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5H. The Holy Spirit in the Household Body 
The Holy Spirit empowers the Household Body. Paul writes, "Now to him, (the Holy Spirit) who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory"(22). The force of God not only walks alongside us but dwells powerfully within us, encouraging us to encounter and experience Jesus.
Blood and Breath
Blood and breath are symbols for the Holy Spirit's work in the Christian. In 1615, William Harvey discovered the amazing blood circulation system. It reflected the ancient Biblical truth, "The life of the creature is in the blood"(23). Every organ, gland and tissue depends for its life on the condition of the blood stream. Though blood is not visible through the layers of skin and fat we cannot live without it. Oxygen cannot be seen in the blood stream but without it the brain is starved and soon dies.
God's Force
The Holy Spirit is the invisible partner in the Trinity. He works transparently in all life cementing relationships in the Household Body. He never elevates himself but always pours praise upon Jesus. As a leg becomes gangrenous because of a blood clot in an artery, so a church is choked when the Holy Spirit is prevented from coursing through its veins. Without fresh blood, an arm or leg turns putrid and poses a threat to the other healthy parts of the body. When Christian people cease loving one another and when a church becomes a social rather than a spiritual society, decomposition begins to set in. The Holy Spirit matures and develops the Household Body. Being "in Christ" means having the marks of the Son of God like unity, love, and purpose and by this God reassures us that we are his children.
The Trinity
The three members of the Trinity coexist in the Household Body like water, ice and steam. They are the same chemistry, but in different states according to their temperature and pressure. Christ, like water, leads and directs very visibly as the head. The Holy Spirit, like steam, invisibly energizes. The Holy Spirit regenerates every cell of the Mystical Body in the death/life cycle. He lovingly blossoming lives by his presence, and rejuvenates members of Christ's Body. The creator Father, like ice, permeates every aspect of the Body's work. Like human skin which is constantly dying on the outside it is being remade underneath at the same time.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit within whispers that another person belongs to the Household Body. Paul writes, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children"(24). We are warmed immediately on meeting some Christians but other people leave us cold. The activity or not of the Holy Spirit within makes the difference.
Question for Discussion
1. "Effective sustained growth involves presence, proclamation and promise. "Which of these aspects of ministry do we as a body do well, poorly or not at all?
Notes
(22) Ephesians 3.20,21. (23) Leviticus 17.11 (24) Romans 8.16.
"We are living members of his mystical body"
