< Go Back

Holy Spirit: We Hardly Know You—But We Know We Should
It’s For Your Good
John 16:7

Introduction: Meet The Holy Spirit

For sure, it’s a good question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” Christians have a vague sense of who the Spirit is. For sure, the Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. We know there is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are fairly clear on the place and importance of God the Father and Jesus the Son. Things start to become pretty fuzzy, however, when we are asked to explain the place and purpose of God the Holy Spirit.

For sure, the concept of the Trinity itself can never be explained or described with absolute clarity. We read the verses emphasizing that there is but one God.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.            Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV

Then we read a verse like the Great Commission where Jesus gives His last instructions to the disciples.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

                                                                                                Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

The concept of the Trinity that God is one and He is God in three persons stands as one of the central doctrines of Christianity.

Trying To Explain The Trinity

There have been attempts to explain or describe the Trinity.

·         H₂0 as solid, liquid and gas

·         Egg as shell, membrane and yolk

·         Equilateral triangle with three equal but separate sides

They help, but none are completely adequate in portraying, with crystal clear clarity, the Trinity.

The fuzziness we experience in attempting to portray the Trinity extends to the Holy Spirit. This explains my title for this series, “ We hardly know the Holy Spirit, but we know we should”.

An Astounding Statement

If it is your desire to experience all the fullness and victory that God has for you in this life, then you need to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of a child of God. Our starting point is one of the most amazing statements Jesus made during His time on earth. This is a stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks kind of unbelievable statement made as Jesus prepares His disciples for His impending crucifixion on the Cross.

Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.                             John 16:5-7a NIV

We understand the disciples being filled with grief because of Jesus’ statements about returning to the Father. They aren’t completely sure what that means, but they know enough to know that Jesus is planning to leave them. Jesus comforts them with the astounding statement that, “It is for your good that I am going away.” My mind revolts at this idea. How could there ever be anything better for anyone than having Jesus standing right there with you?

Think of the incredible privilege the disciples enjoyed. For three and a half years they have walked and talked with Jesus. They have watched Him perform many remarkable miracles. They have been taught by Him and corrected by Him. He has been their personal teacher and advisor. Then, toward the end of that time, He starts talking with them about how He is going to leave them because He has to die. How could this ever be good?

Here’s how. Jesus finishes His statement…

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.     John 16:7 NIV

If having Jesus physically present is good but having the Counselor is better, it only makes sense to examine what Jesus means by this amazing concept, so we can benefit from what is better.

Understanding Drawn From Previous Statements

This amazing statement brought together two earlier statements made by Jesus in the two preceding chapters of the Gospel of John. In John 14 Jesus has tried to help the disciples understand that He will soon return to heaven where He will prepare a place for them. He then makes them a promise.

1^st Statement

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 

John 14:16-17 NIV

We need to pause here to identify some significant concepts about the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Is Another Counselor

The word another carried a rich message for the disciples—as well as for us. Greek, the language in which most of the New Testament was written, has two words that are translated as other or another. One word means “one of the same kind” while the other means “one of another kind.” In promising another counselor Jesus says He will send a counselor of the same kind—a counselor like Himself. This counselor would not stay for just three and one-half years. He would come and be with them and never leave them.

There is further understanding given when Jesus calls Him the Spirit of truth. He represents the mind and plan of God. The Holy Spirit will never deceive or mislead you. He was sent by Jesus to lead us toward God’s truth.

The Holy Spirit Is A Comforter

The word counselor is also translated as comforter. Either of the two English words translate a Greek word (paraclete) that is rich with meaning. It means “one called alongside to help.” This other comforter is one who is called alongside to assist, to bring comfort where needed, and to help.

The Holy Spirit Is An Advocate

There is another form of the word translated as advocate. This is one who is to take charge of a case or to plead a cause. It goes beyond the idea of being an advocate or counselor as an attorney does, although that idea is certainly included. As an advocate, the Holy Spirit identifies Himself completely with our interests as He totally undertakes our cause. As our advocate He is engaged to see us through all of our difficulties. He is the personal agent who transacts our spiritual business for us.

Many human attorneys need to be commended for their sincere concern for a client’s problems and their dedication to their interests. There is, however, no comparison between the best of human attorneys and the Spirit of God. He pleads our case and sees it through.

The Holy Spirit Is The Representation of Christ

In addition to all of this, the Holy Spirit is the personal representation of Jesus Christ to us. He came to make Jesus known and real to us in all of our experiences. He may not be understood by people, but He makes Jesus known to us because Jesus lived with the disciples in body and would soon live in them in Spirit.

2^nd Statement

When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.      John 15:26 NIV

From this second statement we learn a vitally important lesson about the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit of Truth He has one primary purpose. The Spirit comes from the Father to testify about—or confirm as true—Jesus. The Holy Spirit has the primary assignment of confirming the truth about Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world.

Hopefully you are beginning to see why it is beneficial for Jesus to return to the Father. He has to return so He can send the Spirit to us. Jesus was limited to being in one place at one time and the number of people who could be with Him in that space. The Holy Spirit lives in each and every believer whether we are here at church, at home, at work, at school, on vacation or in places where God would never want us to be. All the limitations of a physical body are removed. As we begin to understand the full meaning of this statement, we begin to see that Jesus knew what He was saying and truly meant it.

Embracing The Purpose

All of this is in keeping with the purpose of the Spirit as explained by Jesus.

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.   John 16:12-15 NIV

Let me try to state this so we can understand how incredible this is.

The Holy Spirit is going to do more than teach us things about Jesus. He is going to take the things of Christ and make them ours. He will make the Lord Jesus a day-to-day reality in our lives.

The disciples were sad because they were going to lose the presence of the Lord. But, He assured them, He was going to send a Comforter just like Himself and this Comforter would restore His presence to them.

Paul teaches this same truth about the presence of the Holy Spirit and Christ in us.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.   Romans 8:9-11 NLT

This makes clear that when we have the Spirit we have Christ and the Father also. When we have one, we have all three.

The Holy Spirit And The Trinity

While I have previously stated that we will never have total comprehension of the Trinity, an exploration of some of the aspects of the Trinity will help us.

The Bible teaches that God the Father is a person separate from the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is a person separate from the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person separate from the Father and the Son. They are three persons and all are in the Godhead. We speak of one God—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are united so what one thinks they all think. What one chooses they all choose.

One of the remarkable attributes of each member of the Trinity is that He is everywhere at the same time—except for the time the Son lived on earth. That’s why David said there was no place that he could go to hide from God because God would be there. While each person is everywhere, the Bible also identifies a special place where each resides.

·         God the Father lives in heaven

·         God the Son lives in heaven at the right hand of the Father

·         God the Spirit lives in each believer

Paul’s celebrates this in one of his great doxologies of praise.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.                                                      2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV

The love of God is source of blessings that are given to us. The grace of Christ makes possible what God wants to do for us. The Holy Spirit makes it personal. The Biblical formula is: What the Father devised, the Son accomplished and the Holy Spirit communicated.

This was the comfort Jesus promised to His disciples. This is what makes the Holy Spirit the other counselor or comforter. As the other comforter He is not the only comforter, but He has a special place as it involves us.

Jesus As Our Advocate (Counselor)

Jesus is our advocate or counselor. The Bible tells us…

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.                                                           1 John 2:1 NLT

When we sin Jesus is the one who pleads our case before the Father. Through the Son the Father gave us His love by sending Jesus to earth to be our Savior. When Jesus went back to heaven He became our mediator. Through Jesus God communicates His blessings. Then, when we have a need, Jesus communicates that to the Father.

The Holy Spirit As Our Advocate (Counselor)

The Holy Spirit as our other counselor takes all that Jesus accomplished and secured for us and makes it a reality in our lives. What we see is that Christ is our Advocate with the Father and the Holy Spirit is Christ’s Advocate with us.

Conclusion: Christ In You

This is a good start in introducing the Holy Spirit—but it’s only a start. Our understanding will increase in the weeks ahead. For this morning I offer a verse to you as what you should take away from this service.

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.                     Colossians 1:27 NIV

This verse expresses how profound the work is that God does in us as Christians. At the point when we turn over the direction of our lives to Christ, God comes to live in us. It’s not something that is just out there. It is all summed up in this phrase: Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is the mystery of God made known to us and in us!