The subject at hand should not be characterized by
dogmatism, but it does warrant a brief investigation. Will the Holy Spirit be in
Heaven? Will He have a body? What form will that body take? Will we see three in
Heaven or one? These questions that force their way into our minds. Their
answers should certainly not divide fundamental believers, but the very presence
of the questions would warrant a brief investigation into the subject.
Occasionally in the Scriptures we get a glimpse into Heaven of the Father and the Son. We do know that there was a fellowship between the Father and the Son before the foundation of the world. John 17:5, "And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me and Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was."
We get the same teaching from John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Note especially the words, "and the Word was with God." This could be translated, "and the Word was toward God," or "the Word was facing toward God." This simply implies a fellowship enjoyed by the Father and the Son in the beginning and from the beginning.
When Stephen died, he looked up into Heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. This implies that the Father is visible in Heaven and that he Son, likewise, is visible in Heaven. Acts 7:55, "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into Heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God."
We also find from the writer of the book of Hebrews that Christ appears in the presence of the Father and the presence of the Son in Heaven are different. Hebrews 9:23, 24, "It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but he heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us."
Now that we have established that the Father and the Son have a presence in Heaven, we turn our attention toward the Holy Spirit.
First, the Scriptures seem to teach that He is in Heaven. I John 5:7, "For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." Though no one can explain the trinity, we do know that they are three different personalities and yet there is one God. All attempts to explain this truth accurately have failed. Oh, it could be said that he trinity is like the egg-the white, the yellow and the shell-three parts of one egg. Or it could be explained that it is like H2O-vapor, water and ice. Some try to explain it comparing to fruit-that is, pealing, seed and meat. However, all of these attempts fail completely to explain the trinity. We simply believe that there are three persons in one Godhead and that all three will be in Heaven.
Second, the question comes, "What does the Holy Spirit do in Heaven?" Note Psalm 139:7,8, "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flees from Thy presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou are there..." Again we find that the Holy Spirit is in Heaven. Though the Scripture is not as clear on this subject as others, it would seem that the Holy Spirit basically will do His work in Heaven much as He does on earth. Some light is shed on this in Isaiah 11:1,2, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of His roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." Now these verses deal with the work of the Holy Spirit during the millennium.. Bear in mind, that the saved person will have his glorified body then. It appears that the Holy Spirit continues to work even though the glorified body. He will give us the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Perhaps this working of the Spirit in the millennium, when the Christian possesses the body that he will have in the New Jerusalem, will continue in eternity.
Will the Holy Spirit have a body in Heaven? Once again we come to a question for which the answer is not as clear as some Bible questions, but perhaps some light may be shed on this subject in I Corinthians 15:44, "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." Notice the words, "there is a natural body." In another chapter we deal with the body of the Spirit and we find that just as the physical body is the habitation of the soul, even so the soul is the habitation of the Spirit. We could assume then that since there is a spiritual; body, the Holy Spirit will have some form of body in Heaven. This is not recognizable by fleshly eyes any more than the soul (which is the body of the Spirit) is recognized by physical eyes. Again we must avoid dogmatism, but there seems to be some evidence that since there is a spiritual body, we will with our spiritual bodies be able to recognize the spirit body of the Holy Spirit in Heaven.
We then find that the Holy Spirit will someday present us to Jesus. Jude 20:24, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." It appears that the Holy Spirit Who has been our guide, comforter, helper and companion will someday present us to the Lord Jesus Christ. He Who knows us best will present us to Him Who died for us, and then the Holy Spirit will open our eyes and we shall see Jesus as He is!
These words are being written shortly after the death of my beloved friend, Dr. John R. Rice, with whom I preached for nearly a quarter of a century. Over 2200 times I have sat on the same platform to preach with this servant of God. He walked in the Spirit. He was anointed for his task. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. Recently he went to Heaven. The Holy Spirit, Who knew him so well and Whose leadership he followed so beautifully and Whose power he has known so often, opened his eyes and introduced him in a visible way to the blessed Saviour, and he who has walked in the Spirit for so many years perhaps even now is seeing through spiritual eyes the Holy Spirit. To say the least, he is seeing Jesus to Whom the Holy Spirit pointed him when he was saved as a lad, to Whom the Holy Spirit pointed him as he preached His Gospel for so many years and to Whom the Holy Spirit pointed him when he breathed his last physical breath and entered into the presence of his Saviour.
