My Answer: Holy Spirit is God and lives within us
Q: I understand why God is important, and I understand why Jesus is important, but what about the Holy Spirit? Where does it fit into my faith? It’s all some people talk about, it seems, but I’m not sure what I’m supposed to believe about it.
— Mrs. F.D.
A: The Holy Spirit is God Himself, as He works in the world and in our hearts today to accomplish His purposes. (This, incidentally, is why we should refer to the Holy Spirit in personal terms — not as “it” but as “Him”).
In other words, just as Jesus was fully God, as well as fully man when He lived on earth, so the Holy Spirit is fully God as He works today. Jesus promised His disciples that after He returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit would come to take His place. He said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17).
Because He is God, the Holy Spirit is eternal and all-powerful, and He is everywhere. But when we come to Christ and commit our lives to Him, the Spirit also comes to live within us. In fact, before we ever come to Jesus, He is already at work in our hearts, convicting us of our sins and convincing us of the truth of the Gospel.
Thank God that He has not abandoned you, but that He is present within you by His Spirit. Ask Him to guide you when you pray, and also to give you wisdom when you have decisions to make. Ask Him also to help you read the Bible and apply it to your life, and to change you into the person God wants you to be. Most of all, ask Him to help you point others to Jesus.
Q: My friend says he’s interested in Christianity, but I’m beginning to have my doubts. He’ll ask me a question about the Bible I can’t answer, but once I research it and give him the answer, he’ll come up with another question. Should I just forget about him?
— R.H.
A: No, you shouldn’t forget about him, even if he doesn’t seem to be serious about giving his life to Jesus Christ. At present, his questions may be just a device to keep God at arm’s length (so to speak), but this could change.
At the same time, I suggest you challenge your friend about his true motives. Ask him something like this: If all your questions were answered, would you then be willing to commit your life to Jesus Christ? If he’s honest, he may have to say “No,” because his real problem may not be his questions about the Bible. His real problem may be his will — that is, he wants to run his own life, and he doesn’t want God to tell him what to do.
If this is the case, even if you could answer all of your friend’s questions, he’d still refuse to give his life to Christ. And this is true of many people today. Like the rebellious citizens in one of Jesus’ parables, in their hearts they say, “We don’t want this man to be our king” (Luke 19:14).
Pray for your friend; God is able to do what we can’t do, and He alone is able to open his heart and convince him of his need of Christ. In addition, ask God to help you be an example to him of Christ’s love and peace. People may deny our words about Christ, but they can’t deny the testimony of a Christ-filled life.
Send your queries to “My Answer,” c/o Billy Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn., 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C., 28201; call (877) 2-GRAHAM, or https://www.billygraham.org.