We are going to study the work of the Holy Spirit in several parts. First, we will look at everything the Holy Spirit does for you in regards to salvation.
Before you are saved, the Holy Spirit convicts you of your need to be saved. According to Jn 16:7-11, he reproves the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
- He reproves you of the sin of unbelief, because you need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved [Acts 16:31].
- Then he reproves you of righteousness by showing you the vast difference between the unholiness of your self-righteousness and the perfect holiness of Christ’s righteousness, assuring you that you will never match Christ’s righteousness by your own merits. He has to do this work because Jesus is not here for you to see his righteousness; he has gone to be with the Father.
- Then he reproves you of judgment because your father the devil is judged and you will receive the same judgment as him if you neglect Jesus Christ [Matt 25:41, Heb 2:3].
After repenting of your own unrighteousness and turning to Jesus for salvation, the Holy Spirit then does the following things the moment that you receive Jesus Christ. He:
- Regenerates you – Tit 3:5, Jn 3:3-8 – whereby you are now in the generation of Jesus and a child of God [Jn 1:12-13]
- Baptizes into Jesus’ body – 1 Cor 12:13 – whereby you become a member of his flesh and bones [Eph 5:30-32]
- Spiritually circumcises you – Col 2:11-12 – whereby the body of the sins of your flesh is permanently removed from your soul, so that your soul can never be touched by sin again
- Seals you – Eph 1:13-14, Eph 4:30 – whereby you are protected against ever losing your salvation
- Indwells you – Jn 14:16-17; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19 – whereby your body then becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost
- Bears witness with your spirit – Rom 8:16 – whereby you know for certain that you are indeed a child of God
After you are saved, the Holy Spirit starts working in you to bring forth the fruit of your new righteousness in Jesus Christ. He starts producing supernatural fruit in you that manifests the supernatural presence of Jesus Christ in you [Col 1:27]. This fruit is found in Gal 5:22-23 and consists of the following nine things:
- Love – 1 Cor 13:1-8 – love for God and Jesus Christ, love for the Bible and love for others
- Joy – Neh 8:10 – real, lasting joy that doesn’t depend upon favorable circumstances or sensual stimulation
- Peace – Phil 4:6-7 – the peace of God that passeth all understanding
- Longsuffering – 1 Cor 13:4 – the patient ability to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ and his gospel and with those who oppose him
- Gentleness – Eph 4:31-32 – particularly in dealing with people, “as a nurse cherisheth her children,” [1 Thes 2:7]
- Goodness – Rom 12:17-21 – like the very nature of God himself [Ex 34:6]
- Faith – 1 Tim 1:5-6 – believing God and his words without wavering, and walking in that faith with complete trust in God [2 Cor 5:7]
- Meekness – Matt 11:29 – absolutely under the control of God and his Spirit
- Temperance – 1 Cor 9:24-27 – control of the lusts and appetites of the flesh
As the Holy Spirit continually produces this fruit in you, he is also doing some other things for you to help you grow in your new life with the Lord. He:
- Intercedes for you – Rom 8:26-27 – he prays for you when you don’t even know how to pray; he speaks to the Father with groanings which cannot be uttered
- Teaches you – Jn 14:26, 16:13-15, 1 Cor 2:9-10 – he reveals the words of God to you whether you are reading the Bible, studying it or simply listening to it being preached or taught
- Comforts you – Jn 14:15-18 – he gives you supernatural comfort during the reproaches, necessities, afflictions and persecutions of the Christian life
- Gives you power – Eph 3:16, Acts 1:8 – the Holy Spirit gives you the power to do what God wants you to do
- Gives you understanding in spiritual matters – 1 Cor 2:11-16 – spiritual matters are spiritually discerned through the Holy Spirit
In your relationship to the Holy Spirit, you need to be very aware of some things that are required of you. You need to:
- Be filled with the Spirit – Eph 5:18 – the Holy Spirit must fill the entire capacity of your being – your mind, eyes, heart, ears, mouth, hands, feet, everything – all the time
- Be led by the Spirit – Rom 8:14 – the Holy Spirit must be allowed to lead you in your daily life – so yield to him
- Refrain from grieving the Spirit – you can grieve him by:
- Rejection – In Is 53, Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief because he was despised and rejected – likewise you grieve the Spirit when you despise his instruction, reproof, correction, and inspiration
- Disobedience – when you reject his leadership and rule in your life [compare Heb 13:17] – like a teacher trying to teach and unwilling student or a coach trying to coach and unwilling athlete; it’s a grief
- Hardness of Heart – Mk 3:5
- Sin in your life – Gen 18:30
- Refrain from quenching the Spirit – 1 Thes 5:19 you can quench the Spirit by:
- Refusing to preach hell – quench is often used in the Bible in relation to putting out fire [Num 11:2] – however, the fires of hell are unquenchable [Is 66:24] – so when a preacher goes easy on hell, we say that he has a “watered-down” gospel – he’s trying to put the fire out
- Avoiding negative preaching – in Jn 16:8-11 the Spirit reproves the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment – these are negative things – so when you leave out the negative and only preach the positive, you are quenching the Spirit because his work in relation to the lost is mostly negative
- By professing artificial love – in Song of Solomon 8:7, great love is likened to a fire that cannot be quenched – yet today, with all of the “talk” about the love of God, very little of the love of God is actually evident – the love today is sensual, not spiritual – men are lovers of pleasures more that lovers of God [2 Tim 3:4] – they are lovers of their own selves [2 Tim 3:2] – they have left their first love [as in Rev 2:4] – thus the Spirit is quenched – the love is cold and not of God [like Matt 24:12 and not like Rom 5:5] – because the Spirit’s work in the negative has been quenched, so the Spirit’s work in the positive has been quenched, too – the depth of God’s love is better known when I know the depth to which Jesus Christ went to save me from the judgment that I deserve.