STARTER: God makes it clear that He wants us to be gloriously transformed, growing just like Jesus; and, this comes only by the Spirit’s power (2 Cor 3:18), as we’re more and more `filled` with Him (Eph 5:18). But… who is God the Holy Spirit, and what is He like?
The first, vital thing for us to grasp is that God the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal Force like electricity; He is a Person! He speaks (read Acts 13:2, John 16:13); He can be grieved (read Eph 4:29-31), and can even (disastrously) be lied to (Acts 5:3). In a way beyond what our puny brains can master, God Himself is three persons working together, as well as one being (read 2 Corinthians 13:14, Matthew 28:19). So for example God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were all involved in the creation of the universe (Gen 1:1-2, cf John 1:1-3).
In the old testament, God teaches us first (and we often miss this!) to grasp the Spirit’s creativity and power: `In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters` (Genesis 1:1-2) – and out of that came all the glory and wonder we see around us! Look too at the huge power of the Spirit revealed in Judges 14:6, where He comes upon Samson in power and Samson `tears a lion apart`; and the darkly amusing story in 1 Samuel 19:19-24, where He comes upon one group after another of Saul’s thugs, so that they can’t fulfil their evil intentions and can only cry out prophetically what the Spirit wants them to say… `The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath (Spirit) of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass!` (Isaiah 40:7).
But now in the new testament the Spirit embodies the loving partnership that God desires with each of us as His people; Jesus describes Him as the `Paraclete` (John 14:16,26), which we could translate as Strengthener, Supporter, Adviser, Counsellor, Advocate, Ally, Encourager, Guide, even Coach! (Great fuel in that list for worship!) It was after Jesus ascended to heaven that God the Spirit came, at Pentecost (see John 16:7), because, whereas Jesus was incarnate in a body so only in one place at once, God the Spirit is a spirit and so can live in every one of us who invites Him.
That’s why becoming a Christian is called being `born of the Spirit` – read Jesus’ words in John 3:8. And read Paul’s in Ephesians 1:13: `You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal` [the sign that we are Christ’s], `the promised Holy Spirit` (Eph 1:13). When we reach out to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins by His death, it doesn’t stop there: because we’re forgiven through the cross, the barrier between us and God is gone, and so when we invite Him into our lives as our Lord, God the Spirit comes in, with all His glory and power. As Christians, our calling on earth is to live a life saturated by the Spirit’s life and power, and to carry God the Spirit of Jesus everywhere. Everywhere you go the Spirit of Christ goes too, and He flows out of us bringing life, and goodness, and all the great things that are `fruit of the Spirit` (read Gal 5:22), like `streams of living water` (read John 7:38-39)!
This is the life and power we need! And having the Spirit living in us – being His `temple` (read 1 Cor 6:19) – is an incredible privilege. May the Lord help us grasp this! In the old testament era, maybe one prophet, one priest or one king in a generation might have the privilege of the Spirit (1 Sam 16:13-14; hence David’s fear in Psalm 51:11). This is why what God does since Pentecost, pouring out His Spirit on all flesh, young and old (Acts 2:17-18), is so remarkable!
Paul makes it very clear that if we didn’t have the Spirit of Christ we wouldn’t be Christians at all (Rom 8:9); the Spirit in us is the `seal`, the mark, of every Christian. So the presence of the Spirit isn’t just for older or better Christians; He lives within absolutely every true child of God, everyone `born of the Spirit`(John 3:8), whether we feel him or not. That’s why Jesus says being `born again` is so very central (John 3:7); from then on we have the Spirit’s presence, always with us. And in fact this was a really key reason why Jesus died; read Galatians 3:14: `He redeemed us… so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit!`
(Here’s an idea that may help us grasp this incredible privilege: open a computer file, open a website like biblegateway.com, put `Spirit` in the search box, and start listing some of the fantastic things the new testament tells us the Spirit does! Look at John 16:8-10 for example: He’s our counsellor who `convicts of sin` and `of righteousness`- He helps us understand what’s wrong in us, and also what His agenda is for us to grow, what we must and can become. Then also He gives us the power to live that way (Romans 8:1-13)…
What God the Spirit is doing in each one of us is something huge: `We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness, with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit!` (read 2 Cor 3:18). Actually this verse is talking particularly about what’s happening as we read the Bible (read 3:14-18): as we read it with Him present, He uses it to transform us, bit by bit, into something fantastic, the image of Jesus, the destiny we dream about! So it’s vital that we know how to collaborate with this destiny that God’s Spirit longs for lovingly for us. More vital `foundational ideas` about that process next week…
ABSORB TIME: Here’s something else astonishing Jesus told His disciples: `I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you` (John 16:7). Really – `for your good`? Why would He possibly say that? Wouldn’t they, or we, want Jesus` visible presence more than anything? What practically can you take from what Jesus says here?
