Hi friends!

Last week we talked about who the Holy Spirit is. Today we will be discussing what He does in us. Next week we will talk about what the Holy Spirit does for us. He has so many, jobs that I had to add another week in this series just to cover them all!

I am a visual learner so, I want to show you what happens as you grow in your relationship with the Holy Spirit. These pictures are adapted from Priscilla Shirer’s book: Discerning the Voice of God. I also used these images in my post about strongholds.

God is a triune being: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27) so we are also triune beings: spirit, soul, and body.

BEFORE SALVATION

This first image shows that our spirits are not alive and we are dead in our sin until we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Before we are saved, the Holy Spirit’s job is to point us to our need for Jesus (John 16:8) and lead us to pursue Truth (John 16:13).

“…Even though you were once like corpses, dead in your sins and offenses,” (Ephesians 2:1 TPT).

“Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world,” (Ephesians 2:12 ESV),

 

AT SALVATION

Salvation was paid for by Jesus’ death on the cross and means eternal life for the believer (John 3:16-18). When we invite Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, our spirits come alive and we are born of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to live IN us and begins the important work of sanctification (making us like Jesus).

When the Holy Spirit comes to live in me, it is for my benefit: my eternity is secure and I am free from the bondage of sin.

^“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.’ ^‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Nicodemus. ‘How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’ Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit,'” (John 3:3-8 NLT).

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NKJV).

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you,” (John 14:16-17 ESV).

As we begin changing, the Fruit of the Spirit is expected to be active in our lives. Other people should be able to tell that we are different now that we have a relationship with God.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires,” (Galatians 5:22-24 ESV).

If you want to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, I encourage you to pray this simple prayer and study the scriptures listed above. “Thank you, God, for sending Jesus to take the punishment of my sin. I admit that I have made mistakes and need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He died for me and rose again on the third day. I confess Him as my Lord and Savior now. Amen.”

BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

When Jesus left the earth, He sent the Holy Spirit for all believers. In fact, Jesus’ last words before He ascended into heaven were about the disciples being filled (or baptized) with the Holy Spirit. Baptism in the Holy Spirit refers to inviting the Holy Spirit to be involved in your life in a powerful way. The Holy Spirit comes to live ON us, empowering us to spread the message of Jesus with others.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,” (Acts 1:8 NIV).

“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability,” (Acts 2:1-4 NLT).

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all,” (Acts 4:31-33 NIV).

This is a separate event from salvation and water baptism. The following passage is crucial to understanding that this is a different moment in our journey with God:

“While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. ^‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ he asked them. ‘No,’ they replied, ‘we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ ‘Then what baptism did you experience?’ he asked. And they replied, ‘The baptism of John.’ Paul said, ‘John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.’ As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all,” (Acts 19:1-7 NLT).

The Gifts of the Spirit become available when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. God gives us supernatural insight into the encouragement that He is wanting to speak to other people. He uses these gifts to point both believers and unbelievers to Himself.

When the Holy Spirit comes to live on me, it is for your benefit: suddenly I am sensitive to the needs around me and have the boldness to do something about them.

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills,” (1 Corinthians 12:7-11 ESV).

If you are already a Christian and would like to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to pray this simple prayer and study the scriptures listed above. “Thank you, Jesus, for sending the Holy Spirit. I know He came to live IN me when I received the gift of salvation. Now, I want Him to also live ON me so that I can advance the Kingdom of God in a powerful way. I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

This is a true act of God, but I think He is using this blog to make me passionate about understanding theology. I always used to hide behind what my husband thought because I was scared to be wrong and lead people incorrectly. I went to Bible college but really don’t remember much of what I learned. I met this really cute guy and that’s about the extent of what stayed with me! 😉

It’s empowering to dig into the Word and decipher it for myself. I want to empower you to do the same. There are so many scriptures about the Holy Spirit, that it can be easy to for them to all kind of run together. I hope that seeing the pictures broken down into steps helped things make a little more sense.

We are certainly navigating through trying times. But you and I are not alone. The Holy Spirit lives in us and wants to fill us. He longs to bring the Kingdom of God to the earth through us. I encourage you to lean on the Holy Spirit everyday for strength and perspective. We need Him now, more than ever.

Love,

Tif