04/15/2026
One of the questions that I hear asked quite frequently is about the Holy Spirit. Every day Christian believers ask about him because they desire to know who He is, and what he should mean to them and their faith; while many Pastors ask about him to determine what side of the fence we are on. Much like Jesus He fascinates and enthralls us; he brings us to a place where we feel the coolness of the inhale, and the warmth of the exhale as God breathes, and yes, the Holy Ghost frightens many of us, and that fear often serves to separate us from one another.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16-17 ESV
Jesus was a man, and the world He lived in saw Him. As a matter of fact, we see evidence of Him even today; you can visit where He was born, the hillside where he taught the beatitudes, the mount on which He was crucified, you can visit his tomb, and stand atop the place where we believe he ascended into heaven. It was easy for those of His time to physically believe in Jesus because there He was, walking, and teaching among them! Yet once He ascended into heaven then believing that we know Jesus retreated almost completely back into our Faith... excepting for some often-contested evidence of His existence on earth. We read the words of Jesus, and see that He knew this would happen, it was no surprise, so He asked that a helper be sent to dwell in us...
“even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 14:17 ESV
When we choose to believe, our faith transitions us from a fallen man who stands alone, into a complex being of body and enormous spiritual consequence. We are no longer comprised solely of our own selves (body, spirit, and soul), but within us now dwells the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost if referring to Him in this way is your preference). Jesus tells us this, and it scares many people today, just as He frightened those around Him when He physically lived, walked, and taught among men. So, as we have just read, the Holy Spirit was sent, and has entered us, and in the scripture below Jesus also tells us that He is joining with the Father, and the Son, within us, thus we are in Them as well.
“Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
John 14:19-20 ESV
Considering our life in this way is rather complex, and challenges our understanding, but it is actually quite natural, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can all live within us seamlessly... so much so that we can continue on in our faith, and the Word, while still feeling the need to ask questions such as... “Who is the Holy Spirit, and do I have Him within me?” Listen to Pastor Andrew Murray as he attempts to reassure us of the presence of the Holy Spirit within...
“The indwelling of the Spirit is to be recognized by faith. Even when I cannot see the least evidence of His working. I am quietly and expectantly to believe that He dwells in me. In faith, I am to restfully count upon His working and to wait for it. And in faith I must very decidedly deny my own wisdom and strength and in childlike self-abnegation depend upon Him to work everything in me.” - Andrew Murray
These are not new thoughts, nor should they be divisive. We can discuss speaking in tongues as evidence, and the other gifts of the Spirit until we are blue in the face, and we can use them to divide us into as many denominations, orders, or churches as we like, but the Spirit was given to teach us, and to give us recollection of the teaching of Jesus, and he was also meant to join us together in our faith in God, and our understanding of Jesus... not to separate us.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
John 14:26 ESV
So, don’t get hung up in the arguments regarding the Holy Spirit... listen to these opposing viewpoints regarding who he is…
1. He is a person... no He isn’t
2. The Spirit is a second baptism... no it isn’t
3. You must speak in tongues... no you don’t
4. The Spirit forms a trinity... no He doesn’t
All these opposing arguments, and more, are being used as tools of Satan, the present ruler of the world, to distract us from the truth and the focus of Christ’s promise that our Holy Father would provide us a helper. Jesus says that Satan has no claim on Him, and indeed he has no claim on us either. We do not stand alone, and God has claimed us by His very inhabitation of us. We are inhabited by God, Jesus, and, yes, the Holy Spirit; the flag of God’s kingdom flies over us, and when we go, we go with Jesus. We read of this as we continue deeper into the subsequent verses in John 14...
“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.”
John 14:30-31 ESV
Are we ready to set aside our arguments regarding the different ways in which we view certain acts of liturgy, mysterious passages of scripture, and even the Holy Spirit? Why can’t we simply ask to be given understanding? If we can do this, then we will be able to stop the infighting within Christ’s Church and quit bickering over divisive religious ideology long enough to enter into a loving discourse that joins and strengthens us in our faith instead?
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 1:12-13 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the Holy Spirit that has joined you and Jesus within me. I thank you for the remembrance of those things that Your Son taught, and the comfort that the Spirit brings. I ask you Father to stand against the dark one as he attempts to use arguments regarding our understanding of your Word to divide us. I pray that you bring your Church together in a unity that casts out the darkness, and defeats the pride and arrogance of man. Help us to hold onto you, and find common ground within your Word. I have heard men say that they lost their faith because they saw imperfection within some segment of your Church; they said that if men behaved this way then they want no part in it, well Holy Father I pray that all men hear clearly that we all are sinners, those within, and those outside the Church, and I pray that they are told to place their faith, and trust in you, your Word, your Son Jesus, and the instruction of the Holy Spirit, as they seek out their own salvation in fear and trembling. Help me, help us, and help your Church, to deliver this message, and help us to remove ourselves as impediments that cause the souls of other seekers to be lost to you. Let no word I speak, nor action on my part, be misunderstood, or unnecessarily cause the loss of a single one of your children. Help me Merciful Father to find bedrock truth, and not search in vanity and arrogance for some “hidden” interpretation of your Word that I feel will set me apart from, or above others. Cast one net over us all Gracious Father, and draw all of us into your boat. I pray that your Holy Spirit leads us in understanding, and unites us together as one faithful people, and one Church... even in our understanding of His presence. Great are you Holy Father, and greatly to be praised! You redeemed us from sin and death through your Son Jesus Christ, and then you sent us your Holy Spirit to help us further. Your grace knows no bounds, and your claim on us is unending. Holy, Holy, Holy, art thou, our God! My God!
“for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”
Philippians 2:13-16 ESV
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Rich Forbes