A Life Well Lived

KNOWING GOD Day 7

Not Left Alone Because of the Holy Spirit

Guiding Verse:

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)

If we were asked, “Say you could spend time with anyone from the Bible, who would it be?” many of us would likely answer, “Jesus.” When asked why, we might say, “I want to be close to Him” or “I want to know Him better.” The disciples had the same concern. When Jesus revealed to them that He would soon leave them, they were full of sorrow because they did not want to lose the One they had come to love, trust, and obey. But in John 16:4–8, Jesus, with complete empathy, tells the disciples it would be to their advantage that He went away. They struggled with this concept until Jesus ascended to heaven and the helper (the Holy Spirit) was sent down to guide them through their ministry for Christ.

God Sent the Holy Spirit to Convict and Teach Us How to Live

…I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you. But now I am going to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, “Where are You going?” But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. (John 16:4b–8)

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:26)

Many of us struggle with feelings of abandonment and do not understand the incredible reality that God has not left us alone. We can take comfort in the fact that the Triune God is with us in the form of the Holy Spirit. Though this isn’t always taught in detail, the Bible is very clear: ever since a short time after Christ’s ascension, the Holy Spirit has been entering the lives of those who believe and follow Jesus Christ as their Savior.

You might ask how it could be advantageous to have the Holy Spirit on earth rather than Christ. Jesus convicted and led His disciples and many crowds during His ministry. However, as fully man, He worked directly with the individuals and crowds that He came in contact with. The Holy Spirit is continually present in the heart of any believer of Jesus worldwide. It is beautiful and comforting to know that God is constantly with those who truly believe and seek to follow Him. A part of the Triune God is with us always.

But just how powerful is the Holy Spirit? As we learned earlier (Day 4, Genesis 1:2), the Spirit of God was part of creation, and while the earth was without form and void, He “was hovering over the face of the waters.” It should also be noted that during the Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit would enter the life of God’s prophets (1 Samuel 16:13, Judges 6:34) and others (1 Samuel 10:9–10) at God’s will. The difference between those instances and the work of Christ is that those who believe in and follow Christ have the Holy Spirit indwelling within them (Romans 8:9).

Romans 8:11 (our Guiding Verse for today) states that if the same Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells within us, we will honor the Lord as believers. What a mighty God and Spirit that we are blessed to have. If this Spirit is the One that was involved in creation and the One that raised Christ from the dead, then we can be sure that He can also bring the dead and broken parts of our own life stories back to life!

Followers of Jesus Can Call on (or Ignore) the Holy Spirit

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Romans 8:9 NASB)

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:19–23)

Deeper in the Word: The Awesome Power of the Holy Spirit: Genesis 1:1-2; Acts 1:8, 2:1–4, 19:1–7; 1 Corinthians 2:10–16.

Pause and Reflect: We might not hear an audible voice, but the Spirit still speaks to us. Have you experienced this, for example, when you pray or read God’s Word?

Nevertheless, we might wonder how—if the Spirit is so powerful—we can at times live like someone entrenched in this world, not like someone filled by God’s Spirit. Although the Spirit lives within us, we can quench or ignore Him, as 1 Thessalonians 5 indicates, by choosing sinful ways over His guidance. To truly be convicted “concerning sin and righteousness and judgment,” we must seek God, stay in the Word, pray, and repent when we have sinned. Otherwise, we will drown out the Spirit and not be in sync with our Creator and Savior. God has a plan for us in this short life that we have been given. And in order for us to live like Christ, He sent us the Holy Spirit.