The Work of the Holy Spirit: Part 1

This is the beginning of a 5-part series about the work with the Holy Spirit. To say that there has been a lot of confusion and contention regarding the work of the Holy Spirit since the birth of the Church would be an understatement. There are times when just the mention of the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit can create consternation and chaos within a local church body. It is sad that we have allowed what was meant to unify us to instead cause so much division and separation within the Body of Christ.

This is one area of church life where the enemy is able to come in and sow seeds of confusion and doubt and division. Before we can begin to counteract this, it is imperative that we have a working understanding of the ministry of Holy Spirit. We all have different ideas and different beliefs of what the work of the Spirit is within the Church. To that end, this series is intended to help us all understand how the Holy Spirit functions and manifests himself within the Body of Christ.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

I believe it is safe to say that the Holy Spirit is probably the least understood person of the Trinity. For the most part, I believe that the majority of us have a handle on Jesus being our Savior and Redeemer. Being humans ourselves, we can relate to Jesus because he was human as well. As believers, we understand and can accept that he lived a sinless life. We can grasp his sacrificial death on Calvary and his resurrection three days later as a payment for our sin.

Most of us can wrap our head around God being our Heavenly Father, though some of us may have more of a problem connecting with a father than others, but we understand what a father is. We can relate with the father of the prodigal son that we read about in Luke 15. In our mind’s eye, we can see this father standing out there watching and waiting for his son to return. We can see him running at full speed when he sees his wayward son in the distance. We can make that connection. But the Holy Spirit? Where does he fit in? How do we describe his role? What exactly is he all about? These are questions that are more difficult to answer. These are topics that we really do need to explore.

The Holy Spirit has been described as a force like in the movie, Star Wars, where the “force” is some universal power that fills creation and that only special people are able to harness and use. The Holy Spirit has also been described as a ghost. In several Bible translations, he is referred to as the Holy Ghost. That term by itself has an eerie or scary connotation.

The Holy Spirit is sometimes thought of as a second-class, second-rate, or second string member of the Godhead – not quite on the top tier, but rather serving in a supporting role, perhaps. In contrast with the Father and the Son, we have nothing in this world or in our physical existence that we can equate or relate to the Holy Spirit’s presence, to his work, or to his being.

Describing the Work of the Spirit

When we speak of the Holy Spirit, he is often confused with his manifestations themselves. There have been many times when I have heard comments like: “We sure felt the Holy Spirit moving in church this morning,” or maybe something like, “Did you see Sister So-and-So get hit with the Holy Spirit at that meeting last night? That sure was something!”

In cases like these, the Holy Spirit is presented as a mystical presence that Spirit is here one minute and gone the next – as if he only shows up on a whim. When we talk about the Holy Spirit, we will oftentimes say that we are waiting “for the Spirit to fall” when we’re waiting for a sense of his presence. Many people think that he can only be experienced infrequently like in a special church service or once in a blue moon, as the saying goes.

The Holy Spirit has Feelings

The bottom line is that the Holy Spirit is a person. He’s an individual just as real as an important as the father and his Jesus. The Holy Spirit is a person with feelings just like you and me. In the Word, we find that the Holy Spirit can be grieved, that he can be quenched, and can be resisted. These are all things that we can feel or experience at the hand of others. Have you ever been blasphemed? Have you been accused wrongly or spoken ill of? Of course you have! So has he.

The Holy Spirit has Characteristics

Not only does the Holy Spirit have feelings like you and me, but the Holy Spirit also has individual characteristics. What are his characteristics? A list of his characteristics can be found in Galatians 5:22-23. Here it says that the fruit of the Holy Spirit includes love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. These are the actual characteristics of the Holy Spirit. (We will go through each of these in detail in subsequent posts in this series. In this post, we are simply building background. We are laying the groundwork necessary for our future explorations.)

The Holy Spirit has Purpose

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity along with the Father and with Jesus. Just like them, he has purpose. In the beginning, the Holy Spirit was part of the creation process. Another purpose of the Holy Spirit is to teach. He is also here to guide us. The Holy Spirit encourages us and convicts us. (If you are reading this, you likely have been convicted by the Holy Spirit at some point in time.) The Holy Spirit also is here to intercede for us, and he’s here to sanctify and to seal us for the Kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit has Functions

The Holy Spirit is also a person with functions or actions. The Holy Spirit has tasks to perform within the Church. This is where the biggest controversies regarding the Holy Spirit arise. The most well-known Holy Spirit functions in the Word are found in I Corinthians 12. Here we find a list of the “gifts,” as we typically call them. We will talk more about that term later, but these are actually the functions or actions of the Holy Spirit. These are the things that he does.

The functions listed in I Corinthians 12 include a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Those last two “gifts” have caused more problems in the Church than any of us could imagine. We will be looking at each of these functions in detail as well in subsequent posts.

Why was the Holy Spirit Revealed?

We usually say that the Holy Spirit was “sent” after Jesus ascended to the Father. Jesus said that he had to return to the Father and that he would send the Comforter. Ten days later, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was revealed to the disciples who were waiting in the upper room like Jesus commanded. We can read that story in Acts 2.

While that was quite an event, the Holy Spirit has always been here. From the very beginning, the Holy Spirit has played an important role in the affairs of man. As I mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit was an instrumental part of creation. It says in Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. Now the Earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” 

We also find him mentioned in Exodus 31:2-3 where God said he had filled Bezalel, who was a gifted craftsman, with the Holy Spirit. It says, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge, and with all kinds of skills.” Bezalel was filled with the Holy Spirit though perhaps not in the same way that we experience today. The Holy Spirit is credited with endowing this man with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skills. Does the Holy Spirit still do this kind of work today? I believe he does. The same God that did those things in the past continues to do those same things in the lives of people today.

Throughout the Old Testament, we see time and again instances where the Holy Spirit rested upon and equipped men for important tasks. We see this in the lives of Moses and the 70 elders. We also see the Spirit resting on the judges of Israel: on Othniel, Gideon, Jephthah, and Sampson. We see in the Word that the Holy Spirit came up on King Saul and he prophesied. We also see throughout the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit spoke “the Word of the Lord” to the various prophets as they prophesied to the nations.

David was intimately aware of the work and the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 139:7-12, we read, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast.” In Psalm 51:10-11, David writes, “Create in me a pure heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me. Do not cast me away from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” David was keenly aware that the Holy Spirit rested upon him.

Moving over to the New Testament, we find Mary talking with an angel in Luke 1:35. The angel tells her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” We read in Matthew 3:16, when Jesus is being baptized by John, “At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and a lighting on him.” And in John 14:16-17, just before his crucifixion, Jesus gives us the promise of the Holy Spirit, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth.” 

But there is a big difference with this promise. In the past, the presence of the Holy Spirit, or being equipped for a task, had been temporary and for a specific time and place. This promise that Jesus makes here is a forever promise. Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit becoming an in dwelling presence. He is saying that the Spirit of God would be living inside us and interacting with us moment by moment from within our regenerated human spirit.

What About This Spirit of Truth?

In John 8:31-32 we read, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” Jesus said that if we follow his teachings – that is, if we obey his commands – that we will know the truth, and that it will set us free.

A little later, in John 14:6, Jesus declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Here Jesus proclaimed that he himself is the truth. Later in that same chapter (John 14:26), Jesus again references the Advocate whom he had mentioned before, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father was sending in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I’ve said to you.” 

This time Jesus is referring to him as the Holy Spirit, an entity that the disciples were already aware of and familiar with having seen and heard the reference throughout the Old Testament. Jesus then explained what the Holy Spirit would do: the Holy Spirit would teach them and bring to their remembrance everything that Jesus had taught them over the past three years. I believe that promise is for us today as well.

In John 16:13 Jesus again referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth, “But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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.” Did you notice that word “all?” The Holy Spirit will not guide us into just some of the truth or most of the truth, the Holy Spirit will guide us into all the truth.

What is Truth?

Men have been asking that question for thousands and thousands of years and still haven’t figured it out. As believers, we know that real and absolute truth can only be found in God himself. The simplest definition of truth that I have is this: Truth embodies the mind, nature, character, will, and being of God. To put it even more simply, truth is God explaining himself, as only he can do. The Holy Spirit will then guide us into knowing and understanding our God to the fullest extent possible as we avail ourselves to him.

Building the Body

Even with the best and most noble of intentions, it is impossible for man to build the Body of Christ. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Word says in Psalm 127:1 that “unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” It is not the job of a minister standing in front of a group of people like thousands are doing across this nation every week. A pastor, lay leader, elder, or minister of whatever stripe has no power or ability to build the body of Christ. That is the exclusive work of the Holy Spirit, which is done on an individual by individual basis.

The Holy Spirit accomplishes this in the hearts and the lives of those who are called to be believers. It is a daily work. It is a moment-by-moment work that does not require a religious degree, a scientific formula, a mission statement, or a 5-year plan. The Body of Christ can only be built through a relationship with the Holy Spirit and by the power of God.

We will be studying, investigating, and discovering the work of the Holy Spirit over the next few posts. I hope you will join us.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®

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