The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

Part Three

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

www.godsbreathpublications.com

   

In our last segment of this series on the Holy Spirit we learned that Jesus sent us another Advocate when He ascended to Heaven. This Advocate, Helper and Counselor whom we know as the Holy Spirit, indwells us when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, Lord and Master. We also learned that the Holy Spirit is instrumental in us coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. He energizes the truth in our mind, He convicts us of sin in our life as He uses the Word of God to demonstrate the judgment we are under because we are sinners. This conviction which the Holy Spirit brings upon us leads to repentance of our sins and us seeking a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful influence the Holy Spirit has on our lives, but only if we respond to His ministry. Once we respond to these early influences in our spiritual lives He continues His ministry by indwelling us and growing us in Christ through His ongoing influence in our lives.

 

Action Four

The Holy Spirit Causes Spiritual Regeneration

 

John 3:3-6 – “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

 

Here Jesus is telling Nicodemus that no one can become a member of the family of God and enter His Heavenly Kingdom unless he is purified by the washing away of his sins through the ministry of the Holy Spirit as he accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. When we are born again, the process of spiritual regeneration begins. This is the starting point of a Christian’s walk with Christ. It is a spiritual birth that is made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross and is empowered by the ministry of the Holy Spirit upon that person’s life in Christ. The sacrifice of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in spiritual regeneration are intimately involved in not only the spiritual birth of a new follower of Christ, but also in their maturing faith in God the Father.

   

Titus 3:5-7 – “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

 

Here Paul instructs Titus in the truth that we are not saved by any righteous obedient deeds that we do, but only by the mercy of God the Father provided by Jesus Christ His Son and applied by the Holy Spirit upon our lives.  He states that we are washed clean of our sins by being spiritually reborn and being renewed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. He further shares with Titus that God is not stingy with His Spirit, but pours it generously upon us through the person of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We are saved not by righteous deeds but only by the unmerited grace of God. Because of this we become members of the family of God and His heirs, having the hope of eternal life. Paul’s words to Titus shout down through the centuries that the Holy Spirit renews us as we are spiritually born by the grace of God the Father, due to the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross for our sins and through the renewal of our spirit and mind made possible by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

 

Action Five

The Holy Spirit Takes Up Residence within Us

 

Acts 2:38 – “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

 

Here Luke verifies the fact that when we repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift is a permanent residence of God’s Spirit within us as we live for Christ. Though being baptized with water is not required for salvation, it is a symbol of our obedience to Christ’s commands and an acknowledgement that we wish to follow His example. This scripture verifies that we receive the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion.

   

1 Corinthians 12:13 – “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

 

Here in Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth he states that the unifying factor for the followers of Christ is that all believers are unified as one when they receive the Holy Spirit upon repentance and confession of their sins, accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. No one is left out of the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit is not something you must work for or earn. You receive Him as a gift from God when you commit your life to Christ. It is also indicated here that there is but ONE Holy Spirit who indwells all believers which gives us a glimpse of the massiveness of God, of His ability to have intimate relationships with millions of individuals through the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Holy Spirit.

 

Romans 8:9-11 – “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”

 

In this passage of Romans Paul tells us that once we accept Christ as Lord and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit we can now be controlled by the Holy Spirit living within us. We belong to Christ if the Holy Spirit lives within us. We do not belong to ourselves, but to God. While we often struggle with sin as Christians, Paul is telling us here that we must resist the temptation to let our sinful flesh control our lives. We are to let the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, give us the power to live according to the way of Christ. The Spirit will convict us of sin and lead us along a path out of that sinful thought or action. He will also train us in how to avoid sin. He will show us what to do to become more Christ-like in our thought life as well as our behavior by changing us from the inside out as we dwell on God’s Word. We grow spiritually in our relationship to our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and yes, the Holy Spirit as well, when we respond to the Spirit’s presence within us.

    

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

 

Here in this most amazing passage of scripture Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth and us today, that God owns us when we accept Jesus as Lord. In America we pride ourselves in having freedom to choose whatever path we wish to take. But as followers of Christ we must remember that while we have many freedoms as individuals, our ultimate allegiance and commitment is to our God. We are no longer dead in our sins, but a “living sanctuary” in which the Holy Spirit of God lives. God actually lives within us as the Holy Spirit, therefore we are to live as if we were a temple dedicated to our Heavenly Father. You wouldn’t expect a church to be involved in sinful actions, promiscuous activities or evil intentions and neither should we as followers of Christ. When we choose to sin, we dishonor the Holy Spirit who lives within us. We disobey God who calls us to holiness. We fail to walk as Jesus walked and when we sin we actually grieve the Holy Spirit. We should honor God in and with our body. This means not just in our outward behaviors and actions, but also in our thought life and the deepest recesses of our minds and spirits.

 

Action 6

We Are Baptized with the Holy Spirit

into the Body of Christ by Jesus Christ

 

1 Corinthians 12:11-13 – “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

 

Here in this passage Paul has been talking about the spiritual gifts that are given to followers of Christ for the edification or benefit of the local church body of believers. He is emphasizing that while there are many different types of gifts, abilities and ministries that are bestowed upon Christians to serve each other in the local congregation; they are all given by the Holy Spirit. Paul is stressing that the Holy Spirit determines which gifts are given to each specific individual. He wants to make sure that followers of Christ know that while there is a great diversity in gifts and abilities in the church that we are all united by the fact that we were all baptized with the Holy Spirit. We all receive the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Jesus Christ is the one who performs this baptism as it is referenced in Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16 and John 1:26,33. This baptism with the Holy Spirit is not only a marvelous gift of God; it is also a privilege that enhances our relationship with our Heavenly Father. It unifies us with other followers of Christ. It signifies to us that we truly belong to God and that He has worked and will continue to work in our lives to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. What an honor and responsibility it is to have the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

 

We will continue with three more actions of the Holy Spirit that take place when we accept Christ as Savior and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit in segment four of this series.