How Do You Treat Your Closest Friend?

II Corinthians 13:14
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.“

In Paul’s final letter to the Corinthians, he ended with the preceding benediction. There is a lot that can be taken from this verse (literally this can be a whole sermon) but I am going to focus on the last part “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Whenever there is a word that stands out to me while reading I like to look up the meaning just to make sure I have a correct understanding of the word. You ever thought you knew what a word meant based on context clues but you were way off? Yea that’s what I try to avoid.

I didn’t do anything too deep, a simple google search defined fellowship as:

“friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interest.”

The synonyms were words such as companionship, comradeship, friendship, mutual support, mutual respect, mutual likeness, intimacy, closeness, etc. As I read my mind start racing and I immediately take out my journal to take notes.

Fellowship is a mutual relationship (so it’s not just coming together to eat and laugh with other believers). When Paul prayed that they may have fellowship with the Holy Spirit he wanted them to have a relationship that goes beyond hanging out when they have the time, or “pulling” on Him only when they need Him. The Holy Spirit is not just here for us to tap into when we’re low on strength or check-in on because we need advice. We are to build a friendship, develop mutual support and have meaningful communication.

Other versions of this same verse say to come into communion with the Holy Spirit. Communion indicates an even more vulnerable relationship, the sharing or exchange of intimate thoughts and feelings. Now that’s a deep bond! It’s not just us sharing our innermost thoughts with Him but He can also share His innermost thoughts with us.

Imagine having a friend that didn’t stop much to listen to you, only sought you when they needed you, and often ignored or disregarded your advice/leading. You wouldn’t consider that friend as a person that you can lean on or trust. On the other hand, you are highly regarded as a friend. You are always there when they need you and they are confident to come to you whenever necessary. You love your friend but unfortunately, you can’t reveal as much to them as they can to you.

Often times as believers we believe that we’ve built fellowship with the Holy Spirit because we lean on Him so much and go to Him so much but in reality, we are that friend in the scenario above.

John 14: 15-17
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Guilt has often created a tendency in me to not reach out to people that I failed to stay in contact with. When I found myself doing the same thing to the Holy Spirit I had to acknowledge it and face it head-on. My prayer is that this devotion not discourage or evoke guilt that will draw us away from the Holy Spirit but instead help us to be more considerate with how we interact with our helper, teacher, and friend. As a result, we will grow into deeper intimacy with the Holy Spirit.

“Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything…He has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person. 

A.W. TOZER