Where Do You Go When You Need Help?
Belief in Holy Spirit. Essential Beliefs, #45, Nov. 9, 23
All of us need someone to go to with a problem. When we were children we went to our parents with our hurts and questions. We recently, flipped that on its head. We went to a techie grandson for help with our laptops. We go to a doctor with a health problem or a plumber with a drain problem.
Nowadays, Mr. Google is the go-to-guy. But usually any query calls up a dozen businesses trying to sell us something we don’t want. Some of their explanations either seem too complicated or dubious. And Mr. Google is not going to help us become holy and loving and patient and persevering in truth. Mr. Google doesn’t care about Truth, nor holiness.
But Jesus promised just that kind of help, and infinitely more, in the Helper he left behind. “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth…he…will be in you.… Unless I go away the Counselor will not come to you…when he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment…When he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 14:16,17; 16:7,8,13).
This indwelling Counselor is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. He is not an inanimate force but a personal divine spirit who possesses all the attributes of the Father and the Son. As the creeds explain, he proceeds from the Father and the Son to accomplish their work among us.
It is he who convicts us of sin and moves us to believe the gospel. Indeed, it is he who gives sinners the new hearts spoken of by Ezekiel. Jesus explained to Nicodemus, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. …you must be born again [regenerated]” (John 3:5,7). It is he who indwells us to gradually change us to become like Christ. “We who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).
He inspired the biblical authors to write the Scriptures and he enables us to understand and apply the Word of God in our lives in practical ways. “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16,17).
He is the one who moves us to wrestle with our old natures to repudiate hatred and jealousy and bitterness with the goal of creating “the fruits of the Spirit” within us. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22,23).
What about service? “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good,” so that the church may be edified. (1 Cor 12:7). “There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:4) From Romans 12 and Ephesians 4 we learn that the Spirit distributes gifts of evangelism, teaching, administration, shepherding, mercy, etc. as he sees fit.
What about prayer? “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express…the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” (Romans 8:26,27.
From the first day of our conversion—actually long before that even—the Holy Spirit has been our constant companion, convicting, converting, sanctifying, guiding, comforting, restoring us, and filling us with the joys of salvation and assuring us we are saved. And so: “We have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature…for if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship and by him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom. 8:12-16).
In his wonderful book, Keep In Step With The Spirit, J.I. Packer writes; “The Christian’s life in all it aspects—intellectual and ethical, devotional and relational, upsurging in worship and outgoing in witness—is supernatural; only the Spirit can initiate and sustain it. So apart from him, not only will there be no lively believers and no lively congregations, there will be no believers and no congregation at all.” (Preface)
Since we owe so much to this blessed Helper, let us frequently throughout the day worship, give him thanks, and seek his help!
Spirit of God descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth, thro all it pulses move,
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,]
And make me love Thee as I ought to love. (George Croly)
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