John 14: 15 – 16 If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you for ever – the Spirit of truth.

These were the words of Jesus to his disciples before he went to the cross. That promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples. (See Acts 2:1-13). How can we then who live so much later in time claim to have the Holy Spirit’s presence? The first encounter of the believer with the Holy Spirit is at the time of conversion. The time the Father drew you to himself by letting you realize that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself. At that time you looked to the crucified Christ and realized that his death was for you, to satisfy God the Father’s demand for righteousness which you and I could never hope to satisfy.

That was the starting point of your relationship with God the Father, you gained access to him and that allows you to have fellowship with him through his Word so you can know and do his will as the Holy Spirit leads you. Jesus told his disciples that it was for their good that he was going away because unless he did, the Counselor would not come but “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father where you can see me no longer; in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” (John 16: 8-11).

Jesus, in his physical body, could not be everywhere but the Holy Spirit now operates in every corner of the globe where believers are. The principal work of the Holy Spirit now in the life of the believer is to teach truth. He opens up God’s Word to us in a way no one else can and helps us see how its teachings are relevant to our lives. He convinces us that God’s agenda is being unveiled daily in human history and therefore prophecies will be fulfilled. In so doing he brings glory to the name of Jesus through the praise this knowledge elicits from us. (See John 16: 14-15).

The Holy Spirit brings us into unity with God the Father and Jesus who not only prayed for this unity for his disciples but for all who would believe in his name. (See John 17: 20 – 28). The infilling or fullness of the Holy Spirit comes on believers today to empower us to be witnesses to Jesus to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1: 7 – 8)