Good morning. Christians do not argue, saying that the Holy Spirit is not a spiritual being, a portion of the complexity who is our triumvirate God. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each aspect is unique, and yet they are absolutely One. But Christians do seem to feel that it is appropriate to argue about the person and function of that aspect of God we know as the Holy Spirit. Who is He? What does He do, exactly? Where does He fit into my daily life and Christian experience? When does He come to us, and in what unique ways do we come to recognize His presence and His work? Why is He identified as a person/portion of God, but is not One to whom we pray?
Who, what, where, when, and why? Those are all reasonable questions, and certainly they are too complex to answer in the short space we give to our thought for the day.
But let’s take a moment to remember this: The Holy Spirit of God is promised to all who come to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. To all who act in obedience to God’s commands and accept His grace that provides the means for salvation.
It is not a question of if the Holy Spirit is a part of the Christian’s life. The only question is to what extent we will allow Him to be powerful and effective in our lives.
As Christians, there is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is within us and working at whatever level we are willing to allow Him to work. I put it that way because I believe that those words share the critical truth for our understanding of the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is with us, and powerfully so, but God is always the gentleman. God does not force Himself on us. He knocks at the door of our heart and patiently awaits our offer to let Him in.
Galatians 5:22-23 is a passage well known to many Christians, identified as “the Fruit of the Spirit” passage. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
This is not a list of gifts that the Holy Spirit may impart upon the Christian person. This is a list of attributes of the Holy Spirit. These are aspects of His nature and personality. In the same way that we might speak of another person and say that they are a “happy” or “kindly” or a “fun-loving” person, so it is with these descriptions of the person who is the Holy Spirit of God.
The question is, do you let Him breathe? All of those attributes of the Holy Spirit are within you, and all of them are awaiting opportunities to be revealed through you. Are you willingly, prayerfully, and intentionally allowing the Holy Spirit to be revealed through you, or are you smothering Him, restricting Him, and refusing Him?
Let the Holy Spirit live freely in you today. Allow those beautiful descriptions of His fruit be recognized in you and through you today. Let Him breathe.
Vern