A Common term or doctrine among all Christian denominations

A common term or doctrine among all Christian denominations

The Spirit of God, or his real name the Holy Spirit, a person, a divine entity, one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, and the very essence of God who is within each one who believes.

It could be an abstract phenomenon that too many have conjured in their minds of a thought and will carry some sort of understanding relating to an invisible occurrence without understanding the depth of the opulence in his existence.

Yes, the opulent manner of a gift so filled with treasures beyond the capacity of man to recognize what he has within his grasp of life and the needs he longs for.  The real understanding of just who this divine person is relies on the words of Jesus, and the mystery of God’s presence beyond humanity.

Theologically we need to look at the element of the doctrine and dogma regarding the reception of the Holy Spirit.  A doctrine is a generic term for a theoretical component of basic teachings.  All churches and civic institutions rely on this understanding to best help people to ascertain the elements of their chosen connection within the community of religion and civic encounters.  Dogmas are a little deeper and as St. Thomas Acquinas said it is an official judgment or decree regarding articles of faith.  Many of the dogmas in the Roman Catholic Church are blocks from protestant denominations such as Mary’s Assumption, her Immaculate conception, and the real presence of Christ in the Euchrist.

But there is another element of answering who is the Holy Spirit and how does his presence have any bearing on the lives of his people.  

A man is convicted of rape and murder of a young girl and sentenced to life in prison.  After a number of years behind bars the parents of the young girl confront him and just to say they forgave him.  Sometime later this convicted rapist found a path to faith in God and through the Holy Spirit’s presence turned to Christ and is seeking forgiveness from him.  

Walking down the avenue in any town is an old woman worn out with pains of arthritis, using a cane and wondering where she will get enough money for another meal.  She suddenly is greeted by people she doesn’t even know and they present her with assets to ease her dilemma.  Her prayers were answered through the Holy Spirit.

An acquaintance whose son was diagnosed with severe alcoholism and the bouts of continuous drunkenness had the family in a very uneasy condition.  After constant collapses of falling, DUI’s, and the threat of jail time, he reached bottom and found himself in the gutter of failure.  Through the intervention of friends he came around through much prayer and patience and realized something beyond simple outreach was responsible.  He knew he had found the Holy Spirit.

Three examples of how the Holy Spirit utilizes failures, the need to have those around us as innovators, and the forgiveness of God to not condemn or leave us alone in our needs.

There is an essence of the Holy Spirit that resides within each person, always reaching into our humanness that cannot be explained.  This comes under the  dogmatic theme of an official teaching because it relies solely on the total and undeniable forgiveness.  How do we know this?  Calvary!

Let’s put this into perspective;  When attempting to find a conclusive element within any activity, especially preparing for an assignment that is answering the will of God, the Holy Spirit who is within guides us and presents our malady with the words, the stranger, or the opportunity to complete the task, sometimes wondering what just happened.  

As long as we believe and trust that God is always with us the need to reach for help is already occurring.  We’ll walk with God, we’ll talk with God, He’ll be there at every momentous trial.

Ralph B. Hathaway