Since our sins first separated us from our God, he has longed to live with us again. His covenant with us communicates our Father’s desire for intimate relationship with his people. From the Law (“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” Leviticus 26:12) and the Prophets (“My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God and they will be my people.” Ezekiel 37:27) to the New Testament (“I will live with them and walk among them.” 2 Corinthians 6:16) through the end of time (“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.” Revelation 21:3),  the promise is that God will live with us.

The gift of God’s Holy Spirit is the ultimate fulfillment of those great covenant promises. God not only lives with his children, he actually dwells inside us! It doesn’t get any more intimate than that!

It’s Christ’s greatest gift to us as we wait for his triumphant return: the power of his actual presence inside us. God’s Holy Spirit is alive and powerful and real. He’s very real. And he lives inside all of us who confess Jesus as Lord and put our faith for salvation in God through Christ. The Holy Spirit lives within and moves about and works through the Church. And that actually scares some of us. That makes some of us nervous. Some of us might think we talk too much about the Holy Spirit or we rely too much on the Holy Spirit. Some of us are leery of that.

But those worries are unfounded. There is no need to be concerned. This is our heavenly Father we’re talking about. The One who is motivated solely by his great love for us. The One who acts only in our best interests.

Jesus promises around the dinner table on that last night to send the Spirit of Truth. And that is a wonderful blessing! Christ gives us the actual presence of God. He gives us unbridled access to the Father. For us, the presence of God is not an elusive thing way off in the clouds somewhere. It’s not to be sought at the top of a shaking and smoking mountain. It’s not hiding away in a faraway chapel or ancient church building on the other side of the world. God’s Spirit is not above us or beside us. He’s within us. He lives inside us. It doesn’t get any more relational or personal than that.

Peace,

Allan