More Than Advice

You know [the Holy Spirit], because he lives with you now and later will be in you.   John 14:17

Notice the two words Jesus used to describe our relationship with the Holy Spirit. First, he said that the Spirit is with us—that reminds us that there’s “the Holy Spirit” and there’s “us,” and we must never get the two confused!

Have you ever met people who have confused the two? They assume everything they say is from God. They cannot distinguish between their words and the Spirit’s. It’s almost impossible to reason with them. We must never confuse what we think with the mind of the Spirit. If we’re wise, we’ll humbly allow others to test what we say. The Spirit is with us, and we often need him to correct us.

That means the Holy Spirit is not some spiritual capacity within us. If that were the case, we would have no help outside of ourselves. When Jesus says that the Spirit is “with” the disciples, he is reminding us that God himself comes to us. He is our help and our shield. God is with you in the hardest situations of your life.

Jesus also said the Spirit would be in his disciples. The Holy Spirit is more than a mentor who shows us what to do. We need more than advice; we need the power to change. The ministry of the Spirit goes beyond the work of a counselor, pastor, or friend who may be able to shed light on problems and suggest possible solutions.

The Spirit is able to touch the deep places of our souls—renewing our minds, redirecting affections of the heart, molding and reshaping our wills, cleansing our imaginations, and healing our memories. He can create new desires within us to follow Christ not out of duty but with a heart that hungers and thirsts for righteousness. He can give us power to live a new life for the glory of God.

Don’t ever say you can’t change. Don’t allow your enemy to talk defeat. The fullness of God is with you in Christ and by the Spirit. Think about the Spirit who dwells in you! The third person of the Trinity is at work in you and he is with you in everything you face from here to eternity.

For further reading, see Galatians 5