Week Sixteen-Day One: The Work of the Holy Spirit

Wayne Grudem defines the work of the Holy Spirit as follows: “The work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church.”[1] That definition gives us a very good general overview of what the Spirit does. (Over the last several days we have been unpacking that view by looking at specific aspects of it.)

So why spend so much time on the work of the Holy Spirit? Well, if we accept Grudem’s general overview then we can see that if we are missing out on a sense of God’s presence or if we are missing an experience of His power it may very well be because we are missing the Holy Spirit.

Along with this, we should take notice of Jesus’ teaching about blaspheming the Spirit. It was such an important saying that all three of the first biographers record it. This may indicate that he gave this teaching on many occasions. Here it is:

Matthew 12:30-32

³⁰ “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

The full meaning of this saying is much debated.  Blaspheming the Spirit may refer to refusing to trust in God.  But you can’t but notice that Jesus calls it blaspheming the Spirit.  And this activity is not forgivable.  Clearly, understanding the person and work of the Holy Spirit is much more than an academic exercise.So let’s review, then we’ll add one more important observation to our understanding of the work of the Spirit.  We have said that the Holy Spirit works in us in some vital ways.

The Holy Spirit gives and sustains life.

The Holy Spirit gives power for service.

The Holy Spirit purifies.

The Holy Spirit guides and directs God’s people.

And to that amazing list we add:

The Holy Spirit unifies.

Listen to Paul’s Trinitarian benediction to the Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 13:14 

 “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”    

It’s interesting that in this benediction he attributes “fellowship” not to the Father or the Son, but to the Holy Spirit.  When he wants to encourage the Ephesians toward the unity that is their (and our) birthright as a result of the new work of God in us, he says this: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).  When he wants to exhort the Corinthians toward unity, he teaches them about the nature of the church as “the body of Christ” and he teaches about the unifying work of “the gifts of the Spirit.”  Paul says of these gifts, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, “I have not need of you’ … To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12).     Actually, “we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body.”

We can’t really emphasize enough how important this is to our life together.  Our call to join ourselves with Christ is a call to community with others.  We are not isolated believers radiating in our own orbit around God.  We are called to join with others forming an organic whole – not an individual cell, but a body.  But this cannot happen among us and within us except by the work of the Holy Spirit.   “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22).  One more note: those of us who are married should recognize that the work of the Spirit plays an integral part in that relationship as well.  In particular, we should remember the unique connection between the work of the Spirit in us and the love that we feel for God and for others.  Love is His work!  

 Here’s how Paul explains it:

 Galatians 5:22-23

 “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” 

 Romans 5:5 

 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” 

BEFORE YOU START YOUR DAY

1.      Have you ever had the experience of pleasing or displeasing the Spirit in your life?  Is there anything in your life right now that might be displeasing to Him?

 2.      Grudem is right when he says of the Spirit “He will not force Himself on us against our wills, but if we resist and quench and oppose him, then His empowering will depart and He will remove much of the blessing of God from our lives.”  What is your response to this today?

 3.      What will you do today to maintain the unity of the Spirit in your family?  What will you do with those in your church?  Your small group?  (Okay, this feels like a gimmicky question to me, but it’s got to be legitimate for us to contemplate since Paul told us to “make every effort” to do exactly this.  So shame on you, if you, [like me] would have blown by this question.)

 4.      Now let’s surrender our plans for today to Him.