The Holy Spirit Works...

Empowered for Christlike Living & Serving

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John 14:16–17 [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, [17] even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

The Holy Spirit Works Distinctively

“Our danger is not ‘over-reliance’ right down to the trivial things of life; its under-reliance because of self-sufficiency. - Aron Osborne (last Sunday)

“The work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church.” WAYNE GRUDEM (Systematic Theology)

“Jesus is the perfect Son whose obedience is counted as our own—the basis upon which the Father adopts us as his beloved children. The Spirit comes into our hearts as the spirit of sonship (Rom. 8:15)—freeing us from our orphan-like ways, leading us into greater intimacy with the Father and the Son. It is astonishing: we are the room in which the Trinity takes up residence (John 14:17, 20), becoming the new temple among all nations.” (ESV Gospel Transformation Bible)

The Holy Spirit Works Divinely

"The work of the Holy Spirit is the work of God. Illustrated through creation, providence, the Incarnation, regeneration (salvation) and sanctification (being changed "from one degree of Glory to another), we observe in various ways the Divine Spirit at work. Since the Holy Spirit is invariably shown to be doing the work of God, then He must be God. For the picture is never of one less than God performing God's work; rather the Holy Spirit is God Himself in action." - Williams, Renewal Theology

“Jesus is the perfect Son whose obedience is counted as our own—the basis upon which the Father adopts us as his beloved children. The Spirit comes into our hearts as the spirit of sonship (Rom. 8:15)—freeing us from our orphan-like ways, leading us into greater intimacy with the Father and the Son. It is astonishing: we are the room in which the Trinity takes up residence (John 14:17, 20), becoming the new temple among all Nations.” (ESV Systematic Theology Bible)

The Holy Spirit Works In Our Salvation

 - Convicts - “[7] Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. [8] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: [9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; [10] concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; [11] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” John 16:7–11

 - Converts - “[4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:4–5

 - Applies - ‘[9] You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10] But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11] If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:9–11

When the Spirit dwells in us, we have the Spirit of Christ (v. 10), and if the Spirit is in us, we will have life in Jesus Christ (v. 11). In short, when you have the Spirit, you have Christ; and when you have Christ, you have the Spirit. The Holy Spirit unites us to Christ, because the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. He is the Spirit of adoption, making us children of God the Father by joining us to Christ our brother (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6; Heb. 2:17). God, by the Spirit, has torn the “first Adam” jersey from our backs and put us on the “second Adam” team. - Kevin DeYoung

 - Comfort for followers of Jesus

The Holy Spirit Works For Our Maturity

 - Glorify God - [25] “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. [26] But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 14:25–26 - “[14] He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:14

 - Sanctifies (Fruit of the Spirit) - “Though we must make effort in our growth in godliness (2 Pet. 1:5), the Spirit empowers through and through. The Bible is not a cheap infomercial telling us to change and then serving as an enthusiastic cheerleader: “You can do it!” We have already been changed. We are already new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) and have a new strength at work in our inner being (Eph. 3:16), producing gospel fruit in us by the Spirit (Gal.5:22–23). The Bible expects that because God dwells in us by the Spirit, we can, by that same Spirit, begin to share in the qualities that are characteristic of God himself (2 Pet. 1:4). Of course there is still a fight within us. But with the Spirit there can be genuine progress and victory. The New Testament simply asks us to be who we are.” - Kevin DeYoung

The Holy Spirit Works His Mission, Through Us

 - Equips (Gifts) - “Gift” is another way to talk about the Spirit’s equipping work. The word “gift” (charisma) is a flexible term.18 Most broadly, a gift is simply the manifestation of God’s grace in and through his people. In 1 Corinthians 12:4–6, a gift is equivalent to service or activity. The major gift lists in the New Testament are not meant to be exhaustive descriptions of the Spirit’s equipping. Paul is simply saying, the church is made up of all sorts of people doing all kinds of things by the hand of God. Wherever God’s grace is evident in his people for the common good, there we see spiritual gifts at work. The purpose of spiritual gifts is not to impress or even to provide a powerful personal experience. The manifestation of the Spirit is for the common good and the edification of the church (1 Cor. 12:7; 14:12,26). The gifts are for service and ministry for the benefit of the body of Christ. - Kevin DeYoung

The Holy Spirit Works To Remind Us Of His Promises

“[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” Ephesians 1:3 “[13] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13–14

How’s this for just one of the amazing promises that the Holy Spirit reminds us of… turn back to John 14 [18] “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18 “[15] For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

We don’t simply want to think about the Holy Spirit in a way that focuses on what He does for us, we want to grow in understanding who He is in us and because of His work, who we are in Him...

Application

Where is the Holy Spirit “at work” in/through you right now?

Who are you in community with to work through this with?

The importance of the Holy Spirit in relation to the Body of Christ must be recognized. It is the Holy Spirit who forms and fashions the Body of Christ and its various members. In Acts 1, Christ, the Head and Builder of the Church returns to the Father God. In Him is all the Fulness of the Godhead bodily. In Him are all ministries, gifts, graces, spiritual fruit and the power of the Lord. This Fulness is to be manifested in the Church, His Body. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit descends from heaven to form the Church, the Body of Christ. It is by the Spirit that all the ministries, gifts, grace, power and fulness of the risen Head is to flow down to and through the Body. It is the same Spirit in the same Body, the spiritual Body of Christ. Types which illustrate the relationship of "The Spirit" and "The Body" are considered in brief here. It is James who says, "The body without the spirit is dead" (James 2:26). Though referring to the natural physical human body, the truth is also applicable to the spiritual Body, the Church. - Conner, Kevin J.. The Church in the New Testament

Where is the Holy Spirit “at work” in/through those around you?

How can you be one who celebrates that?