us as Christians is greater than that which divides us. We share a common faith and a common destiny, and we share the same Spirit. In one of Paul’s farewell blessings, he commends his readers to “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (II Cor 13:4), and another time he expands the idea to urge believers to be of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose (Phil 2:1-2). Paul states that “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (I Cor 12:7). The same Spirit breaks down barriers and distinctions, making us one. Are we living in harmony? The church still suffers some divisions, but we’re making progress. We’re doing better at working together. This operates on the personal/individual level—when was the last time you took the initiative to invite someone from church over to your home, or out for coffee? How connected are you to your church family?
In my role as our denominational chaplaincy endorser, I interview seminarians hoping to serve in the military. One key question I ask is whether they’re able to work with, and work for, and minister to people from diverse church backgrounds (while maintaining their own doctrinal integrity). As our town’s Clergy Association president, I strive to get our churches together, working on projects. On Thursdays I lead a non-denominational Bible study at our Senior Center, representing differing churches and points-of-view. Downstairs our united parish food pantry brings together people every Friday from our various churches. We may not think alike on all matters, but we try to work together. We are one in the Spirit.
Our goal is to know God and live for Him, by His power. It is important that we understand the triune nature of God, yet at the same time recognizing that until we get to Heaven our knowledge is limited by our ability to grasp the vastness of God. Theologians sometimes are guilty of trying to quantify God, to put Him “in a box”, of attempting to have Him all figured out…then they hopefully realize that God is beyond human comprehension. We can know some, but certainly not all of His nature. But we can know this--He loves us.
