The starting point to enjoying intimacy with the Holy Spirit is by first and foremost understanding who the Holy Spirit is. It is only proper that if I am going to get intimate with you, I should know you first. Most people that we are not intimate with is simply because we don’t know them.

 

Who then is the Holy Spirit?

Firstly, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The trinity in itself talks about the three expressions of God: The Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. This expression does not make God three persons, don’t get it wrong.

 

God is the Father and He is the creator of the ends of the earth and all that are in it (Genesis 1:1, Psalms 24:1). When it was time, He expressed Himself in His Son. In Luke 9:35, the Bible says: ^“And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” So, Jesus Christ is God in human flesh! Jesus is not another kind of god, Jesus is God the Father, in Human flesh.

 

Colossians 1:19-20 tells us: “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” Going further in Colossians 2:9-10, the Bible says: “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

 

John 1:14, the Bible says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” In John 10:30, Jesus said “I and My Father are one.” In John 14:7-11

 

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” ⁸ Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”

 

We don’t have three ‘Gods’ as it were, God is one but manifests Himself in those forms. Deuteronomy 6:4 says: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” Let me show you some Scriptures that buttresses Trinity.

 

1 John 5:7 says: “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” Did we see that? It didn’t say the three are three, but they are one.

 

Also, in Luke 1:35, the Bible says: “And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

 

2 Corinthians 13:14 tells us: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”

 

Matthew 28:18-19 says: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”

 

Now, all the above Scriptures shows us that the Holy Spirit is an integral part of the Trinity, in other words, the Holy Spirit is an integral part of God’s expression. God cannot do anything outside of His Spirit. In Genesis 1:1-3, the Bible says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “let there be light”, and there was light.”

 

Did we see that? It was after the hovering of the Spirit that God now began putting things into perspective. When it was time to create man as well in Genesis 1:26, God said “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness…” I believe we know God was not talking with the angels there. He was talking with the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is a being, that is, He is a personality. The Holy Spirit is not a force. The Holy Spirit is not a dove. The Holy Spirit is not fire. The Holy Spirit is a person; that is, there is a personality behind His person. Let us see John 16:5-8, 12-15. The Bible says:

 

“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

 

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

 

Because the Holy Spirit is a person, He has the following characteristics:

 

- He has emotions: He can be wronged; he could be sad as well.

But they rebelled and grieved (saddened) His Holy Spirit;
So He turned Himself against them as an enemy,
And He fought against them.

Isaiah 63:10

 

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Ephesians 4:30

 

- He could be blasphemed!

“Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³² Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Matthew 12:31-32

 

- He could be insulted!

“Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”

Hebrews 10:29

 

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth! Jesus said in John 14:6 that “I am the way, the truth and the life…” If Jesus is the Truth, that means the Holy Spirit is His Spirit as well. He is the Spirit of the Father as much as the Spirit of Christ Jesus. Matthew 10:19-20, John 16:13-15 and Galatians 4:6 buttresses this point. It says:

 

“But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ²⁰ for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”

 

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

 

“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

 

Intimacy with The Holy Spirit

Haven looked at who the Holy Spirit is, let is then consider what intimacy with Him looks like. Intimacy with the Holy Spirit brings us closer to God than we could ever imagine. Intimacy with the Holy Spirit comes via fellowship. 2 Corinthians 13:14 tells us: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” You cannot be intimate with the Holy Spirit outside of fellowship.

 

Just this morning, I wanted to access our office. I had given the keys to the officer earlier in the day to Mrs. Apeh. So, when I came around, the key was nowhere to be found, the office was not opened, and Mrs. Apeh was not in sight. I looked for her, tried reaching her mobile, checked her in the house, but she was not somewhere close. And I needed to access the office immediately. Suddenly, after standing there for a few minutes not knowing what to do, the Holy Spirit said to me “go inside the mini conference room from the second entrance in the main hall. And I started moving towards the place. On arriving inside the mini conference room, I found the key just inside the lock of the main door to the mini conference room. It was the least expected place I thought I could find it.” But the whole scenario just kept on ringing in my mind because I wouldn’t have gone to check that place on a normal day if the Holy Spirit had not prompted me to go there. I would have simply wait for Mrs. Apeh to return and hand me the keys.

 

This is exactly what intimacy with the Holy Spirit does.

 

How to Be Intimate with The Holy Spirit

 

Being intimate with the Holy Spirit cannot be done outside of fellowship. It is not possible for you to be intimate with a person from afar. Intimacy is built in the place of friendship, sharing, communion et cetera. Whether we like it or not, the Holy Spirit is going to be around for a long time, therefore, you must begin your intimacy journey with Him. John 14:16 says: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—” Irrespective of how busy you might think you are; you must create time for the Holy Spirit.

 

Philippians 2:1-2 says: “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ² fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

 

Being intimate with the Holy Spirit cannot be done outside of prayer. Romans 8:26-27 says:

 

“Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

 

Being intimate with the Holy Spirit cannot be done outside of studying the Word of God. It is not possible to be intimate with the Holy Spirit outside of what the Scriptures have written and said concerning Him.

 

I Believe you have learnt something!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

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