God's Word For You is a free Bible Study site committed to bringing you studies firmly grounded in the Bible – the Word of God. Holding a reformed, conservative, evangelical perspective this site affirms that God has provided in Jesus Christ his eternal Son, a way of salvation in which we can live in his presence guilt free, acquitted and at peace.

 
 

THOUGHTS ON THE HOLY SPIRIT

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

The Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit has an essential and indispensable role in our salvation. God the Father does not automatically make us his own just because he sent the Son to die for us. Jesus the Son does not automatically save us just because he died for us. Without the operation of God the Holy Spirit in and on the individual human being not one person would know and understand the love of God the Father or benefit from the sacrifice of God the Son. We are saved by the unified purpose and united action of the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

In this meditation we focus on the role of the Spirit of God in bringing us to the knowledge of God that leads to salvation.

As we have already seen in previous meditations:

The Holy Spirit is responsible for the inspiration of the biblical writers and the accurate recording of the written Word of God.

The Holy Spirit enlightens our minds so that we can personally understand God’s truth.

The Holy Spirit actively confronts us with God’s truth, convicting us of guilt in respect to sin, righteousness and judgment.

The Holy Spirit works in unison with the words of Jesus Christ to reveal the Father.

Each of these operations of the Holy Spirit is essential for our salvation. Without this action of the Spirit:

We would not and could not understand who God is.

We would not and could not understand what God requires of us.

We would not and could not understand who Jesus Christ is – the Lord of glory here among us as one of us.

We would not and could not understand what Jesus Christ accomplished when he died on the cross.

We would still be trapped in the darkness of ignorance and wrong belief unless the Spirit had come and set us free from that darkness.

The New Testament teaches us about the essential liberating work of the Holy Spirit by which he reveals the truth about God to us and convinces us of its truth:

That the Holy Spirit reveals to us the truth of the gospel that we could not otherwise have even imagined – 1Corinthians 2:7 – 10.

That the Holy Spirit enables us to see the truth and the wisdom of the gospel, which we had assumed to be foolishness – 1Corinthians 2:14.

That it is the Holy Spirit who reveals to us and convinces us of the truth about Jesus Christ, that he actually is who he claimed to be, the ‘Lord’ – 1Corinthians 12:2-3

That it is the Holy Spirit who removes the veil of ignorance of God’s truth from our minds and enables us to see Jesus Christ – 2Corinthians 3:13-17.

That it is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of the truth of the gospel – 1Thessalonians 1:5.

That it is the Holy Spirit who enables and empowers those who preach the gospel to us, to witness to us about the love of God the Father and the sin-bearing sacrifice of God the Son – 1Peter 1:12; Acts 1:8.

While the love of God the Father in sending his Son, and the love of God the Son in dying, bearing our sin, our guilt, and its punishment, are both external to us, this work of the Spirit of God is within us. It is an intrusive, interfering work, changing our minds, changing our hearts, changing our entire worldview, changing our values and priorities, confronting us with the love of God the Father and the sacrifice of God the Son.

To reject this work of the Spirit, to harden our hearts against his persuasions and his convictions, is to distance oneself from both the love of God the Father and the atoning sacrifice of God the Son. To reject this work of the Spirit is to remain unsaved, forever lost, forever trapped in ignorance.

© Rosemary Bardsley 2024