Duncan Christian Reformed Church

The Spirit's presence in our lives

The very first time we read about the Holy Spirit, he is called “the Spirit of God” who is “hovering over the waters.” The image is that of an eagle hovering over it's young (Deut 32:10-11). Why is he hovering? Because the creation is precious to him. He is very protective of the creation. He provides for the creation.

In the time of year we call “Spring,” everything comes back to life. We say, “It's because that's the way that nature works. It's Spring time, and because of the warmth things are growing again.” Is that so? Do we not realize that if for one moment the Spirit would abandon the creation, that we'd be doomed? This is the testimony of Scripture. Listen! When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth (Ps 104:30). The “they” are God's creatures: all “rocks and trees and skies and seas” (Franklin L. Sheppard), and “all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful – the Lord God made them all” (Cecil F. Alexander).

The Holy Spirit is one of three Persons in God. He is not an “IT.” Neither is he, in the tradition of Star Treck, “the Force.” The Spirit of God is a he, just in the same way as the Father is a he and the Son is a he. Sometimes he is called the Spirit of God (Rom 8:9). In that same verse he is also called the Spirit of Christ. Well, which is he? Here is an example of where all human categories don't work. We need to remember that even though God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, he is still just One God; so it is not a contradiction to call him both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ.

The Holy Spirit is a Person. The Bible says of him that:

He can be lied to (Acts 5:3-4)

He searches all things, including the deep things of God (1 Cor 2:10)

He can be resisted (Acts 7:51)

He loves (Rom 15:30)

He fellowships with the believer (2 Cor 13:14)

He determines who gets what gift (1 Cor 12:11)

He can be grieved (Eph 4:30)

We cannot flee from him (Ps 139:7)

We can know him (John 14:17)

An IT or a Force can't behave in such ways.

In the Bible we read of Enoch who was known by others as someone who walked with God (Gen 5:24). What does that mean? It means he was constantly aware that God was present, that he was living in the presence of God. Abraham was of the same mind. He was told by God to walk before him, in the presence of God (Gen 17:1). Later we read that this is something that is noticeable. A king, Abimelech, and the commander of his army, Phicol, make this observation about Abraham: “God is with you in everything you do” (Gen 21:22). To walk with God is to have a relationship with him such that people will be able to tell that God is with us. Can people tell that we walk with God?

Others have discovered the same thing about the world in which we live. There was a Rabbi who lived long ago who recognized this earth for what it truly is. He is described by Dallas Willard. “To his eyes this is a God-bathed and God-permeated world. It is a world filled with a glorious reality, where every component is within the range of God's direct knowledge and control... It is a world that is inconceivably beautiful and good because of God and because God is always in it” (from The Divine Conspiracy). That Rabbi is, of course, Jesus. Jesus helps us see reality, writes Marcus Borg, as “life-giving and nourishing.” Why? Because God is generous. Look at the birds! The lillies! The sun that shines, the rain that falls! We have the incredible privilege, because of Jesus (who is Immanuel, God with us), to live in the presence of God always. We can go off by ourselves alone somewhere, and yet know that we are not alone, that we are never alone.

What does it mean to walk with God? What's it like to know that he always with us? The Bible tells us that God the Holy Spirit is present in our lives, which means we are precious to him; he is protective of us; and he is eager to provide whatever we need, if we would just ask him (see Deuteronomy 32:10-11). We have this amazing promise in the Bible regarding the presence of God, that we can run but we cannot hide from God. He will never leave us or forsake us (Ps 139:7-8). In fact, God is with us when we least expect it! When we go through the tough times it may seem as though God has hidden his face from us, that he has abandoned us. The promise is that he will be with us even in these unexpected moments (Isa 43:1-2).

The Celtic tradition of Christianity has a wonderful way of expressing this. God is before, leading the way. He is behind us, protecting our backs. He is above us; below us; he is all around us! As Isaac Watts says in a hymn, “and everywhere that we can be, you, God, are present there.” This is God's promise to us. Do you believe it?

Pastor Walt Vanderwerf