This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost. We remember the first Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was manifested to the Christian church in a magnificent way, where three thousand were baptized.
But, should we be asking for the Holy Spirit to "come"? As believers, haven’t we already received the Holy Spirit through baptism? Is it theologically correct to ask for Him to “come” again, if we have already received Him? Or should we be simply just asking the Holy Spirit within us to have His way?
God is a perfect, all good, infinite Supreme Being. Therefore, evil, cannot coexist with God. Evil is the very absence of God. A good analogy is temperature, hot and cold. Heat is an energy, cold is the absence of heat. Similarly, darkness is the absence of light.
What is my point? In baptism we have been given a deposit of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39). However, recognizing the Holy Spirit is a divine infinite person, it’s not possible for us to have the entirety of an infinitely divine Supreme Being. In fact, Scripture also tells us that what we are given is really a deposit, a down payment.
“…Who has placed his seal on us and has given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.” (2 Corinthians 1:22).
“He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory” (1 Ephesians 1:14).
“Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:14).
When you make a deposit, it’s to place a hold on the item you have purchased. When you make a down payment on the house, it’s a form of commitment, proof you intend to follow through with the purchase, for ownership that is pending for the future. However, a deposit, a down payment is not necessarily the full amount.
Other Scripture passages allude to this as well:
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5).
“LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup” (Psalm 16:5).
In various passages in the New Testament, the Apostles call upon the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, healings, a use of spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues, prophesying, and other manifestations of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul himself makes it known to the church in Corinth, the saints, the group of believers, to ask for the Holy Spirit to give these various gifts, even though they already have this deposit.
To allow the Holy Spirit to work more fully through us we must be sanctified. Scripture tells us that sin inhibits our ability to allow God’s will to be done through us. We can more fully allow the Spirit to work through us by confessing our sin. Similar to the analogy of darkness being the absence of light, sin is the very absence of holiness, God. Therefore, a true seeking of God and sanctification results in a fullness of God. The fruits of this are evident in what James refers to as much availed prayers:
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16).
So, should we ask for the Spirit, that we already possess is us from baptism, to come yet again, or should we simply just be asking the Spirit in us to come alive? I don’t believe it’s an either or scenario. I believe it’s a both, and.
We need to start recognizing the gift we have been given. We need to recognize that God is in us, “[our] bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We need to ask the Spirit we have already received to come more fully alive in all aspects of our life. The Spirit is given to us, infused into our souls to change us from the inside out. When we start living with this knowledge in mind, our lives will become transformed.
However, we can also ask, just like the first Christians did in the book of Acts, for the Holy Spirit to come, to bring gifts, imposed through the laying on of hands, and other means. We need to be asking for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And lastly, we need to be open to the gifts that the Spirit has for us, that He gives at will (1 Corinthians 12).
How can we do this? With a simple and timeless, daily, prayer:
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.”
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