In my early churchgoing years, I pictured Jesus in heaven, no longer involved in the battle down here in the trenches. He’d done His tour of duty and was now sitting out the rest of the war. I never gave much thought to the Holy Spirit, as the only times it was mentioned in church was in prayers or songs that included Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit is a facet of God who’s often more mystery than reality. For a long time, I ignored the Holy Spirit, considering it a third-rate entity, the silent partner of the Holy Trinity. However, who was I ignoring? Well, according to Paul:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17 NRSV)

“God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.” (Galatians 4:6 NIV)

“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9 NIV, emphasis added)

So, the Holy Spirit is both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus—not someone I want to ignore. But wait! What about that last sentence in Romans 8:9? Is Paul saying that anyone who ignores the Holy Spirit isn’t a true Christian? Hmm, that could explain a lot.

Ignoring that volatile question (for now), what’s the Holy Spirit do, what’s His purpose? The third member of the Holy Trinity must have some kind of holy purpose, right? As I quoted Jesus at the end of the last chapter, the Spirit will guide us into all truth, which is something we could all use more of these days. As if that’s not enough, there’s this promise from Paul:

“You were sealed in Him [Jesus] with the Holy Spirit of the promise, who is a first installment of our inheritance.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 NASB)

A first installment of our inheritance? What inheritance? Does life with the Spirit here on earth give us a preview of the life waiting for us with God in heaven? Again, that’s not something I want to ignore. With all that’s going on in this crazy world, I could use some heaven-on-earth right now.

Anyway, when Jesus returned to heaven, I suspect He knew that those He left in charge needed help, or His budding Church would wither and die. Attacks against Christianity began immediately, and enemies soon included the Roman Empire. Therefore, Jesus sent His Spirit to help protect His newborn Church. Some people believe that once Christianity survived those initial attacks and gained strength, the Spirit walked away from the battle. Yet, as Jesus said,

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16-17 NASB, emphasis added)

The Holy Spirit hasn’t abandoned the war. He’s still in the trenches, for those willing to look for Him.

(Excerpt from “Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity.”)

https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Graffiti-churched-Christians-Christianity-ebook/dp/B0DK7VD71B