The Holy Spirit is God. Just like the Father and the Son, so is he ever present even before the creation of the world. Genesis 1:2 declares that in the creation account, “the Spirit of God was hovering around the waters.”[1] The doctrine of the Holy Spirit as God and his work in the lives of people need to be firmly established at the outset since his presence is felt both in the Old and the New Testaments not as a force or a power but as a Person. Shedding light to the Spirit’s identity and characteristics are significant since our growth as Christians is anchored on how we nurture our relationship with the Holy Spirit.We need to understand who the Spirit is and how he works in and through us as God’s chosen people and how his presence in us significantly affects the decisions we make in life. Thus, in our discernment of God’s will, the Holy Spirit should be given much prominence. The Holy Spirit’s wisdom in the discernment process leads to life, and a deliberate neglect of his counsel brings about death and destruction. Believers ought to seek the Counsel of the Holy Spirit in their discernment process in order to grow, mature, and live a life spiritually directed in God’s plan and purpose.
When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his death, resurrection and ultimately his return to the Father, he encouraged and comforted them, by saying, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”[2] Two significant roles of the Holy Spirit are mentioned here by Jesus. He described the Spirit as a Counselor, and as the Spirit of Truth. This work of the Spirit is important in the understanding of his role in the discernment and decision making process of the disciples.
The Greek word for Counselor is paraklētos which is rendered in other translations as Comforter or Helper. The important function of Jesus in the life of the believers was to lead and guide them during his earthly ministry. He helped them to know God more. He led and guided them to spiritual maturity. However, as he was about to leave his disciples and to go back to where he was from the very beginning, he told the disciples that they will not be orphaned because he will ask the Father to send another Counselor who will be with them and who will do what he did for them. Here comes Jesus who made it clear of what the Holy Spirit’s function will be in the life not just of the disciples but ultimately for his church. The New American Commentary perfectly stated it:
Thus the picture presented in this context is that of a Paraclete who will function as a replacement and a strengthening companion who will be a kind of alter ego for Jesus. Jesus had been leading them, advising them, teaching them, empowering them, and critiquing them. But his time with them would thereafter be limited, and his followers needed a new companion who could function in all those ways. [3]
Since the disciples will be left by Christ to continue on his work, they will need his wisdom to aid them in their work. They will need his leading as to where they are supposed to go and what they are supposed to do. For this reason, the function of the Holy Spirit is the same as that of Christ. The Spirit will be as what Christ has been to them. He is the one who was leading, advising and teaching God’s people soon after Jesus’ return to the Father. This truth is palpable in the whole of the New Testament as seen in the stories of the disciples of Jesus and their work.
Jesus continued his encouragement to the disciples when he said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”[4] In John 16:13, the function of the Holy Spirit as a guide was even more highlighted. Jesus declared, “But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.”[5] Thus, the truth of the Spirit’s wisdom was articulated from the very words of Christ.
The Holy Spirit’s importance is highlighted throughout the New Testament. At the outset of the process of discernment, the testing of the spirits, to the execution of it, and the fruits of self abandonment yielding to the Holy Spirit’s desires, it is indubitable that the Spirit of God is present, active and living. We have seen above how the lives of people in the New Testament were changed as they surrender to the ultimate will of God, seeking for the Spirit’s direction in their lives. They became channels of God’s grace and truth. They became God’s mouthpiece, declaring the direction where God is leading his people. They became the embodiment of what is means to seek, follow and yield into the direction set forth by God through the Counselor sent forth by Christ.
Yet, to those who did not yield to the Spirit’s desires, their lives ended in destruction. It is a good reminder for all of us that an unyielding spirit will bear vicious if not destructive consequences. The direction which the Holy Spirit is leading is always perfect. And since believers are called to be children of God, they should be led by the Spirit of God all the time in all of their life’s aspects.
Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” [6] This statement harks back the reality that as God’s children, we should be led by the Spirit at all times, producing a life that is fulfilling, and whose fruits will lead to life not just for us but for those who will see the light of God in us.
Thomas Merton in his book, Spiritual Direction and Meditation said, “Spiritual direction implies a trust in God and a sincere abandonment to the Holy Spirit, from whom we can at any time rely on the light of the divine Counsel.”[7] This statement provides us with the basic reality of the major role of the Holy Spirit in seeking for the spiritual direction of believers. Merton’s emphasis on self-abandonment is required of the person who is after the will of God in his or her decision making.
In all these, the Counsel of the Holy Spirit in the believers’ discernment process leading to their decision making is vital in order for them to grow, mature, and live a life spiritually directed in God’s plan and purpose.
[1] Genesis 1:2 (NIV)
[3]Gerald L. Borchert, John 12-21: The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002), 123.Italics are used by the writer to emphasize the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding the disciples in his wisdom for the latter to discern what they ought and ought not to do.
[4] John 14:25 (NIV).
[5] John 16:13(NIV).
[6] Romans 8:14 (ASV).
[7] Thomas Merton, Spiritual Direction and Meditation (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1987), 25.
*Images courtesy of findingtruthmatters.org
*Images courtesy of findingtruthmatters.org
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