The power of fellowship with Holy Spirit

BY EHUSANI GRACE ORAHACHI

“The grace of our lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Our opening Scripture speaks of fellowship with the person of the Holy Spirit. You may ask, "Why should we fellowship with the Holy Spirit? What is God's purpose for speaking of this fellowship? Is fellowship with the Holy Spirit a command, necessity, or suggestion? How do we fellowship with the Holy Spirit?"

Firstly, let us consider who the Holy Spirit is. I would like to say here that I cannot exhaust the revelation on the person of the Holy Spirit, however, as you read on I believe that the Holy Spirit would bring you to have an understanding of his person.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. He is not a force or some wind. He may choose to express himself as wind, fire, or even a dove, yet he is above all these. He is a person, with intellect, will, and emotions. (Read 1 Corinthians 12:4, Ephesians 4: 30).

This character of the Holy Spirit is what makes Him a person, having the capacity to relate with human beings. In fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we must come to understand firstly that He is a person we can relate with.

Secondly, why should we fellowship with the Holy Spirit? In John 14:15-31, Christ, speaking to the disciples before He left, said He was not going to leave them orphaned, He would ask the Father to send another helper, who would be with them and be in them. This happened openly on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).

A quick look at what provoked Christ to make this promise, we discover that the disciples were sad that Christ was leaving them, so He made this promise assuring them that they were not going to be left alone. He was going to send another helper in the person of the Holy Spirit, who was going to be with them forever.

Having this understanding, we see that the Holy Spirit is the person through whom Christ dwells with us always. He is our ever present companion as Christians; He fulfills the scripture that Christ would never leave us nor forsake us. That is why the opening Scripture says that His fellowship remains with us. In essence, we fellowship with the Holy Spirit because He was sent to be a companion to us.

Thirdly, is fellowship with the Holy Spirit a command, necessity, or suggestion? In considering this question, we shall be looking at certain key scriptures. Remember that our opening Scripture already presented us with an insight on this. It speaks that the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us. So, it is a command in a way to always have fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

In the book of John 14: 15-31; 16: 4-15, Christ spoke about another friend, the Holy Spirit, who would guide us to know all truth, give us an understanding of the word, show us the future plans of God and always remind us of the word. It is this friend that empowers us to witness for Christ, it is this friend that works in us to bring glory to Christ. It is through this friend that we present sanctified worship to God, it is through this friend that we pray rightly, it is through this friend that we have a true grasp of all God has for us as Christians, it is through this friend that we are strengthened in our Christian journey, it is through this friend that we are empowered to do the work of the ministry as commanded by Christ.

Simply, our living as Christians is entirely dependent on the Holy Spirit. He brings us to different levels of glory as we fellowship with him.

See the following scriptures: 1 Corinthians 2:10-12, Romans 8:26-27, John 4:24, Acts 1:1-8, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 1:17-21, 3:14-20.

Having a friend who does all these things in our lives indicates that this friend must be the closest to us. Therefore, for us Christians, fellowship with the Holy Spirit is a necessity; it is not a suggestion. This is because, to be the Christians that Christ desires, we cannot do without the helper he has provided, the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, how do we fellowship with the Holy Spirit? You cannot fellowship with the Holy Spirit if you do not have him dwelling on the inside of you. The first step on how to fellowship with the Holy Spirit is to be baptized in the spirit. Once you are baptized in the spirit, it becomes easier to fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Acknowledge His presence with you always; ask His help always no matter the task. As you would a friend, appreciate Him always knowing he is always with you to be with you and help you; listen to His guidance always; do not grieve Him by disobedience to His instructions; spend quality time in prayer and the word through His help; ask Him to bring you to understand His ministry in your life. This way, you build fellowship with the Holy Spirit easily.

Remember, the Holy Spirit is with us so that our lives may bring express the glory of Christ. The more you desire to bring glory to Christ, the more you are brought into deeper fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

As you do these consciously through His help, you would discover that you become more sensitive to his word; more empowered to overcome temptations; greatly equipped to fulfill ministry.

I want to say that this precious gift of the Holy Spirit can only be yours when you receive Christ Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Receive Him today!