Come, Let Us Meet The Holy Spirit—Part 1

The Bible’s very first portrait of the Holy Spirit sparks my imagination. Before a single word of creation had been spoken, before light had broken the darkness, the Spirit of God was “hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) The Hebrew word for “hovering” carries the image of a mother bird brooding over her nest with watchful, attentive care. I would have loved to have seen this!

And today, this same Spirit who moved over the chaos of a formless world now lives inside every born again believer!!!

But to understand just how extraordinary this truth is, we need to go back to see what the Spirit’s presence looked like before Jesus came to earth. Although we know that folks in the Old Testament were born again in the exact same way we are today, the Bible makes it clear that the gift of the Holy Spirit was not the same as it is today.

Throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was not given to all born again believers. He came upon specific individuals, for specific purposes, for specific seasons. Consider what the Old Testament tells us: 

This Old Testament promise was so sweeping that it must have seemed almost impossible to the people who first heard it. All flesh? Meaning, everyone? 

Yes. Every born again believer!

That promise was fulfilled on the darkest of afternoons, on the day Jesus died. As He breathed His last breath on the cross, the thick, heavy curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple — the veil that symbolized the barrier between a holy God and sinful humanity — was torn in two, from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:51) God tore it. Not from the bottom up, as a man might tear it, but from the top down, as only God could. The veil had stood as a solemn reminder that access to God’s full presence was restricted. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year, and only with blood. The presence of God through His Spirit was being made available for every born again believer—just as Jesus promised. When Jesus died, that barrier was abolished. The writer of Hebrews explains it this way: 

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh.” Hebrews 10:19-20

The torn veil was an announcement that the special anointing of the presence of God through His Spirit was now open for every born again believer to experience!

And we see this vividly at Pentecost. 

Fifty days after the resurrection, the promise of Joel and the promise of Jesus were vividly displayed in an upper room in Jerusalem, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all who believed. (Acts 2:1-4) God made the gift of the Holy Spirit unmistakably and undeniably public. 

Jerusalem was packed with Jewish pilgrims who had traveled from every corner of the known world to celebrate the Feast—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome, and beyond. (Acts 2:9-11) And when the Spirit came upon them, something extraordinary happened. These disciples, most of them ordinary Galileans, began to speak, and—every person in that crowd heard the mighty works of God declared in their own native language. Not an unknown tongue, but the actual languages of the nations represented in that place on that day. A Parthian heard his own dialect. An Egyptian heard his. A Roman heard his. The crowd was bewildered and said: 

“And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?” Acts 2:8 

God was making a statement that could not be misunderstood:the outpouring of His Spirit was not for a select few. It was for all nations, all peoples, and all tongues. Peter stood up and declared that what the crowd was witnessing was exactly what Joel had prophesied centuries before—the Holy Spirit being poured out on all believers. A new age had begun. And everyone present heard the Gospel in their mother tongue!​​​​​​​​​​​​

But let’s step back a minute to what Jesus promised when He was on earth. 

When Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure, He left them with a promise about the Holy Spirit. He called the Spirit our “Paraclete”— “Parakletos” in Greek—which carries a meaning so rich that no single English word can hold it. It means “one called alongside” —someone summoned to come stand right next to you. Different translations render it Helper, Comforter, Advocate, and Counselor—and all of them are right, because the Spirit is all of these things at once. Jesus made the promise plainly:

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

Notice what Jesus said: “another Helper.” The word in Greek is “allos” —meaning another of the same kind. The Spirit is not a lesser substitute for Jesus. He is the continued, personal presence of God with us, not beside us at a distance, but within us. The Spirit does so many things for us.

What a wonder it is that the same Spirit who hovered over creation, who rushed upon kings, prophets, and shepherds, now makes His permanent home in every born again believer—and tomorrow, we will discover three deeply personal things He does inside every one of us the moment we are born again.

Prayer:

Father, we are undone by this truth. The veil is torn. The Spirit that once visited only a few now lives fully and permanently in us. Forgive me for the times I have lived as though You were far away, when in reality, You could not be closer. Teach me to walk in the awareness of Your indwelling presence today—not striving to earn it, not fearing it will be taken, but resting in the gift You purchased at such great cost. May I never take You for granted. In Jesus’ name, Amen.