When it comes to misunderstood and therefore misapplied Christian doctrine, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is at least close to the top of this list. Among the confusion is the overemphasis on the spectacular. This series seeks to avoid that emphasis and focus in on the more consistent day to day aspects the Holy Spirit.
The day-to-day aspect of the Holy Spirit that is focused upon in this post, is His work as the Revealer. The Holy Spirit gives us life by revealing Jesus. For all of us that are following Jesus, we are doing so because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We may not always describe it this way because when this journey began our knowledge was infantile at best. As we continue to grow in our understand of God’s love for us, we come to understand that He was the one chasing us. A major aspect of that chasing was the Holy Spirit’s revelation of Jesus that opened our hearts to receive Him as Lord and Savior.
First let us consider the idea that the Holy Spirit reveals the true nature of Jesus. To get an idea of this truth, read Matthew 16:13-17 and Galatians 1:11-16.
Matthew 16:13-17
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Galatians 1:11-16
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.
12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.
As we consider these two text we can make the following observations. First, by nature we misunderstand the identity of Jesus. Those that misunderstood the identity of Jesus, did so based upon their own interpretations of Scripture mixed with their own desires of who the Messiah was to be. These passages also teach that the truth about Jesus is not discovered, but revealed. As both texts teach, the only way we will understand the true Jesus through the help of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit gives of life by leading us to saving faith in Jesus. There is a difference between belief as mental acknowledgment to who Jesus was and putting our trust in Him as Lord of our life. For a greater understanding of this point read Romans 12:9 and 1st Corinthians 12:1-3.
Romans 12:9
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
1st Corinthians 12:1-3
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.
Right away by reading these texts we see that the Holy Spirit leads us away from the aimless wondering of a Godless life. This aimless life is due to rejecting the true nature of Jesus and the path to a meaningful life comes through a connection with our Creator, living in the purpose of our being created. This leads to the observation that the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to submit to the reality of Jesus’ Lordship. This is not in violation of our free will but in cooperation with it. The Holy Spirit reveals and we choose to surrender to that revelation.
With this understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit as Revealer, may each one of us submit to the revelation. When we do, the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us in all truth (John 16:13-15). May you continue to receive life through the revelation of love and truth.
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