If the Holy Spirit Is Everywhere, Why Do We Ask Him to Come?

What changes at Pentecost, in Baptism and Chrismation, and in the Divine Liturgy

In the prayer O Heavenly King, we call the Holy Spirit “everywhere present and filling all things.” Yet in the same prayer we ask Him to “come and abide in us.” If He is already everywhere, why do we ask Him to come? And if He already gives us life, what changes when we are baptized and chrismated?

The answer is an important part of understanding Orthodox Christianity. The Holy Spirit is never absent from creation, but His presence everywhere is not the same as His special gift of new life and communion with God.

God is never absent

The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, fully God with the Father and the Son. The Church confesses Him as the Lord and Giver of Life. Everything that exists depends upon God's continuing love and power. Scripture teaches that God renews living things through His Spirit (Psalm 103:30 in the Greek numbering; Psalm 104:30 in many English Bibles).

God is present to every person, whether baptized or not. He is not distant from those who are still searching for Him. The Holy Spirit can awaken faith, lead someone to repentance, and draw that person toward Christ long before Baptism.

But there is a difference between being sustained by God and living in the new communion with God given in Christ. We can receive the gift of life while resisting the One who gives it. God is always present; we are not always open to Him.

How can the Spirit be “sent” if He is everywhere?

When Scripture says that the Holy Spirit comes or is sent, it does not mean that He travels from a place where He was present to a place where He was absent. God is not limited by space.

Rather, His coming brings about something new in the world or in the people who receive Him. The Spirit does not become more powerful or change in His divine nature. The change takes place in creation, which receives a particular gift of His grace.

Think of the air around us. It is always present, but when it blows as wind, we experience its effects in a new way. Similarly, the Holy Spirit is everywhere present and continually sustains creation, yet He also acts in particular ways to bring about something new (John 3:8). Unlike the wind, the Holy Spirit is a divine Person who does not need to move from place to place or become more powerful. What changes is what He accomplishes through His grace.

The Spirit was active long before Pentecost. He inspired the prophets and sanctified the righteous of the Old Testament. At the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:35). At Christ's Baptism, the Spirit descended in the form of a dove (Luke 3:21–22). In each case, God's Spirit was already present, yet something particular happened through His action.

What was new at Pentecost?

After Christ's death, Resurrection, and Ascension, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Apostles (Acts 2:1–4, 33). They were strengthened to proclaim the risen Christ and to carry His Gospel to the nations.

The Holy Spirit had not been absent from the Apostles before Pentecost. What was new was the gift associated with Christ's completed saving work: participation in the life and mission of the crucified and risen Lord. Pentecost revealed and established the Church's life in the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit did not become a different Spirit. The Apostles received a new gift from the same eternal Spirit.

What changes in Baptism and Chrismation?

Baptism is much more than washing away past sins or making a public statement of faith. Through water and the Holy Spirit, we are born anew, joined to Christ's death and Resurrection, and incorporated into His Body, the Church (John 3:5; Romans 6:3–5). Saint Paul describes Baptism as putting on Christ (Galatians 3:27).

Chrismation belongs together with Baptism, and the Holy Spirit is active in both Mysteries. In Chrismation, the newly baptized person is anointed with holy chrism and receives the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is sometimes called our personal participation in Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit was not absent from us before Baptism. He was already at work drawing us toward Christ. Through Baptism and Chrismation, however, we receive a new gift of communion with God. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit gives us new life in Christ; in Chrismation, we receive the seal of His gift. Through His grace, we are strengthened to struggle against sin, grow in holiness, and become more like Christ.

This does not mean that every sinful habit immediately disappears. Baptism gives us a new beginning; the Christian life is the lifelong journey of cooperating with God's grace through repentance, prayer, obedience, love, and the Mysteries of the Church.

Saint Basil the Great helps explain this distinction. He teaches that the Spirit is present everywhere, while people participate in His sanctifying gifts according to their receptivity and purification. God's presence does not vary from place to place; our participation in His life can grow. (On the Holy Spirit, chapter 9, §§22–23; paraphrased.)

What happens to the bread and wine in the Divine Liturgy?

The same distinction helps us understand the Eucharist. God already sustains the bread and wine in existence. Yet during the Divine Liturgy, the Church offers them to the Father and invokes the Holy Spirit upon the people and the gifts. By God's action, the offered bread and wine become the true Body and Blood of Christ.

This is not merely a new way of thinking about ordinary bread and wine. Something real happens to the offered gifts: they become the Body and Blood of Christ. The Spirit does not need to travel to the altar. He acts in a particular way to sanctify what the Church offers. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem teaches this in his explanation of the Eucharistic prayer (Mystagogical Catechesis 5, §7).

Through Holy Communion, we receive the true Body and Blood of Christ, strengthening our union with Him and helping us grow in holiness. In Confession, God forgives our sins and heals our communion with Him when it has been wounded by sin. In Holy Unction, we seek healing of soul and body and strength in times of suffering. In all these Holy Mysteries, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit act together, giving us divine grace that helps us live according to Christ's teachings.

Why, then, do we ask the Spirit to abide in us?

When we ask the Holy Spirit to come and abide in us, we are asking Him to purify our hearts, strengthen us to resist sin, and guide us toward deeper communion with Christ. Through His grace, we receive the strength to repent, follow Christ's commandments, and grow in holiness as we freely cooperate with His work in our daily lives.

The fruit becomes visible when we choose repentance instead of excuses, forgiveness instead of resentment, and love instead of selfishness (Galatians 5:22–23). We cannot make ourselves holy by willpower alone. The Spirit helps us turn toward Christ, and we must freely cooperate with His grace.

The Holy Spirit is everywhere present, but His indwelling in us brings us into a new relationship of communion with God. Through Baptism and Chrismation, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us to repent, struggle against our sinful tendencies, and follow Christ's commandments. As we freely cooperate with His grace, we gradually become more humble, loving, forgiving, and pure in heart, growing in the likeness of Christ.

Questions for reflection

1. If the Holy Spirit is everywhere, what do we mean when we ask Him to come and abide in us?

2. Why was Pentecost something new if the Holy Spirit was already active in the world?

3. How are Baptism and Chrismation more than a change in our beliefs or feelings?

4. What are practical ways to cooperate with the Holy Spirit's work each day?

Sources for further study

1. Scripture: Psalm 103(104):30; Luke 1:35; Luke 3:21–22; John 3:5; Acts 2:1–4, 33; Romans 6:3–5; Galatians 3:27; 5:22–23.

2. Saint Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit, chapter 9, §§22–23 (teaching paraphrased above).

3. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Catecheses 3, §§1–4 (Chrismation), and 5, §7 (the Eucharistic invocation).

4. The Orthodox prayer O Heavenly King; the Anaphora of the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom.

5. Orthodox Church in America, The Orthodox Faith, Volume I, “The Holy Spirit”; Volume II, “The Sacraments” and “Chrismation.”