We must Communion with the HOLY SPIRIT!

“The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14This verse stirs up very deep feelings for me, unfortunately that is not true for everyone. The countless blessings of this benediction are lost on most people today. The last portion of this blessing is extremely important to me and for that matter to all of us.“Communion” means “communicating with or traveling together, transporting with.” Over the last century transportation has made the world a global city. Today you and I can travel all over the world conveniently and quickly. It is not an exaggeration to say that you can measure a civilization by the development of its transportation system.If the global system of transportation were to suddenly be halted the whole world would suffer. Nearly every kind of work would ultimately be paralyzed. Cities would suffer from hunger and cold, as food and fuel supplies would stop. Transportation is not a dispensable convenience only used for traveling pleasure. It is very necessary to human welfare.Likewise, the communion of the Holy Spirit -- daily traveling and constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit -- is essential for our spiritual well-being! In fact the measure of our faith is in direct proportion to our communion with the Holy Spirit. Through the communion of the Holy Spirit, we receive all of our spiritual blessings. Spiritual blessings are the very foundation of every physical blessing.Even though the Grace of the Lord Jesus and the Love of the Father abound freely and immeasurably in heaven, they are useless to us unless they reach us. We cannot even pray properly unless the Holy Spirit directs us. The Bible clearly teaches that the Spirit assists us in our praying: “The Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26). Jude 20 also points out the Spirit’s place in our prayer life: “Beloved, building up yourselves in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”This word “communion,” as used by Paul in his Corinthian benediction, “the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all...” has far reaching and deep implications. This word has several very important meanings. I want to talk about one of them.The strongest meaning of this word “communion” refers to intercourse or fellowship on the basis of intimate friendship. Without fellowship with the Holy Spirit there can be no spiritual life, no faith with power and no victory. From the very moment the church is completely programized and depersonalized, it becomes simply a memorial to God --- instead of the living body filled with the power of God.This is why Paul asked the question: “Have your received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” (Acts 19:2). When Jesus realized that His disciples were despairing over His departure He promised that the Holy Spirit would come: “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever... I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:16,18). That comfort is available today but in more cases than we realize, believers today have not even heard about the Holy Spirit.How do we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit? First, we must acknowledge that He is present in His church today. We must welcome Him into our lives. We must earnestly desire His guidance and open our hearts continually to Him. The grace of the Lord Jesus and the love of the Father can only reach our hearts through fellowship, communion with the Holy Spirit.We are living in a moment where people neither acknowledge the Holy Spirit nor welcome Him into their daily or even church lives. Since they do not depend on Him they experience many failures. This tragic failure is pointed out in Revelation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (3:20).These words are not addressed to the unbelieving world but rather the believers. Think of it! Our Lord said He would be with us forever through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, yet many times we don't know anything about Him. This was not the case in the early church. Listen to these words: "…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us" (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit pours the love of God into our hearts. We must allow that pouring to take place continually."… the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all."