Topic(s): Bible Study, Gospel, Salvation

Bob Prichard

In order to understand how the Holy Spirit works today, one must understand who the Holy Spirit is. Since the scriptures speak often of “the” Holy Spirit, many forget that the Holy Spirit is a person in the godhead. Just as the Father is a person, and the Son is a person, the Holy Spirit is also a person. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all deity, possessing the nature of God. Jesus promised the disciples, “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). Twice in this verse, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “he.” The Holy Spirit is a person, and not just an “influence,” an “it” that works as some sort of impersonal force in the lives of Christians.

How does the Spirit work today, then? He works through the scriptures, the written word of God. It is through the Bible that the Spirit speaks to us today. Some claim that there is a “direct operation of the Holy Spirit,” in which the Spirit overpowers the individual. It is thought that because of the wickedness of man’s heart, his “total depravity,” that only a miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit can make man turn from sin to salvation. This does not fit with the description revealed in the Bible, however.

The Holy Spirit works powerfully in the conversion of mankind. His action is not separate from the written word, however, but through the written word. The powerful scriptures are the tool through which he speaks to mankind and converts the sinner. Jesus promised of the Spirit, “when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:8-11). He also promised, “when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26-27). The Spirit continues to convict the world of sin and testify of Christ through the Bible.

Hebrews 4:12 says “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Paul also called the word the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:14). He also said that the gospel is the power of God to save: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). The Spirit must work through the word, including the preaching of that word, or otherwise the Spirit would save people in nations that have never heard the gospel. If the Spirit works directly apart from the word, then God is a respecter of persons, selecting certain favored individuals to be influenced but neglecting others. In reality, any who hear the word of God have the opportunity to respond to the Spirit’s pleading for obedience unto salvation. Each person is individually responsible to respond to the gospel of Christ revealed in the scriptures.