The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit

For many followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is a bit of a mystery. It doesn't help that Scripture uses impersonal symbols for the Holy Spirit, like "wind" and "fire." At the same time, Jesus referred to the Spirit in a very personal way, as a "Paraclete," "Counselor," "Teacher," "Comforter." In fact, the word "Paraclete" literally refers to someone who is called along side to support another in a personal way. 

Some folks have begun to catch on to the personal nature of God's Spirit, writing books like, "Good morning, Holy Spirit." I'm most drawn the statement of Paul in Second Corinthians 13:14: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." "Fellowship" is a wonderful word, painting a picture of a partnership or of a shared life. It is a very relational word. How interesting that the most relational word used to describe the Three-in-One God would refer to the Holy Spirit. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a shared life with the Holy Spirit, a life of partnership and intimate, personal connection.

That shared life, that fellowship of the Holy Spirit, makes it possible to find a home with and in God. I love how Jesus put it. "My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them" (John 14:23). It's hard to imagine God as our Home. It's even harder to see the desire of God to be at home with us. That kind of relationship is made possible by the Holy Spirit being with us and in us (John 14:17). We are part of a divine community, sharing in the intimacy of Father, Son and Holy Spirit (John 17:21). 

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit also makes it possible to have a true, personal connection to other followers of Jesus. Think about it. The same Holy Spirit who is in me is also in every other believer. We are literally connected S/spirit-to-S/spirit. Paul referred to it as "the unity of the Spirit," pointing out that "there is one Body and one Spirit" (Ephesians 4:3-4). Paul doesn't exhort the believers to make every effort to be unified. He asks them to work at maintaining the unity that is already present by the Holy Spirit. Because you cannot divide God's Spirit, you also cannot divide the Body of Christ. We are one, whether we like it or not. Our challenge is to act as though we are one, to function and serve as one. (I suggest that this reality also offers and new understanding of the dynamic and effectiveness of intercessory prayer.)

Paul even takes it one step further by implying that we share a fellowship with the saints in heaven by the Spirit. How is that possible? I've always been intrigued by Paul's statement in Ephesians 1:6. "God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms." Paul didn't say that some day we will be with Christ in heaven - although that is certainly true. Paul painted a picture of us being seated with Christ in heaven even now. Somehow the same Holy Spirit who is with and in us is also with Christ in heaven. And the same Holy Spirit who is with and in us is also with an in the followers of Jesus who have preceded us to the heavenly realms. The saints in heaven are still citizens of God's kingdom. They are still participating in God's mission of his kingdom coming and his will being done, on earth as it is in heaven. They have just changed work sites (they're now in the headquarters building). 

So, the unity of the Body of Christ extends beyond what we can see on planet earth and includes the entire community of saints, the entire fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We are all of us one.

It's no wonder that the writer to the Hebrews could encourage the persecuted saints by pointing out that "we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" (12:1), those who had lived in a faithful commitment to God on earth and were now serving God without the limitations of mortality, enjoying their home in God's glory. And somehow those witnesses are aware of the challenges and opportunities being faced by those bearing witness on the earth, and not just aware but surrounding them, sharing life in the Kingdom with them because of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. In Christian theology we call this the "Communion of Saints."

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit establishes the reality of perfect unity. An intimate, shared life, S/spirit-to-Spirit with God, S/spirit-to-S/spirit with our fellow members of the Body of Christ, and even a S/spirit-to-Spirit connection with the saints who serve and worship God in the place of his throne. We are truly one, now and for ever. The eternal Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. 

"Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made us one with your saints in heaven and on earth: grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. I ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all my intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen" (Book of Common Prayer).