The Holy Spirit In The Life of the Believer – Part 1
To have impact, joy, and “fun” (spiritually fulfilling action) as a believer, understanding the workings of the Holy Spirit is essential. Confusion regarding the Holy Spirit is a prime goal of Satan. The study of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer focuses on understanding His personhood, deity, and vital role in connecting us to the Trinity and guiding our actions.
Jesus’ Promise: The Helper is Coming
Jesus announced to His disciples that His departure was necessary and, surprisingly, to their advantage. He explained that if He did not go away, the Helper (the Holy Spirit) would not come.
Jesus promised the Father would give believers “another Helper”. This Helper is identified by the Greek word parakletos (or Paraclete), meaning “the helper who comes alongside you”.
Key revelations concerning the Holy Spirit:
- He is the Spirit of Truth.
- He will abide with believers forever.
- He is operational alongside everybody (omnipresence).
- Crucially, He would dwell inside believers, a phenomenon that had never happened in the history of mankind until the time of Jesus.
Jesus emphasized that even though He was leaving Earth to prepare a place in heaven, He would not leave His followers orphaned. When Jesus said, “I will come to you”, it is a reference to the interaction of Christ in the believer’s life through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit and the Trinity
The Holy Spirit is God. The sources emphasize the inseparable nature of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.
- Access to the Father and Son: You cannot merge the understanding, love, or relationship with the Father and the Son unless the Holy Spirit is operational in your life.
- Jesus’ Example: Jesus announced that everything He said and did was the exact expressed perfect will of the Father. When believers see Jesus, they have seen the Father’s will.
- Chain of Revelation: The Holy Spirit will only speak what Jesus has spoken, and Jesus speaks only what the Father tells Him to say. The Spirit of truth “proceeds from the Father” and will testify of Christ.
The Holy Spirit’s Impact: Conviction and Greater Works
The arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (the “50-day” Christian feast) fulfilled an Old Testament promise and gave birth to the Church.
1. Conviction (Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment)
A primary work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
- Human Limits: Humans cannot convict; we are commanded to love, even our enemies. Trying to be the Holy Spirit’s helper by being a “sin sniffer and a fault finder” is not our role.
- The World’s Reaction: When the Gospel is preached and the Holy Spirit is moving, conviction occurs. People who “grind their teeth and hate God” often love their sin more than God and resist this conviction.
- Personal Application: The Holy Spirit internally tells believers to act righteously (e.g., “be nicer to your wife”) or avoid destructive behavior (e.g., using drugs).
2. Greater Works
Jesus promised that those who believe in Him would do “greater works” than He did because He was going to the Father.
- Definition of “Greater”: This does not refer to greater miracles like walking on water or raising the dead. The greater work is the Holy Spirit leading other people to Christ. The greatest work is for the believer to be a witness who leads others to the love of God.
Living in Alignment: Obedience and Listening
The Christian life is not something the believer does in their own strength; rather, “Christianity is done to you by the Holy Spirit”.
1. Obedience and Inadequacy
Believers often feel inadequate when faced with God’s commands, such as keeping His commandments.
- Sweating: An analogy used for not trusting God is “sweating”. God ordered Old Testament priests never to sweat, indicating that when we sweat or get anxious, we are not trusting Him and need to calm down.
- Surrender: We must allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish Christian living within us.
2. Discerning the Spirit’s Voice
A major question for believers is how to be clear and discerning when the Holy Spirit is speaking versus when it is their own thoughts.
- The Word is Key: The Holy Spirit will only speak the Word—not a funny or “goofball version of it”. Since Satan uses the Bible by mixing up verses or using half-verses, knowing the Word is essential to hear the Spirit clearly.
- Listening: We must train ourselves to listen to God by turning off distractions like the TV or radio. The more you wait and listen, the less mistakes you will make in life.
3. The Danger of Emotional Theology
Feelings of separation from God or doubts about salvation often stem from basing theology on emotion (“feeling”) rather than knowledge and fact.
- Feelings are Deceptive: Feelings are “no big deal” and will fool you every time.
- Fact over Feeling: God promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you“. When negative emotions arise, we must choose to believe what God says, even if it goes against what we feel.
- Governing Emotions: Emotions are like a powerful horse: they are great when under control. The Holy Spirit provides the strength to govern our impulses and drives which could otherwise destroy us.
The Christian and the World
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit puts the believer at odds with the world.
- Hostile Territory: The Christian is an ambassador for Christ sent into hostile territory. The world cannot receive or understand the Christian worldview.
- Test of Friendliness: If a person claims to be a Christian and “everybody of the world thinks you’re awesome,” Jesus warned that you cannot be friends of both.
- Love and Accountability: While we must act in love, this includes holding one another accountable. If a Christian is being a “goofball” and hurting the name of Jesus, we must tell them in love.