Uniting in Love預覽

Communion with the Spirit

How can we know the love of the Father?

How do we know the love of the Son?

By the Spirit.

According to his human nature, Christ exercised faith and love by the Spirit. He prayed to the Father and depended on the Spirit. Jesus’ miracles were by the power of the Spirit, who was given to him without measure. The very same Spirit that was at work in the incarnate Christ is at work in us now.

The Father and the Son sent the Spirit to the church. The Spirit conforms us to the image of the Son and applies the work of Christ to the church in love and sanctification. He is our Advocate and Comforter who inhabits the people of God. He is our anointing, seal, and guarantee of our inheritance.

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force but the third person of the Trinity. We worship the Spirit as God because he is God. And we can commune with him. We can pray to the Spirit just as we cry out to the Father and the Son.

The Spirit is always with the Word, testifying to Christ and pointing our thoughts toward him. The Holy Spirit teaches us all things and brings us comfort and joy. He does this by reminding us of Christ. The Spirit testifies to our spirit about the love of the Father, pointing us to the Son who was sent to us to reveal the Father’s love.

The Spirit works in and through our natural human faculties. He is the Spirit of order, not chaos, and works through our mind, will, affections, and body. Just like the Son, the Spirit prays for us, but he also stirs up godly desires in us and teaches us to pray. As we approach the Spirit of God, we have personal communion with the Triune God.

Maybe you are having trouble knowing the love of the Father. You know that you should be fixed on the Son, gazing at his majesty and beauty to see the Father’s love, but sin and doubt are blocking your view. It is the Spirit who opens our eyes to see the Son, drawing us to him, reminding us of him, applying his love.

Gregory of Nazianus, an early church father, wrote, “No sooner do I conceived of the one than I am illuminated by the splendor of the three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one.”

“We worship one God in Trinity and the Trinity in unity.” (Athanasian Creed) To approach a person of the Trinity is to commune with God by our union with him.

Reflection Questions

Why is it important to recognize the Holy Spirit as a person and not an impersonal force?

Which aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work is most precious to you today? Why?

Why is it important to pray?

Why should we learn to pray both privately and corporately?