Getting a Glimpse of the Holy Spirit (Without Taking a Sabbatical) Part 2 of 2

By Erin Thomas

The Holy Spirit is one-third of the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit) and is the only resource available for living lives pleasing to God. But how does a God-pleasing life look? What does the Spirit do to help us achieve this?

What in the World does the Holy Spirit do?

In John 16, Jesus gives the most comprehensive explanation of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. Using this and other passages, we see some of the Spirit’s functions, including:

• Convicting the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (v. 8)

• Guiding Christians into all the truth (v. 13)

• Abiding in Christ forever (John 14:16,17)

• Teaching all things and bringing to remembrance all that Christ said (John 14:26)

• Testifying about Jesus Christ, God the Son (John 15:26)

• Giving spiritual gifts to Christians, determined by the Spirit for the common good of Christ’s church (Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12)

• Interceding for the saints according to the will of God—He prays on behalf of Christians when they don’t know how or what to pray (Rom. 8:26)

• Appointing leaders to oversee and “shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28)

A God-pleasing Life: Responding to the Spirit

If the Holy Spirit’s role is to perform all of these functions and more, what response should Christians have to His work?

1. Obey. Possibly the most favorable response Christians can have is obedience. It’s not always the prettiest or most popular choice (or the most fun), but if the Spirit is leading you and confirms the way, obedience renders peace, joy, and hope.

Mindy McCord, a journeyman for the International Mission Board, says the Spirit’s activity in her life led her to realize her immediate calling: ministering in Peru. As she prayed for guidance about her future, Mindy says the Spirit gradually made her heart sensitive to His plan through prayer, revelation through Bible reading, and the counsel of godly people.

“As I prayed for Peruvians, for friends who were serving there, and received the desire to go on a short-term trip, the Spirit stirred my heart and made me wonder why I wasn’t already on the missions field!” she says. “I was discontent with everything else in my life until I obeyed my calling to serve on the field. After that, I had such a peace about the future.”

Obeying the Spirit and submitting to a vocational or ministry call is essential; equally important is our willingness to submit when He convicts us of sin or tries to caution us before we enter into it. Daily obedience, a “Yes, Lord” attitude, cultivates our relationship and lets us learn to discern the Spirit’s voice more confidently and regularly—like who to invite for Sunday lunch or how to spend money.

2. Use those gifts! We see in 1 Corinthians 12 that the Spirit has given each Christian special spiritual abilities that are to be used to benefit the community of believers—something we can do with minimal effort that produces maximum results; we’re naturally geared to do it! Some are encouragers or teachers, some serve behind the scenes. If you haven’t explored your gifts, pray the Spirit will reveal yours and give you opportunities to use them.

3. Ask for more of Him. With the Spirit’s ability to provide, we stand ready to receive unlimited amounts of everything we need for life and godliness. And we’re not just receiving things, we’re receiving God and a greater reality of His presence.

So we probably don’t all have theological degrees, nor do we have a full understanding of the mysteries and the complexities of the Holy Spirit. Even with all this “lack,” we can confidently experience His presence and empowerment, as promised in Luke 11:13: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

For further reading, check out some of the books and sermons mentioned in this article:

Billy Graham’s The Holy Spirit

Andrew Murray’s The Spirit of Christ

Charles H. Spurgeon sermons on the Holy Spirit