Practical Conversations With Our Young People: The Presence of the Holy Spirit

 •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 7
Perhaps there is no one line of Christian truth that is so easy to lose sight of, both for the individual Christian and for the Church of God as a whole, as that of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.
When the Lord Jesus was here on earth companying with His disciples, going in and out among them, it was not difficult for them to realize His personal presence. He was visible and tangible. Their ears heard His spoken words, their eyes beheld His bodily presence and their hands handled His person (1 John 1:11That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (1 John 1:1)).
But the time came when the Lord could no longer be personally present with His own. He must depart out of the world and go to the Father. He recognized that He had been a Comforter to His disciples, and that they would miss Him keenly. But His care for them was such that He planned immediately for their loneliness. He said to them, I cannot longer remain with you as your personal Comforter, but as soon as I go to the Father, I will ask Him and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth. He said, “I will not leave you comfortless.”
According to the promise of the Savior, when the disciples on the day of Pentecost were all assembled in one place, the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they were all filled with His presence. The other Comforter had come, and that forever. Where is this Person today? Where is His dwelling place? Young Christian, listen to this solemn – this glorious answer – this third Person of the Godhead dwells inside that body of yours. You are His home.
Who is this divine Person who has taken up His abode in your heart? He is the Holy Spirit, and He is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:1717Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:17); 1 Thess. 4:88He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:8)). What does that mean for your life? It means, young Christian, that He can have no fellowship with anything that is not truth, nor with anything that is not holy. He is your Companion, your Guest. He insists on going with you wherever you go. You cannot go to the picture show and leave Him at home, for He is in your heart to abide forever. You can never shun His company. He is your seal unto the day of redemption (John 14:1616And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (John 14:16); Eph. 4:30; 1:13-1430And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13‑14)). His purpose in coming into your heart was to comfort you, to help you in your weaknesses, to aid you in praying, and to enable you to understand your Bible (Rom. 8:26-2726Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26‑27); John 16:1313Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. (John 16:13)). But if you grieve Him, He will make you miserable until you confess your sin and repent of your wrong. He will insist that our talk one with another be holy (Eph. 4:2929Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Ephesians 4:29)). He will lead us to seek the company of other people in whose hearts He has His dwelling. He will never lead us to seek an evening’s enjoyment in the world’s amusements, to don the world’s gay fashions, read the world’s fictitious trash, or join the world’s clubs and societies. But every time we open our Bibles, He is present to teach us; every time we seek to speak to an unsaved soul, He is ready to give us utterance; (Acts 2:44And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4)). if we walk in His ways, He will make our branches bend with the weight of His precious abiding fruits (Gal. 5:22-2322But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22‑23)).
Dear young Christian, as we thus meditate on this blessed abiding Friend, who dwells in our hearts, let us pray with the apostle, “Very God of peace, sanctify me wholly; I pray God my whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:2323And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)).