Week Fifteen-Day Three: The Work of the Spirit

What does the Holy Spirit do? Over the next several days we will cover categories of activity that will hopefully give us a better understanding of what the Spirit does and how He works.[1]

The Holy Spirit gives and sustains life.

According to Grudem, “In the realm of nature it is the role of the Holy Spirit to give life to all animate creatures, whether on the ground or in the sky and sea, for ‘When you send forth your Spirit, they are created’ (Psalm 104:30).” The reverse is also true. If the Spirit is removed, life is removed with it. According to Job 34:15-16, “If it were His intention and He withdrew His Spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to dust.” Clearly, the Holy Spirit gives and sustains life.

This is also true of our new life. Jesus makes the point that in order to be really connected to God[2] we have to be born again; we have to experience a new kind of life. Listen to his explanation. Especially listen for what it says about the work of the Spirit.

John 3

¹ Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 

We must be born of the Spirit to be alive to the reality of God. This explains why knowing things about God is not the same as knowing God. To know God, you have to be “born again”, that is, you have to have been enlivened by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at one more passage from John on this subject. The context for this one is interesting. Jesus has just given a particularly difficult, and honestly rather bizarre teaching. He has said that he is the bread of life. Fair enough, he’s clearly in the realm of word-pictures. But he goes further claiming that it was not Moses who gave bread that gives life. HE, JESUS, is the bread that gives life.

The ranks of his followers thinned out that day. In fact, some thought he might be suggesting something akin to cannibalism. Ouch! He then says this to those who are left with him:

John 6

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 

Let’s hit the pause button and think about this one a minute. What does this say about the work of the Spirit? When Jesus says “flesh” he means our efforts to make our lives count and to find meaning apart from a connection to God. He takes a fairly dim view of the effectiveness of flesh doesn’t he? What does this say about the way we organize our lives? What does this passage suggest about the connection between Jesus and the Spirit?

BEFORE YOU START YOUR DAY

1. Have you had an experience where you felt like the Holy Spirit was giving you new life?What was the result of that experience?How did you experience it?
2. Consider sharing that experience with someone today.Talk about it and ask them to give you their honest feedback.
3. Pick your favorite verse from one of the two passages we looked at this morning and meditate on it.Turn it over and over in your mind.Try emphasizing different words as you think through it.Ask God’s Spirit to give it life in your mind and heart.
4. Pray that God would give you a heightened awareness of the work of His Spirit today!