Conspicuous By His Absence

#christianity #inspiration #holyspirit #theology #pentecost #pentecostal #charismatic #evangelical #holytrinity #thirdpersonofthetrinity #latterrain #rhemaword #livingword

When asked, most Christians, regardless of whatever denomination they affiliate themselves with, have heard of The Holy Spirit. Most also understand that He is in fact the third person of the Holy Trinity, composed of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

If you asked them however, what role The Holy Spirit plays according to the bible in our individual lives and in the life of the body of Christ, the answer may be vastly different.

And lastly, if you ask even the average church going Christian whether they have any confidence or conviction in articulating their relationship with Him, and what the Holy Spirit does for them practically on a daily basis, the responses again would be alarmingly polarized. 

This huge disparity in responses then begs the question, why then does there seem to be so much common knowledge about the third person of The Holy Trinity, and yet at the same time such a lack of intimate and pragmatic experience with Him? 

Perhaps we need, as usual, to look no further than Holy Scripture itself to find sufficient answers to such questions. 

In we see Jesus purposefully proceeding down the Father's ordained path of His earthly ministry when, surprise, surprise, the Pharisees of His day seek to entrap Him by provoking Him to commit what they perceive to be blasphemous speech and deeds.  

Jesus then in His typical supernaturally composed peace, and omniscient wisdom, responds by saying something profoundly powerful and interesting, 

39 "You study[a] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Wow! . . . So is Jesus saying that it is possible to know scriptures from an intellectual and mental ascent standpoint, and yet not know Him!? 

Yes, that is indeed exactly what He is saying! 

And so it is somewhat ironic that even the bible says that while the Word of God is inarguably and indisputably vital to our lives as believers, it, when it comes to our salvation and sanctification, in and of itself is woefully inadequate to the task because it's real and ultimate aim is to point us to Jesus, who Himself is The Living Word, and only in personal relationship with Him do we find the salvation that we seek.  

 But why would anyone surrender to God's plan for salvation and accept Christ as their Savior and Lord, and accept His payment for the penalty of their sins, if they don't really believe that they are sinful? 

Well, the bible of course has an answer for that as well, and this is a perfect segway to begin to talk about the roles that the Holy Spirit plays in each of our lives. 

Let's begin by having a look at John chapter 16 verses 7-11. 

7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

So as we can clearly see according to the above passages of scripture, one of The Holy Spirit's jobs is to unequivocally convict the world of its sin. (So, if you live here in the world, that means you too!) 

He doesn't do this because he hates you or wants to condemn you. No, it's quite the opposite my friend. He only does this to, a) reveal the truth, and b) to drive us to the cross, which is in reality THE ONLY TRUE PLACE where we can obtain unconditional love, grace and mercy in the arms of our loving Savior! 

Let us not also be so hasty as to completely overlook another EXTREMELY important line in the above verses. 

Yes Jesus actually says part of why He left was FOR THE VERY PURPOSE of sending the Holy Spirit to us!!! This makes it virtually impossible for anyone giving this passage of scripture an honest look to EVER DISCOUNT the importance of The Holy Spirit's role in our lives as believers again. 

"It is for your good that I am going away. UNLESS I go away the Advocate, (The Holy Spirit ,) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." 

This is nothing short of a seminal moment in scripture. It is nothing short of a spiritual, and literal passing of the baton to usher in the reign of The Holy Spirit in the earth. 

Some scholars have stated that, (and I'm paraphrasing,) The first era, if you will, from creation until the birth of Christ was The Father's reign in the earth. The second was clearly Christ's reign, (as ordained by the Father to give Jesus all of His authority in the earth,) and lastly now we have Jesus inaugurating The Holy Spirit in his stead to be the person of the Trinity who now has reigned from then until Christ's triumphant return. 

Don't get me wrong, All persons within the Holy Trinity, Father Son and Holy Spirit, are one, all living and moving within the other. However, in terms of how the Father tends to ordain and choose how to manifest His rule and reign throughout the dispensation of His created time, is a different story altogether. And that is something that is, according to the truths revealed to us in scripture, impossible to ignore.  

Back to salvation, and the Holy Spirit's role in initially convicting us of sin; once we do receive that cleansing and justifying grace however, we are now placed in a position to, as God continuously leads us, start new phases of spiritual growth and development, all to the the end of our overall sanctification, both for our ultimate good, and for His supreme Glory. 

This also, the bible admonishes us, cannot be done without the power, guidance and inspiration of The Holy Spirit Himself. 

John chapter 14 is the prime example and "magna carta" if you will, concerning this whole theme. Let's take a look at various verses from that chapter, shall we? 

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

As Jesus clearly states in the above passages of scripture, The Holy Spirit is sent to help, or empower us to live a life of obedience to, and effectiveness for Christ. The "Paraclete," a word written in Greek, from some of the original manuscripts of scripture, was used to refer to The Holy Spirit. It actually means "one who stands alongside." Well, being the broken earthen vessels that we are, that carry the treasure of The Spirit of God within us, we clearly need His empowerment, standing alongside us, to aid us in this challenging endeavor to live a Holy and moral life that brings glory to God, and to also speak with anointing, power, and authority, as we give our testimonies and share the good news with a fallen and hungry world that desperately needs it. Clearly the "helper" or more to the point the "empowerer," is one of the absolutely vital roles that The Holy Spirit plays in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. 

The Holy Spirit, or "Advocate" as Jesus calls him in these verses, is also The Spirit of truth, reminding us of what Jesus has spoken. Those of us who are tempted to think that this is no longer relevant, given the fact that most of us can easily access a bible, and turn to the new testament with Jesus' words contained inside, might want to consider this. 

Jesus also declared in that very same verse that He, The Holy Spirit, would show us "all things." Does this mean that He will zap us and instantaneously grant us God The Father's level of omniscience? Of course not! That would be ridiculous and heretical, for there is only One God, and certainly none of us are Him. 

However what it does indicate is that The Holy Spirit will not only remind us of what Jesus said, but will 'quicken' aspects of His word and light it on fire within our hearts and minds, bringing us new levels of revelation, vision, and insight, particularly as to how it applies to our lives specifically, just like He did for the two disciples who were unable to recognize Him on the road to Emmaus. 

As Paul the apostle later tells us within the books of this very same new testament,  we are "co-laborers" with Christ, (1 Corinthians 3 9-13,) and therefore it logically follows that we are also co-laborers with His Spirit, The Holy Spirit, as we continuously strive to Pray without ceasing, meditate on His Word, and summon the Power necessary to "work out our salvation" (Philippians 2: 12-13) on a daily basis, and yes on even a moment to moment basis.

Lastly Jesus alludes to The Holy Spirit as being an agent of His Peace.   

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." 

He promises to give us His Peace, and that this Peace actually casts out and vanquishes fear! What a promise! 

This is clearly a fulfillment of what is mentioned in Isaiah 26:3, 

"You will keep in perfect peace

    those whose minds are steadfast,

    because they trust in you.

Furthermore the apostle Paul clearly speaks of this same supernaturally infused peace of The Holy Spirit when he prescribed for us the antidote for restless and futile worry. 

6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

Clearly and thankfully for all of us who call Jesus our Lord and Savior, we have received this incredible promise and Blessing of peace in our hearts and lives, as facilitated by the Father's gift to us of The Holy Spirit, given to us through Christ! 

There are of course many many other attributes and even some functions of The Holy Spirit that we could still unpack today, but for the sake of brevity I won't. 

It is my sincere hope instead, that all who read this will be edified, educated, strengthened, and at the very least encouraged by the contents of this article, in Jesus' Name! 

I can think of very, very few more important subjects to cover, and expound upon that that of the very Third person of The Holy Trinity, and the advocate who lives within all of us who have received Jesus as Savior and Lord. 

As the apostle Paul states, He, The Holy Spirit, is even a huge part of the manifest evidence that we are even saved, or children of God! 

As Romans 8:15 triumphantly tells us,

"The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.”

Yes, as the above verse confirms by divine revelation, God's Spirit, indeed The Holy Spirit that we have received, has brought about our adoption as God's own children! 

Furthermore, the bible also confidently asserts in Ephesians 1 13-14 

13" And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory." 

Did you hear that!? Yes, The presence of Holy Spirit in your heart, soul and life is also a GUARANTEE of the inheritance that God has for you, ultimately culminating in the redemption of your body, making heaven your ultimate home. 

Wow! If you can Pray about that and meditate on that for a while and let it wash over you! 

I would be surprised if afterwards you were still nearly as afraid, if at all about whatever you might be facing today. 

I hope and Pray that those of you who have had perhaps only a nodding acquaintance with The Holy Spirit and have only learned about Him, will now ask God to unleash a greater outpouring and manifestation of Him within you that you might not only know about Him, but KNOW HIM! 

With deepest love, 

The Lord bless you

    and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord turn his face toward you

    and give you peace.”’

Until next time! 🙏