There is a lot of confusion in the church about the Holy Spirit. Many questions arise, such as: Is the Spirit a personal being or just some impersonal force? Is the Spirit divine? Does the Spirit help us in some way today? What is His function, exactly? What about miraculous gifts? Does the Spirit actually dwell within us? These are all important questions that should be asked, and answers should be sought.
The scriptures make it clear that a reliance on the Spirit is critical to the spiritual health of both the church as a whole and of each individual Christian. Despite this fact, there are some in the church today who downplay the role of the Spirit. Some have claimed that the Spirit is not really doing anything today. Some have claimed that the Spirit of God does not actually dwell in us today in any real sense. We must carefully search the word of God to form our understanding of the Spirit. Some are not forming their views of the Spirit on a careful study of the word, but on a counterreaction to certain misguided views held by the Pentecostal/charismatic movements. Forming our views of scripture on a reaction to what others are teaching is no way to go about finding truth! We must let the word of God speak for itself and let it shape our thinking. Some who downplay the role of the Spirit do so because of their desire for simple, black and white teachings that can be easily understood. But the fact is, there are some things in scripture that are difficult to understand (2 Peter 3:15-16), and there are many, many things in the scriptures that will far exceed our ability to fully comprehend. Afterall, we are dealing with God. His ways are far above our ways. Why should we think that we could ever fully understand nature of God and His Spirit? And yet, we sometimes try to put God in a box of our own making.
The effects of downplaying the role of the Holy Spirit are devastating. Some minimize the work of the Spirit and then wonder why there is so much spiritual weakness in the church. But it is the Spirit who brings power into our lives (Ephesians 3:16). It is the Spirit who brings transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18). Some minimize the work of the Spirit and then wonder why we’re not reaching the lost like we should. But it is the Spirit who will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement (John 16:8). Some have done their best to remove the Spirit’s presence from the church and then wonder why so many congregations are dying out and closing their doors. But when the Spirit is pushed out of the temple of God (the church), what should we expect to happen?
May we always strive to hold fast to a biblical view of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord continue to bless us, transform us, and impart life to us through the Spirit whom He has given.
—Scott Colvin
Posted by Scott Colvin 
while today 