What is Communion With the Holy Spirit?
Pauls ends his second letter to the Corinthian church by praying that they would have communion with the Holy Spirit.
“Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 NKJV
What is Paul talking about here? What does it mean for us to have communion or fellowship with the Holy Spirit?
The word Paul uses here for communion or fellowship is koinōnia (koy-nohn-ee’-ah). This word literally means partnership. Paul is telling the Church that they should all be in a partnership with the Holy Spirit. Communion with the Holy Spirit is to be in a close relationship with Him, and work together like teammates.
When Jesus spoke to His disciples about how He would send them the Holy Spirit, He referred to the Holy Spirit as the Helper. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be sent to us to help, guide, and teach us, and hHe would be our Advocate. The Holy Spirit would remind us of what Jesus taught and did for us on the cross.
When Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be our Helper, He uses the Greek word paraklétos (par-ak’-lay-tos). This word describes a lawyer, or a person who’s called to one’s aid.
To have communion with the Holy Spirit, we need to understand who the Holy Spirit is, and what His role is. The Holy Spirit is a Person, not a thing or just a feeling we have when we hear worship music.
The Holy Spirit is always referred to as “Him”, not “It”. We can spend time with the Holy Spirit, talk to Him, and listen to Him, just like we spend time and communicate with a friend.
It’s important to view the Holy Spirit as a Person that we interact with.
I’ve also found that we can grow in communion and relationship with the Holy Spirit. We develop a deeper relationship with Him like a friend or colleague we grow closer to. One of the best ways to grow in this area is simply by asking.
Invite the Holy Spirit into your life and ask Him to lead you and speak to you.
Jesus said that the Father will give us the Holy Spirit when we ask Him, but it’s up to us to ask and invite Him into our life.
We can choose to receive or resist the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit wants to have a close relationship with us, but He won’t force that upon us. We need to choose to receive the Holy Spirit. We have the choice to either receive Him or resist Him.
“If you want to increase in the life of God, then you must settle it in your heart that you will not at any time resist the Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost and fire – the fire burning up everything that would impoverish and destroy you.”
– Smith Wigglesworth
We read about examples of both of these in the book of Acts.
These people chose to receive the Holy Spirit:
“Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:14-17 NKJV
And these people resisted Him:
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” Acts 7:51 NKJV
We need to welcome the Holy Spirit and yield to His guidance. He might tell us to do something, go somewhere, talk to someone, or stop doing something. The Holy Spirit is God and communicates what He hears from the Father. He will never tell us something that doesn’t align with the word of God.
In Acts 16, we read about how the Holy Spirit stopped Paul, Timothy, and Silas from preaching in certain regions. It doesn’t say exactly why, but the Holy Spirit directed them where to go and not go, and they listened.
“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.” Acts 16:6-7 NKJV
Another example of this is in Acts 8:
“The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” Acts 8:29-31 NIV
The Holy Spirit tells Philip to do something, and he listens.
In both situations, the people could’ve chosen to not listen to the instructions of the Holy Spirit. They had the choice to resist Him, or obey His guidance.
The Holy Spirit’s desire is that we would listen to Him. This is the best thing we can do to enjoy a close and healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit.
