LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
What Is the Work of the Holy Spirit?
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
What Is the Work of the Holy Spirit?
When we survey the New Testament, we see that Jesus Christ secured our redemption; the
Holy Spirit applies that redemption in our lives. Having accomplished all that the Father had
given him to do, Jesus returned to heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the
Father from whence he will one day come back to judge mankind and establish his eternal
kingdom.
However, he did not leave his people as orphans. Shortly after his ascension, on the Day of
Pentecost, Jesus and the Father sent forth the Holy Spirit to establish the church and to carry on
all that Jesus had initiated on earth. The Spirit now carries forward the work of Christ by
glorifying him and applying all the benefits of his life, death, resurrection, and ascension in the
lives of his people and extending his kingdom throughout the earth.
In terms of discipleship, the Holy Spirit, as his name implies, works to make people holy. He
brings God’s people to salvation in Christ and then conforms them to his likeness (Rom. 8:29)
and sends them out into the world in ministry. This covers the full spectrum of our life in this
world.
Some examples of the Spirit’s work include empowering people to preach the gospel
message (Acts 1:8; 4:31; 1 Cor. 2:1–5; 1 Thess. 1:4–5); convicting the lost of sin, righteousness,
and judgment (John 16:8–11); bringing spiritual regeneration or new birth to those who trust
Christ (John 3:5–6); incorporating them into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13); adopting
believers into the family of God and assuring them of sonship (Rom. 8:15–16); dwelling within
believers (John 14:16–17; Rom. 8:9ff; 1 Cor. 6:19–20; Eph. 5:18; Col. 1:27); giving them a deep
knowledge of Christ and his love (Eph. 3:19); illuminating the truth of Scripture (1 Cor. 2:6–13;
Eph. 1:16–20); empowering believers to put to death the works of the body/flesh (Rom. 8:13;
Gal. 5:16); producing the character of Jesus (fruit of the Spirit) in believers’ lives (Gal. 5:22–23);
imparting gifts for ministry (1 Cor. 12:11); guiding in ministry (Acts 13:1–3; 16:6–10), and more.
As we can see, from the time we are first drawn to Christ until the day we are actively
engaged in ministry and beyond, the Holy Spirit is at work in us making it happen. In which of
these ways are you experiencing the Spirit’s work in your life?
What Is the Holy Spirit’s Work in Discipleship?
As we have seen, the Spirit is involved in every aspect of discipleship from start to finish.
John the Baptist proclaimed that the Messiah would “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”
(Matt. 3:11). This appears in each of the Gospels as one of the distinctive features of the
Messiah’s work. In John’s gospel, we get the fullest picture: Jesus is described as “the lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29) and “he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit”
(1:33).
The former we see on the cross, the latter on the Day of Pentecost. After his resurrection,
Jesus told his disciples that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
and you shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). This was fulfilled at Pentecost, when the Spirit
created from a prayer group of 120 people, a community of empowered disciples that quickly
grew to more than three thousand. Their corporate life was so attractive in joy and generosity
and so electrifying in signs and wonders that it drew in many more nonbelievers to Christ (Acts
2:42–47).
Through the Spirit’s presence and power, the church grew by leaps and bounds, even in the
face of intense persecution. The effects of this mighty movement of the Spirit are seen
throughout the book of Acts, as more and more people are swept into the kingdom of God as it
spreads through the Roman Empire.
The Spirit created a community of disciples, filling and refilling both the apostles and
ordinary believers as circumstances required, empowering them to live boldly and faithfully and
to speak God’s word powerfully, expanding the church.
And note: these early believers were disciples of Jesus in the same sense of that word in
Luke’s gospel, as evidenced in Luke’s use of the word disciple twenty-eight times in the book of
Acts to describe ordinary believers. (Later, when the gospel reached Antioch, the disciples were
given the nickname “Christian” [Acts 11:26]—a name that today often no longer means
disciple.) Thus the basic New Testament paradigm of the church is a community of Spirit-filled
disciples, engaged in advancing the kingdom of God. This is what many congregations need to
recover today.
How Do We Experience This Life in the Spirit?
Life in the Holy Spirit begins when the Spirit regenerates us and gives new birth. Prior to
that we were dead in sin; afterward we are alive to God and Jesus Christ. Like the blind man
whom Jesus healed, we can say, “one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John
9:25).
This conversion may be sudden, as with Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–17), or
gradual, like Timothy (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15), who came to faith through the nurture of his mother
and grandmother. It may be dramatic, like Cornelius and his friends and relatives (Acts 10:34–
48), or quiet and gentle, like Lydia (Acts 16:14). However, one thing will be true in all cases: the
man or woman has come alive to God.
From new birth forward and throughout our life on earth, we are meant to live daily in the
fullness of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the key to authentic Christian life—to discipleship—and
without his empowerment, teaching, and guidance it is impossible to live faithfully. Is such a life
available to us today? Yes, just as much as it was to the first believers. Indeed, Scripture enjoins
us to seek it.
How do we live such a life? An important starting point is to “believe everything the
Scriptures teach about the Holy Spirit, and expect all that the Scriptures promise from the Holy
Spirit.” Summarizing all of that information in a brief article is impossible, but in what follows
we will look at several important insights about living in the Spirit that can help significantly. I
trust this will inspire each of us to do a careful Bible study about the Holy Spirit on our own or
in a group.
Seek to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
Early in his letter to the believers in Ephesus, the apostle Paul remembers how, “when you
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, [you] were sealed
with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13). Then a couple of chapters later, he says that he is
asking God, “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with
power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through
faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all
the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ
that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:16–19).
This remarkable prayer for a deeper experience of the Spirit and the love of Christ certainly
shows that we cannot rest on one experience of the Spirit at conversion. This prayer should be
a top concern for every disciple of Jesus, not only for oneself but for others in the church.
Paul has yet more to say to the Ephesians, “do not get drunk with wine, for that is
debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (5:18). The Greek verb for be filled is present tense,
plural, passive voice, and imperative mood. In this text, the present imperative is a command to
continuous action.
Thus, Paul is commanding (imperative mood) the entire congregation (plural) to “allow
yourself (passive voice) to be continuously (present tense) filled with the Holy Spirit.” What
does this mean in daily life? It has often been pointed out that when a glass is filled with water
there is room for nothing else; the water is in full possession of the glass. It is the same with us
and the Spirit; to be filled with the Holy Spirit is to give him full possession of our lives.
In the verses that follow, Paul describes in practical terms how being “filled with the Spirit”
is worked out in relationships between husbands and wives, children and parents, slaves and
masters.
This verse, too, highlights the fact that we cannot rest on one experience of the Spirit at
conversion but need to be filled with the Spirit again and again. Why is once not enough?
“Because,” as someone said, “we leak badly.” That is, we yield to sin, which interrupts our
fellowship with the Spirit until we confess, repent, and seek to be filled afresh.
Walk in the Spirit
In his letter to the Galatian church, Paul says, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh” (5:16). Here walk is also a present imperative verb, indicating
continuous action. The word walk is a figurative term in the New Testament for one’s personal
conduct, the way one lives his or her life. Like the Ephesians, the Galatians had received the
Holy Spirit at conversion (3:3). Paul is here exhorting them to continue living in the Spirit’s
power and resist the temptation to live under the law and in the flesh.
How this works in daily experience is clarified when he speaks of serving one another
through love, which occurs as they are “led by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:18). Here again we have a
passive voice in led, meaning they are to allow themselves to be led, directed by the Spirit. They
are to yield, surrendering themselves to the Spirit’s moral guidance.
If they do so, they will neither “gratify the desires of the flesh” (5:16) nor live “under the
law” (5:18). And the result will be that the Spirit will be able to manifest his indwelling presence
in their lives in the form of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control” (5:22). This is a good description of the character of Jesus, into whose
likeness the Spirit is seeking to shape all believers.
But this isn’t just a matter of personal holiness. Each of these characteristics has an
interpersonal dimension. Thus, as these disciples walk by the Spirit, their congregational life as
a whole will reflect Christ to the watching world.
Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit
Paul describes the attitudinal and behavioral implications of the new life in the Spirit in
several places, including Ephesians 4. In the immediate context of sins of the tongue, he warns
the believers in Ephesus: “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for
the day of redemption” (v. 30). This is a very serious warning, evidenced by Paul’s use of the
formal description “the Holy Spirit of God.” Perhaps he was also thinking of Jesus’ words, “I tell
you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by
your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:36–37).
In today’s church, many people do not appear to be aware of the seriousness of sins of the
tongue or the connection between sinful words and our fellowship with the Spirit. We must
always remember that the Holy Spirit is holy and therefore easily offended and grieved by sin.
Our unholy words and attitudes cause him to withdraw and distance himself from us. And when
he does so, we will have not only a diminished sense of his presence but also a reduction of his
power.
This makes us more vulnerable to other, greater sins and temptations. As James 3:6 says,
“the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members,
staining the whole body, setting on fire the whole course of life, and set on fire by hell.” What
specific sins does Paul have in mind when he says do not grieve the Spirit? From the context, it
is clear that any form of unwholesome or corrupting talk is in view. Gossip, slander, cursing,
dirty jokes, lies, critical comments about others are some obvious examples.
Such evil speaking offends God, can corrupt others, and can lead them into the sin of
spreading an evil report. And not least, it can trigger a ripple effect that does great damage to
those who are the object of our sinful comments.
If we would walk in the Spirit and not grieve him, if we would enjoy close fellowship with
him and have his power to overcome sin and grow in Christlikeness, we must bridle our tongue.
If we cannot speak well of another, we should remain quiet. And whenever we do speak, we
must be careful to “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for
building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29).
In other words, our speech is never to be sinful but always to be gracious and uplifting to
those with whom we speak, as befits people of grace and love. If we will discipline our tongues,
James 3:2 tells us that we will be able to bridle our whole body. This is a major key to walking in
the Spirit. Many of us have sinned with our tongues. It is one of the most common of the
“respectable sins” believers regularly commit. But confession and repentance opens the door to
restored fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
Grieving the Holy Spirit and impairing our fellowship with him obviously is not limited to
the misuse of the tongue. There is a wide range of other sins that have the same effect.
Do Not Quench the Spirit
Quenching the Holy Spirit is quite different from grieving him. In his closing instructions to
the believers in Thessalonica, Paul says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies,
but test everything; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess. 5:19–
22). The gift of prophetic utterance was among those the Spirit had distributed to believers
after Pentecost and was highly commended by Paul (1 Cor. 14:29–33, 39). Those who exercised
this gift received messages from God to share with individuals or the congregation (Acts 11:27–
29; 21:10–12; 15:31; 21:8–9).
This was not prophecy on the level of that given by the Old Testament prophets (and thus
inspired Scripture or doctrine) but was focused on circumstances of personal or church life, as
in Acts and 1 Corinthians 14. It is very likely that this is what Paul is addressing in Thessalonica.
Today, many in the church around the world believe this gift is still in operation. Others
disagree and believe that it was phased out after the canon of Scripture was finalized. However,
one’s position on this question does not change the relevance and application of Paul’s
exhortation.
The larger point of this passage is that we should not despise any communication which
might be from God. Rather, we should test and discern whether it actually is from God. It is our
responsibility to discern the teaching of that word to ensure it is correct. We are to be like the
Bereans, whom Luke commended: “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the
Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
Any message, sermon, lecture, or prophetic utterance must be tested by its agreement
with what the Spirit has already said in Scripture, for he is the Spirit of Truth, who inspired the
writing of the Scriptures and cannot contradict himself. When Scripture speaks, God speaks.
What agrees with Scripture we are to hold fast, embrace, and obey. What does not, we must
reject. As we carefully study the Scripture and obey it as God’s direction for our lives, we will
grow and mature in Christlikeness.
The life of discipleship is possible only through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit
—the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Discipleship, the Christian life, does not work on any other basis.
Only as we daily allow him to fill us by consciously yielding ourselves to his presence and
direction can we walk as Jesus walked, do the work he has called us to do, and experience
transformation into his likeness.
This article has only touched briefly on a few important aspects of the Holy Spirit and his
work. There is much more to learn. If you want to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus
Christ, a thorough study of what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit is essential.
