Finding Wholeness through the Holy Spirit
Fifty days following Easter leads us to a very important season the Church has largely ignored – Pentecost. Following His resurrection, Jesus spent many days appearing to as many as 500 at one time (1Corinthians 15:6). Jesus spent much of His post-resurrection time preparing His disciples for “what the Father had promised,” so they would “be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).
That leads us to my life verse: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus put a lot of emphasis on the Holy Spirit when He said, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). Let’s not ask today why so many Christians have ignored this Promise Jesus said was vitally important. Instead let’s think about why Jesus considered the Holy Spirit to be so important for us. I can sum it up in one word: Wholeness. But to get to Wholeness, we will need to be transformed, and transformation only comes through the Holy Spirit.
Wholeness means mind, body, spirit, and soul healed, forgiven, and living in the fullness of the Kingdom of God – walking out a life in Christ in perfect rhythm. Is this actually possible? Absolutely not apart from the Holy Spirit, but if you let Him, He will forgive you and begin healing you, restoring you, and transforming you. Every day after becomes one day closer to wholeness.
The 50 days between Easter and Pentecost celebrate the anticipation the disciples must have felt as they awaited this most-important Promise from the Father and from Jesus Christ. Today, the Holy Spirit has already come. This highly anticipated Promise has already been poured out on the church. We don’t have to wait for Pentecost, Sunday, May 28. We live in Pentecostal days, but do we live in Pentecost? Do we live in the wonderful presence of God in His Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is called Truth, Helper, Advocate, Comforter, Eternal Spirit, Peace, Witness, and Power of the Most High. He is likened to a dove, wind, breath, fire, cloud, rain, dew, living water, oil, and wine. He is the seal of our salvation and a foretaste of future glory. Yes Please! I’ll have all of the above! We don’t need to understand what all this means to live and walk in the wholeness God has chosen for us; we just need to trust that Jesus Christ knew what He was talking about when He said, “it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).
If you will let the Holy Spirit take hold of your hard heart, your stubborn mind, and your unrepentant ways, true transformation will begin (see Eze. 36:26; Rom. 12:2; 1 John 1:8; Rom. 2:5-6). Transformation isn’t easy. Wholeness is right around the corner, though this road might be bumpy and the turns far sharper than you imagine. You have some responsibility for your own wholeness. God will not make you whole without your willing participation and hard work.
You don’t know how badly you need wholeness. Nor do you know how badly you want it. None of us do because none of us know what it means to be a new creation to the extent Jesus intends (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).
Let me return to a previous thought: we live in Pentecostal days, but do we live in Pentecost? A new creation has come, though we do not yet fully know what that means. “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is.” (1 John 3:2).
The good news is God is at work in those who believe in Jesus. If we will let Him, He will transform us and bring us to wholeness in every way: mind, body, spirit, and soul; healed, forgiven, and living in the fullness of the Kingdom of God; walking out a life in Christ in perfect rhythm. Yes Please! I will absolutely – and with great joy – have all of the above!
Dr. John Freeland
Pastor of Prayer/Care