The Holy Spirit

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Scripture: John 14:15-17 (NRSV)

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

Devotion:

            Today we are going to take a look at the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. I have written nearly 500 blog posts and never mentioned the Holy Spirit. It is past time to remedy that situation. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians is the subject of much debate in the church from its earliest years until now. What follows is my interpretation of the ministry and work of the Spirit in the lives of Christian people.

            In today’s scripture, Jesus is promising to send the Spirit to be in the disciples after he ascends to the Father. Jesus claims that the Spirit has been with the disciples the whole time they have known him. We observe that this description of that positional change of the Spirit is documented in the second chapter of Acts. The day of Pentecost arrives and along with it the Spirit is made manifest among the believers gathered for prayer in the upper room.

            Today, the Holy Spirit continues to indwell those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Spirit comes to abide in the believer from the moment that the person confesses Jesus. The Spirit of the Lord enables the believer to live a life of purity and holiness before God. Persistent or unrepented sin can cause the Spirit to be grieved and leave the believer but true repentance will restore the Spirit’s operation in our lives.

            There is quite a debate over what gifts the Spirit grants to believers today. Have all the gifts persisted or have some gone away with the advent of the Holy Scriptures? It is said of some believers that they have made the trinity the Father, Son, and Scriptures. Leaving the power of the Spirit a relic of a bygone era in the church. I think this view does disservice to believers. The Spirit is surely in full operation today. We may depend on the Spirit to grant us whatever gifts are needed to meet the moment and challenges the believer may face in the world.

            God never wastes gifts on us that we do not need. However, the Lord will always be faithful to the believer and meet whatever need the person has. Jesus promises that the Spirit will be with us forever in today’s passage. I am sure that we can take our Savior at his word and that the Holy Spirit will fill us with whatever gifts and graces we need in order to share his gospel message with the world. Just as he did so long ago for the first Christians. Let us give thanks that we have the Holy Spirit within us right now if we believe in Jesus.

Prayer:

            Lord, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit which you gave us the moment we first truly confessed faith in Jesus. We accept Jesus’ words that the Spirit has indeed come into our lives and will abide with us forever. Lord, we praise your Holy Name today because you have given to each believer the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. We ask you to seal our lives in service to you. Amen,

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