- The Helper is Here: An Introduction to the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit: Who is He?
- The Work of the Holy Spirit, An Introduction
- The Work of the Holy Spirit: His Single Focus
- Conviction and Calling: How the Holy Spirit Turns Us to God
- The Holy Spirit and Spontaneous Regeneration
Just before Halloween in the second grade, Mrs. Mooneyham assigned us a very fun project – writing a ghost story. We all told her a story, and she wrote down what we said (we didn’t have the best handwriting in second grade). Then she made mimeograph copies (yes, this was before copy machines) and gave us each a book of all the stories. My story was a masterpiece. That’s what Mrs. Mooneyham said anyway. She may have said that to everyone. I’m not sure. Here’s what I wrote:
Halloween by Richey Sims
The pumpkins are lit. The ghosts will scare you. The goblins are running. The witches are flying. The devils are fire. The skeletons are bones. The ghosts go Boo! All these creatures are all scary.
See? A masterpiece. It also tells you how much we all loved Halloween and ghost stories in the late 1960s. I knew all about ghosts. They were not nice at all, except, of course, Casper the Friendly Ghost.
That’s why it was odd that we always talked about a ghost at church. Every time someone got baptized, the pastor would say, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” I heard people say, “She is really filled with the Holy Ghost.” I always asked myself, “What kind of ghost is at church? Is he friendly or not?” I figured the adults knew what they were doing, which is not always a safe assumption.
As I grew older, I realized that the Holy Ghost is simply an older name for the Holy Spirit. I like that name much better. Maybe fewer second-grade kids are confused by it.
Let’s talk about the Holy Spirit. Most Christians understand that the Holy Spirit is important to our faith. But do we know who he is? Do we have a solid understanding of what he does?
In Jesus’s last talk with his disciples before his arrest, he introduced them to the Holy Spirit.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16)
And a few verses later:
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 have said to you. (John 14:26)
Jesus said the Father will send his disciples “another” Helper. Jesus had been their helper. But this new Helper would soon come, and his job would be to continue Jesus’s ministry. Jesus was saying, “He’ll care for you just like I cared for you.” This new Helper, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, would be with the disciples forever. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would also dwell in them, teach them, and even remind them of all he had taught.
This is a pretty big deal.
The thing is, the disciples still didn’t want Jesus to leave. Just the thought of Jesus leaving made them sad.
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. (John 16:6-7)
It would be cool to have Jesus physically walking around with me all day. I’d stay out of a lot of trouble. He’d be there to encourage me, guide me, help me with every decision, and correct me.
Jesus, though, told his disciples that it would be better for them if he wasn’t with them physically. He said, “Staying here with you would be great, but I could only be with a few people at a time. If I don’t go away, the Comforter, Helper, Advocate, won’t come. But if I do go away, he’ll be here because I’ll send him. And when he gets here, he’ll be with each of you all the time, and he will never leave or forsake you.” Jesus is promising his disciples, and us, God’s constant presence in our lives. Every follower, all at once. This is amazing!
And it isn’t that the Helper will simply be with us. He’ll be in us. If you’re a believer, the Holy Spirit dwells within you.
This is the amazing Holy Spirit that we’ll be talking about in the coming weeks, and I can’t wait to unpack what the Bible says about him. Take a moment now to ask God to work in your heart as we go along. J. I. Packer once wrote, “There is nothing so Spirit-quenching as to study the Spirit’s work without being willing to be touched, humbled, convicted, and changed as you go along.” I pray that each of us will allow the Holy Spirit to do what he wills within us as we learn more about him.