The Holy Spirit is God’s indwelling presence in our lives. If you ever feel weak, weary or powerless, you need the Holy Spirit. If you ever feel anxious, afraid or alone, you need the Holy Spirit. If you hope to grow deeper in your faith, to see your life transformed into the person God created you to be, you need the Holy Spirit. And if you hope to experience more of God’s presence and power in your life, you need the Holy Spirit.
As Christians we believe in one God comprised of three persons – The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The trinity is a mystery that is really hard to explain. For many of us, we understand God the Father is the creator of all things. We understand the Son (Jesus) is God in human flesh who came to die for our sins and redeem us. But many followers of Christ do not really understand the third person of the trinity – The Holy Spirit. So, why is it important for us to understand the Holy Spirit?
To grow in our spiritual life, the scriptures call us to “walk in the Spirit” or live by the rhythm of the Holy Spirit. Paul says the evidence of walking in the Spirit is the “fruit” characterized by “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23.) Our lives will witness to Christ, not so much through our words, but through our fruit, born through the Spirit’s inner transformation.
Before Jesus ascends back to heaven, he tells his followers that they must be “His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” In other words, they need to be his witnesses everywhere they go. These instructions are meant for every generation of Jesus followers ever since. But we can’t possibly be His witnesses by our own strength. Well, Jesus had a solution to that.