The work of the Holy Spirit occurs in various aspects: working on people and being filled with the Holy Spirit. One’s own conscience and, ideally, one’s own sanctification through the power of God.
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Nothing works without the Holy Spirit
Having the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit are not only two different terms, but they also have different meanings. However, they are often lumped together without considering the important difference. This is especially true for religious communities that consider the ability to speak in tongues to be proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit. These include Pentecostals and other charismatic faith groups.
Fundamentally: Without the work of the Holy Spirit, man is hopelessly lost. In his fallen nature, man pursues only his fleshly desires. This always means sin in some form, i.e., the transgression of one of the God’s Commandments.
First and foremost, the Holy Spirit is the only and, above all, true representative of Jesus Christ on earth. The constant assertions of the primate of the Roman Catholic Church that he is the representative on earth are of no help (Info). Jesus Christ Himself announced the Holy Spirit as His “personal representative” (John 14:16-17):
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.“
Who will receive the Holy Spirit?
This question of who will actually receive the Holy Spirit is quickly answered with Luke 11:13:
“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?“
In short: Anyone who asks for the Holy Spirit in prayer is asking for something in God’s good pleasure, and He will naturally fulfill His promise and grant this request faster than the prayer has been fully uttered. For the Holy Spirit also works in people who don’t even know that He exists. In such a case, the Spirit of God exerts a moderating influence on the person, preventing them from completely following their carnal desires in their fallen nature. However, this does not occur as a “remote-controlled compulsion,” but rather by shaking their conscience.
The law of God is written on man’s heart, Romans 2:14-15:
“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)“
Man himself decides
The decision lies with man himself whether to listen to the Holy Spirit’s calling on his conscience or to (consistently) ignore it. In such a case, at some point, the ripcord is pulled, and the Holy Spirit ends His moderating influence and attempts to bring the person back to the right path. That’s it, for the Holy Spirit no longer comes.
The “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” cannot be forgiven. One can only vaguely imagine what the world will be like in the advanced stages of the end times, when God has finally withdrawn His Holy Spirit from this earth.
Those who ask for the Holy Spirit have already recognized the seriousness of their situation, namely through the Holy Spirit. This is proof that the Holy Spirit was and is already at work.
Acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Only Savior
The Holy Spirit is not just an option or an added bonus, but an absolute prerequisite for salvation from one’s otherwise hopelessly lost situation. As John 14:6 describes, there is no alternative way to one’s salvation besides Jesus Christ. Therefore, accepting Jesus Christ as one’s only way out of misery is also evidence of the (successful) work of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, people would be very careless about this connection. 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.“
The Holy Spirit fills man
Once the Holy Spirit, through the person’s consent (his own desire), has completed His first work, opening the heart and, above all, surrendering one’s life to Jesus Christ, the process of sanctification begins. The Holy Spirit no longer works only from the outside, but gradually fills the person. This is also the great difference between the Holy Spirit’s work on the person and His work within the person.
From now on, a change can be observed in the person. More and more, a spiritual pursuit rather than the indulgence of fleshly desires. 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.“
While God’s promise to forgive sin after confession and repentance (1 John 1:9) occurs immediately, the sanctification of man is a process. Man is, so to speak, “filed and polished.” A change of character takes place through God, for man cannot possibly accomplish this on his own. In a figurative sense, man becomes a perfectly fitting stone for the (spiritual) temple of God, and Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the temple (Ephesians 2:19-22)..
Recognizing and Overcoming Sin
The Holy Spirit, in His work, also ensures that people recognize their own sinful nature. This also requires knowing sin itself, because what actually is sin? This question is anything but self-evident today, because the definition of sin has long since been changed based on the “human mind” (Info).
Sanctification is the filling with and by the Holy Spirit. This is not a matter of a few weeks or months, but a process that lasts the rest of one’s life. Galatians 5:16-18:
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.“
At this point, it is definitely worth reading the entire passage Galatians 5:16-26.
Abuse and false teaching
The misuse of biblical teaching, or rather, the misinterpretation, is primarily found in claims that the Holy Spirit must come over and into one separately, in a separate event. Thus, the “baptism with the Holy Spirit,” which then expresses new abilities, such as speaking in tongues and performing healings. “Fire” descends from heaven to earth, and this “fire” is extensively invoked, especially in charismatic circles.
The reverse conclusion, therefore, is that anyone who lacks these abilities is also not filled with the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues (babbling) is clear evidence of a completely false spirit (Info).
The true evidence of being filled with the true Holy Spirit is quite visible. “By their fruits you will know them” applies here as well. First and foremost, this is the ability to overcome sin, that is, to freely and willingly keep God’s law, based on true love. In short: obedience. And Romans 15:13:
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.“
The ultimate proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit is not the ability to perform any miracles, although this can certainly be the case, but the transformation of one’s own character, which comes ever closer to Jesus Christ.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Galatians 5:22
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
