Blessed day, people of God. It is an honour to contribute to the knowledge of the body of Christ. This study seeks to help believers understand the life of the Christian with and without the Holy Spirit. Fast forward to some occasions, Jesus tells His disciples by reassuring them that He will leave, but after He leaves, there is no circumstance where He will leave them as orphans. John 14:18-20 vividly says, “I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. Yet, in a little while, the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will also live. On that day, you will know that I am in my father, and you in me, and I in you.” This vividly tells us the intentions of Jesus Christ as a people of God who will forever have a father, helper, and comforter. Jesus, before the ascension, assured His disciples of the Holy Spirit after His ascension.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ORPHAN
In recent times, the heart of the orphan has certain traits due to their condition. The lack of biological parental care has led to the exhibition and nature of this group of people. Below are some stated characteristics of orphans in our societies:
- THEY ARE CHARACTERISED BY NEGLECT: They tend to be affected by the neglect of their parents, guardians, or loved ones. Hence, they are emotionally affected by the spirit of neglect, which tends to affect the well-being of this group of people. With the absence of their parents, they are taken away by the need to belong and the will to go to great lengths to find acceptance in our communities. This makes them liable to manipulation and abuse, which, gradually, can result in them being affected and having a sense of guilt for not having parents.
- THEY ARE MOSTLY INSECURE AND IRRESPONSIBLE: The nature of an orphan is typically characterised by insecurities and irresponsibility since they do not have biological mentors. They tend to have little or no life experience, lessons, and values of life. They are also insecure in that the absence of the head factor (Father) causes them to have no sense of security at all or very little. They have no one to lean on in times of crisis and no one to boast about in times of need.
The statement of Jesus Christ stating that He will not leave us as orphans highlights His care for the welfare of the believer and assures the Christian of the ordinance of the Holy Spirit. This states the necessity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Lessons learned from the life of the orphan depict the nature of the believer without the infilling and dwelling of the Holy Spirit. It further classifies such believers as orphans in this Kingdom business.
THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
- The believer, without the infilling of the Holy Spirit, has zero strength to fight against the world. As stated earlier, the life of the orphan is one characterised by neglect. This vividly depicts the life of the believer without the Holy Spirit as one who feels some sense of neglect. Believers are, therefore, encouraged to seek with humility the infilling of the Holy Spirit in all aspects of their lives.
- The believer, also, without the infilling of the Holy Spirit, is mostly insecure. The Holy Spirit, who is a part of the trinity nature of God, informs the believer of what is ahead and what is at hand. The Holy Spirit controls and directs the believer to secure places according to the will of God. A believer, therefore, without the infilling of the Holy Spirit, lives an unaware life, being ignorant of what is next since the spirit factor is missing.
THE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in the life of the believer since it brings unity between the believer and Christ while bringing him into the full body of Christ.
Many verses of the Bible (John 14:26, John 16:17, John 14:16) define the Holy Spirit as a Helper who helps the Christian to run the race to the end. The Holy Spirit becomes the epicentre to help the believer in this modern world of sin by giving out gifts according to His will to believers to sail through this world of sin. Also, the Holy Spirit in a person bears some fruit, which can be found in Galatians 5:22-23. This equips the believer with the necessary values needed to hold on and sail through to the end.
Also, the Holy Spirit serves as a comforter to the believer (John 16:7). Yes, the life of the believer with the Holy Spirit may not be smooth, but there comes our Holy Spirit once again who plays the role of a comforter to the believer and helps the believer to once again step up and keep going. Unlike the orphan who has barely or no one to talk to, the Holy Spirit is the best friend and the personal person for the believer who never leaves the body in times of downfall but rather divinely comforts the believer by any means possible to get back on His feet.
Believers are, therefore, encouraged day to day to yearn for the dwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit very often since it plays a vital role in unleashing the believer to transform all spheres of their life.
Written by Herbert Obeng Nyarko