The New Life – 22. The Holy Spirit
“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” — Galatians 4:6
The Gift of the Spirit
The great gift of the Father, through whom He obtained salvation and brought it near to us, is the Son. On the other hand, the great gift of the Son, whom He sends to us from the Father to apply to us an inner and effectual salvation, is the Holy Spirit. (John 7:39; 14:16, 26; Acts 1:4, 5; 2:33; 1 Corinthians 3:16)
As the Son reveals and glorifies the Father, so the Spirit reveals and glorifies the Son. (John 15:26; 16:14–15; 1 Corinthians 2:10, 12; 12:3)
The Spirit is in us to transfer to us the life and salvation prepared in Jesus, and to make them wholly ours. (John 14:17, 26; Romans 8:2; Ephesians 3:17, 19)
Jesus, who is in heaven, is made present in us—He dwells in us by the Spirit.
The Spirit Convicts of Sin
We have seen that in order to become partakers of Jesus there are always two things necessary: the knowledge of the sin that is in us, and of the redemption that is in Him. It is the Holy Spirit who continually promotes this double work in believers. He reproves and comforts; He convicts of sin and He glorifies Christ. (John 16:9, 14)
The Spirit convicts of sin. He is the light and the fire of God, through whom sin is unveiled and consumed. He is “the Spirit of judgment and burning,” by whom God purifies His people. (Isaiah 4:4; Zechariah 12:10–11; Matthew 3:11–12)
To the anxious soul who complains that he does not feel his sin deeply enough, we must often say that there is no limit to how deep repentance must be. He must come daily just as he is; the deepest conviction often comes after conversion.
To the young convert we simply say: let the Spirit who is in you convict you always of sin. Sin, which formerly you knew only by name, He will make you hate. Sin, which you had not seen in the hidden depths of your heart, He will make you know and confess with shame. Sin, which you thought was not in you, and which you judged severely in others, He will point out to you in yourself. (Psalm 139:7, 23; Isaiah 10:17; Matthew 7:5; Romans 14:4; 1 Corinthians 2:10; 14:24–25)
And He will teach you, with repentance and self‑condemnation, to cast yourself upon grace as entirely sinful, in order to be redeemed and purified from it.
The Spirit Glorifies Christ
Beloved brother or sister, the Holy Spirit is in you as the light and fire of God to unveil and consume sin. The temple of God is holy, and you are that temple. Let the Holy Spirit in you have full mastery to point out and expel sin. (Psalm 19:13; Micah 3:8; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 2 Corinthians 3:17; 6:16)
After He makes you know sin, He will at every turn make you know Jesus as your life and sanctification. Then the Spirit who rebukes will also comfort. He will glorify Jesus in you, will take what is in Jesus and make it known to you.
He will give you knowledge concerning the power of Jesus’ blood to cleanse (John 1:7, 9) and the power of Jesus’ indwelling to keep. (Ephesians 3:17–20; 1 Peter 1:5)
He will make you see how literally, how completely, how certainly Jesus is with you every moment, to do Himself His own Jesus‑work in you. Yes, in the Holy Spirit, the living, almighty, and ever‑present Jesus shall be your portion; you shall know this and have the full enjoyment of it.
The Spirit Dwells in Believers
The Holy Spirit will teach you to bring all your sin and sinfulness to Jesus, and to know Jesus with His complete redemption from sin as your own. As the Spirit of sanctification, He will drive out sin in order that He may cause Jesus to dwell in you. (Romans 1:4; 8:2, 13; 1 Peter 1:2)
Beloved young Christian, take time to understand and become filled with the truth: the Holy Spirit is in you. Review all the assurances of God’s Word that this is so. (Romans 8:14, 16; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 6:16; Ephesians 1:13)
Pray—do not think for a moment of living as a Christian without the indwelling of the Spirit. Take pains to have your heart filled with faith that the Spirit dwells in you and will do His mighty work, for through faith the Spirit comes and works. (Galatians 3:2, 5, 14; 5:5)
Have great reverence for the work of the Spirit in you. Seek Him every day to believe, to obey, to trust, and He will take and make known to you all that is in Jesus. He will make Jesus very glorious to you and in you.
Prayer
O my Father, I thank You for this gift which Jesus sent me from You, the Father. I thank You that I am now the temple of Your Spirit, and that He dwells in me. Lord, teach me to believe this with my whole heart, and to live in the world as one who knows that the Spirit of God is in him to lead him. Teach me to think with deep reverence and filial awe on this: that God is in me. Lord, in that faith I have the power to be holy.
Holy Spirit, reveal to me all that sin is in me. Holy Spirit, reveal to me all that Jesus is in me. Amen.
Key Points
- The knowledge of the person and work of the Holy Spirit is as important as the knowledge of the person and work of Christ.
- Concerning the Holy Spirit, we must especially hold fast the truth that He is given as the fruit of the work of Jesus for us, that He is the power of the life of Jesus in us, and that through Him Jesus Himself, with His full salvation, dwells in us.
- To enjoy all this, we must be filled with the Spirit. This simply means emptied of all else and full of Jesus—denying ourselves, taking up the cross, and following Him. This is the way in which the Spirit leads us to His fullness. No one has the power to enter fully into the death of Jesus except he who is led by the Spirit. But He takes the one who desires this by the hand and brings him.
- As the whole of salvation and the new life is by faith, so also is the gift and working of the Holy Spirit. By faith—not by works, not by feelings—I receive Him, am led by Him, and am filled with Him.
- As clear and definite as my faith is in the work that Jesus alone finished for me, so clear and definite must faith be in the work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes in me, to work in me the willing and the doing of all that is necessary for my salvation.