I think the modern church has gotten away from teaching about the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Not in some kind of supernatural, weird way, but in the wonderful, comforting way that God intended it.
The main question is, "Who is the Holy Spirit and what did He come to do?
He was the promise given to us by Jesus when He was preparing for His death.
But the Counselor, 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. John 14:26
The Disciples were able to have Jesus with them and look at Him but we have His Spirit dwelling within us 24/7, our strength and deliverer, always there when we need Him. He is a real friend who sticks closer than a brother, who knows everything about you and loves you anyway. It doesn't get any better than that!
Because the Holy Spirit is a part of Jesus, He is a person not a thing. He actually has a personality. Personality does not demand a physical body or visibility. The "real" you is invisible.
There are 3 things that are necessary to have a personality:
1. Mind - The ability to think and reason
2. Emotion - The ability to feel things and to be moved.
3. Choice - The ability to do something.
The Holy Spirit has all three of these things.
After the Pentecost the Holy Spirit went from dwelling among people to dwelling within them. We are so blessed that we have Him forever.
Also, there are 3 works that the Holy Spirit does: Salvation, Sanctification and Service.
Salvation: He convicts us of our sin and convinces us that we need a Savior. He confronts us with our lostness. He is the only one who can do that.
Sanctification: This means to be special, set apart. We mean something to God and the Holy Spirit
encourages us to be everything that God wants us to do and created us to be. He helps us to get the bad stuff out and the good stuff in. He is our encourager who will help to produce the fruit of the spirit in us. Galatians 5.
Service: He powerfully equips us to do whatever we need to do for God. It's impossible to do it in our own power. He desires to do service through us. This will make a huge difference in our lives. Don't squelch it. Let go and let Him accomplish everything that He wants to through you. 1 Thessalonians 5:19.
This was an eye opening study for me. I hope you gain something from it as well. I welcome any comments or insight that you would like to add.
Love ya'll!
