We've Been Asking the Wrong Questions About the Holy Spirit
Announcing My New Book, Empowered by the Spirit.
I’ve spent a lot of time asking questions about the Holy Spirit. Questions like:
How does the Holy Spirit dwell within a Christian?
How does the Holy Spirit operate today?
How does the Holy Spirit lead and guide us?
How does the Holy Spirit convict us?
These aren’t bad questions. But I’ve come to believe they’re not the right starting point.
Start with “Who,” Not “How”
The most important question we can ask about the Holy Spirit isn’t “how?” but “who?”
The Holy Spirit is not a force, a feeling, or a theological concept to be systematically analyzed. He is a person. He is God. And yet so many of us (myself included) have a habit of talking about him as an “it” rather than a “him.” We treat him like a problem to solve rather than someone to know.
When you want to get to know a person, you don’t start by cataloguing what they’re capable of. You ask about their motives. Their passions. What drives them. The same should be true of the Holy Spirit. Before we ask “how does he work?” we should ask “who is he?” and “why does he do what he does?”
I believe that if we start there, the “how” questions begin to take care of themselves.
A New Book
Those questions—who and why—are at the heart of my new book, Empowered by the Spirit: God’s Gift to Strengthen His People and Transform the World.
I didn’t write this book to explain what the Holy Spirit is or isn’t allowed to do. The Holy Spirit is God. He can do whatever he wants. I wrote it because I want to know him the way I know the Father and the Son. Not as an abstract concept, but as a member of the godhead who is present, active, and at work in our lives right now.
The book explores the metaphors Scripture uses to describe the Spirit: wind, breath, water, fire, anointing. It looks at the signs, renewal, truth, fruit, unity, and hope he brings. Each chapter is short and ends with discussion questions, because this isn’t a book to just read and set down; it’s meant to start a conversation.
The Truth the Spirit Reveals
Jesus called the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of Truth” (John 14:17). So what truth does he reveal?
Not some private, personal truth. The truth is Jesus (John 14:6). Specifically “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). This is the truth the Holy Spirit has been revealing from the beginning. He revealed it through the apostles and the early church. He is still revealing the truth, opening people’s eyes to the reality that Jesus is King and God’s kingdom is breaking into the world. And he is empowering us to live faithfully within that kingdom.
We all need the Holy Spirit’s help to do this. We cannot be the people Jesus is calling us to be without the Spirit living in us and empowering us. He is the one who brings us to life, gives us eyes to see, unites us with our spiritual family, and produces fruit in our lives.
A Spiritual Imagination
Jesus, the apostles, and even the Old Testament prophets described the Holy Spirit and his work using all kinds of creative metaphors. He is like a stream of living water: bringing cleansing, healing, and renewal. He is like a fire: burning powerfully through every obstacle in his path. He is like wind: moving without being seen or understood. He is like breath: bringing life where there was death.
These metaphors help us expand and exercise our spiritual imaginations. They help us overcome some of the obstacles of living in our disenchanted age. They help us see what we cannot see with our eyes, hear what we cannot hear with our ears, and touch what we cannot touch with our hands. These metaphors help us take on a humble posture of wonder at what God has done, what he is doing, and what he has promised to do.
I loved writing this short book on the Holy Spirit, but I’m especially looking forward to all the conversations it will generate. I hope you will be part of those conversations.
I love you and God loves you,
Wes McAdams
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my Amazon link, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting this work!
I have been uncomfortable referring to the Holy Spirit as "It", but ironically in your article you keep referring to Him as "the" Holy Spirit. We don't say "the" God or "the" Jesus, but saying "the"Holy Spirit comes very naturally. Thus it also comes naturally to refer to the third person as "it."
Perhaps our brain's structural/chemical flaws are what we basically are while our soul is confined within our physical, bodily form. The human soul may be inherently good on its own; but trapped within the physical body, notably the corruptible brain, oftentimes the soul’s purity may not be able to shine through.