The person and ministry of the Holy Spirit is often misunderstood or ignored. He is the one who superintends over the people of God. It is the Holy Spirit who enables the people of God to believe in the power of the gospel of grace unto salvation. Furthermore it is through the Holy Spirit that the believer is enabled to overcome in life and put to death the desires of the flesh.

The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity.  He is fully God. He is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, he has a will, and can speak.  He is alive.  He is a person.  His ministry is to bear witness of Jesus, to reveal Him as the Christ, the resurrected Lord.

1 Cor 12:3, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

The mark of the true believer is to bear fruit, fruit that will last. Gal 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” By yielding to the Lord and trusting in Him, the Holy Spirit ministers to us to remind us of all that Christ has done. How can we know we have the Holy Spirit? Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers the question: “Has the love of God been shed abroad in your heart? Does the Spirit ‘bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God?’ I am not talking about deducing evidence, but the Spirit himself directly, immediately letting you know that you are a child of God. He died for you, his body was broken, his blood was shed. Do you rejoice in him with a joy unspeakable and full of glory?” (“Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory: Power and Renewal in the Holy Spirit,” 196)

In the New Testament there are varying expressions for what it means to be filled by the Spirit as a believer. “We may say that the New Testament teaching on being filled with the Holy Spirit involves three types of experiences: (1) a believer may at times ask for specific filling to qualify him or her for a specific task. (2) Our goal ought to be so to conduct ourselves that those who observe our lives may feel free to describe us as men and women who are full of the Holy Spirit. (3) We must continually and growingly be filled with the Spirit” (Anthony A. Hoekema, “Saved by Grace,” 51).

The Holy Spirit is the continual revealer and enabler in the life of the believer. There is nothing odd or unusual about it, you can talk to him whenever you want, He helps and aids us in our walk of faith. May we be those who constantly reflect the glory of God through walking in the Spirit.

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