When it seems no one cares, Christians must remember the Holy Spirit is with us. He is not an impersonal force but a person who comforts us, advocates for us, and can be grieved by us. Pastor Lutzer introduces us to the blessed companionship of the Holy Spirit, showing four ways the Spirit helps us. The Holy Spirit is not only with us, but in us.
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Transcript: Welcome to “5 Minutes with Pastor Lutzer.” We’re doing a very special series, entitled, “When the Spirit Has His Way” and we certainly hope that you subscribe, that you follow and you share. Because we’re going to be discussing some controversial issues in future episodes, such as speaking in tongues, the baptism of the Spirit, but for today I want to introduce you to the companionship of the Holy Spirit.
I’ll never forget the first time I was introduced to a GPS. It actually happened when we were in Germany, visiting our daughter about 20 years ago. The car that she had had a GPS and as we drove along it told us where to turn, what to do, we got to a certain place and we didn’t follow the GPS because there was work along the highway. We took a different route. And the GPS kept telling us “Please turn around…Turn around at the first opportunity,” this woman told us and I thought eventually she was going to say, “You idiot! Please turn around.” I discovered though that I was taking orders from a woman I had never met.
Now, my point is simply this: It was all one-way in its conversation. The woman, of course, was electronically speaking to us and she was telling us what to do but there was no way that we could really talk to her; there was no companionship. The Holy Spirit of God, actually, given to believers, if you’re a believer today, is given to us as a companion.
I’m going to read some verses of Scripture that Jesus said and then I’m going to explain them and I believe that when we are finished our hearts are going to be warmed by the blessed Holy Spirit of God, even as He shows us the truth of what Christ said.
I’m in John 14. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither knows him or sees him. But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans…”
Couple of comments about the verse, first of all “another Helper”—in Greek the word is “paraclete.” “Para” means “alongside of.” Kaleó means “to call.” It means a Helper, called alongside of you, to walk with you.
Why does Jesus say, “It is good for you that I go away”? (He says that in the next chapter) “Because if I don’t go…” He says, “…I can’t send the Spirit.” Think of it this way, the disciples had the privilege of physically being with Jesus Christ. “Nothing could be better than that,” you say? Yes, that was great for them but Jesus was limited in His body; if He was in Jerusalem, He couldn’t be in Galilee. So Jesus is saying “When I ascend to the Father, the Holy Spirit of God now is going to be distributed among all of my people, no matter where they live, no matter the era, no matter the country, no matter the race, the Holy Spirit of God, who was with people in the Old Testament, is now going to be in you. And so Jesus comes to us by the Holy Spirit and that’s why it is good that He ascended to the Father.
There’s something else I have to tell you that in English we use the word “another” in various ways. The Greek text has a nuanced meaning here. I may say to someone who has a job in a factory and then is laid off, I might say I have another job for you, to be the manager of this bakery. Let’s use that as an illustration. That’s not the kind of way that the word “another” is used here in the text. It would be more like this: If I were to lose this pen and then I would say, “I’m giving you another pen,” it would mean an identical one. “I’m giving you one like this.” That’s the word that Jesus uses here. He says, “I am giving you the Holy Spirit, who is really identical to Me.” The Holy Spirit of God brings Jesus into our hearts.
Now, that word “Helper,” that I’ve already referred to—it has various meanings. That’s why in some translations it is “Comforter.” Do you need comfort today? The Spirit is there to comfort you. Sometimes it is translated “Advocate.” The Spirit is there as your Advocate to stand in for you, and there are times when you and I become weary. And it says in Romans 8 that the Spirit even helps us in our prayers “with groanings that cannot be uttered.” That’s how personal the Spirit is, and the Spirit of God talks to us through the word of God in such a way that we communicate with Him.
But He’s not a GPS. It’s not one-way. It is a person who is with us and as a result of being with us, He now indwells us, Jesus said. “He was with you but shall be in you.” It’s the indwelling of the Spirit and that is true of every single believer. It says in the Book of Romans, “He who does not have the Spirit of Christ is none of His.”
Are you a believer? You have God within you, the Spirit within you. You have Jesus within you and He’s not just an influence; He’s a person.
Next time we’re going to speak about the filling of the Spirit. Are you confused about the filling of the Spirit? And what does the filling of the Spirit do? What’s the difference between it and the baptism of the Spirit? Well, those are the kinds of issues we’re going to be dealing with in the next episodes. Be sure to subscribe, follow, and share and I’ll see you next week but as for today, just go with God.