God is the Great I AM
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 1:8 NASB
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
Revelation 22:13 NASB
I'm learning about the Holy Spirit lately because He is the very One who dwells with me and in me. The Holy Spirit Himself has transformed and renewed me with generous portions of life, wisdom and passion. I've been very lonely lately. Days and weeks pass really fast. While in the thick of them though, each day seems to never end. I get bored almost out of my mind. I'm so miserable at times that I ask God to end my days and take me to be with Him. Even so, I don't want to be the useless, wicked servant who hides his talent in a hole and returns it to the Master without first multiplying it. So if I do nothing else while I yet live, I must share what He is teaching me about Himself!
First off, I'd like to dispel what I am convicted is a horrible injustice and insult we do to the Spirit of God. To attempt to determine the "role" or "purpose" of the Holy Spirit is about as arrogant and deadly a proposition as any other heresy or blasphemy. I admit to sadly employing this misconceived notion in my head even as I make honest efforts to know Him. Let's not get legalistic about this: words and logic are not so much the enemy here, but rather the intention of the heart. Exactly who is preeminent?
The Spirit of God does not exist "for" us. The purpose for His existence doesn't involve filling a missing gap in us. Though God chooses to fill an empty gap in us, the Holy Spirit is GOD! In the same way that we exist by the Word of God - He spoke, and we became and He breathed life into us - so too we exist FOR the Holy Spirit. If God be trinity, and the Holy Spirit be one of three (though the three be one), then He is One, and I am "for" Him, not Him for me!
Therefore it is more important to discover what our role for Him is, rather than what purpose the Holy Spirit serves. To assign a purpose to something implies it was created or conceived at some point in time and designed with a limited set of functions or skills to fulfill its purpose. The Holy Spirit is the I AM, the Alpha and the Omega. There was no point in time when He did not exist, nor is there a conceivable "purpose" for His existence. He was not designed, He designs all! He simply was, and is, and is to come. Forget time: He created that too! Therefore all things exist by Him, for Him and through Him. Not only that, but a short (or long) group of linguistic sentences describing what He does or a list of His attributes (as we discern them) is a pittance to His true nature and ability. He is beyond our comprehension. Of course we should still try to understand, for it is an honorable and worthwhile pursuit to know God and His person better. Nevertheless, after all our best reasoning and Scripture searching, we should yet be astronomically astonished and astounded by Him.
I'm pretty certain that neither the Holy Spirit, nor Jesus, nor the Father can be divided into having various discernible duties or roles - at least certainly not ones we with our base craniums (compared to His) can fully determine and etch in stone. To say that Jesus exists in order that men have a way to reach heaven, for example, is a total farce! Did Jesus provide a way (the ONLY Way) for us by His death and resurrection to enter heaven? Yes. Indeed He did. But is that WHY He exists? Heck no, people! He's not a loving, awesome person BECAUSE those are the attributes needed to save us. He doesn't exist TO save us or serve us, though He does DO that - by His will (authoritative choice), not by the way He is "designed" or compelled by an outside force. Not even our needs can change Him. He knew our needs long before He created us, but He doesn't morph to meet us. He is who He is and will always be. He always existed, and in His kindness and love He first decided to create us and then save us from death, the wages of our sin! He IS (exists - state of being) because He is the Great I AM outside of everything we know and understand! That's all that is needed to justify all creatures bowing their entire existence low at His feet and uttering words of worship. Do you see the difference - that we exist for Him, not the other way around? The three are One, and that One is God Almighty!
We exist for God, not Him for us. We are His creations! Some gods have been created by man: of stone, wood, metal and intangible imaginings. But this God Almighty - the only One - created all things and all peoples! If we want to assign roles, let's figure out what OURS are, not His! I'm preaching to myself, for I had not realized this distinction succinctly and completely before. I think it is a very crucial thing to understand, lest we deface in our minds the infinitude of God and His glory. He should remain spectacular and awesome in the sight of all His creatures. Otherwise we risk considering ourselves higher than He! Such a deception and prideful point of view surely won't lead us to a happy place!
Yay! This one made it to Ethnos' online sermon audio collection: Matt 9:1-8 Jesus forgives and heals paralytic. This is the sermon my thoughts here developed from.