As we've seen, humanity was created to walk with God, to know Him personally, and to be
His progeny.
But sin disrupted our divine connection, severing the intimacy we were created to enjoy.
This brokenness led to layers of separation.
Humanity's relationship with God became governed by laws, rituals, sacrifices, and priests
who were intermediaries between the Lord and His people.
But what was all but lost in time and between those layers was the fact that their purpose
was to point to a Savior who would come and repair the gap.
Under the Old Covenant, these things served as temporary means of atonement, pointing
forward to a greater permanent solution.
Hebrews 10 verse 1 explains it clearly.
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming, not the realities themselves.
For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year,
make perfect those who draw near to worship.
The sacrifices of bulls and goats could never cleanse humanity from sin.
They were placeholders, symbols of something far greater to come.
That greater was Jesus Christ.
His sacrifice on the cross was the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Covenant.
As Hebrews 9 verse 12 tells us, He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves,
but He entered the most holy place once and for all by His own blood, thus obtaining eternal
redemption.
When Christ declared, It is finished, John 19 verse 30, He wasn't just referring to His
earthly life.
He was proclaiming the completion of God's redemptive plan.
The old system of sacrifice and mediation was no longer necessary.
The veil in the temple, which had separated humanity from the Holy of Holies, was torn
in two from top to bottom.
See Matthew 27 verse 51, signifying that the way to God's presence was now open for all.
Jesus fulfilled the Father's plan to restore what had been lost, specifically man's direct
and unmediated relationship with Him.
His purpose was more than granting salvation.
He restored the intimacy that sin had robbed humanity of.
The way back to God was made clear.
The barriers that stood between God and His people were removed and our divine connection
with Him was re-established.
The New Covenant that replaced the former was not based on external laws like the Old
One, but on internal transformation.
Jeremiah had prophesied this moment centuries earlier when he wrote, I will put my law in
their minds and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God and they will be my people.
Jeremiah 31 verse 33, Jesus ushered in a new era where God's presence would no longer dwell
in temples made by human hands, but within the hearts of believers.
Under this New Covenant, our relationship with God is no longer dependent on rituals
or mediated by earthly priests or others.
As 1 Timothy 2.5 affirms, for there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind,
the man Christ Jesus.
The need for religious intermediaries has been replaced by the indwelling presence of
the Spirit of God who connects us directly to our Heavenly Father.
The Holy Spirit is the linchpin of the New Covenant for you and I, the very presence
of God abiding within us.
Jesus emphasized the importance of the Spirit's role when He told His disciples in John 16
verse 7, It is better for you that I go away.
If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you.
Why would Jesus say that?
Because the Holy Spirit would do for every believer what Jesus in His earthly ministry
did for those He physically encountered, which was guide, teach, and heal.
The Spirit would go even further, however.
The Spirit would empower us for a life of intimacy with God.
The Holy Spirit is not just a vague force or an occasional influence.
The Spirit is the active presence of God in the believer's life.
Jesus described Him as the Spirit of truth who will guide you into all truth.
John 16 verse 13.
The Spirit is your teacher, illuminating the Word of God and helping you to understand
its meaning and application in your life.
Without the Holy Spirit, Scripture remains just words on a page.
With the Spirit, the Word becomes alive, active, and deeply personal.
The Apostle Paul captures this beautifully in 1 Corinthians 2 verses 12-14.
What we have received is not the Spirit.
Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God so that we may understand what God
has freely given us.
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by
the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
It's through the Holy Spirit that we discern God's will, experience His presence, and grow
in spiritual maturity.
The Holy Spirit's Transformative Power
One of the most significant roles of the Holy Spirit is His work of transformation.
While religion typically emphasizes behavior modification—trying harder, doing better,
adhering to a set of rules—the Holy Spirit focuses on and is the catalyst for spiritual
transformation.
The Spirit renews you from the inside out.
Ephesians 4, verses 23 and 24 calls us to be made new in the attitude of your minds
and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
This transformation goes well beyond behavior modification, and it is not something you
can achieve on your own.
As 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18 explains, And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate
the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which
comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit changes you, not by your determination and striving, but by His power and presence
in your life.
Scripture Comes Alive Through the Spirit
It's disheartening how many believers struggle to connect with Scripture, finding it dry,
confusing, or irrelevant.
This disconnect stems from approaching the Bible as mere literature rather than living
revelation.
Understanding Scripture isn't an intellectual pursuit, it's a spiritual encounter.
The Bible itself declares, The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged
sword.
It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.
It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4, verse 12 Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the
Bible remains a closed book.
The Spirit reveals the truth we need for each moment, making the Word personally relevant
and actionable.
This isn't about offering a token prayer for guidance before reading.
It's about cultivating a continuous, intimate relationship with God where the Spirit actively
speaks and leads.
Unfortunately, many churches downplay the Holy Spirit's role because He defies human
control.
Yet, Scripture reminds us that the Spirit is God's deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance.
See Ephesians 1, verses 13 and 14.
God isn't distant.
He's to be engaged with and praised, and the Holy Spirit is central to that engagement.
Approaching Scripture without the Spirit is inconsistent with its divine origin.
The same Spirit who inspired the Word is the one who illuminates it for you.
God's Word is multidimensional and alive.
It unfolds across time.
Prophetic words spoken to ancient Israel weren't static.
They had immediate relevance and future fulfillment because living words transcend time.
The Holy Spirit makes Scripture personal.
He highlights verses that speak directly to your situations, convicts you where and when
changes are needed, and breathes hope where you feel hopeless.
He helps you see beyond the text to grasp God's heart and apply His truth to your life.
Jesus affirmed this when He said, The words I have spoken to you, they are full of the
Spirit and life.
John 6, verse 63.
To truly encounter God through His Word, you must learn to depend on the Holy Spirit, not
as an afterthought, but as the essential guide into all truth.