To many the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Indeed he is! The Scripture sheds limited light on his work. He is portrayed in a variety of roles; creator, mighty wind, breath, a cloud, a burning bush, the Word or simply – the Spirit or spirit.
When compared to the Biblical activities and purpose of Jesus, the recordings of the movement of the Holy Spirit are constrained in both the Old and New Testament. Surprisingly, the name Holy Spirit doesn’t appear until half-way through the Old Testament in Psalm 51:11. In the New Testament the description of his activities is again limited when compared with that of Jesus Christ. This is by design for a primary function of the Spirit is to lift up and deify the Son. We, primarily, learn of him through a few books: Acts, 1 Corinthians, Romans and Ephesians.
The hear and spirit of man is changed and stimulated by the Holy Spirit for his purpose. But man often fails to understand who he is. He’s not a “ghost” (King James Bible) but a Being who is the full essence of God. He is not an “it” but has a unique, exclusive nature of God. He is not a minor member of the Godhead, but is fully God – omniscient and omnipotent. One of his primary functions is dispensing power. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” He is not bound or restricted to a specific dimension of the universe. Rather he is everywhere – space world, time and the hearts, minds and spirit of man.
Everything in the universe has to have a mechanism, a chemistry, an energy for it to function, whether the sun, stars, galaxies, carrots in the ground or the heart of man. All have function and purpose initiated and stimulated by a power source – the Holy Spirit.
Yet as far as we know, man is the center, the primary focus of attention. Man is the object of God’s love, channelled through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Man was designed for fellowship with God through the enablement and instrumentality of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is the One, “who walks with me and talks with me and tells me I am his own…”
He lives, abides in us and fills us with his substance.
By Gordon Kler