Christ in You / You in Christ, Part 4: The Presence of God

The Lord God made an astounding promise to Moses in Exodus 33:
"Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, "I know you by name and you have found favor with me.” If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Moses asked “who will you send with me?” (maybe an angel?) and “teach me your ways (more understanding).” God responded differently: “My Presencewill go with you, and I will give you rest.” Why this declaration? Let’s consider: if we only needed rules, Moses already had plenty of those (listed in Ex. 12-32) and there were more to come. If today, we only needed a systematic theology, we could construct one from the pages of the Bible. But God has invited us into arelationship, because the Triune God IS relationship. So he promised Moses his very Presence — and rest, in addition.

Jesus brings that promise forward in John 14-16 when he reveals the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' disciples needed what Moses needed, and what we need: to know and interact with God himself — not just his words of instruction, but his own thoughts, intentions, plans and purposes. The disciples experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit directly, in Acts 2, and his presence and power in their lives changed them, and the world around them, forever.

Much of the modern Christian church has avoided a direct interface with the Holy Spirit’s presence and power, though it was the norm in the early church, and has been in various other times in church history as well. For those of us who may have focused more on doctrine than relationship, can we sense and respond more freely to that presence of the Spirit? (I have to admit, during my intensive study times in graduate school, my focus was often more on facts!) What a difference it makes in our spiritual growth, and in every moment of our lives, as we are consciously being “Spirit-led”!

As we’ve said over and over recently, it’s partially a matter of focus, or attention (not just doctrinal clarity). Jesus promised his presence will be with us to the end of time (Mat. 28:20), so it’s entirely appropriate for us to seek a deeper grasp and experience of the Spirit in daily life. A simple quiet prayer, “Holy Spirit, come” can help us be more open to his presence, and there are several other tools of prayer and meditation that can help us too. One step at a time, we can grow into what we’ve been given.