By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

www.godsbreathpublications.com

    

Jesus our risen Savior, Lord and Master resides in Heaven and He is our Advocate our Helper, but He has given us another Helper to live within us, the Holy Spirit. John quotes Christ regarding this in John 14:15-17, 26, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Here Jesus explains that it is critical that we obey His commands as followers of Christ and the Holy Spirit will help us accomplish this holy calling as He lives within us. We are told here that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things pertaining to spiritual life and will remind us of the teachings of Jesus contained in the Holy Word. It is such a blessing to have the Holy Spirit, another counselor or helper, living within us as a follower of Christ. What a privilege to have God’s Spirit taking up residence within us!

 

The Greek word for “another” is “allos” and “helper” is “parakletos” which is also translated “one who is called alongside.” The Holy Spirit comes alongside us in our relationship with God to comfort, guide, convict, encourage, instruct and support us. The Holy Spirit manifested Himself in many different forms in the Old and New Testament, but He is not an impersonal force or power, He is the third Person of the Trinity and possesses many characteristics and traits that reflect His character and personhood.

 

The Holy Spirit hears and speaks (John 16:13). He wills and directs (1 Corinthians 12:11). He loves us (Romans 5:5). He has knowledge (1 Corinthians 2:11). He teaches (John 14:26). He intercedes for us (Romans 8:26). He chooses (Acts 15:28). He can be grieved by our actions (Ephesians 4:30). He gives commands (Acts16:6-7). He has fellowship with us (2 Corinthians 13:14). He can be angered (Isaiah 63:10). He can be resisted (Acts 7:51). He can be blasphemed (Matthew 12:31). All these characteristics reveal that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or power. He is a spiritual being that responds to us and our actions. He loves us deeply and seeks to encourage us to become holy and Christ-like.

 

In the New Testament we find that He was active in many ways in the lives of individuals according to the plan and will of God the Father. He was responsible for the conception of Jesus (Matthew 1:18). He took on the form of a dove and descended upon Jesus and anointed Him by the will of the Father. After this anointing the Holy Spirit directed Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted and continued to direct Him in Jesus’ entire ministry on the earth. The relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit is very apparent in the Bible as we see Jesus doing the will of the Father and being directed accordingly by the Holy Spirit. This serves as an example for us who are called to be like Christ. We do the Father’s will and obey Him by walking in the Spirit as Jesus walked in His life on earth.

 

It is important for us to know that there are a total of nine actions the Holy Spirit is involved with in the saving work that is done in our lives when we accept Christ as our Savior, Lord and Master. These actions or ministries continue in our lives if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

 

Action One

The Holy Spirit Energizes the Truth in our Mind

 

The Holy Spirit energizes God’s truth in our mind. He energizes preachers and teachers to teach God’s Word and he energizes those hearing it to understand, comprehend and seek to apply it. It is one thing to simply read the words on the pages of Holy Scripture. It is another to have the words energized so that they come to life and produce a desire to obey them through a love for God and others. This takes place first in our lives before we are a Christian as the Holy Spirit comes upon us and seeks to convict us through God’s Word that we are sinful and need redemption. The Holy Spirit desires to bring us into a relationship with Christ before we are a believer and He will energize truth in our mind. This is the truth we hear as Christians witness to us and as we read the Bible. Without the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives energizing the truth in our minds we would never come to Christ on our own. The Holy Spirit is always involved in the process of a person coming to Christ and this is through Him bringing to life the gospel message in our heart. Once we accept Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit continues to teach, expound and explain the Word of God to us as we grow in grace, knowledge and obedience to Holy Scripture.

 

1 Peter 1:12 – “It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.”

 

Here we see that true Biblical preaching takes place when the Holy Spirit motivates pastors and teachers to preach the gospel and instruct others in holy living.

   

John 16:8, 13-14 – “When he comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”

 

Here it is established in fact that not only does the Holy Spirit convict men and women of their sin, He also guides them in God’s Truth. He communicates God’s truth and it will always be in accordance with God’s Word. Ephesians 5:18 commands us to be filled with the Spirit and Colossians 3:16 tells us to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. So as we allow the Holy Scriptures to dwell within us, we will be filled with the Spirit and He will illuminate their meaning to us and encourage us to obey and live them out in love through the grace of God.

 

John 6:45 – “It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.‘ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me.”

 

John quotes Isaiah 54:13 here and it refers to the fact that Christians will be taught by the Holy Spirit who will live within them because they are followers of Christ.

    

1 John 2:26-27 – “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him.” Here John is not saying that Christians do not need pastors or biblical teachers for spiritual education and encouragement. His meaning is in reference to false teachers who are attempting to lead Christians astray with false doctrine. John is stating that followers of Christ have the Holy Spirit living within them to help them discern true doctrine. The Holy Spirit will illuminate the truth of God’s Word to them and allow them to grow spiritually. John is encouraging the Christians he is writing to, to say to the false teachers that are trying to lead them astray, that they have the spiritual anointing of the Holy Spirit and they do not need the false teachers to teach them. He is trying to impress upon the first century Christians and to us today, that in essence we have a Holy Teacher within us, the Holy Spirit, who will guide us in our spiritual lives.

Action Two

The Holy Spirit Convicts a Person of Their Sin

 

The Saving Work of the Holy Spirit begins when He convicts us of sin as a non-believer. Before we become a follower of Christ we live by a code of ethics that is based on our own personal morality. Often we feel we are a rather good person because we compare ourselves to others who are much worse. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us and energizes God’s Truth in our heart and mind we begin to realize that the standard we live by is much less than what God requires. Through this process of illumination of God’s truth a godly conviction grips our heart and convicts our mind that we are more sinful than we think, more sinful than we could ever imagine. As we realize the penalty for this sin is death and that without belief in Christ we are doomed to eternal separation from God and condemned to hell, we begin to seek God.

 

John 16:7-11 – “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

 

Here in the gospel of John we see Jesus explaining why it was necessary for Him to return to Heaven. Unless He went to Heaven the Holy Spirit could not come to indwell those who accepted Him as their Savior, Lord and Master. Jesus also explains here that one ministry of the Holy Spirit would be to convict the world of guilt due to its sin.

 

Action Three

The Holy Spirit Stimulates Repentance in Us

 

It stands to reason that if the Holy Spirit energizes God’s Truth in our hearts and minds  as non-believers and if this leads to a conviction of sin in our lives the next step we will take is repenting of our sin and seeking Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. As you can see from what I have shared so far, the ministry of the Holy Spirit involves a progressive drawing of people to God through energizing spiritual truth found in God’s Word within them, which convicts them of the sin that is in their life, which then can lead to their repentance of such sin and a seeking after Jesus Christ to be their Savior. They do this by repenting of sin and accepting His sacrifice for their sins on the cross.

   

2 Timothy 2:25-26 – “Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

 

Here Paul is instructing Timothy in his role as a pastor/teacher. Paul is telling Timothy that as the Holy Spirit ministers through Him to others, they will be convicted of sin and repent. As they continue gain knowledge of God’s Truth from the ministry of the Holy Spirit they will escape from the traps of the devil. Therefore they will be released from their captivity by sin that Satan uses to dominate people’s lives. All this Timothy can accomplish as the Holy Spirit works in his life and the lives of others.     

    

2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

 

The Holy Spirit keeps the promises of God laid down in scripture. God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit all desire that no one perish because of their sins. God desires to have people repent of their sins because the Holy Spirit has convicted them of their evil deeds and thoughts after He has energized the Truth of God in their minds.

 

In our next segment, we’ll continue to cover the other actions and ministries of the Holy Spirit that He carries out in the life of a follower of Christ.

 

Ephesians 4:30 – “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”