The Operation of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. hariah
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
We must bear in mind at all times that the world in embroiled in a spiritual battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
If we are wrestling against spiritual forces, we are going to need spiritual power to do battle with.
2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Our weapons are not carnal (fleshly). Our weapons are spiritual. Only spiritual weapons will do in spiritual warfare. We need power from on high.
On the day of Pentecost, that power was bestowed upon the church.
Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Okay! The Spirit was poured out as Joel had prophesied:
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
They spoke with tongues. They preached with power. But what, essentially was the purpose of this outpouring? What exactly does the Holy Spirit do for us?
I want to enumerate seven functions of the Holy Spirit. I do not suppose this is an exhaustive list. But these functions are clearly outlined.
Johnn 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
The modern version uses the word 'convict', …he will convict the world of guilt … It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to the heart of man. No man knows the evil within his own heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
But the Spirit of God knows it. And he can and will show it to us. Only the Holy Spirit can bring conviction to the heart. All we can do is lay guilt, and that will not suffice to bring men to God.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
2. He brings conversion.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
It is the Spirit that gives life. Everything else is just existence.
The Holy Spirit comes in and ignites life into our cold flesh. He converts us - changes us. We become something new. Like a cocoon turning into a butterfly, the Spirit changes us into what we shall become.
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
The Holy Spirit confirms in our own hearts that we belong to God. We are His children.
Romans 8:15 . . . ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit bears witness within us that we are God's. If you ever doubt that, He is there to reassure you.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
We are continually being changed into His likeness and glory.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The fruit of the Spirit is continually being developed in us as we are led by Him. When we surrender to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we will see, not only the gifts, but the fruit of the Spirit coming forth out of our lives.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
We are being transformed by the Spirit into the likeness of Christ. That is God's intention for us.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
He is our comforter and our counselor. A comforter is one who comes alongside you when you need help. He stands beside you. A counselor gives you guidance. The Holy Spirit is our greatest counselor. He inspired the Word, so He can reveal and explain the Word to us. He guides us into truth and brings God's Word to our remembrance.
That is, He leads us - forcefully.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
The word 'led' is a stronger word than we think. When the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, the word used indicates that Jesus was 'driven' into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit is there to give us a little push when we need it. He shows us the way to go, the things to do, and the words to say.
We see, in the book of Acts, evidence of the Spirit's leading. He showed Paul where to go and prevented them from going in some directions. He sent dreams and visions.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . .
He enables us to be witnesses, to testify, to minister. He equips us by giving us gifts and anointing our talents and abilities.
Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Ro 12:8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
1 Corinthians 12:4-5 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
We more than likely do not have an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts in the scripture, but a sample list of the kinds of things God can use for His service. We will define these that are mentioned at a later time. For now, we will just enumerate them.
1 Corinthians 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
1 Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
1 Corinthians 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
1 Corinthians 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 1Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Did you count them?
Governments (same as ruling)
20 gifts listed! For what purpose?
Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
God gifts us for the purpose of serving Him and serving one another. Think about it and you will probably come up with some other gifts or talents God can use.
I believe it is vital that each member of the body of Christ find his or her gift and begin to use it for the Lord. Time is running out. Remember:
Matthew 25.14-30 (Note: The talents mentioned here were coins. They represent any resource the Lord blesses you with.)