The Holy Spirit has been a bit of a mystery to me. It probably goes back to as a child my church would sometimes refer to it as the Holy Ghost which was very confusing to a kid : ) I have a much better understanding of it as an adult but have to confess it still is sometimes hard for me to determine if what I am feeling is the Holy Spirit or something of my own making.
God made a promise to his disciples that although he will no longer be physically with them, he will be with them in spirit... the Holy Spirit.
He also introduces this concept of asking (praying) to the Father in his name (Jesus). I think many times we end a prayer with the words "in Jesus Christ" or "in the name of the your son, our Lord" and don't necessarily know why we say these words. Verses 23 and 26 help explain this. The way I understand it is Jesus is they way to God. He says "you will ask the Father in my name, and I won't have to ask him for you". We have direct access to God but only because Jesus made that possible. It is through the actions of Christ that we have this relationship with God and the gift of going directly to him.
The Holy Spirit is the way Christ communicates with us. The Father/Son/Holy Spirit. God is God, Jesus was made man, died and rose again to return to his Father. The Holy Spirit is with us constantly. The Holy Spirit provides our direction and inspirition.
I agree with your thoughts Tammy, as well as Julie's comments about how the Holy Spirit is breathed into us by God -- and thank you for the good insights about how, without the Holy Spirit helping us understand God's Word it's only a piece of literature. I need to share that thought with a friend of mine who is struggling with that very issue right now...
ReplyDeleteI think the Holy Spirit is the most difficult of the Trinity to wrap my mind around - and I think the Christian church/community struggles with this as a whole and as a result we don't talk about the Holy Spirit very much! (At least in all the churches I've been a part of, that has been the case). The Holy Spirit seems mysterious.
For me, the most simplistic way I try to understand the Holy Spirit is my conscience. The way I understand verses 13-15, if I have the Holy Spirit in me, then he is whispering God's truth to me and guiding my choices and thoughts (if I choose to listen to him). For those who do NOT have the Holy Spirit in them, then they are just relying on the world's version of truth to make their decisions.