HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS 

By Larry Wilson

The Holy Spirit creates Christians. “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3; cf. Eph. 2:1-7). And the Holy Spirit “Christianizes” Christians. He strengthens their faith. He conquers their sin. He refurbishes them with Christ-like character (Gal. 5:22-23). He knits them together into a new community (1 Cor. 12:13). He gives them abilities and desires to serve (1 Cor. 12:8-11). He enables them to do good works (Eph. 2:10). He gets them ready for eternity.

The Holy Spirit’s working is powerful! Supernatural! Miraculous! Astonishing! But the most remarkable thing of all is that it is so very humble! As a rule, he has chosen methods which seem downright weak and foolish. His tools seem much too mundane to possibly make any difference. But they make all the difference in the world! They are the very tools the Holy Spirit himself ordinarily employs to relate the living Christ and all his blessings to people (1 Cor. 1:17-2:5; 2 Cor. 4:5-7). This is why we call them “means of grace.” They are the instruments (“means”) by which we can lay hold of the Holy Spirit and find grace to help in time of need. What are these means of grace? Most especially, they are:

The Word of God. Through God’s Word (the Bible)—read, but especially heard when it is preached— the Holy Spirit teaches people:
• who God is and what he is like;
• who we are and why we exist;
• what God wants and how we match up to what he wants;
• how serious is our failure to do what God wants (the Bible calls this “sin”) and the great danger this puts us in;
• how God rescues sinners through Jesus Christ;
• how to find God’s friendship in Christ, both for now and for all eternity;
• how to live an life of ongoing friendship with God;
• how to die in hope of everlasting happiness with God.

The Sacraments. Through baptism (a ceremonial washing with water), the Holy Spirit reassures believers that as certainly as water washes dirt off the body, so certainly the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away sins. He certifies that they belong to Christ and to his church. Through the Lord’s Supper (a ceremonial eating and drinking of bread and wine), the Holy Spirit encourages believers that as certainly as they see the bread and the cup given, so certainly Jesus Christ was given on the cross for them. He works in them so that just as bread and wine nourish them, so certainly he himself strengthens their souls to eternal life through faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ.

Pastoral Care in the Church. Our Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Through pastoral care by his “under-shepherds” (pastors and elders), his Holy Spirit works to make disciples for him by God’s Word and to instruct and correct believers according to God’s Word.

Prayer. Through these means, the Holy Spirit creates a response of faith, establishes a vital relationship, and stirs believers so that they become both inclined and able to embrace God and his blessings by laying hold of him in prayer, both individually and together.

Through the Holy Spirit’s energetic working by and with these means of grace, our Lord Jesus Christ himself rescues and renovates sinners, and gathers and builds up his church. The Holy Spirit is ever working to create, nurture, restore, preserve, and build a redeemed people for God.

Don’t neglect or ignore these indispensable tools by which the Holy Spirit so powerfully works. Without his working, we’re each on our own, without hope and without God in the world. But—praise God!—King Jesus sends his Holy Spirit. And thanks to the Holy Spirit’s working you can have Jesus Christ as your Savior, as your Lord, as your Friend for eternity. Diligently use these means of grace. Use them in humble reliance and expectancy on the Holy Spirit’s working. God has promised to bless their use.

“Unto [the] catholic visible church Christ has given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God for the gathering and perfecting of the saints in this life to the end of the world; and does — by his own presence and Spirit, according to his promise — make them effectual thereunto.”   (Westminster Confession of Faith, XXV.3)

Larry Wilson presently serves as the pastor of Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Indianapolis, IN.