He’s a busy Spirit!
In my nightmares, I am terrified that many of my Christian
friends at Hebron would agree with the sentiments of Acts 19:2. When asked
about the work of the Holy Spirit, these baby disciples respond with the
observation, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Not even
heard of Him! Egads! The dream gets worse when I think I might be part of the
problem: that I haven’t shared enough about what the Bible says about the
Spirit, what He has done in my life, what I know to be true of His Presence.
And then I wake up, and pray…Lord, fill us with your Spirit!
When the Bible speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit, it
describes His actions in various ways—His actions in creation, in God’s
providential guiding of this world, in writing the Bible, in convicting and
judging sin in this world, and in applying Christ’s salvation into our lives.
With all this and more, the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in Creation.
I want to focus on the Spirit’s work of “applying Christ’s
salvation into our lives.” We believe that Jesus’ death on the cross freed us
from our bondage to sin. But, how do we become aware of that? How does what
Jesus did work into our lives? This is part of what the Spirit does in the life
of the believer.
- Conviction: The Spirit brings to mind the presence of residual sin in our lives—having forgiven us, the Spirit draws us to confession (John 16:8).
- Regeneration: Through the ministry
of the Spirit a person is born again, receives eternal life, and is renewed
(John 3:3-8).
- Indwelling: The Spirit abides in
the believer (Romans 8:9-11).
- Sealing: God seals believers with
the Spirit, marking us with ownership and the promise of final redemption
(Ephesians 1:13).
- Filling: Believers are “filled”
with the Spirit, strengthened to spiritual growth, maturity, and faithfulness
far beyond our natural abilities (Ephesians 5:18).
- Guidance: We are to walk in the
Spirit and be led by the Spirit, avoiding legalism and sin, providing
discipline and direction (Galatians 5:16).
- Empowering: The indwelling Spirit
provides victory in the Christian life (Romans 8:13).
- Teaching: Jesus promises that the
Spirit will lead believers into the truth, illuminating the mind, and restoring
God’s will through the Word (John 14:26)
And, the best of all…
- Transformation: The work of the
Spirit is the means by which we are transformed more and more, day by day, into
the image of Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Well, I guess I don’t know if “transformation” is the best
or not, since, really, all the works of the Spirit are life to the believer!
I hope and pray that your awareness of the Spirit’s presence
and work deepens, grows, and matures more and more every day. Join us this
Sunday as we worship our Triune God!
In preparation for worship this Sunday, read John 14:15-18 and 16:7-15.
1. In 14:16, the Spirit is referred to as “another Helper.”
Another than who? What does that tell us about who the Spirit is? He is also
referred to as “the Spirit of truth.” What might that imply?
2. In verse 15, Jesus speaks of love and keeping
commandments, then immediately speaks about the Spirit. What connection might
there be between the three?
3. In 16:7, Jesus says that it is better for Him to go away
so that the Spirit might come. Why might that be hard to believe? What
confidence does the list above inspire?
4. Read verses 8-11 carefully. What sense can you make of
these? How does the Spirit convict the world of sin? Of righteousness? Of
judgment?
5. Verse 13. How might the Spirit lead you into all truth? Have
you had any experience of this work of the Spirit in your life?
