At times the simplicity of what we know by faith is eclipsed in the milieu of our daily lives. Our soul persistently reminds us weakness is not admired, whereas strength is – or at least the appearance of being strong enough to keep it together. If that collapses, our wounded soul is seasoned in craving validation and comfort. Our human spirit, designed to partner with Holy Spirit in growing up into Christ, is hindered and marginalized.
If life could be reduced to a tidy package, we could manage it without help or despite outside pressure. That frame of thinking as a believer, however, is the antithesis of what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
As a result, in every generation the substance of what it means to be indwelled by the divine life of Christ, through the Person of the Holy Spirit, bears repeating. It is the ongoing fulfillment of Psalm 22:30-31 –
Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn— for he has done it.
This Song of the Lord, Psalm 22 – Jesus’ death song, was born of prophetic worship as Holy Spirit overshadowed and moved on the psalmist David’s heart generations before.
Then, “… when the time was right, the Anointed One came and died to demonstrate his love for sinners who were entirely helpless, weak, and powerless to save themselves.” (Romans 5:6) Jesus came, full of grace and truth. His gift to us this side of the Cross is that “…we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!” (Romans 5:5 TPT)
The Personality of the Holy Spirit in the Old & New Covenants
Both the Old Testament and New Testament reveal the personality of the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Covenant, Holy Spirit is present wherever God becomes involved with man. Facets of Holy Spirit’s nature and his work on earth are concealed in fourteen emblems that represent different aspects of his Person. Just as a picture is an image of the real that helps us recognize, so an emblem or type of the Holy Spirit in scripture paints a picture to help open our understanding to the revelation of His Person – the divine third Person of the Trinity.
As we move into the New Covenant, Holy Spirit is revealed clearly as it records His coming in Person (Acts 2) on the Day of Pentecost. Holy Spirit remains to this present day. His mandated purpose is to glorify Christ in every believer as He continues His work of creating God’s family in the earth – the Church, with Christ as Head.
During Jesus’ time of ministry before he went to the Cross, he prepared His disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The gospels are full of the truths Jesus taught, and He did not leave the Holy Spirit in the background.
Instead, He educated them about Holy Spirit’s personality. He called Him the Counselor and the Spirit of Truth (John 14 & 16). He did not leave them clueless, though their understanding would be enlightened only after His departure and Holy Spirit’s arrival. Jesus had to complete His divine mission on earth and declare the work “finished” before Holy Spirit could come and apply it to the hearts and minds of those who receive Christ. Jesus – the Word founded in Holy Spirit’s nature and character, spoke this rich promise to the disciples and us:
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. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:26-27)
Our Father is faithful, beloved. When Jesus returned to His Father, earthly mission accomplished, Father God passed the baton to Holy Spirit. In heaven’s Triune relay, Holy Spirit continues our Father’s mission of Love.*
“My Peace That is Not the Peace the World Gives”
“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.” (John 17:11-12)
Jesus’ High Priestly prayer in John 17 beckons us to unhurried soaking. Beloveds, our spirits drink deeply when we quiet ourselves and are satisfied in times of solitude with the Lord. Holy Spirit presences us with peace.
The world defines peace as an absence of hostilities; a belief that collapses over and over in the face of personal, corporate, and global circumstances. In a great display of coming in the opposite spirit to that which threatens to overwhelm, Holy Spirit brings a peace to our hearts not dependent on circumstances.
The peace Jesus left us, administered through relating to the Holy Spirit, does not depend on what is happening but on relationship with the Prince of Peace. We experience peace in the face of the realities of this world as we learn to walk in the peace of God, walking in harmony with the Person of the Holy Spirit. Dr. Pickett stated it this way: “When we do not walk in the peace of God, we do not walk in the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25-26 (Msg)
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit,
let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts,
but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.
That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse.
We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
To which, as we learn to embrace our design for redemptive living, may we proclaim the Amen and live it out.
Holy Spirit’s Character And nature
The best Teacher we could possibly have dwells within the heart of every believer. My desire is to help us recognize this One who resides in us, in order that we will increasingly yield our will to Him and allow Him to work the will of the Father and divine life of Christ in and through our lives. Day by day, from glory to glory.1
Holy Spirit came by the heavenly mandate of the Most High to work the redemptive plan of the Trinity to:
- transform our darkness into light – Proverbs 4:18, especially in the wisdom of Proverbs chapter 4
- apply Christ’s resurrection life to ours – that we may experience the full redemption of our souls
- accomplish the work of purifying and setting us apart for God’s pleasure and intended purposes for us
- lead us to discovery of the true meaning and purpose of life in God as we seek Him with all our heart2
Several next articles will focus on a brief description of the fourteen emblems in the Old Testament that represent different aspects of Holy Spirit’s Person, for His character is embedded in these representations. Following that, we will explore, and I pray thrill, to the aspects of His nature as revealed in the New Testament.
~ Nancy
1 II Corinthians 3:18 2 Proverbs 8:17; Psalm 119:10; Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 6:33; John 5:30
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