The sun shining through tree trunks. Photo credit: Anastasiya Romanova

Is the Holy Spirit indeed controversial or contentious? Should we regard the Holy Spirit as irrelevant and insignificant or is He essential and crucial to the Christian and the Church of?God?

Is the Holy Spirit Controversial?
Some words or phrases that do not go well together. Sentences where such words are combined, become head-scratchers. For example, "The proud man of God" or "A homosexual Christian". It is equally strange to read "The Holy Spirit is a controversial subject", but that is exactly what I heard some time ago while engaged in ministry in the United States of America.

It was indeed surprising at the time, to hear that a group of people had determined that the Holy Spirit is not significant. More surprising was the fact that these were 'church folks'. Perhaps, the most shocking of all is that there are some churches today that won't even mention the Holy Spirit as part of their fundamental beliefs nor in any of their teachings because, as they say, 'It is a controversial subject!'

The Godhead and Controversy
Since the beginning of time, controversy has surrounded the Godhead. In the Garden of Eden, there was a controversy between Satan, that old Serpent, and Eve, about what God had said or had not said, and the result was sin in man (Genesis 3:1-24). At that time, the dispute was whether God meant well for Adam and Eve when He asked them not to partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan craftily beguiled Eve to believe that God did not want the best for her, and therefore did not want her to eat the fruit of that tree (not minding that they could eat of all other trees in the Garden of Eden including the tree of life).

In the aftermath of the Garden of Eden debacle, God, the Father, sent the Holy Spirit to help man get back on track. But man?s rebellion and stubbornness of heart meant that it was an unending struggle?a controversy or contention of sorts?to get him to do what is right and to turn him away from evil. So, God said, "My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, they will live no more than 120 years." (Genesis 6:3, New Living Translation). This was pretty much like trying to get a child who is fascinated by naked light not to want to touch it!

But let us examine whether the Holy Spirit is indeed controversial or contentious. Put differently, should we regard the Holy Spirit as irrelevant and insignificant or is He essential and crucial to the Christian and the Church of God?

Is the Holy Spirit Essential; If So, How So?
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Lord, and who is Himself God, could accomplish nothing while in human form on the earth, without the Holy Spirit! At His baptism in the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended and settled on Him to empower Him for His earthly ministry (Matthew 3:16; John 1:30-34). Also, it was the Holy Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).

The miracles, signs and wonder, and good deeds that Jesus did during His earthly ministry were done through the Holy Spirit: ". . . God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38, NLT).

Also, the Bible declares that ". . . by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins" (Hebrews 9:14, NLT), an indication of the role of the Holy Spirit in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was raised from death after His crucifixion, by the Holy Spirit: "and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 1:4, NLT) and "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you." (Romans 8:11, NLT).

From start to finish in the earthly ministry of Jesus, the Holy Spirit was present.

Is the Holy Spirit insignificant? Not at all!

The Holy Spirit Has Been From The Beginning
Before Jesus' earthly ministry, the Holy Spirit had been operating in the world. At the beginning of Creation in Genesis 1:2, He brooded over a formless, void, dark, and gloomy earth, and brought order on the earth at the Word of God. By the Holy Spirit, God breathed into the man whom He had formed from the dust of the ground, and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; Job 33:4). In Ezekiel 37:1-14, the dry bones with flesh and skin would just have been zombies, just as man would have been lifeless, without the Holy Spirit!

Is the Holy Spirit Crucial? Absolutely!

The Holy Spirit in Men
Throughout scripture, the Holy Spirit operated through several people to accomplish God's purpose here on earth. Among them were:
Othniel: "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. " (Judges 3:10, New King James Version)
Samson: "When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands." (Judges 15:14, NKJV)
David: "Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah." (1 Samuel 16:13, NKJV);
Isaiah's prophesy of the Messiah: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness . . ." (Isaiah 61:1-3, NKJV)
and,
The disciples of Jesus: "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4, NKJV).

Is He essential? Certainly!

The Holy Spirit's Role After Jesus' Earthly Ministry
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came into the world to indwell believers and continue the work of Christ in bringing salvation to men, through the preaching of the gospel. To be engaged in the ministry of the gospel without the Holy Spirit is, therefore, not just a misnomer, but an aberration that will only produce 'Cretans' as referenced by Paul (Titus 1:12-13), not Christians!

The Holy Spirit came upon men in the Early Church, gave them directions, led world missions, and enabled signs and wonders to be done by them (Acts 8:29; 10:19; 13:2-4, 9-11; 16:6-7). The Holy Scripture (the Bible) which we now have, was put together by the Holy Spirit Himself (2 Peter 1:19-21). There are, of course, numerous other deeds/activities of the Holy Spirit that we have not mentioned, because indeed, to mention the various activities or acts of the Holy Spirit in the Bible will result in writing volumes of books!

Is He still relevant? Certainly, and even more so!

The Lord Spoke of the Holy Spirit's Role Today
The Lord Jesus said that He would pray the Father to send us the Holy Spirit after His ascension into heaven so that we would not be orphans: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever" (John 14:16, NKJV). Jesus further said that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all, not some, truth: "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." (John 16:13, NKJV), also Jesus said, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:26, NKJV) and "When he comes, he'll expose the error of the godless world's view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He'll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted." (John 16:8-11, The Message).

Controversial or contentious? Certainly not! He is indeed, more than helpful!

Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is our Helper, Counselor, Guide, Teacher, the Director of soul-winning and world missions, among many other things. The Lord said of Him, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth . . ." (John 16:12-13, NKJV)

He is so many things to the believer and without Him in the life of a believer, that man or woman will at best be carnal, and at worst, evil. And we know that carnality and evil cannot inherit the kingdom of God! Indeed, you are not a Christian, if the Holy Spirit is not in you: ". . . And remember that if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ living in him, he is not a Christian at all." (Romans 8:9, Living Bible)

The Holy Spirit is the active Agent in salvation, sanctification, and soul-winning (Acts 1:8). Without Him, we cannot effectively witness about Jesus Christ to a dying world. No wonder where the Holy Spirit is not given space to operate, we have confusion, disorder, and ungodliness.

Some ministers have not told their congregation about the Holy Spirit because they say, 'It is a controversial subject'. Well, the Holy Spirit is not a 'subject'. He is the Spirit of the Living God (Isaiah 11:1-2) and much more to the believer in Christ. Indeed, He is God!

Is He essential? A resounding "YES"!

A Word of Caution Concerning the Holy Spirit
"I assure you that any sin can be forgiven, including blasphemy; but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. It is an eternal sin." He [Jesus Christ] told them this because they were saying he had an evil spirit." (Mark 3:28-30). To ascribe the work of the Holy Spirit to a demon and vice versa is to blaspheme Him. We need to be very careful about what we say about the Holy Spirit, lest we fall into eternal damnation. (2 Timothy 2:14-18; 3:1-9; 1 Timothy 4:1-2). We must recognize Him for Who He is, the Third Person of the Godhead, and reverence Him as such!

Beloved, there is no controversy whatsoever about the Holy Spirit; what we have is the ignorance of men! "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14, NLT)