The Holy Spirit

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It should not be misconstrued that Christians believe in three gods. God is one. The Creator Father, the Redeemer Son, and the Counselor Holy Spirit are three manifestations of the same essence, three ways that God has chosen to allow us to know and experience God, each with distinct roles and each with distinct functions. The Holy Spirit interacts with us, helps us to understand the words and actions of Christ, and convinces us of the truth of God’s presence.

I believe that the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in faith formation, in the acquisition of convincing faith, and, in the process of the life-long spiritual transformation of the believer in which the believer becomes more and more like Christ, our “teleological goal”, our “ultimate concern” as Christians. In order to successfully carry out our “Great Commission”, the commission to go forth into the world teaching all nations and making disciples of our Lord (see Matthew 28:19), we need the help of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that connects us to God, and it is the Holy Spirit that verifies our testimony to the world. The Holy Spirit can and does confirm what is really real in a way that science simply cannot.

A. W. Tozer writes: “To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God. But the God we must see is not the utilitarian God who is having such a run of popularity today, whose chief claim to man’s attention is His ability to bring them success in their various undertakings and who for that reason is being cajoled and flattered by everyone who wants a favor. The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens, God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, the only wise God our Savior.”

I draw your attention especially to Tozer’s words, “the God we must learn to know”. This statement suggests two questions. The first is, “Why must we learn to know God?” and the second is, “How do we learn to know God?”

I hope to explain why it is so very important that we answer these two questions, but first, in way of additional introduction, I will quote from a popular Christian writer who is, perhaps, known to many of you, Max Lucado. Lucado writes: “The prevailing world-view denies the existence of absolute truth. So, when the Christian message, which is essentially historical… is proclaimed, modern listeners hear what they interpret as simply ‘one person’s preference—another free human being’s choice of lifestyle or belief….’ Our handy prepackaged God-talk won’t do. Before we tell them what the Bible says, we may have to tell them why they should believe the Bible…. And we need a Christian (explanation) that doesn’t just make the case for us; it must touch the chords within our unbelieving friends and neighbors and begin to alter their view of reality.”

What is that view of reality which, as Lucado suggests, dominates the way so many people today think? I think you know the answer to that question. Many today believe that truth is relative, that religion is personal, that ultimately none of it really matters because nothing can be known for certain. Why is that? Why do so many people have that idea? Quite simply, it is because we live in a scientific world dominated by faith in what science can reveal. Because of the success of modern scientific inquiry, most people have come to believe that the only way we can know what is really true is through empirical methods, that is, by observation and measurement that involves use of the five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing). Science can neither prove nor disprove God. Consequently, many people opt to doubt the existence of God because God can neither be proven nor disproved empirically through use of the five senses and direct measurement.

The five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste) cannot perceive God, no matter how hard we try. We can see smaller and smaller things through the use of microscopes, and larger and larger things through the use of telescopes, but we cannot see God. While science can refine with ever greater precision the data collected through the five senses, there is no way of being certain of the meaning or spiritual nature of what is being perceived. This limitation has given rise to relativism in faith and morals, and has led to skepticism or even atheism in the minds of many people. “Beauty”, as they say, “is in the eye of the beholder.” The same or something similar is also being said about what constitutes good or evil.