Day 90: Who Is The Holy Spirit?
John 16:7
But I (Jesus) tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, The Advocate/Witness will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you.
Many followers of The Way, Christians, have never been taught a biblical view of the Holy Spirit. There is a lot of confusion regarding who He is and what he is doing. It is important to know and understand the reality of the Spirit’s ministry to us because His presence in us connects us vitally to the life of the Father and Son. He also empowers us to so that we can engage our daily battles with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead!
This week we will begin to consider the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We have mentioned Him before, but now as we begin to discuss the issue of spiritual warfare, it is very important that you have a clear understanding of who the Spirit is and what He does in our lives. We will start with the basics.
The Holy Spirit Is A Member Of The Trinity
The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity along with the Father and the Son. In some of Jesus final words of instruction to the disciples while He was on earth He said:
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go now and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to do all that I commanded you. And now remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Here Jesus is linking the Spirit with Himself and the Father as the fellowship, the union, the relationship that Jesus’ followers will be baptized – immersed- and welcomed into.
The Holy Spirit Is A Person, Not An Impersonal Force Or Power
The Holy Spirit is a person. In the New Testament, He is referred to as a “He” not as an “it.” This is important to understand. The Spirit is not an impersonal force but a person who has come to lead us to Jesus and to unite us with the living reality of the Trinity as He takes up His home within us:
John 14:16-18
“[Now] I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever – 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not abandon you as orphans, I will come to you…”
In these verses, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Advocate. This word is difficult to translate to English. The translations have Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby, Friend, etc. Advocate is a good word. It speaks about a person who takes up a cause, gives witness to the cause, and tries to get other people on board with the cause. The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ Advocate and ours. He comes to us to get us “on board” with Jesus’ Way and then supports us as we follow The Way.
The Holy Spirit Is The Spirit of Truth
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Take note of John 14:17 again. He is the ultimate witness to The Truth – The Truth that is revealed in Christ Jesus. Because of this He is here to guide us to and in truth:
John 16:13-15
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you what is to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you.
The Holy Spirit Is Here To Lead Us To Christ
John 15:26-27
When the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father – he will testify about me, 27 and you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
The Holy Spirit is not here to draw attention to Himself; He is hear to testify, speak about, give witness, and draw people to Jesus. Back in John 16:14 we heard Jesus say that the Spirit would glorify Him—praise Him, lift Him up for others to see, show that Jesus is worthy of praise. This Spirit also empowers us to speak about Christ Jesus, lifting Him up so that others may see His glory.
The Holy Spirit Is The Power of The Lord’s Transforming Work
Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:17–18
Now the Lord (Jesus) is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom. 3:18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord (as in a reflection), are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Ephesians 3:16
I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person…
In all of these passages above, we see that the Holy Spirit is the power of God made available to us for all “life and godliness.” The Holy Spirit has been given to us to empower us to be people of hope, faith and love. We should be absolutely overwhelmed by the reality that the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (see Romans 1:4) now dwells within us and we are in Christ!
As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians above, the Spirit is here to bring us to freedom. The Spirit is here to bring about our transformation—to be more like the Lord Jesus degree by degree. All of this is given to us by the Lord Jesus who makes His presence real with and within us by The Spirit.
Is there anything new that you learned about the Spirit today?
If so what and how does it change the way you think about your relationship with Father God in Christ?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
