Why the Spirit's Work Matters
Everything God does in a believer's life, He does by His Spirit. The Spirit convicts the sinner, gives the new birth, joins the believer to Christ's body, lives within him, and seals him for the day of redemption. Then He fills, teaches, and strengthens him every day. Without the Spirit no one would be saved, and no saved person could live the Christian life.
We believe the Spirit has been at work among mankind from the beginning, and that He began a special ministry at Pentecost that will continue until the Rapture. In this age He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and He regenerates, sanctifies, seals, and fills everyone who trusts Jesus Christ.
This matters because the Christian life is not a self-improvement program. Attempts at change without the Holy Spirit simply result in behavior modification. The Spirit does not help us save or sanctify ourselves. He does what we could never do, and He calls us to yield to Him while He does it.
Have you thought of the Christian life as something you must do for God? Scripture says it is something the Spirit does in you, as you yield to Him.
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For Deeper Study
- The Holy SpiritAmazon Charles C. RyrieA clear survey of the Spirit's work, with chapters on regeneration, indwelling, sealing, baptizing, and filling, written for church members.
- The Holy SpiritAmazon John F. WalvoordA thorough dispensational study that distinguishes the Spirit's once-for-all works from His filling.
- He That Is SpiritualAmazon Lewis Sperry ChaferA 1918 classic on the filling of the Spirit and what grieves and quenches Him, by the co-founder and first president of Dallas Theological Seminary.
- The Holy Spirit in the Old TestamentAmazon Leon J. WoodA study of the Spirit's work before Pentecost (1976) by a longtime Old Testament professor at Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Personhood of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit teaches, speaks, can be grieved, and can be lied to. He is a divine person, fully God with the Father and the Son, not an impersonal power.
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