Week 3 – The Pinnacle: The Person of the Holy Spirit

Text: 2 Corinthians 1:20

 

As we continue discussing the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, we must ask this question, “What are we truly seeking?” Most Christians are looking for some type of emotional or spiritual experience. This is not what we are seeking at all. We are not seeking experiences; we are seeking the person of the Holy Spirit.

 

Many Christians are looking for signs, wonders, and experiences. Jesus declared this to be spiritual adultery. When a person looks for an “experience” apart from the person of their spouse, we call this adultery. When we look for spiritual experiences apart from the person of Christ, we are in effect saying that all we want is the experience; the Person is of little consequence to us.

 

Paul rejoiced that he experienced speaking in tongues more than the average Christian. However, he makes it abundantly clear that not all believers will have the same spiritual experiences. Instead, he points out that there is something far better, love. What is he referring to? Jesus told us that the greatest commandment was to love God. The Christian does not long for experiences! We long for God. Speaking in tongues, emotional experiences, etc. are not the fruit of the Spirit. Love is. This is what the Spirit came to do, reveal Jesus to us.

 

This is the Christian life, knowing God. This is all Paul desired. All we should desire is to know more and more of God. As we will see over and over again, the only way to know more of God is to have less of self. Jesus commands us to seek Him above all things. We are to seek Christ through the Holy Spirit.

 

As our text shows us, this is the key to the Christian life. To have Jesus is to have a “Yes” to all the promises of God. We do not receive forgiveness apart from Him; we receive forgiveness in Him. The same is true for healing, deliverance, love, mercy, satisfaction, good, renewal, strength, etc. We are not to seek an experience of these things. We are to seek Jesus; if you have Him, you do not need these things. You will not receive these things apart from Him.

What are you seeking?

Will you seek the person of the Holy Spirit?

 

Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of heaven is worth giving everything up for. This is because what you get is not only worth more than you gave up but in Jesus is everything else.