The Holy Helper

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grave in which we stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2).

We have peace with God. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we have obtained peace that would have otherwise been impossible to attain had Jesus never come to earth and died for us.
           
We’ve been expounding on the person of God. We know that His heart is to connect with humanity, and we’ve established that He is intentional, humble, and devoted. We’ve seen His pursuit of humanity since the Garden of Eden, first with the creation of man, then with God coming to earth as a baby, and finally with Jesus dying for the world. We have the picture of God as the Father and God as the Son. So now we look at the Holy Spirit.
           
This grand story we’re a part of would be anticlimactic if there was no follow-up to the death of Jesus. If Jesus had ascended into heaven with the promise to one day return, we would miss out on one of the most important attributes of God: His presence. God is present. Remember that Jesus was named Immanuel, meaning ‘God with us.’ This doesn’t stop after Jesus ascends into heaven. He is ever present with us here, even now.
           
Before He took His place at the right hand of the Father, Jesus told His disciples, “And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth…” (John 14:16).
           
Jesus promised that Holy Spirit of truth would dwell in us.
           
When Jesus entered heaven, He told us that we would never be here alone. God is closer than the distance between heaven and earth; He’s closer than a friend or a brother—He’s nearer than our next breath. His home is us. He resides within us, making our hearts His dwelling place and guiding us into all truth.
           
Romans says that we boast in our hope, declaring that “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (5:5).
           
This hope that lives in us is powerful. It brings the promises of God to our remembrance, reassuring us that we are not alone. The Father was with Adam and Eve in the Garden until the rebellion of humanity, and Jesus was with humanity on earth for 33 years until He died, but the climax of the cross is the Holy Spirit.

The personality of God is not cold—He’s not distant or indifferent.

His very presence lives in us both now and forever.