The Spirit Within Us
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26, ESV).
This verse is perhaps one of the most important verses in the Book of John. It was important not only to the disciples to whom Jesus was speaking, but it is equally important to us today. The message of the Spirit within us transcends time.
The Last Supper
When Jesus said these words, it was during what we refer to as Passion Week, and it took place in the upper room on the night before he was arrested. He and his disciples had finished eating; he had washed their feet, and he had sent Judas the betrayer on his way, telling him to “Go and do what you need to do.” Thus, Jesus is with the remaining eleven and is giving them what we call the farewell discourse. The mood is somber. The disciples are distraught. They have been told that Jesus will be leaving them, that he will be put to death by the authorities. What will they do without their leader, their teacher? And so, Jesus is trying to console them, to give them hope. And in doing so, he tells them he will not leave them orphaned. He will not leave them alone, because he and the Father will send another advocate, a helper, who will take his place in teaching them and guiding them.
This is a huge promise. Jesus is essentially guaranteeing that the Holy Spirit, someone like himself, will come and help them, comfort them, and guide them. In an earlier verse, He also stated that the Spirit would be with them forever. So, given the gravity of this situation and the importance of this new Helper, one logically might ask who is this Holy Spirit, what does He do, and how does He do it?
Who is He?
As stated right in the first line of the Nicene Creed, Christians believe in only one God, what is called monotheism. And yet, while the Christian God is only one in essence, or one in being, He is three in person. Known as the doctrine of the Trinity, this is one of the most difficult concepts to understand. The Holy Spirit is referred to as the third person of that Trinity.
Unfortunately, the Holy Spirit is often misunderstood, even by spiritually mature Christians. Yet, one thing is certain. He is not an “it,” not a “thing,” and not just a bundle of energy, as a magnetic force or an electrical charge. No, he is a person who, like the Father and the Son, has emotions. He can be pleased, and he can be grieved. And also like the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit has been around for eternity. He was there and present: at creation hovering over the dark waters of the earth, there with the Old Testament prophets so that they might speak the word of God, there with Mary at the incarnation, there at the baptism of Jesus on the Jordan River, there at the crucifixion and resurrection, there at Pentecost, and most importantly, there today in the hearts of those who have repented and turned to Jesus. This then brings up a second question.
What does the Holy Spirit do?
What work does the Holy Spirit do in our hearts? The short answer is transforming us into a Christ-like character. Spiritual transformation begins with rebirth—in fact, without being born again, no one will ever see the Kingdom of God or become a child of God. The story of Nicodemus in John 3:1–15 illustrates the concept most clearly. A high-ranking Pharisee in the Jewish community, Nicodemus visits Jesus late one night to ask how he might enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus answers:
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit..” (John 3:5-6, ESV).
Said differently, when we turn to Jesus and truly believe in him, God sends his Holy Spirit, who dwells in our hearts and gives us a new spiritual life, an eternal life. We are a new creation.
Change from the Inside Out
But that’s not all. This farewell address continues through chapter 16, where Jesus is again talking about the Holy Spirit, and he tells them that they will actually be better off if he leaves and sends them the Advocate (another descriptive name of the Holy Spirit).
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7, ESV).
The disciples did not understand, and even today this verse can be confusing. How could the disciples be better off without Jesus being physically present with them? William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury in the late 19th century and early 20th century, explained it like this:
It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a new play just like it. Shakespeare could do it; I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life just like it. Jesus could do it; I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live inside me, I would then be able to write plays like he did. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live inside me, I would then be able to live a life like he did.
This is the open secret of living as a Christian: it is not a futile, white-knuckled effort to mimic Jesus, but a willingness to yield to Him, letting Him transform us from the inside out through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus recognized that simply walking alongside the disciples, teaching them sound doctrine, and providing a flawless moral example would never be enough to truly change them. External instruction can show us the standard, but it can never give us the strength to meet it. For the disciples to genuinely grasp His message and live out the fullness of the Christian life, they needed a fundamental transformation of heart. They needed a new life within. That kind of deep, permanent change could never be self-generated—it could only occur when God’s Spirit took up residence inside their hearts, replacing their human effort with divine grace. Which brings us to the final, essential question:
How does the Spirit do it?
How does the Spirit change us? Paul’s letter to the Philippians helps us with that question.
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13, ESV).
The keyword here is “desire” or “will.” In other words, God is working in us through the Holy Spirit by giving us a desire and the power to do what pleases him. The Spirit does not make decisions for us. We are not robots. We have a God-given free will. We make our own decisions. When we are faced with temptation, it will always be our decision to choose which path to take. Envision a temptation to sin as a fork in the road. Standing at that fork is the Holy Spirit with a sign that says: “You can go this way, the righteous way… Or you can go that way, the wrong way. It is your decision.” Thus, we can choose either to please the Holy Spirit or to grieve him.
Eternal Life and an Intimate Relationship
For those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is always with them in their hearts. He gives the believer a new spiritual life, an eternal life, and an intimate relationship with the Lord. He molds us to become more and more like Jesus – convicting us of sin, guiding us in righteousness, and comforting us with the peace of the Lord when we are suffering. The Lord Jesus Christ is deserving of all praise and glory.