Author Francis Chan wrote an entire book entitled Forgotten God – subtitled Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit. Misunderstandings about the Spirit abound, but (as always) the Bible can put us back on track.

I recall a friend visiting my house, back (waaay back) in the 90s. She was talking about churches, and said she could never be a part of any church that wasn’t “Spirit-filled.” I knew exactly what she was referring to, because she attended a notably charismatic-oriented fellowship that was known for a number of questionable practices, including hosting a “laughing revival” where people, allegedly due to the Holy Spirit, gathered to erupt into peals of uncontrolled laughter.

Although I haven’t heard much about that particular phenomenon lately, certain groups of Christians still spend much time and effort seeking manifestations of the Holy Spirit along these same lines, including “baptism” by the Holy Spirit that manifests in a “personal prayer language.” I recently conversed with a believer who indicated she didn’t yet “have” the Holy Spirit because she hadn’t yet experienced that “baptism.” I was delighted to declare that if she had truly turned toward following Jesus, that in that moment of transformation the Holy Spirit came to live in her.

This is of course precisely what the Word teaches, and in pretty strong terms. This is the Apostle Paul speaking to Christians in Ephesus:

In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.. — Ephesians 1:13-14

The Holy Spirit’s presence in us literally seals our status as redeemed by God, which of course happens at the moment of salvation. To the Romans, Paul argued the same point from the negative:

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. — Romans 8:9

Bluntly, any teaching that the Holy Spirit is a “second act” following salvation is false doctrine. It is so important to carefully examine doctrine of any church to ensure they are proclaiming only biblical truth about God, Jesus, and the Spirit – which is of course a long way of saying they need to be teaching only truth.

But let’s return to my friend’s comment all those years ago about wanting only a “Spirit-filled” church. I wasn’t equipped at that time to respond properly, but I am now. Any church that is preaching Christ as Lord, any church that centers around His Word – that IS a Spirit-filled church. It has nothing to do with random physical manifestations (for example, laughing revivals). It has everything to do with the work of the Holy Spirit, as the Bible clarifies.

So what does the Holy Spirit do?

When we are indwelt with the Spirit – when the Creator God literally comes to live in us – He’s there for a reason. Several reasons, in fact:

1. Security – as Ephesians 1:13-14 (above) indicates, His presence is the guarantee that we indeed belong to God. His presence assures us of our salvation.

2. Access – the Holy Spirit within us means we have instant, immediate, and intimate access to God. We can pray anytime, without even speaking aloud. Our needs can be met by the One we are privileged to call “Abba Father,” which is another way of saying “daddy.” And whether or not your earthly father properly modeled the love and care our heavenly Father offers – the Spirit’s intimacy with us provides an infinitely more satisfying relationship.

3. Understanding – the Holy Spirit within us brings the pages of the Bible to life for us. He literally explains God’s Word to us. Since He IS wisdom, He richly provides wisdom to us when we ask (James 1:5), so we can better understand and apply the Bible to our hearts.

4. Example – the Holy Spirit within us lifts up Jesus as One worthy of our submission, and as the ultimate example we can follow.

5. Direction – the Holy Spirit within us personally guides us, moment by moment. He is the best Guide possible because He knows God’s will and He’s there to lead us toward it. The Spirit is always gently reminding us to make the right choice.

6. Other believers – the Holy Spirit helps us minister to and care for each other. In fact, He often ministers to us through other believers.

7. Power – the Holy Spirit within us is what empowers us to live productively, in victory, and with joy. Plain and simple – without Him in us, we could not.

8. The last point is perhaps the most mind-boggling. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us before God. What does that mean? Read Romans 8 – which touches on the above points as well. Paul did it much more eloquently than I can – because the Holy Spirit directly inspired every word he wrote.

The Holy Spirit is no longer inspiring new Scripture. But if we belong to Jesus, His Spirit is within us now, and He stands ready to grow us into what God created us each, individually, to be. Nothing is standing in our way – except, of course, us.

How we mess this up

Ready for one more list? Here are a few ways we go wrong:

1. We fail to understand basic biblical doctrine on salvation, like the lady I mentioned above (who was “still waiting for the Holy Spirit”). If you’re misled as to the Spirit’s role, you are stunting your spiritual growth.

2. Similarly, we toy with explicitly unbiblical doctrines about the Spirit and His purpose. He is not here to ignite laughing revivals, pad our wallets, or heal everyone of sickness. (And no, it is not your faulty faith that is keeping Him from healing your grandma – or your child. It is His sovereign plan, as the Creator, to use all things for good for those who love Him. We must bring all our heartaches to Him, trusting in His unquestioned ability to work miracles while simultaneously trusting that He knows best. The mark of mature faith is acceptance of what God hands us. This is not something we always see in charismatic teachings.)

3. We struggle to understand the concept of the Trinity. We can wrap our mind around the Creator God, the Father of everything. And Jesus of course seems even more accessible because He was right here, one of us. But the “Holy Ghost” – that seems a little more “out there” to many. Ultimately, however, that’s where the Trinity is helpful. It is Jesus who lives in us. It is the very God of the universe who lives in us. It is the Holy Spirit who lives in us. They all three are one, and have been so from the very beginning (the second verse of the Bible attests to the Holy Spirit, and the first verses of the book of John tell us that Jesus was involved in creation as well). These truths help paint a clearer picture of the Spirit.

4. We don’t ask for the things the Spirit specifically offers. We don’t ask Him to illuminate the Scripture. We don’t ask for wisdom, or guidance, or direction. We don’t ask for power to do His will, to live productively, in victory, with joy. We have not because we ask not. (See James 4:1-10.)

5. We disobey. When we sin, we grieve the Spirit – and numb our ears to His voice. He is there, but He does not scream. He speaks gently – our part is to listen – and obey. Are you struggling with what some call a “besetting sin”? You have probably numbed yourself to the Spirit’s direction in this area. Confess and ask Him to “clean your ears”!

What a privilege

My second favorite current author (after my man John MacArthur) is Kyle Idleman, who has pondered how we sometimes talk about meeting our Bible heroes in heaven and asking them questions. But he thinks we might just have it a little backward:

Before we can ask David what it was like to slay the giant, to win the battles, he’ll say, Tell me what it was like on earth to have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, giving you strength when you are weak. We might say to Elijah, What was it like to call down fire from heaven before the prophets of Baal and to raise that boy from the dead? And I think Elijah might say, Yeah, he actually ended up dying again. You tell me what it’s like to have God living inside of you. What was it like to live life on earth with the Holy Spirit giving you joy when you’re depressed or giving you the power to overcome that sin in your life? We might say to Moses, What was it like to follow the cloud by day and the fire by night? What was it like to meet with God on that mountain? And Moses might say, I had to climb that mountain to meet with God. You tell me what it was like to have him dwell within you every day. What was it like to have the Holy Spirit giving you directions when you didn’t know what to do or where to go? — Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman

We walk around with God inside of us, and all the limitless-ness that implies. He is not there to do tricks, or grant us wishes like a genie. He is there to help us, in all the ways mentioned above, all to better glorify God. A heightened awareness of that truth will help us not forget or neglect Him, and hopefully avoid the mistakes (also mentioned above) that thwart His power in our lives.

In this lifetime, we will never be able to fully comprehend the Trinity. (Or a few other things, like the concept of eternity, or how God could choose us not only before we existed but before time began. These are real mind blowers.) But the Lord in His graciousness has given us a lot of things we can know. And the Spirit is one of those things. The Holy Spirit is not a purveyor of fake healings or unbiblical nonsense languages. He’s not performing silly gimmicks to trick people into a church. He’s not a cosmic third wheel to the Father and the Son.

He is God. And if you’re following Jesus, He is in you now. The throne room of the King is closer than you can imagine, and you have an open invitation.

Listen. Is He speaking to you now?