My parents used to hold nightly Bible studies in our basement with college students. Many of them were new believers, recovering from an addiction and trying to piece together who Jesus was for them. Some had grown up in the church; most had recently discovered God.
Every single time, my parents began with, “Do you know the Holy Spirit?”
Their question befuddled, surprised, and arrested people. At times I would feel consternated as well. How could Mom and Dad think the invisible, theologically-complex Spirit of God was the best place to start? Certainly the Creation story, Lazarus, or even the Beatitudes presented a much more compelling and comprehensible introduction to following Jesus.
Yet, night after night, my parents led these young believers through the scriptures focused on the Holy Spirit and a simple prayer of invitation. Many of them would receive the gift of tongues. Almost everyone felt a tangible sense of God’s presence and peace rest upon them.
To this day, I wouldn’t say their theology or approach was perfect. I’m sure they could have honed their discipleship practice through teachings from ministries like Global Awakening. Yet, I’ve come to believe that the Holy Spirit is essential to life. Sometimes I feel that asking why we need the Third Person of the Trinity is a bit like asking why we need water.
Water does not market itself to us. It does not say, “I am one of the most essential elements on the planet, and without me you will die.” Rather, without water, we become aware of how desperately we need it.
In fact, the Holy Spirit is every bit as necessary to our lives as water is to the body. With the Holy Spirit, we can fulfill the one purpose given to us in the Bible, and without Him, we can’t. We cannot fulfill our purpose without God, and the Holy Spirit is God among us.
WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE?
C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”1
Purpose is like that. Our vocation may be to pastor, teach, doctor, or work at a grocery store for a period of time. We may discover joy in parenting, art, and the pursuit of peace in our communities. Perhaps we are even brought closer to God by helping His children find Him.
Yet, if we fix our eyes on even these good things, our purpose may be swept off its feet.
Why? These things are from God, but not God.
I think of a season in my life where I was headed clearly in one direction. I was following God to a place and community where I was sure I was supposed to be. My bags were packed, I had shipped my things, said my goodbyes, and my heart was fully prepared to embrace the life ahead of me. Then a decision was made, outside of my control, and the future I had built shattered in my hands.
There was no way to mend it. I knew only that God had led me into the situation and God would have to lead me out… and someday I’d look back and see He worked it for my good.
Lewis’ words sum up the biblical understanding of purpose: follow Christ.
This truth is traceable from Genesis to Revelation. God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27), called us to walk in love (Matthew 22:37-39), and invited us to join His mission of bringing His Kingdom to earth (Matthew 28:19). Essentially, we are called to walk as Jesus walked, and as we follow Him, He transforms us into His likeness (1 John 2:6, 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Our purpose is grounded in our relationship with God, like the house upon the rock. We exist to live in union with God, following Jesus until His love overflows through us and we become like Him. Everything else—our work, vocation, relationships, losses, and dreams—find their rightful place when Jesus is at the center.
WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Perhaps because the Holy Spirit is invisible, He has been likened to many things. Some people grow up with the knowledge of the indwelling Holy Spirit, but not as a tangible presence you can feel or a voice you can hear. Others liken the Spirit to a fleeting feeling like the wind—you can sense Him but not predict where He’s come from or going. Still others liken Him to something like the Force—a mysterious energy that empowers supernatural acts.
Yet Scripture renders the Holy Spirit more personal: God in us—our helper, teacher, and constant companion.
Jesus promised that after He returned to the Father, the Father would give “another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17).
The Holy Spirit is not an “it.” He is the very presence of God, guiding us into truth, comforting us in weakness, and empowering us to live the kind of life we could never achieve on our own.
The Spirit doesn’t just blow through us; He transforms us from the inside out. Through Him, we receive the power to overcome sin and become like Jesus, having “love, joy, peace…” (Galatians 5:22-23).
In fact, the Holy Spirit is quite different from a distant, unpredictable, supernatural mystery. He is the very breath of God inside us. When we walk with Him, we don’t just know about God. We experience Him.
WHAT DOES HE DO?
If our purpose is to follow Jesus, then the Holy Spirit renders that purpose possible.
Dr. Randy Clark once shared what he deemed “a shocking but absolutely biblical proposal”—that “the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not simply an ‘add-on’ but the central goal of the Bible and the primary mission of Jesus.”
The same Spirit who hovered over the waters at creation now breathes life into us, shaping us into the image of Christ. Paul writes, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
It is the Spirit who transforms us, empowers us when we are weak, convicts us when we stray, and guides us in the steps of Jesus when the path muddies.
I remember seeing the light on new believers’ faces in my parents’ home when they’d walk back in the next week with evidence of hearing God’s voice or experiencing Him personally for the first time. One woman even recounted that though she’d studied and underlined nearly every page of her Bible, the words seemed to come alive to her after receiving the Holy Spirit in ways they never had before. It was as if the Spirit began to take the reins on their discipleship, leading each person where he or she was supposed to go.
I think of my own faith journey. So many of the times when I have felt lost, all it took to calm my heart and set my faith back on track was the whisper of the Holy Spirit, showing me the next right thing.
When my future collapsed in that challenging season, the Holy Spirit became essential. I needed His guidance, His affirmation, His love. I needed Him to walk me moment by moment through those first several days: How to wake up? What to eat? Who to call? What to do? How to spend next week, next month, the next six months? As time passed, my need for Him continued. Whenever I gazed back with despair at all I had lost, His voice urged me forward.
I still need Him so today. Sometimes we don’t realize how much we want the Holy Spirit until we need Him and then an insatiable thirst awakens. If our purpose is to keep our eyes on Jesus, becoming like Him as we journey towards Him, then the Holy Spirit makes that journey possible. Like water for our bodies, His indwelling presence enables following Christ.
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Randy Clark, The Essential Guide to the Power of the Holy Spirit, (Mechanicsburg, PA: self-published, 2009), 5.
- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperOne, 2001), 190. ↩︎