HONOR THE HOLY SPIRIT
By: Barry N. Shaw
If you are like me, your
prayers have been primarily directed to the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
However, it is important that we acknowledge by prayer the role that the Holy
Spirit plays in our lives, for the Holy Spirit accomplishes God’s purposes in
the creation.
The Holy Spirit is the Person
who Jesus Christ left in charge of our lives when He ascended to the right hand
of the Father. When referring to Him, Jesus used the personal pronouns “He” and
“Him.” John 14:16-17. As a Person, He reproves us, rebukes us, teaches us,
intercedes for us in response to our prayers, leads us, communicates with us,
and is sometimes grieved by what He sees us do.
The Holy Spirit is God.
In Acts 5:3-4, Peter equates the Holy Spirit with God. The Holy Spirit is the
Third Person of the Trinity. He shares one essence with the Father and the Son,
yet He is distinct from the Father and the Son. Matthew 3:16.
Jesus Christ did everything
by the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:38; Luke 4:17-21. It is the Holy
Spirit who anointed Jesus “to preach good news to the poor.” Luke 4:18.
It is He who brings glory to the Son “by taking from what is mine [Jesus’]
and making it known to you.” John 16:14. It is He who draws us to the
Father and the Son. It is He who gives us new birth (regeneration). John 3:5,6.
It is He who transforms our inner lives into the likeness of the Lord
(sanctification). 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. It is He who convicts us of our sinful
ways, corrects us with His righteousness, and reminds us of our accountability
to God. He is the life in the body of Christ. Acts 2:38,39.
But notwithstanding His
station in the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is placed in a position of lesser
importance in the minds of some. J.I. Packer writes in Knowing God: “It
is startling to see how differently the biblical teaching about the second and
third persons of the Trinity respectively is treated. The person and the work
of Christ have been...subjects of constant debate within the church; yet the
person and the work of the Holy Spirit are largely ignored.” Dr. Packer
observes that “the average Christian, deep down, is in a complete fog as to
what work the Holy Spirit does.”
In Dr. Packer’s view,
“without the Holy Spirit there would be no gospel and no New Testament.” Nor
would there be faith or new birth — “in short, no Christians.” He
concludes that we should
honor the Holy Spirit “by recognizing and relying on His work in our faith,
in our life and in our witness.”
It is so wondrous that God
has revealed His secret wisdom of the Christ to us through His Holy Spirit and
for that, He is to be honored!
Barry
N. Shaw writes from
Applegate Valley, Oregon