Have you ever felt alone in a really difficult circumstance? Maybe you were sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for the doctor to come and give you the news about a loved one. Maybe you received a really difficult phone call with bad news that left you spinning. Or maybe you have a really difficult decision to make, and you just don’t know what to do or which way to go.
In all of those kinds of circumstances, it is natural for us to feel alone and wonder, ” Is anyone actually with me in all of this? I feel alone. Is there anyone who could possibly understand what I am going through right now?”
God’s word answers that question with a resounding, Yes! You have heard me say many times that the message of God’s word, from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation, is simply the story of God getting his family back.
In Genesis, God creates the universe.
Gen 1:1-2 (CSB)—In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
The capstone of His creation is His human family, and in the Garden, God was there with His family, and he would walk and talk with them. But you know what happens, God’s connection with His human family is broken when Adam and Eve choose to trust the words of the serpent over the words of God. Sin enters God’s human family, and the connection He has with them is broken.
What follows is the account of God getting His family back. All of human history, as it is recorded in God’s word, is the documentation of the process God goes through to restore what was lost in the garden; the restoration of a connection that is God being present with His human family.
Ultimately, what was lost in the garden will be restored when Jesus returns someday, God judges the earth, and all those whose sins have been washed by the blood of Jesus will live with Him in a new heaven and a new earth.
Until that time, God is with us through the Holy Spirit.
Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to be exploring who the Holy Spirit really is. What does scripture have to say about Him, His presence, and His work in us and in the world?
Back in March, we did a series called “Who is Jesus?” This series is called (are you ready for this?) Who is the Holy Spirit? This week’s message is titled: God with us.
So, let’s begin by talking about the Holy Spirit’s place as a part of the Trinity. The word, trinity does not appear in scripture, but the idea of the trinity is all over both the New and Old Testaments. The word trinity refers to the idea or the doctrine that God is one God, but three distinct persons. We often talk about God the Father, and we very often talk about God, the Son, Jesus. But we don’t very often talk about God, the Holy Spirit, and what the Bible teaches about who the Holy Spirit is and His role in our lives and on the Earth.
First of all, it is important to understand:
- The Holy Spirit is Fully God.
The Bible very clearly teaches that there is only one God. As Moses is giving the Law of the Covenant to the people of Israel, he says,
Deut 6:4 (CSB)—Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
There is one God, but He exists in three separate persons.
One example of this is in Isaiah.
Isa 61:1 (CSB)—The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
According to Luke 4:16–21, the “me” of Isaiah 61 refers to Jesus because Jesus says this is about me. So, in just one verse, we have a reference to the Lord (Yahweh), the Messiah, and the Spirit. In other words, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Another example is Jesus’ baptism. Look at it here in Matthew 3:
Matt 3:16-17 (CSB)—When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”
In just two verses, we have the voice from heaven, Jesus, and the dove. In other words, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
They are distinct and separate, existing simultaneously, yet they are one.
How is this possible? How can God be one but three?
Some try to explain this by saying God simply takes different forms at different times, but that’s not what Scripture teaches.
So how do we explain the doctrine of the Trinity? Here is a diagram that may help a little bit (show slide), but ultimately, and this is not a copout, because the greatest theologians of all time have tried to explain this concept, but ultimately, the reality is that it is beyond our ability to understand.
Often, we try to relate things about God to what we know and understand. But the finite cannot understand the infinite. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts.
Even though we may not completely understand how God can be three separate persons yet one God, we do understand that the Holy Spirit has been with God’s people, and we see the Holy Spirit doing specific things throughout history.
We often think of the Holy Spirit’s role as confined to the New Testament, but God the Holy Spirit has been at work since creation and throughout the Old Testament.
- The Holy Spirit Has Always Been Present
We read earlier in Genesis 1:2 how the Holy Spirit was hovering over the chaos at the time of creation.
There were many moments when the Holy Spirit would “come upon” individuals for specific purposes.
- In Exodus 31, God tells Moses that He filled Bezalel, an artisan, with the Holy Spirit so he could craft the various articles of worship for the Tabernacle.
- In Deuteronomy 34, it says that Joshua was filled with the Holy Spirit so he could lead the nation of Israel.
- In Judges 6, Gideon is filled with the Holy Spirit to defeat the Midianites.
- In Judges 14, Samson is filled with the Holy Spirit, and he kills a lion with his bare hands, and then in Judges 15, he is empowered by the Holy Spirit to kill a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.
There are many other examples throughout the Old Testament of the Holy Spirit empowering kings, prophets, and others to perform extraordinary tasks that God wanted them to do.
The point is this: God’s presence, through the Holy Spirit, has always been with God’s people. Even though His presence may have been temporary and selective, He was always working to empower His people.
King David asked the question:
Ps 139:7-8 (CSB)—Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
All of this was a picture and a foreshadowing of what would happen when God would come to earth as a man.
You see, something better was coming. God’s presence would not just come for a season or for a task, but permanently, always, for every task and every moment.
- The Holy Spirit Is the Presence Jesus Promised.
In John 14, Jesus is about to leave the disciples, and He tells them He is about to leave them. They have devoted three years of their lives to following Him, and now He is leaving, and they are understandably distraught.
Earlier, when Jesus asked His disciples if they wanted to leave because of some of the hard things He was teaching, Peter responded, “Where will we go? Who else has the words of life.” Now He says He’s leaving.”What are we supposed to do?” So, He tells them this:
Jn 14:15-17 (CSB)—“If you love me, you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
Last week, we said that disciples are worshippers and one of the ways we express our worship is through obedience, doing the things God has told us to do. So Jesus said, for those who follow me, I will ask God the Father to send you someone, who isn’t me, to be your Counselor. He is the Holy Spirit, and He will remain with you and be in you.
The Greek word for “counselor” here is paraklētos—παράκλητος · one called alongside; advocate, counselor, comforter, helper, intercessor
You’re getting an upgrade, Jesus said. You’re getting a helper who will not only be with you, but will be in you.
When Olivia was in Mongolia, doing the Mongol Derby, everyone in our family wrote her letters that she could open during the ride. If she was having a particularly hard time, she could open a letter and read her mom’s encouraging words. If she was lonely, she could open her sister’s letter and read her encouraging words.
Jesus didn’t just leave His disciples a letter. He didn’t just leave them a set of instructions. He sent them a Person—someone who would be with them in every situation. That’s the parakletos. Not just His words, but His abiding presence.
When does this happen? When does the Holy Spirit take up residence in me?
The Apostle Paul says that it happens the moment you believe.
Eph 1:13-14 (NLT)—And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Some translations use the word “sealed” instead of “identified.”
It is the Greek word sphragizō—σφραγίζω—It carries the idea of engagement. Guys, when you identify the woman you want to marry, what do you give her? A ring. That ring is a symbol of your promise to marry her.
The Holy Spirit, His presence, is the guarantee of God’s promise that He will never leave us and His promise of eternal life.
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Who is the Holy Spirit? He is God with us.
How have you thought about the Holy Spirit?
- Have you thought of the Holy Spirit as a Person — or simply as a feeling?
- What would it mean for you to actually believe God is with you right now?
- If you’ve never trusted Christ, this series is about the God who wants to be with you — not just near you.
Have you ever felt alone in a really difficult circumstance? Maybe you were sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for the doctor to come and give you the news about a loved one. Maybe you received a really difficult phone call with bad news that left you spinning. Or maybe you have a really difficult decision to make, and you just don’t know what to do or which way to go.
I want you to know that if you have given your life to Christ, you are not alone. God is with you. He is not distant, but He is present. He knows your pain and difficulties, and the hard decisions that may lie ahead. He is with you always.
Next week, we will talk more specifically about what the Holy Spirit does.
As you go out those doors this morning, take this with you:
Whatever you are walking through right now, you are not walking through it alone. God is with you.
Chris Hankel 
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