At Pentecost, we remember the descent of the Holy Spirit in a powerful new way upon Christ’s apostles and other followers on the fiftieth day after Easter. Besides the account in the Acts of the Apostles, the Gospels, especially the Gospel according to St. John, also promise the blessing of the Spirit. A key verse is from John 14. Jesus says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn.14:26 ESV).
Here Jesus teaches us about the basic work of the Holy Spirit among Christians. The Spirit has done, is doing, and will do many things, but the central work of the Spirit is related to the message of Jesus Christ. That work of the Spirit of Truth is to inspire believers. The Spirit of Truth is to remind, motivate, and help the disciples apply the Truth they have already heard from Jesus. Although the Holy Spirit certainly brings new life and new insight, He never brings some sort of new Gospel. The Spirit does not and will not change the core message. The Divine Spirit’s chief work is to help us apply the eternal Word in new contexts. The Spirit gives new life to the Gospel and to the Church, but the Spirit always works with and through the historic message revealed in the Scriptures (especially in the incarnate Word Jesus Christ), summarized in the Creeds and applied through the Sacraments.
