The Work and Ministry of the Spirit

Introduction

Effects of the sun - obvious

Acts 2:4–12 (ESV)

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? . . . 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

It was certainly obvious that the Holy Spirit had transformed them!

The Holy Spirit had done a work in them AND through them.

“Romans 8:9 says, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” According to this verse, if I am a believer, the Spirit of God dwells in me. . . And this is the question I just can’t get around: If it’s true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, then shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not? . . . Churchgoers all across the nation say the Holy Spirit has entered them. They claim that God has given them a supernatural ability to follow Christ, put their sin to death, and serve the church. Christians talk about being born again and say that they were dead but now have come to life. We have become hardened to those words, but they are powerful words that have significant meaning. Yet when those outside the church see no difference in our lives, they begin to question our integrity, our sanity, or even worse, our God. And can you blame them?”

Chan, Francis. Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit (pp. 32-33). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.

The Spirit’s purpose in your life is to form the image of Christ in you so others might be transformed by Christ through you.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the great beautifier of souls.

John Owen

If that is the purpose of the Holy Spirit, then the questions for today are:

How does the Holy Spirit work in you?

How does the Holy Spirit work through you?

How can you increasingly experience the Holy Spirit’s work in and through your life?

Fruit (IN) and Gifts (THROUGH)

What the Holy Spirit does IN you:

The Holy Spirit applies salvation for new life

“Salvation is purposed by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit.”

“The inward operation of the Holy Spirit is necessary to saving faith. The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight.”8

A. W. Tozer

How does this work? There are several things the Spirit does to apply what Christ did on the cross to our lives - the order of which (ordo salutis) has been a debate for centuries.

Convicts of Sin

John 16:8 (ESV)

8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

Regenerates

John 3:3–6 (ESV)

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

ILLUST - Regenerate in a video game = come back to life -(respawn) no matter how how badly you mess up - you regenerate

Dwells

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV)

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Fills

Ephesians 5:18 (ESV)

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Seals

Ephesians 1:14 (ESV)

14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Assurance

Romans 8:14–16 (ESV)

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

The Holy Spirit supplies fruit for the Christian life

Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Singular fruit as it is all a natural part of the Spirit’s work in transforming our lives to be like Christ.

These are not separate fruits but all part of a singular fruit of the Spirit.

ILLUST - “the fruit of an apple tree is green, tart, size of a softball, crunchy”

Taken together, these describe the singular fruit the apple tree naturally supplies.

The fruit is singular and it is natural to the life in the Spirit.

ILLUST - the tree doesn’t need to strain to produce it’s fruit - While there may be certain things that can promote or hinder greater fruitfulness, bearing fruit is a natural consequence of being a fruit tree!

Since the fruit of the Spirit is both singular and (super)natural it means two things:

ALL of the fruit of the Spirit should be displayed in your life in increasing measure.

The way to increase the fruit of the Spirit in your life is not to simply “try harder” on your own but to seek and allow the Spirit to do what he naturally wants to do in you.

“You are most likely familiar with the “fruit passage” in Galatians 5, which says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (vv. 22–23 NIV). You may even have the list memorized. But look over those traits right now and ask yourself if you possess each to a supernatural degree. Do you exhibit more kindness and faithfulness than the Mormons you know? Do you have more self-control than your Muslim friends? More peace than Buddhists? More joy than atheists? If GOD truly lives in you, shouldn’t you expect to be different from everyone else? What disturbs me most is when we’re not really bothered that God living in us has not made much of a noticeable difference. Most churchgoers are content to find a bit of peace rather than a “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). We want just enough peace to survive the week (or perhaps even the day).”

— Chan, Francis. Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit (pp. 146-147). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.

What is the fruit that you need the Spirit to develop more in your life? (circle one)

Do you find yourself becoming irritated or with a lack of love with your co-workers, friends, family?

Is joy a foreign concept?

Is anxiety the norm? And you need more peace?

How patient are you?

Do kindness, goodness, and faithfulness describe you?

Are you gentle or harsh with people?

What about self-control?

This is not to be a guilt trip - it would be if we were discussing religious fruit. There is hope as it is not your work but the Spirit’s work as you walk with Him.

What the Holy Spirit does THROUGH you:

The Spirit builds the church and advances the gospel through the gifts he gives to each believer.

Spiritual gifts are given by the Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:4–11 (ESV)

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

- Each believer is given at least one gift.

(1 Corinthians 12:7)

- The Holy Spirit determines who receives which gifts.

(1 Corinthians 12:11)

- Each gift is equally valuable. (1 Corinthians 12:21-26

1 Corinthians 12:21–26 (ESV)

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

- We are to use our gifts to serve others for the benefit of the body. (Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:12)

What is your spiritual gift(s)? Tell your neighbor - they may need it sometime.

How do you discover your spiritual gift(s)?

Pray and ask the Spirit to reveal to you

Study the different gifts in Scripture

Try out scenarios which use different spiritual gifts

Ask someone who know you well what gifts they see in you

I don’t have all the gifts! We need each other!

You HAVE a spiritual gift - Don’t be a religious appendix - “They’re in the body but what are they doing there?”

Spiritual gifts are used to build the church

and for Christ’s glory, not your own.

- We are commanded to use our gifts.

1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

When was the last time you used your spiritual gift?

What if we don’t use our gifts?

ILLUST - episode of Carol Burnett Show where Tim Conway plays a dentist who keeps injecting himself with Novocain instead of his patient - his limbs become useless. Picture of many churches today?

The church today has come to rest too much on too few.

We have come to honor and celebrate volunteerism instead of gifting.

This means church work tends to be accomplished through guilt or grunt rather than gifting.

How to experience the Spirit’s work IN and THROUGH you:

How do you experience increase in the Spirit’s sanctification - victory over sin - fruit of the Spirit - empowerment of the gift given

Galatians 5:25 (ESV)

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

or “Since we. . .”

Paul didn’t say - “try harder,” “be more religious,” etc. Instead he says, “Stay close to the Spirit”

ILLUST - one of my children is REALLY bad at walking with others - cannot keep in step.

ILLUST - three-legged race - won’t be in step if you don’t stay close - may fall

Practical ways to keep in step with the Spirit:

What do you normally do when you walk in step with someone?

Go where they are going - The Word

Talk with them

Stay close