The Ministries of the Holy Spirit in the Believer

What does the presence of the Holy Spirit do for a believer? We talk about Christians having the Holy Spirit, but what does that mean? What does the Holy Spirit do for us? The Bible tells us specifically about six ministries of the Holy Spirit in every believer.

1. The Holy Spirit regenerates the believing sinner.

Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

The word regeneration is only used twice in the New Testament. It is used in Matthew 19:28 in reference to the Millennial Kingdom, and here in Titus. In Titus, the reference is to our salvation being accomplished; therefore, new life is brought to the believer. In Matthew, the earth is given new life. In Titus, the believer is given new life.

Regeneration is the creation of a new man. God literally gives the sinner a new nature, the very nature of God.

Romans 8:9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

1 John 4:13 “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”

I found this in my reading, and I really like it.

“The Holy Spirit functions as a Divine midwife delivering the believing, repentant sinner into the Kingdom of God”

Regeneration brings the dead sinner to life. This regeneration produces a new life where there was once spiritual death resulting from trespasses and sin.

Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”

The regeneration results in the impartation of God’s own nature in us.

2 Peter 1:3–4 “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

In the new birth, our nature is changed which means the believer is given a new intellectual nature, a new affectional nature, and a nature to do God’s will. The believer is no longer controlled by his volition but by God’s. Pleasing self will no longer be a priority. The believer’s will is to please God.

2. The Holy Spirit baptizes the believing sinner into the body of Christ.

Immediately upon believing in Christ, the believer is baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:13–14 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

Ephesians 4:4–5 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,”

The baptism of the believer into the body of Christ takes place instantaneously at conversion. This baptism of the believer by the Holy Spirit serves two purposes.

(1) The first purpose is to answer Christ’s prayer for Christian unity.

John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

There is no such thing as divided Christians. If Christians are divided, that division did not come from Christ. Christ prayed for unity among the believers, and that unity takes place when the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ.

I am telling you again with emphasis. Scriptural differences among denominations do not come from God. Jesus prayed that Christians in the body be one like God the Father and God the Son. I do not know any other way to say it. There might be differences on styles of worship, but there should never be differences on the scriptural integrity of the gospel or about what sin is.

By different styles of worship, I do not mean getting mad because younger people want to hear more contemporary Christian music. I love the old hymns myself, but I also like some of the newer songs too. God is not going to strike us with lightning if we mix Redeemed with the Rock of Ages.

I wished people ardently defended the Bible and guarded it like they do the songs that grandma used to sing. Worship is not in a song, and unless you let the devil sows seeds of contention, you will see that, and the devil will only sow seeds of contention if you allow him because Christ prayed that all Christians in the body be as one.

(2) The second purpose is to prepare a bride for Christ comprised of all believers saved from the Day of Pentecost to the Rapture.

Revelation 19:6–9 “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

3. The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believing sinner.

The Holy Spirit joins the believer to Christ and to Himself at the moment of conversion.

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

1 John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

The only condition to receiving the Holy Spirit is to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

“No Christ no Holy Spirit. Know Christ possess the Holy Spirit.”

A man who has not accepted Christ does not have the Holy Spirit and is lost. He may have some spirit living in him, but it is not the Holy Spirit. The permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a blessing for those saved during the Church Age, the Age of Grace.

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who reveals all things about Christ to the believer.

John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

4. The Holy Spirit seals the believing sinner.

Ephesians 1:13–14 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

2 Corinthians 1:22 “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”

When I believed upon Christ as my Lord and Savior, I was sealed by the Holy Spirit. There was nothing I could do to merit salvation, and there is nothing I can do to lose my salvation either.

Salvation comes from God, and it is God by the Holy Spirit who seals me until my salvation is realized at death or Rapture.

Romans 8:35 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

Romans 8:38–39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This is absolutely true.

I cannot lose my salvation. I cannot because God seals me with the Holy Spirit. There is nothing I can do to keep my salvation, and there is nothing I can do to lose it. Salvation is a gift from God sealed by the Holy Spirit which is the promise of the glory I will have one of these days.

5. The Holy Spirit spiritually circumcises the believing sinner.

At the moment of salvation, a spiritual operation takes place within the believer, one that we cannot see or feel. It is called the operation of God, or the circumcision not made with hands.

Colossians 2:11–12 “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

We know that circumcision is a surgical operation, but in Colossians, Paul is using the term to describe a spiritual operation performed by God.

During this operation, the sins of our flesh are cut off by the circumcision of Christ. This miraculously separates our soul from the sins of the flesh or our body.

This circumcision is described by Paul.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Before the Rapture and before death, our souls are trapped in our sinful bodies. Our souls are saved now, but our bodies will be saved at the Rapture.

Once you are saved, you can no longer sin in your soul because your soul has been spiritually circumcised from your sinful flesh. The New Testament contains many references to living spirit-controlled lives instead of flesh-controlled lives. We do not, cannot sin in our souls. All sins, after salvation, are committed in our flesh or in our bodies.

Let’s see what Paul says about it.

Romans 7:17–18 “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Paul recognized that even though he was born again that he still resided in his sinful flesh. That’s why the spirit cuts our souls loose from our bodies; otherwise, we would still be in our sins because of our flesh. There is nothing good in the flesh. That’s why are souls are spiritually separated from our flesh at the moment of salvation.

When the Holy Spirit comes in, He regenerates our Spirit. He kills our flesh. He severs our souls from our flesh. In reality, a Christian is dragging around a corpse.

A lost man has a live body and a dead spirit. A saved man has a live spirit and a dead body.

6. The Holy Spirit fills the believing sinner.

The first five ministries of the Holy Spirit occur in the life of the believing sinner at the moment of salvation, and the believer never loses those ministries. Those five ministries occur one time and are permanent.

The 6th ministry, being filled, occurs at salvation too, but it is not permanent.

Christians confess that there is no experience that matches the moment they confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. The reason is that in that instance the Holy Spirit regenerates, baptizes, indwells, seals, circumcises, and fills. You are literally at that moment totally blameless before God.

Being filled, however, with the Holy Spirit is a conscious choice you must continually make. You are filled by the Spirit at salvation, but you can lose being filled.

How do I know that being filled with the Holy Spirit is a choice?

Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

Paul, interestingly, compares being filled with the Holy Spirit to being drunk with wine. The reference is obvious. To be drunk with wine means that you chose to drink to begin with. To be filled with the Holy Spirit, you must choose to be filled.

Why would Paul use being drunk with wine as a comparison to being filled with the Spirit?

Because both control the user and give the user new boldness, being filled with the Spirit gives us Godly boldness while being drunk with wine gives us worldly boldness. Both produce a desire for more.

To stay drunk, what do you have to do? You have to keep drinking alcohol. To be filled with the Spirit, what you have to do? You have to keep getting filled with the Spirit.

How does a person lose the filling of the Holy Spirit?

You lose the filling of the Holy Spirit by being disobedient. When disobedience is evident in the life of a Christian, that Christian is not being filled with the Holy Spirit.

The first five ministries of the Holy Spirit give us peace with God, but the filling of the Holy Spirit assures us of the peace of God.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

We have peace with God when we are saved, but we can only know that peace when we are spirit-filled.

I think it rather obvious that many Christians do not know the peace of God. Why? The answer is obvious. Many are not filled with the Holy Spirit, and the reason many are not filled is because of disobedience.

Disobedience in the life of Christian manifests itself in one or both of the following ways:

Disobedience by quenching the Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 “Quench not the Spirit.”

Quenching the spirit involves not doing that which the Holy Spirit would have us to do.

The Holy Spirit moves on you to share the gospel with someone and you do not, you have quenched the Spirit. The Holy Spirit moves on you to lead in prayer and you do not, you have quenched the Spirit. The Holy Spirit calls you to a ministry, and you refuse that call, you have quenched the Holy Spirit, and as a result, you are not filled with the Holy Spirit.

The idea of quenching the Spirit in the Bible is used in reference to putting out a fire.

Ephesians 6:16 “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Think of how the Holy Spirit is presented in Acts and you see what quenching the Spirit does.

Acts 2:3–4 “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

If you have quenched or are quenching the Holy Spirit in your life, you do not know the peace of God, and you are not filled with the Holy Spirit.

James talks about the sins that quench the Spirit.

James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

2. Disobedience by grieving the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Grieving the Holy Spirit involves doing that which the Holy Spirit would not have us to do.

Paul listed some sins that grieve the Holy Spirit, and you can find these in Ephesians 4.

Sins by a Christian that grieve the Holy Spirit:

Lying

Anger

Stealing

Corrupt communication

Bitterness

Wrath

Malice

Evil-speaking

Former conversation (the old life)

Can I be honest? If these are evident in your life, one of two things is true. You are lost, or you are saved but not filled with the Spirit because you have grieved the Holy Spirit.

A Christian who continually grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit places himself or herself in a dangerous situation.

1 John 5:16 “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”

A Christian not filled with the Spirit is risking the sin unto death, and there are three examples in the Bible:

1 Corinthians 5:5 tells of a young man guilty of immorality, and Paul said to hand him over to Satan.

1 Corinthians 11:20-34 explains that some were sick and some had died in the Church at Corinth because they did not examine themselves prior to participating in the Lord’s Supper.

Acts 5 explains that Ananias and Sapphira sinned unto death by lying to the Holy Spirit.

Some have said throughout the years trying to diminish the gravity of what Ananias and Sapphira did by saying that they were lost. Do you know what the Bible says?

Acts 5:3 “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?”

Ananias was saved because he had the indwelling Holy Spirit. He lied to the Holy Spirit which in his case was the sin unto death.

This is absolutely critical to understand. You make the choice to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You will not be able to sin haphazardly and not suffer for it.

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

If you can look at yourself and never see sin, you have a serious problem. Do you know what will describe you if you are filled with the Spirit?

Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Maybe you are at the point in your life that you know that you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, so the questions becomes this:

How can you be filled with the Holy Spirit?

(1) Ask to be filled. (Luke 11:9-10)

Luke 11:9–10 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Being filled with the Spirit is there for the asking. The Lord desires for every believer to be filled with the Spirit. As a Christian, you can be as close to the Lord and as full of the Spirit as you desire.

(2) Yield to be filled. (Romans 6:13-16)

Romans 6:13–16 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

You must yield or submit to God if you want to be filled with the Spirit. To be filled, I must abdicate the throne, and Jesus must be enthroned in my life, and that is particularly true in the area of sin.

TO be filled with the Spirit, you must be receptive to what the Holy Spirit says about sin. This does not mean that you must live in sinless perfection to be filled, but what it does mean is that when you yield to the Holy Spirit, you immediately recognize sin for what it is, and immediately, you confess that sin to God.

That is the one thing that keeps most of us from being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Confessing sin does not mean trying to justify the sin. Confessing the sin means to say about that sin what God says about it.

Once you come to accept that is what confess means, then you can be refilled with the Holy Spirit.

All you have to do is know God’s means of cleansing and forgiveness which is the blood of Christ.

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses you from all sin, and if you know that, why would you not confess your sin?

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If you have unconfessed sin in your life, you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, and you will not be as long as that sin is present in your life. Confession is absolutely vital if you want to be filled. If you want to bear the fruits of the Spirit, you must let the Spirit go to work in your life, but He will not until you confess your sin.

Christ’s blood will cleanse from all sin, but it will not cleanse us from a single excuse, and that’s what happens to most of us. We like to make excuses for getting mad or for smarting-off, but that is not confession. That is legitimizing.

When we say about getting mad and smarting-off what God says about, then we are on our way to being filled by the Holy Spirit. God demands clean vessels. I want you to consider this.

The union with the Spirit is so strong that nothing can break it, but the fellowship with the Spirit is so fragile that the smallest sin can shatter that fellowship. The secret of the spirit-filled life is the knowledge that the broken fellowship can be instantly restored by confession and by Christ’s blood.

The six ministries of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believing sinner are:

The Holy Spirit regenerates the believing sinner.

The Holy Spirit baptizes the believing sinner into the body of Christ.

The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believing sinner.

The Holy Spirit seals the believing sinner.

The Holy Spirit spiritually circumcises the believing sinner.

The Holy Spirit fills the believing sinner.

The first five of these ministries are performed instantaneously at the moment of salvation. Being filled with the Holy Spirit depends, after the initial filling, upon how much you desire to be filled.