The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a very complicated subject, one that we cannot know or understand all about since He is the Spirit of God.  But we know a lot of what He did and does....so we can examine a few of these things.

When Jesus was still on the earth, teaching His apostles and getting them ready for the time that He would no longer be with them, He gave them these words:  "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  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 things that I said to you." (John 14).  Elsewhere, the Holy Spirit is described as the "Comforter"; and they needed a comforter because they would be lost without Jesus.  He had been their everything for 3 years.

We learn more of the work of the Spirit in Acts 1, where Jesus is just about to leave:  "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses of Me....."  The power of the Spirit would give them the ability to work many miracles, and also to be able to pass on this ability through the "laying on of hands."

But we should note that there was a specific purpose for the miracles to be performed.  These miracles are called "signs" in John 20:30-31:  "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."  The stated purpose of the miracles was to cause people to believe.  It wasn't to heal all people, though many were healed. 

We know that it was not Jesus' intention to heal all people, nor the purpose of the miracles.  And we know that because later Paul would have a "thorn in the flesh" for which he would ask God to remove.  But the answer was "My faith is sufficient for you."  And in 2 Timothy 4:20, Paul mentions that he left Trophimus sick in Miletus.  Trophimus was important to Paul; so why didn't he just heal him?  The answer is that this was not the purpose of miracles.  Miracles were available to these early Christians to confirm the Word, to prove that what they were teaching was true, to establish faith among those who witnessed the miracles.

The writer knows that this is complicated stuff.  Feel free to let me know that further teaching is needed and we will get that done.  The work of the Spirit is important!

Thanks for reading.  I hope your week is great.