The Greek word for “comforter” is parakletos, which literally means one called alongside to help. This was beautifully illustrated in the 1992 Summer Olympics during a track-and-field event. As the runners in the 400-meter race flew around the oval track, one of them suddenly pulled up on the back stretch, one leg held up and dangling as he limped to a stop. He had pulled a hamstring! As the crowd stood, holding its collective breath, a man ran out of the stands to the young athlete. It was his father! As the television crew relayed the moving scene to the watching world, the microphones picked up the runner’s words: “Dad, you’ve got to help me across the finish line. I’ve trained all my life for this race.” And so the father put his arm around his son, and together, they limped across the finish line to a standing ovation!
In the race of life, God our heavenly Father has come alongside us through the Person of the Holy Spirit. And when we think we can’t go one more step He puts His everlasting arms around us, and gently walks with us to the finish.
The only people who go to heaven are those who are born of water — – those who have been physically born. But those who go to heaven must also be born of the Spirit. Just as the virgin Mary conceived the physical life of the Son of God, you and I conceive the spiritual life of the Son of God when we are “born again.” From that moment on, we are essentially two people on the inside. We have the mind, emotions, and will that we were physically born with, but we now also have the mind, emotions, and will of Christ within us. We have a spiritual “implant” of the life of Jesus Christ within our bodies. This is actually Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit.
This “implanting” of the life of Christ is a supernatural miracle. It is something God does in response to our humble confession and sincere repentance of sin coupled with our deliberate, personal faith in His Son.
The New Testament describes the characteristics of Christ that are to be revealed in our lives as spiritual “fruit.” Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is the fruit of the Spirit that ought to be bountifully present in our homes. What kind of “fruit” are your children eating within your home? Does their “diet” consist of nagging, complaining, anger, bickering, gossip, impatience, meanness, selfishness, and rudeness? Or are they learning to be loving when someone is not lovable, to have joy when life is not fun, to have peace in the midst of pressure, to be kind when treated roughly, to be unselfish when they don’t get their way, to forgive when they are wronged? How easy do you make it for your children to “eat healthy”?
Our homes should be places of rich, bountiful, moral, and spiritual teaching for our children. But that is only possible if we ourselves are moral and spiritual people, fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives.
When you and I received the Holy Spirit into our lives, we became members of the larger body of Christ that includes other believers. Perhaps without realizing it, at the moment of conversion, we became part of the family of God; Jesus is the Head, and other believers are our brothers and sisters. Paul describes this new identity as being “baptized by one Spirit into one body.” But the new privilege of belonging to God’s family brings with it new responsibilities to care for and build up the other family members. For that purpose, the Holy Spirit gives us each gifts that enable us to be contributing family members. These gifts are not natural talents although they can enhance what we have developed ourselves. These gifts are supernatural and only come from the Spirit at His discretion. (1 Cor. 12:11)
What is your spiritual gift? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what it is so you can use it to enrich the family!
The same Spirit that hovered over the surface of the deep in the second verse of the Bible is the same Spirit that fully indwelt Jesus Christ. (John 3:34) In John 14 Jesus speaks of Him as the Spirit of truth, (John 14:17) because He always works through the truth, which is incarnate in Christ and written in the Scriptures. (2 Pet. 1:21) He is also referred to as the Counselor because He gives wisdom, direction for living, and understanding of the truth. (John 14:16) And He is called the Holy Spirit because He is totally separate from sin. (John 14:26)
This wonderful Spirit of God is available to live within you when you repent of your sin and, by faith, invite Jesus Christ to come into your life as your Lord and Savior. (John 14:17) In fact, without the “seal” of His Presence in your life, you have no eternal credibility with the Father. (Eph. 1:13) But with the “seal” of His Presence you have the guarantee of a heavenly home and all the blessings of God.
