John 14:23 - 26
"Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you."
1 Corinthians 2:12
"And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us."
Romans 8:9-11
“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to Him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, Who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
[emphasis mine]
We have been unpacking the three equal, but distinct Persons of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Today, let us luxuriate in the third, but certainly not the least Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. Some would argue that the Holy Spirit is the most mysterious, the least talked about and the most misunderstood of the Trinity. That may or may not be true, but what I know is true is that the Holy Spirit is someone who you should know and know well. At this Last Supper of the above text Jesus is prepping, instructing and reminding His Disciples of His coming death. Also, that His subsequent resurrection and ascension will precipitate the coming of His promised Holy Spirit to indwell them and, among other things, advocate, teach and remind them in His physical absence. What a wonderful gift! And the Holy Spirit is a gift that we get to unwrap daily.
This Last Supper is immediately prior to Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial of Jesus. The writer, John the Apostle again emphasizes Jesus' serving and cleansing as signifying His ultimate purpose and mission for coming --> servanthood and sacrifice. It is a celebration though what follows is unbelievably heart wrenching and unimaginable. Jesus is also modeling how Believers should serve others and point the unsaved to God. And this leads into how Jesus could even go to the cross in the first place; the power of the Holy Spirit empowered Him to obey, die, rise and ascend, just as the Holy Spirit will empower us to obey, serve, sacrifice, die to the flesh and walk in the Spirit as Christ followers who do great works.
Just like the study of God is Theology and the study of Jesus is Christology, the study of the Holy Spirit is Pneumatology, pronounced “noo·muh·taa·luh·jee” [note the silent “P”]. Now say that three times LOL. Sometimes in Scripture the characteristics of the Holy Spirit, who is a Person and not an "It", by the way, are symbolized by several things; for example, as the wind representing the power and breath of God, as fire showing God's protecting warmth, purification and illumination or as a dove indicating God's presence and approval, such as seen in the baptism of Jesus in Mark 1:10 [where Jesus is likened to the Lamb of God in symbolism also]. But the Holy Spirit has so many qualities that He is almost impossible to characterize, just like His Trinity counterparts. But there are some things we can know about Him that should bring us comfort, peace and rest as we daily walk out our Christian lives. And we will explore those today and more in subsequent posts.
Jesus said He must leave so that the Holy Spirit could come, and it would actually be better this way. Why? Again, to advocate, to teach and to remind Believers of Jesus. But most importantly because the Holy Spirit would indwell Believers --> God's indwelling presence would mean not having to travel to a Temple to be in His presence and worship via barriers. Better yet, this meant Believers would themselves become temples housing the Holy Spirit and daily have strength available by the power and presence of God to navigate life in a broken world as Spirit-led Believers. My excitement lies in the fact that the Holy Spirit is the SAME POWER that raised Christ from the dead and He lives in me. That blows my mind masterpieces! This Comforter that helped Jesus go to the cross is an Advocate for the Truth who only speaks of and points to Jesus as a completion to the perfect circle that makes up the Trinity. We are no longer spiritual orphans but sealed as children of God by His presence. This union is an intimate fellowship that mimics what Jesus has with Father God.
For me, the Holy Spirit is the fire of God that fills me with His presence and ignites me for ministry and life. His presence fills every nook and cranny and is inescapable, but most assuredly welcome and often profoundly felt. But you know what? I don't feel God's presence every day or many days in fact, but rest assured that I know He is with[in] me, and I am never alone or forsaken, just as Jesus assures the Disciples over and over again. You know how little children continually ask their parents if they will still be there after they turn out the lights at bedtime? Yep, they are still present and near even when they tip toe back to their own bedroom. But on the other hand, there are times when the presence of the Holy Spirit is very strong and almost palpable --> not spooky and out of order, but special and gentle in the heart. If you remember my salvation story from a previous post, you will know that that day I didn’t know what I was experiencing was the Holy Spirit fire of God inside of me. Not a literal fire mind you, because that would be frightening! But a warmth that He was close, near and for me, not against me.
I guess that makes me an inferno for the Lord that is full of Holy Spirit smoke! When we accept Jesus and His Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, He fills us extravagantly. Think luxuriant, wealthy, noble. It means abounding [rich] in Jesus! One of the Greek words for it is defined as measureless, immeasurable, and exorbitant, among others. Isn’t that glorious? Our resultant worship might be quiet and introspective, or it might be a visceral and heartfelt worship, translated in Romans 12:11 as “boiling, fervent, zealous” worship. Worship ignited by the Holy Spirit rests in how He works in Believers to regenerate us into a new creation, who is dead to sin and alive in Christ; and though not perfect, is daily being perfected.
For Believers, this means that the Holy Spirit should be emanating and radiating from every pore of our body and spilling over into every part of our life. Our walk, our talk, our career, our relationships and yes, our prayer life. You see, the Holy Spirit is an all-consuming fire with authorized legitimate power ["dunamai"/"dunamis" in the Greek]. Standing next to a Holy Spirit-filled Believer you shouldn't smell smoke, but you should smell Jesus. Rich in Christian virtues and eternal possessions, material resources and abundantly supplied. The Holy Spirit is the Christian's receipt and proof of ownership. Want a receipt too? Click here.
Takeaways for you to remember:
#1. Trinity/Godhead/Triune God – 3 in 1 equal yet distinct existence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
#2. Pneumatology - Study of the person, work, Biblical doctrine and characteristics of the Holy Spirit.
#3. Dunamis - Legitimate, authorized power.
Yours in Christ!
Dr. Quahana
Want to enjoy some of the Scriptures inspiring this entry? [NLT version unless otherwise noted.]
References:
1) Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Moody Press. Chicago. 1989.
2) Erickson, Millard. Who’s Tampering with the Trinity? An Assessment of the Subordination Debate. Kregel. Grand Rapids, MI. 2009.
3) Hawthorne, Gerald. The Presence and the Power: The Significance of the Holy Spirit in the Life and Ministry of Jesus. Word. Dallas. 1991.
4) Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2003.
5) Packer, J.I. Knowing God. Intervarsity Press IVP Books. Downers Grove, IL. 1973.
6) Strong, J. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Abingdon Press. 1890.
7) Thayer, J. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon. Hendrickson Publishers. 1995.
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