GraceLife Thoughts – The Spirit of Salvation

Grace Thoughts

GraceLife Thoughts – The Spirit of Salvation

The Holy Spirit is often referred to as the Third Person of the Trinity. The fact is that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally co-equal. God the Father sent God the Son who sent God the Spirit. Each Member of the Godhead plays a specific role in our salvation. We know that Jesus of Nazareth was doing the will of His Heavenly Father when He died on the Cross. Jesus died, rose and ascended to great power where He rules and reigns next to His Father. What does the Holy Spirit do?

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. John 16:7-15

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26

But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. John 15:26

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8

While many Christian leaders try to make the work of the Holy Spirit a mystery that only they can understand and explain, Jesus made the work of the Holy Spirit extremely simple to understand – He will “testify” about Jesus through us. Paul said that the ministry he received from Jesus was “to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). That’s our job as well – to testify to the Gospel of God’s Grace.

Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would teach them, guide them into all truth and empower them to be witnesses of Christ throughout the world. We look to the Spirit of God to teach us what the Gospel of God’s Grace is and isn’t and how to testify about it accurately and clearly to unbelievers.

The Holy Spirit is involved in every aspect of God’s saving process. Jesus said “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). That is a truthful guarantee from Jesus and the Spirit of God is the one who fulfills the guarantee. Jesus also said “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). The Greek word translated “draws” is helkusē and means “drag, to drag off, draw, pull, persuade.” When we look at what Jesus taught and what Paul wrote about lost people, we know that the Holy Spirit “draws” (drags, pulls, persuades) spiritually dead people from darkness to light. The Spirit is the Member of the Godhead who convicts people about sin, righteousness and judgment. Jesus said that’s what the Spirit would do and that’s what He is doing.