The Holy Spirit Forever
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even 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 14:16–17
During His lifetime on earth, Christ’s presence could be experienced only by a small group of men at any given time. Now Christ dwells through the Spirit in the hearts of all those who have received Him as Savior. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
The Holy Spirit is given to every believer—not for a limited time, but forever. Were He to leave us for one moment, we would be in deep trouble.
Walter Knight tells the story about a little boy who had recently received Christ.
“Daddy, how can I believe in the Holy Spirit when I have never seen Him?” asked Jim.
“I’ll show you how,” said his father, who was an electrician. Later Jim went with his father to the power plant where he was shown the gyrators. “This is where the power comes from to heat our stove and to give us light. We cannot see the power, but it is in that machine and in the power lines,” said the father.
“I believe in electricity,” said Jim.
“Of course, you do,” said his father, “but you don’t believe in it because you see it. You believe in it because you see what it can do. Likewise you can believe in the Holy Spirit because you see what He does in people’s lives when they are surrendered to Christ and possess His power.”
Thus, by faith you accept the fact that you are indwelt by the Spirit of God. He is there to give you special power to work for Christ. He is there to give you strength in the moment of temptation.
He is there to produce the supernatural fruit of the Spirit, such as “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22– 23). He is there to guide you over all the difficult terrain you must cross as a Christian.
Our Father and our God, I believe in You and in the Holy Spirit. I believe He lives in me, guides me, teaches me, and comforts me. Every day I can see the mighty works You do on the earth and in my own life through the Holy Spirit. Thank You for living and abiding in me. Through Jesus, my Lord. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).