Work of the Holy Spirit

This next post has taken me a long time to write, partly because I have been very busy, but also because I have thought long and hard about what I would like to say and how I want to say it. The issue of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is a difficult subject, the “Third Person of Trinity” often appears as a mysterious figure in the background or is only seen implicitly in many passages. In my experience, many Christians admit to a very limited understanding of role of the Holy Spirit. In that light, let me share some of the conclusions I have come to about the Holy Spirit, and as always, if you have anything to add, or any disagreements, I want to hear both.

The Bible communicates that the Holy works within several arenas in both the believer’s and the non-believer’s life. I have roughly broken the Holy Spirit’s work into five areas:

The Holy Spirit Draws the non-believer to God/Is the Agent of Salvation

Whenever the Bible talks about the work of God in pursuing individuals to bring into His kingdom, the Holy Spirit is mentioned as the active party involved in that work.

Titus 3:4-7
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

1 Corinthians 12:1-3
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

Before a person even makes a decision to follow Christ, the Holy Spirit begins the work of drawing him God. There are many influences working on an individual in the time before he makes a decision, the witness of friends and family, the surmounting of intellectual “road blocks,” a burgeoning awareness of spiritual emptiness, etc. But throughout the process the Holy Spirit is actively preparing the heart and mind to be open to the good news of Christ.

In John 10:1-29 Jesus relates the famous parable of the Good Shepherd. Perhaps unfortunately, the most well known verse of this passage is, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (vs 27). In isolation, many Christians have mistaken this to be a promise that Jesus will guide them in their decision making processes (i.e. I hear His voice telling me to move to Kentucky). However, in the context of the entire chapter it becomes clear that the voice is the call to salvation (made through the Holy Spirit) that the true seekers of God will recognize and respond to; not a promise of individual guidance.

Romans 8:9-11 and Titus 3:4-7 make it explicitly clear that life/resurrection from the dead is granted on the basis of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is through the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit that believers are justified and progressively sanctified.

The Holy Spirit Acts as the “Bridge” between God and Man

The Holy Spirit is a “bridge” between believers and God. When the New Testament talks about our access to God, or about God being “with us,” it is often qualified with the words “in the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the member of the Trinity who is “with us,” and in whom we find our place with God the Father.

Ephesians 2:17-22
AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14
For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.

1 John 4:11-13
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Comforts/Encourages the Followers of God

One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believing followers of Jesus is to uplift, encourage, and sustain them, despite their circumstances. Besides the passages below, one only needs to read the accounts of the early believers and Apostles in the book of Acts, or the grisly accounts of persecution in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, to see the utterly unnatural peace with which believers faced torture and death for their allegiance to Christ.

Romans 8:16-17
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Romans 14:15-18
For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit "Amplifies" the Conscience

As the follower of Jesus grows in maturity and his relationship with The Savior, the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and is tirelessly working to mold him more and more to the image of Christ. This is what the Bible refers to as "Sanctification."

John 16:7-11
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”

Romans 8:10-14
If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

A brief comment on Romans 8:14: When read in isolation (and when a specific meaning is poured into the word “led”) it can appear to be saying that Christians will be “led by Spirit,” as in “led to the job God wants me to have,” “led to marry this person,” or “led to go into this ministry.” However, I hope that it’s clear from the context of the passage that “being led by the spirit” means helping the believer to “[put] to death the deeds of the body;” i.e., the Spirit convicts the believer of sin and “leads” him to live in a righteous manner.

The Holy Spirit Provides Insight/Inspiration

These are interesting passages which not only exemplify the work of the Spirit in inspiring the prophets and apostles, but seem to provide for some manner of similar inspiration in the lives of all believers. I’m sure many of you know of people who came to Jesus later in life and have described the Bible as being unintelligible before their acceptance of salvation, but clear after such acceptance (at least the essentials were). While I’m not entirely sure how I feel about such statements as a whole, I don’t doubt that the Spirit did play a role in helping these new believers to a place of some increased understanding.

2 Peter 1:20-21
But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Acts 1:15-17
At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said, "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry."

John 16:12-15
“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

Conclusion

As I wrote at the beginning, my main purpose for this post was to touch briefly on a large part of God's work in the lives of believers that is often a mystery to us. In case you didn’t notice there were not any passages that identified a role of the Holy Spirit in guiding believers to the specific decisions that God wants them to make . The Holy Spirit accomplishes many works in the lives of believers, but offering specific guidance in day-to-day decisions doesn’t appear to be one of them.

P.S. As always, if you disagree, or have something to add, please post it. I want to know when I’m wrong and if I have missed wonderful point that could have been made.