The Holy Spirit has garnered a few nicknames through the ages. Among the more appropriate and familiar:
- The Shy member of the Trinity
- The Forgotten member of the Trinity
When considering the person of the Holy Spirit, there are few things that are vital to remember:
- The Holy Spirit is a person, a “He” not an “It”.
- As the Third Person if the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is fully God, and equal with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) in glory, honor, and power; and equally worthy to receive worship.
The Holy Spirit functions in specific ways:
- Regeneration – giving life to those who are spiritually dead.
- Salvation (Justification) – the Holy Spirit grants both faith and repentance as gifts of grace. Through these, and these alone, is man justified.
- Sanctification – “For those whom God justifies he also sanctifies. ” In other words, there is no one who is “saved” who is not also “sanctified”. Sanctification is both definite and an ongoing process. In work of sanctification Believers are expected to “cooperate” with the Holy Spirit, employing the means of grace. These actions we engage in are not magical, nor automatic, as if anyone who does them will automatically grow in grace. But they are effective. The Holy Spirit works grace in us through these means. We normally see a corresponding maturity in those who regularly and rightly make use of the means of grace, while we see little to no change in those who are lax. But the one constant dynamic is that the Holy Spirit grants both faith and repentance to the believer for sanctification just as he does for justification. In other words, the Christian life consists of continual repentance and renewed belief in the gospel.
- The Holy Spirit cultivates the Fruit of the Spirit in believers.
- The Holy Spirit bestows Spiritual Gifts upon all who believe, for the use in participating and the building up of the local body – The Church – which together advances the Kingdom of God.
Here are some suggested readings to grow in our understanding of the Person & Work of the Holy Spirit:
- Forgotten God by Francis Chan
- The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson
- Keep in Step With the Spirit by J.I. Packer
- Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges
- The Holy Spirit: His Gifts & Power by John Owen
- The Counselor: Straight Talk About the Holy Spirit by A.W. Tozer
GRACE & PEACE 
Good post ! As always, I must say something even you get tired of me…..when you get to the point of the Holy Spirit’s work in Salvation (justification). I would add here that man is Justified through Jesus alone ! That the Hioly Spirit
convicts of sin and draws people to God and it’s Jesus who Justifies…!
I can stand as a Child and Friend of God, because of Jesus who is my Justification.
I think we in America have lots to learn from the Holy Spirit once we stop denying His gifts, ability to perform true wonders, and desire for people to know Him. Yes, all people. Before you through that thought out. I believe with all my heart all the words in John 3:16 and at the same time I believe God ordain all who will be saved before the foundation of the world. Is there tension there. Yes. I can live with that. Because God is beyond my ability to know and understand his ways for the most part.
David,
You are correct in that we are justified in Christ alone, and by Christ’s substitutionary and atoning death. I could have, and should have, been more specific about that. But I want to be clear that what I wrote in the post about the Holy Spirit’s role in justification is also necessary. It is the Holy Spirit who must apply the benefits of Christ to us.
~ WDG
Yes ! I understand that the Holy Spirit does “apply” God’s Grace in the process of Justification. He does draw people to Himself (thus God & Jesus) and in a way I understand what you said.
Guess I was being a bit dogmatic. But when it comes to Justification I do not know of any specific scripture that talks to the Holy Spirit being our Justification as such. Now I could be very wrong here.
I believe however, I am on pretty safe ground when talking about Justification in Christ alone. Then again, I think there is scripture that talks to the Holy Spirit as Christ. I think it’s in I Cor. not sure.
Jesus is always company united with a lot of life that God approved of unanimously and continues to provide to complete.
You will understand your existence within what God is doing and you will know God’s ways united with the existence area of Jesus before you are positioned at what you might call heaven Within what is heaven, however, there are levels of heaven (“In My kingdom there are many positions”) which means there is something God is still causing you to come together around once moved into unity with the area of the Holy Spirit and out of any integration with human being attention spans and human being information. There are also locations that are layers within what is human being attention spans and divided information not related to God in any way or to God as Always that are not able to be called heaven and these places are where life is existing that misunderstands that they must “die” before they know to them God’s interest united with complete knowing about what they are being caused to see. All of these places are earthly circumstances be it levels of the heavens united continuously with God, the final heaven existence which can be called Eternity understanding with Infinity, or separated layers that exist holding life understanding only from the environment around them until they can be interested with what God is doing. What this means is that you do never have an experience that is not related to the one you are having now once you understand what you are seeing and doing united with God at the area of God that God continues to add to. Nothing relates to a chair lift to a cloud and God does not cause human beings to go anywhere or do anything at unity with God that they do not understand complete about directly from God to their united circumstances.
God will cause you to know about the Holy Spirit completely according to the sight and experiences that exist where you are living now. If it can not be done where you are living and you are caused as interested with what God is doing, you will not understand an awareness to this part of your existence and God will move it purposeful for uniting life that is “telling and giving you something” they can not continue to that is not a shared experience God is providing to the both of you uniting them one repositioned human being attention span at a time to you as your always knowing circumstances.
There is something David is understanding caused by God that is using itself with life that relates like FBI. Here are their non continuable themes which God has caused many to understand to truth:
1) “There is nothing we can understand completely and we believe mystery is something we can continue to have” (To understand that God and God’s ways are a mystery is to be understanding from the environment through what can be placed to a TV set, a library, a computer having living non aware information life in division. This kind of understanding is caused to be coming from life that understands that they should fill in your mystery with parts of something that is not able to be used by you that they also can not use so that you understand your existence like them and they can “feel” like they can keep telling you something doing what they are not supported to keep doing within what God moves to heavens and then your always existence. None of that understanding or activity that goes with it is continuable and God causes it in order to move life as necessary into lower aware layered locations in order to cause them to no longer understand themselves this way and attach to God at the level of attachment that is necessary to unite them with their always position. There is only so much trash about God that you are allowed to come into contact with. You can use yourself to understand communication that is experienced to you caused by God as undeniably true never in need of any defense).
2) “We are following behind someone that we do not understand at unity with what God knows trying to understand from their nervous system never understanding correct about our or their circulatory circumstances.” (God causes life to use itself together and this is unity to follow someone is a human being attention span understanding existing in the layers of the separated environment.
3) “We are trying to look around and see if there is someone doing what they are not supposed to do never understanding our position within God’s causation of change.” (Change is caused to occur in the area of life where they are understanding from the environment around them.
4) “A human being doing what I want them to do is my friend”. (Your God friend is life that is united within God’s causation of unity doing and saying about God’s current interest to the experience of united truth occurring at the levels of heaven right around you depending on where you understand to go or at the eternal heaven position which does not use itself where there is life still coming together around the current interest of God. God does not cause united life to understand God as a friend, however, what is being called the Holy Spirit is your friend when you exist there. The Holy Spirit has two areas: One is life that is caused to say what can be used uniting life into what God provides to without the life of the environment understanding to you and the second is the area that God provides uniting life together seeing, knowing, doing and saying what God adds to seamlessly united with all life that has been positioned to God already.)
5) “There is something we can do to stop what God is doing.” (This is not true and it is God causing an unacceptable understanding to identify where change is necessary to support an area of life to use itself where they can experience an interest with God. What God provides is not able to be denied whether it is appreciated or depreciating causing necessary change.)
6) “There is a beginning and an end and we are focused on the middle in a way we can’t explain.” (You can understand this to completion. It is not an experience that is Gods and God does not provide this to life that is aware to God continuously. To be aware to God continuously you are positioned by God to a level of the heavens and yes there is life that exists that way at unity that God moves over to a computer that is able to be provided whole only saying what is able to be used now within the experience of peace.
You can see something interesting to you and know God is doing everything with everyone providing this area into a perfect company at unity. The company (or the Trinity, which is also 3, and also united with success) is interested with what God is doing always.
Jesus is always company united with a lot of life that God approved of unanimously and continues to provide to complete.
Allelyah, As always… you baffle me.