THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A SOMEONE NOT A SOMETHING.

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This post follows my previous post “Is God a Trinity“. If you have not read it but are interested in looking at the arguments for and against God is a Trinity then I suggest you do so before you read this testimony of Dr Walter Wilson.

The testimony of Dr Walter Wilson is powerful. Converted on December 21st, 1896, Walter had a deep love for the scriptures yet it bothered him that his life did not seem to bear spiritual fruit. In 1913 he was challenged by a missionary with the question, “What is the Holy Spirit to you?”

Wilson answered, “He is one of the persons of the Godhead, a Teacher, a Guide; the third person of the Trinity.

The missionary responded with: “He is just as great, just as precious, just as needed as the other two persons of the Trinity. But you still have not answered my question, What is He to you?”

“He is nothing to me”, Wilson said, surprised at his own candour. “I have no contact with Him, no personal relationship, and get along quite well without Him,” Wilson replied.

“It is because of this that your life is so fruitless even though your efforts are so great“. The missionary’s words taunted Wilson into the next year. He wanted to bear the fruit of the Spirit but feared becoming a fanatic, giving an inferior place to Jesus Christ. On January 14th, 1914 everything changed when Wilson heard a sermon preached by Dr James Gray (he became President of Moody Bible Institute) on Romans 12:1

SERMON BY DR JAMES GRAY
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1

Notice this verse does not tell us to whom we should give our bodies? It is not the Lord Jesus…..He has his own body. It is not God the Father….He remains upon His throne. Another has come to earth without a body….God gives you the privilege and indescribable honour of presenting your bodies to the Holy Spirit, to be His dwelling place on earth. 

After hearing this sermon Walter Wilson prayed the following prayer:

“My Lord, I have mistreated You (HOLY SPIRIT) all my Christian life. I have treated you like a servant….I shall do so NO more. Now I give you this body of mine ; from my head to my feet……………., I hand it over to YOU for YOU to live in it the life that YOU please.”

Walter Wilson, the beloved physician often testified, “Concerning my own experience with the Holy Spirit, I must say the transformation of my life on Jan 14th, 1914 was greater, much greater than the change that took place when I was saved Dec 21st 1896.

Make sure you do not treat the Holy Spirit as a “something”. He is a “someone”.

KNOWING GOD BY KNOWING HIS WORD

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Knowing God, as He is presented in scripture, is a non-negotiable for Christians. Theology offers an eternal well of joy and a shield of protection from the enemy. Any Christian who thinks they can continue with a “no creed but Christ” is setting themselves up for failure. Anyone with this paradigm should truly self-evaluate if they really love the Lord at all. A denial of the need for theology is a denial of the Lord Jesus.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.“ Hebrews 4:12

It is impossible to know doctrine, love, or God without the scripture. This is where the oracles of God and His gospel are contained. It is this special means by which God has chosen to reveal Himself to us.

Psalm 119 is extraordinarily helpful here. I do not think it is a coincidence that the single longest chapter in scripture (176 verses) is dedicated to loving the law of God. The psalmist reminds us over and over how his true delight and protection are only found in knowing God, via His word. He writes:

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips, I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies, I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” Psalms 119:9-16

A pursuit of theology is fundamental and vital to our makeup as human beings. Because we bear the Imago Dei (made in the image of God), we’re designed with a natural inclination for the spiritual and divine. We are wired to pursue theology – if not formally, then certainly informally. Even atheists, by their own self-admission, are going out of the way to classify themselves by an a-theological position. The great efforts made to publicly deny God are, in and of themselves, admissions of the great importance God plays in our world. It’s for reasons like these that statements that deny the need for theology are so absurd.

In Australia, WordLive from Scripture Union is a free, online Bible reading guide, to help you meet with God devotionally through the Bible. It is just one of the many Bible reading guides available free online for your use.