Our current sermon series explores the promise, coming, presence, gifts, and fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is a wonder how God reveals himself as “triune” (i.e., a tri-unity of 3 divine, eternal persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and what he achieves by his Spirit!
A big-picture way to see this is as follows: God accomplishes salvation by the work of the Son, Jesus Christ, through his death in our place and his resurrection to defeat sin and Satan. And God applies the saving achievement of the Son in our lives by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (So too the structure of John Murray’s important book, Redemption Accomplished and Applied).
Pastor Kevin DeYoung’s article, “7 Things the Holy Spirit Does in and for Our Salvation,” unpacks the far-reaching and life-transforming work of the Spirit. Among his key points are these:
The Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of their sin, acting “like a giant searchlight, exposing the world’s wickedness, calling people to repentance, and convicting the world of sin…” (John 16:8-11).
The Holy Spirit converts: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5—and see also Titus 3:5 about regeneration by God’s Spirit).
The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son of God (John 16:14). So “when we focus on Christ we give evidence of the Spirit’s work.”
The Holy Spirit sanctifies; he “works in us ‘for obedience to Jesus Christ’ (1 Pet. 1:2).” In this way, God leads us forward into greater and greater conformity with the image of his Son (Romans 8:29).
The Holy Spirit equips us for ministry by giving us “gifts” to build up the church for the advance of the gospel (1 Corinthians 12:7).
The Holy Spirit promises: in Christ we “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Ephesians 1:13-14).
