A. WHAT HE DOES FOR THE UNBELIEVER
- He testifies of Jesus
And when the Comforter has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of Me. (Joh 15:26).
- He reveals to him that Jesus is God
Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is a curse, and that no one can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit. (1 Co 12:3).
- He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment
And when that One comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment. (Joh 16:8).
- He works within him the regeneration which is also called the new birth
… not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, (Tit 3:5).
Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (Joh 3:3).
And He has made you alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins, (Eph 2:1).
Without the working of the Holy Spirit, man is absolutely helpless to find salvation and reconciliation with God. It is the Spirit that reveals his sinfulness to him and all that Jesus wants to be for him.
B. WHAT HE DOES FOR THE BELIEVER
- He witnesses to him that he is a child of God
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. (Rom 8:16).
- He seals him against loss
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed until the day of redemption. (Eph 4:30).
When a king put his seal on a document, no one would dare tamper with it to get to the contents. The Holy Spirit’s sealing of us, consists therein that He, almighty God, stands guard so that no one and nothing from the outside can rob us of the gift of eternal life which we received from him on the day of our salvation.
- He brings forth the fruit of holiness (Christlike graces of character)
But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22, 23).
Man only needs to submit, surrender, to the working of the Spirit and see his life being transformed. It is like a plant that grows and bears fruit according to its DNA, that is according to the principles for growth and fruit bearing that God put into it.
- He empowers the believer to witness for Jesus
But you shall receive power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8).
- He bestows supernatural spiritual gifts on the believer to enable him to make disciples of men
And there are differences of workings, but it is the same God working all things in all. But to each one is given the showing forth of the Spirit to our profit. (1Co 12:6.)
Then follows a list of all the gifts which the Spirit bestows.)
- In summary
He is called to be with us, to take our part, to stand with us in every situation we face. He is such a loving and understanding Person, ever there for us.
Because of his love for the Father and the Son, He serves the Bride of Christ with total dedication, reads and responds to her every thought, pleads with her to be allowed to remove every spot and wrinkle from her spiritual complexion and when she stubbornly refuses, He prays to the Father for her, with unutterable groanings – He weeps before the Father. He has the ability to serve every person as if she is the one and only Bride of Christ in this whole wide world. Hallelujah! Bride of Christ, child of God you are very, very, very special.
Submit and let the Holy Spirit renew you into the most beautiful Bride thinkable, into the very image of Christ.