But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you
from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will
bear witness about me (John 15:26 ESV).
The Holy Spirit of God has been called the most
misunderstood member of the Trinity.
And that often begins with a misperception of what the
Spirit is.
The Spirit – also called the Counsellor, the Comforter, the Helper, the Paraclete – is not simply a vague, ambiguous, non-descript metaphysical or mystical force.
The Lord Jesus clearly refers to the Spirit with the
pronoun he.
And the economy of the Trinity projects evidence of order
within the Three-in-One.
God the Father sent the Son (1 John 4:14). The Father
(John 14:26) and the Son (John 16:7) commissioned the Holy Spirit.
In His discourse in the upper room on the evening before His
crucifixion, the Lord Jesus taught His disciples the three-fold role of the
Spirit in John 16.
a)
The
Spirit will convict of sin.
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and
righteousness and judgment (v.8).
b)
The
Spirit will direct the followers of Jesus into truth.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into
all the truth (v.13).
c)
The
Spirit will glorify Christ.
He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you
(v.14)
Bible teacher J.I. Packer (died July 2020) addressed the Spirit's primary function when he observed, “The Holy Spirit’s distinctive new covenant role, then, is to fulfill what we may call a floodlight ministry in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Takeaway – every follower of Christ would do well to consider the role and activity of the indwelling Spirit of God in conforming us to be more like the Lord Jesus, and to convicting, to leading into truth, to reflecting the glory of Christ in and through our lives.
Author and
pastor A.W. Tozer: “The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity.
It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.”
American
theologian-philosopher Jonathan Edwards wrote in the 1700s, “The true spirit of prayer is no other than God's own Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the saints. And as this spirit comes from God, so doth it naturally tend to God in holy breathings and pantings. It naturally leads to God, to converse with him by prayer.”
Theologian Wayne Grudem offers this thought-provoking summary for spiritual self-diagnosis: “…the Holy Spirit reflects the pleasure or displeasure of God with the faith and obedience – or unbelief and disobedience – of God’s people…the Holy Spirit gives stronger or weaker evidence of the presence and blessing of God according to our response to him.”
