Holy Spirit - The Doctrine And The Ministry

From Genesis 1:2 to Revelation 22:17, the Bible records constant references to the Holy Spirit—His person and His work. Like the Father and the Son, He has all the attributes of the Godhead and is especially active in the world scene. Though He is the “Sent One” by both Christ and the Father, He nevertheless is equal with them in power and glory and has all the same attributes that belong properly to the Deity (Matthew 28:19).

All the forces of darkness will seek to confuse us and all the evil powers in this world will appear to make God look distant, small and ineffective. The goal of Satan is to make God look powerless and worthless to the believers and to the unbelieving world (2 Corinthians 4:4). The work of the Holy Spirit in this respect is to rest upon us with whatever measure of grace and truth we will need in order to be faithful in our calling as God's children (Romans 8:26-27).

God has shut us up to being totally dependent on the Holy Spirit. One of the great dangers of the Christian life is that we are so clever and claim to know the rules and doctrines so well that we often forget the fact that we still cannot do anything apart from the help of the Holy Spirit (John 6:63). The truth is this, we do not please the Son Jesus Christ, by focusing on Him alone because, His aim is to bring us to the Father ultimately. But it is very important to notice that we have access to Him only through the Holy Spirit. It’s not just a question of some special doctrines or adopting a certain form of prayer service or certain method of fellowship. You can have all the right services and all the right doctrines but if you don’t have the Holy Spirit indwelling in you, you have no access to the Son or the Father (Ephesians 6:18).

In this message, we are looking into the work of the Holy spirit from Regeneration to Resurrection.

A) Role in Regeneration

Without the Holy Spirit, one has no knowledge of sin. The Bible says in John 16:8, "And when He is come. He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment". When the Spirit comes, He will cause us to convict ourselves of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. This is the first step in the work of the Holy Spirit: that we might know our sin. Indeed, conviction of sin occurs when we see ourselves in the light of Holy God. We all know the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity (Matthew 28:19). But what is His role in the life of a believer?. Jesus shared with His disciples on His last night with them before He was crucified about the Holy Spirit and how He would strengthen them in adversity (John 14:16). He also had told them that the Holy Spirit would guide them in all the truth. Jesus knew the disciples would be confused and afraid when He would leave them, and He wanted to assure them that the Holy Spirit would come into their lives as a guide to direct them in all truth as He had guided them (John 16:13).

It is the Holy Spirit who reproves man of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). He prepares man’s heart, causing him to willingly believe in the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. The work of Salvation on the cross is accomplished by the Lord Jesus (1 John 2:2). However, it is the Holy Spirit who reveals this mystery to the sinner's heart and enable him to receive the gift of salvation. We must understand the relationship between the cross of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. While Christ has already accomplished everything on the cross, the Holy Spirit empowers the person to receive in faith what has been accomplished by Christ on the cross. It is the Holy Spirit who produces the life of Christ in us.

Regeneration is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit of granting spiritual life to dead sinners. This is not a work in which man contributes but is a work of God alone. Much as an infant receives no credit for being born, man receives no glory from being regenerated by God. The grace of regeneration is the power of God that grants humans the ability to exercise faith and new inclinations towards God.

The Bible teaches us that two divine powers accomplish this tremendous miracle: “the Word of God” (Ephesians 5:26; 1Peter 1:23) and the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8). Regeneration is something that God alone does by His Spirit and His Word, and it will never be undone! Thankfully, the Lord always takes the initiative in salvation, but as well, each person has the responsibility and capability to believe.