THE HOLY SPIRIT
Author Sheldon Vanauken has described a scene in which the characters in a drama sit around and discuss their play. The playwriter's name is Smith. Some of the characters believe Smith exists; some don't. One of them recalls an eariler scene where a character named Smithson claimed the he was Smith, and that he had written himself into the play. After considerable debate over the likelihood of that happening, another charactor speaks: "Look, do you know what's so impressive about all this? It's the idea of a sort of a TRINITY: Smith outside writing the play; and inside as a character; and inside each of us, too. I don't know whether it's true, but it's exactly the way it would be if it were....This thing has the feel of something true. A sort of rightness." No one can truly understand - much less explain - the Trinity, God in three persons. But Vanauken's analogy is a good attempt: an Author who writes characters into existence, then writes himself in as one of the players, and also is somehow in each of his characters. Historically, Christians have believed that God exists in three persons: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The least understood of these three, though, is the Holy Spirit. So just who is the Holy Spirit and what does he do? "He," not "it." The New Testament always refers to the Holy Spirit as "he," not "it." The Spirit is personal, not merely a "force" or instrument. Just as God the Father and God the Son represents distinct personalities within the Trinity, so does the Spirt. We don;t have any real point of reference to help us understand this since we don't know anyone else who is pure spirit. Still, it is true: the Holy Spirit is a person with intellect, feelings, will and other personal characteristics. Truly God. The Holy Spirit is not in any way less than or inferior to the Father or the Son. One of the clearest statements of this reality is found in Matthew 28:10, where Jesus tells the disciples: "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Also check out John 14:16-26 and 15:26-27; 2 Corinthians 3:17 and 13:14.) The classic description of the Trinity is "one in essence, three in persons." The Holy Spirit is the third person described here, and he is just as much God as are the Father and the Son. The Spirit's functions. We can do little more here than simply list the roles that the Holy Spirit fulfills: he anoints and serves alongside the Messiah (Isaiah 48:16, 61:1; Luke 4:18-19); he ushers in the "last days" (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:14-36); he unifies the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:1-16); he gives new life (John 3:5-8); he convicts us of sin and enables us to repent and come to faith in Christ (John16;8); he testifies to Jesus as the Messiah (John 14:26 and 16:14); he guides us into truth (John 16:13); he bears fruit in our life (Galatians 5:22-25); he gives us supernatural gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14); he prays for us (Romans 8:26); he is present in all Christians (Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 6:19). Even from this very brief list you can begin ro see how crucial the Spirit's roles is in our life. Knowing this, it is understandable that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the "Counselor" or "Encourager" (John15:26). As characters in a DIVINE DRAMA, it is comforting for us to know that there is indeed and Author who knows and lives the people he created so much that he "wrote himself into the play." And that now, having left the visible stage, he remains behind in an unseen - but no less real - way, guiding and strengthening his people.