The Holy Spirit: Promise and Fulfillment

“I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. The Spirit of truth” (John 14:15)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, truthfulness, gentleness, self-control… If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-25)

The Lord Jesus was preparing the apostles for His leaving them and comforting them with the promise of another Comforter, none else than the Holy Spirit. He will ask the heavenly Father to send the Spirit, and He will console them by making it plain that they will always have access to the truth. Christ goes on to say, “The world cannot accept Him, but you know Him, for He lives with you and will be with you. He will guide you in all truth” (John 14:16).

The world cannot accept Him, because the world cannot deal with truth. Lies are so much a part of our culture that we are not amazed when we are lied to. But because like the apostles, we also belong to Christ, and as such, being members of His holy Church we too receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Isaiah 11:2 we read: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him [Messiah-Christ]: The Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and fear of the Lord.”

All those are gifts. They are offered to us as belonging to Christ so that we have equipment to continue His work of salvation in the world. When we accept the gifts, we are responsible for their use. They are not to be treated lightly but to supplement our own personal attributes, not to be ignored or stored away or left to atrophy in our minds, bodies and souls.

On the other hand, when we do make use of them in our lives as well as in the lives of those who are influenced by the life of Christ they recognize in us, another aspect of the Holy Spirit takes place. By using the gifts of the Spirit, we internalize the divine presence in ourselves. The fruit of the Spirit blossoms forth within us. We radiate with spirituality like the icons on our walls that have no shadows because the light emanating from them glows from within.

When we utilize the wisdom of God in our lives, we are filled with love. No matter what another person may do to us, insult or injure us, we never wish her or him harm, but pray for his highest good. The wisdom within us overcomes all emotions.

When we understand what the saints know, joy will bloom from our souls, and we shall seek happiness not from earthly things, but from being in the company of angels and living under the eye of the Lord.

When we take the counsel of faith, trusting that all is as it ought to be, we shall know such a peace from the God within us, the God around us and the Son of God beside us that we shall be self-controlled (or better put, Spirit controlled), considerate, full of such faith that everybody will be sure of how we would respond to any given situation, and nothing can possibly shatter it. Peace not just as freedom from troubles, but the awareness that everything that happens has the potential for our ultimate good. We rest secure that all is in the hands of a loving God, and nothing occurs that is contrary to His holy will for our best interests.

When we use our divine power to solve our problems, we lose the urge for instant results. Patience takes over our souls. St. John Chrysostom said it’s the patience of a strong person who is able to take revenge but who chooses to let justice be up to God.

When we grow to spiritual knowledge, that is, when our souls are guided by the Spirit in that precious part of the soul called nous, others will notice a sweetness, a kindness produced by our tendency to identify with all others. To say and mean: There but for the grace of God go I. And we shall always consider the point of view of others.

And when we have holy fear in us, we take into account the presence of the Spirit acting within us. We have mastered our passions, desires and lust for pleasures of the flesh. We are examples of self-control, filled with the humility that makes us gentle, warm and glowing with the light of Christ. We have become loving and loveable—except to Christ’s enemies.