5 Things | May 12, 2010 | 0 Comments

Five things I have come to understand about the Holy Spirit

Archbishop Peter Jensen

We asked the Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen to list five things that he had come to understand about the Holy Spirit, this is what he said:

I have been asked to write on this subject and I really like the heading I have been given. It reminds us that in the things of God we usually ‘come to understand’, we grow in     our knowledge. And that has certainly been my experience of understanding the Spirit. Furthermore, I am certain that there is still much more growing to do!

Now what would I say are my ‘five things’?

1. The Holy Spirit is a great go-between. I know that I have the Holy Spirit in my life because I call Jesus my Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3) and God my Father (Galatians 4:6). He glorifies the Father and the Son by relating me properly to them. I don’t have to look for lesser ‘miracles’ as a sign of his presence. The great miracle of my relationship with God is his work and the evidence of his daily fellowship.

2.The Holy Spirit is a great persuader. He gives us assurance of salvation. He takes the word of God, especially the word of the cross, and persuades me that in spite of my sin, the Lord had died for me and there is forgiveness (Romans 5:1-10).

3. The Holy Spirit is a great leader. He has inspired the Scriptures and he opens my heart to what God is saying to me in the Bible. As I hear what God says and obey it, I am being led by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:6-13).

4. The Holy Spirit is a great sanctifier. He convicts me of sin, empowers me in my daily struggle against it, and gives me the fruit of his presence in my life. This is called ‘walking by the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:16-26).

5. The Holy Spirit is a great unifier. He unites us to Christ and so to all who belong to Jesus. He enables us to serve the Lord in his strength and through his gifts. He is the Spirit of wisdom and of power. The love he works in us is set to work in serving others, especially my brothers and sisters in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 12).

6. The Holy Spirit is a great intercessor. (I know I was only asked for five things, but I keep thinking of extra ones). When we do not know how to pray as we ought, the Spirit is praying for us the sort of prayer that will please God. He is a great Advocate! (Romans 8:26-27).

One last caution: there is a human tendency to confuse the Holy Spirit with the human spirit. You are not a Christian unless you have first hand experience of the Holy Spirit. But the fundamental experience of the Spirit is our capacity to call Jesus Lord and God our Father. When we start trying to listen in the depths of our hearts for his voice, we are in danger of confusing our own sinful desires with the leading of the Lord. We may look super-spiritual but in fact be disobedient.

The Most Rev Peter Jensen, is the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, and Metropolitan of the Province of New South Wales. You can visit his page here.