It is a reality that that many Christians, while they may give doctrinal credence to the Holy Spirit as one of the three Persons of the Trinity, practically relegate Him to a back seat when it comes to relating to and worshiping Him. It is easier to relate to Christ, for He became like us. It is somewhat easier to relate to the Father, because we all have fathers. But the Holy Spirit – not so much. We know that He does some good things, and we know technically that He is God; and yet when we gather for worship and sing songs of praise, we tend to have Christ or the Father in mind. The Spirit often does not receive equal devotion from us, even though He is God, equal in every way to the Father and the Son, and equally worthy of worship. But we just don’t tend to think about that.

 

So, it seemed good in this reflection to remind us of all that the Spirit does for us. A number of years ago, I did a deep dive through the Scriptures and looked for every reference to the Spirit and the manifold works that He does. I can’t claim that it is exhaustive – I may have missed something – but it is certainly sufficient to make my point. The Holy Spirit works in the world and in our lives in a host of ways:

 

He… is involved in creation; brings renewal; is life-giving; draws us to Christ; gives ability to speak untaught languages and prophesy; enables us to bear others burdens; gives wise discernment and counsel; grants victory over enemies; stirs up righteous anger; exhorts; instructs; leads us into truth; gives understanding and revelation concerning the mysteries of God; is everywhere/can’t be escaped; leads us on a level path; causes us to be in awe of God; makes even a wilderness fruitful; gathers and unifies people together; bears witness within us that we are Abba Father’s children; anoints us to bind up the broken, proclaim liberty to the bound, proclaim God’s favor, bring comfort to those who mourn; gives praise to the heavy; makes us like solid oak trees that glorify God; makes us priests and ministers; bestows riches and honor; gives strength for leadership; softens hearts with contrition; causes us to walk in God’s statutes and be people set apart unto Him; convicts us of sin; speaks for us when we are called to give an account; makes us able to profess Christ as Lord; gives victory over demons; is like rivers of living water; brings the Father and Son with Him to dwell in us; bears witness of union of Father and Son and of Son with us; was sent by Father to bear witness to Christ as God in the flesh; takes what is Christ’s and gives it to us; makes us holy; pours God’s love into our hearts; intercedes for us; enables us to work signs and wonders; pours out a variety of gifts on believers; is a pledge of the Kingdom to come; is called the Lord who sets us free and transforms us; enables us to be fruitful in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; gives us access to the Father; strengthens our inner man; and brings to us the grace of God.

 

Any questions?!! And besides all that He does, the fact is, confirmed in Scripture by Christ and the Apostles and further expounded in the great Creeds of the Church, the Holy Spirit is fully God, eternally proceeding from the Father and coming to us on earth through the Son, fully sharing the Godhead, the Divine Nature, equal in every way with the Father and the Son and worthy of our adoration.

 

I will close this devotion with a statement regarding the Holy Spirit made in 1968 by Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch Addressing the World Council of Churches’ Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden. He said:

 

"Without the Holy Spirit, God is far away from our experience, Christ stays in the past, the Gospel is a dead letter, the Church is simply an organization, authority is a matter of domination, mission is a matter of propaganda, the Liturgy is no more than a sentimental summons to the past, and Christian living is reduced to a slave morality. But in the Holy Spirit: the whole of creation is resurrected and groans with the birth pangs of the Kingdom, the Risen Christ is made present, the Gospel is the power of God, the Church manifests the divine life of the Trinity, authority is a liberating service, mission is a Pentecost, the Liturgy is both a participation and anticipation of the life of God, and human action is deified."

 

So, the next time you are tempted to dismiss the Holy Spirit as not that important, I hope you will think again. Even in pentecostal/charismatic circles, which pride themselves on elevating the movement of the Spirit, they often tend to treat Him as if He is merely a force that can be manipulated for our purposes, rather than God and Lord and worthy only for us to bow before and yield to for His purposes.

 

There is a song to the Holy Spirit that we often sing at the beginning of our Liturgy of Divine Worship. Based on all that I have reminded us of today; I hope the words of this song will become a continual prayer of your heart:

 

“O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who is everywhere present and fills all things, Treasury of good gifts, and Giver of Life: come and abide in us, cleanse us of every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.”

 

May the Holy Spirit refresh your heart this Pentecost season. May He move mightily in our churches and in our land. And may we always be found welcoming Him as Lord and God and yielding to His powerful presence in our lives, making us bold witnesses to the risen Christ and to the Father’s love!