In the last verse of Second Corinthians, the apostle Paul closes with a salutation to all the saints, which includes you and me:
2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV): “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.“
In my last two posts, I discussed the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God. Today, I will be focusing on the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The Trinity is made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. It’s like a pie divided into three pieces, each with a different function. According to Scripture, the Lord Jesus saturates us with His grace, the Father exudes His love towards us, and the Holy Spirit communicates with us.
“And the Communion of the Holy”
The Greek word for communion is koinonia, meaning to participate with someone. Although the Trinity’s functions are different, they all make up the same pie.
Jesus said to the disciples, “I’m going to sit at the right hand of my Father, and then I’m going to send you a Comforter.” According to what Jesus said, He is sitting next to the Father in heaven and is not here on this earth. He is in heaven making intercession for us. The good news is that Jesus did not leave us here alone. He sent us here to commune with the Holy Spirit. Without really grasping what I just wrote, we may be in danger of doing exactly what the Sadducees and the Pharisees did. They missed what God was doing in their lifetime.
When Jesus was in the presence of the Sadducees and the Pharisees, they did not recognize Him as the Son of God. They missed the dispensation of Jesus. A dispensation is God’s management of a time period of human affairs on earth. The dispensation of the prophets of old has come and gone. The dispensation of Jesus walking here on this earth has come and gone. We are now living in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, and it will also soon come to an end. Next will be the dispensation of a new heaven and a new earth. The previous and the next dispensations are nice to know about, but they are not the priority. What is important is that we do not do what the Sadducees and the Pharisees did. They were so caught up in the law and the coming of the Messiah that they missed the presence of Jesus, the Son of God. Does this sound familiar? Are we so caught up in the law, what the Bible says we should and should not do, and theology that we are missing what should really be taking place in our lives, which is a relationship with the Holy Spirit?
We are right now living in a dispensation of grace, a dispensation of love, and a dispensation of communion with the Holy Spirit. Communion is not waiting for Him to show up in a song service or at a meeting so He can do His thing. Communion is daily communication. Read the following Scriptures and do a little homework to see how involved the Holy Spirit should be in our lives right now:
John 14:16-17 (NIV): “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”
John 14:26 (NIV): “But the Advocate, 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 15:26 (NIV): “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about me.”
John 16:7 (NIV): “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
Presence and Guidance
The Holy Spirit, also called the Comforter, Counselor, or Advocate, provides guidance, teaching, and support to believers. Jesus’ ascension to heaven was necessary for the Holy Spirit to come and dwell within His followers.
Indwelling Spirit
The Holy Spirit resides within believers, offering a continual presence and connection to God, providing spiritual gifts, and helping to understand and live out Jesus’ teachings.
Continued Mission
The Holy Spirit empowers believers to continue the mission of Jesus on earth, spreading the Gospel, living out the teachings of Christ, and manifesting the fruits of the Spirit (such as love, joy, peace, etc.) in their lives.
Conclusion
In this dispensation of the Holy Spirit, we are called to a deeper relationship with God through daily communion. Let’s not be like the Sadducees and Pharisees, missing the divine presence and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Instead, let us embrace this time of grace, love, and communion, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide, teach, and empower us. May we recognize and cherish the Holy Spirit’s presence, living out our faith with the assurance that we are never alone. Amen.
