I Am Saved and Born Again Will I Experience the Holy Spirit as I Continue to Read the Bible?

Definition

Equally the Agent of Salvation, the Holy Spirit gives Christ and all the redemptive blessings he has secured to the people of God. The Spirit applies to the church what Christ has accomplished for the church.

Summary

Salvation is purposed past the Male parent, accomplished past the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit'southward bureau in conservancy, all that Christ has accomplished brings no value to us. As Scripture uniformly presents, the Spirit graciously, finer, and permanently gives us Christ Jesus and every blessing he has secured. Our salvation is in Christ alone. Our conservancy is by his Spirit lone.

Carrying out distinct roles in conservancy, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit work sovereignly and seamlessly. However despite the Holy Spirit'south integral role in conservancy, his ministry is frequently understated, his redemptive piece of work, including his illumination of Scripture, relegated to theological postscript. Some see the Spirit as necessary for new birth (the beginning of the salvation experience) but treat him as functionally irrelevant thereafter. Others perceive the Spirit as their private genie, experience-generator, dream-filler and phenomenon worker.

Unbiblical perspectives nearly the Holy Spirit boldly appear in sure theological paradigms, only too ordinarily surface reflexively, even from evangelical lips: "O God, delight empower us past your Spirit, so that it can work in our hearts!" It? Scripture protests. The Third Person of the Trinity is no "it!" He is the living God at piece of work amidst his people unto our salvation.

Privatized, impersonal or rogue conceptions of the Spirit neither honor Scripture nor crest the heights of biblical salvation. Scripture profiles his essential and indelible role in our salvation—from beginning to end. He is the Personal Instrument of the gospel.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

To brainstorm book iii of the Institutes, Calvin affirms, the "Holy Spirit is the bond past which Christ effectually unites usa to himself."^one It must exist so, for "as long as Christ remains outside of united states of america, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human being race remains useless and of no value for us."² The Holy Spirit ministers across the ages—bringing Christ and his salvation to those living before and subsequently his redemptive work.^three At that place is no conservancy apart from the Male parent's election and the Son'south humiliation and exaltation. Truthful. Still no one enjoys the benefits of Christ's saving life, death, and resurrection apart from the Holy Spirit. He is the vital bonding Agent, the glue of the gospel, securing sinners immediately and permanently to Christ Jesus.

On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus informs his disciples of the unbroken (and unbreakable!) solidarity betwixt him, the Male parent, and the Spirit.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he volition guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authorization, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to yous the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will have what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Begetter has is mine; therefore I said that he volition accept what is mine and declare it to y'all." (John xvi:13–15).

1. Jesus affirms the eternal Trinitarian framework for redemption. Salvation is a divine deed and divine gift, and in its entirety, attains by the purpose and work of the Triune God (Eph. i:3–xiv). Appropriately, Jesus ties his own work and words to his heavenly Begetter: "all that the Begetter has is mine." Jesus "has" what the Father "has." The immediate context demands that we sympathise these Trinitarian references here economically (in terms of divine activeness on globe). While assuming the eternal Male parent, Son, and Holy Spirit (three Persons/one God ontology)—and the robust inter-Trinitarian fellowship/mutuality which sustain his words, in John sixteen, Jesus speaks of the piece of work of redemption on the stage of history. Jesus has nothing to do or say except what his Father has given him. His words and works operate according to and in deference to the Father.
2. Jesus speaks explicitly concerning what the Holy Spirit says and does. The Spirit never disengages from Trinitarian saving purposes. The Agent of salvation, he promotes and illumines the Son of God as the one Mediator between God and human being (2Tim. 2:5). And "as 'the Spirit of truth,' he possesses no agenda of his own; his role in the church is basically self-effacing and Christ enhancing."⁴ Conforming to the say-so of Christ'due south redemptive piece of work and words, he tells "whatsoever he hears" from Christ. The Spirit ministers with tireless Christ-centeredness. His words and works operate co-ordinate to and in deference to the Son.
3. The selection of futurity verb tenses in John 16 displays Jesus' anticipation of the unprecedented ministry of the Holy Spirit, which as Luke/Acts discloses, occurs at Pentecost. The hinge-turning upshot for the Holy Spirit is Christ'due south resurrection, when the Son of God is given "all authority in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:xviii; cf. Rom. 1:1–7). This newly attained authorisation will put in motion his smashing missionary endeavor, for which he promises to be with his disciples "to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). His empowering presence comes by his Holy Spirit, whom he pours out on his people (Acts 2), and by whom he applies his life-giving resurrection power to all who believe (Eph. ane:xv–23). The Spirit ensures the effectiveness of this mission.

The Spirit's ministry building thus carries out a specific charter, marked by the total telescopic of saving glory––exposing, cartoon, and uniting sinners to the resurrected and exalted, life-giving, Savior and Rex of kings. With his unrelenting Christ-centeredness, the Spirit personally sustains Christ'due south mission; the Spirit, in fact, delivers, applies, effects Christ's salvation.⁵ Put more properly, the Spirit tenders not simply the benefits, but the Benefactor; he gives usa Christ himself (Titus 2:14; Rom. viii:9). Salvation, as Scripture presents it, comes by a real union with the real Christ, a personal bond to the Person of Christ by the Person of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit and Salvation

• New Life: Romans 10:9–17 links faith, hearing, and the Give-and-take of God. Hearing God's phone call to embrace Christ requires new Spirit-given life. Christ does not effectuate salvation on the basis of some dormant human capacity in the unregenerate soul. Scripture describes the unbeliever both as unwilling and unable to believe (Rom. 8:9–11). Dead to God's will and word, cold to Christ and his salvation, deafened to God's voice and promise, and devoid of any modicum of spiritual life, the unbeliever needs new life. It is the Spirit who gives information technology, when he sovereignly, efficaciously, and irresistibly^{half dozen} takes residence in every believer (John 14:xvi–17) and unites us to the resurrected Christ (Eph. two:v).
• Sin: Without the Spirit, there is no spiritual awareness of the heinousness, the sinfulness of sin. And for a sinner to become convinced of Christ's salvation, the Holy Spirit first exposes and convicts him of his sin (John sixteen:viii–xi). This sin-confronting ministry building continues through the believer'southward life, every bit the Spirit generates deeper confidence and sincere repentance (Rom. half dozen:22; 1Jn. 1:9, 2:one–ii), every bit believers grow into conformity unto the holy Christ (Rom. eight:29).
• Faith: Faith is a sacred enablement—a Holy Spirit-ual and wholly spiritual chapters enabling ane to come across Christ every bit he is, Savior and Mediator, and to comprehend him in his total saving adequacy. Since nosotros "were expressionless in our trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1) and therefore unable to believe, saving "faith is the principal piece of work of the Holy Spirit."⁷ Luther captures the betoken autobiographically: "I believe that I cannot, past my own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. Just the Holy Spirit has chosen me through the gospel, enlightened me by his gifts, sanctified and preserved me in the truthful faith."⁸ The Westminster Confession of Faith 14.1 helpfully describes this gift of faith as an agile and lively thing: "The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts." Spirit-given faith non only makes its exercise possible but makes it irresistible. Saving organized religion is an active thing, which compels the believing heart to rely upon Christ personally, receive him savingly, and residuum upon him permanently.
• Holy Scripture: The Spirit too changes our attitude toward and receptivity to God's Word; Christ's sheep hear and recognize the voice of their new Shepherd (John 10:27). Since the Christian'due south ear is now attuned to the Spirit'southward living vocalization––the Scriptures, the one indwelt by the Spirit delights in the Bible and comes to a saving understanding of it (Eph. 5:18 and Col. 3:16). To put information technology pointedly, when we read the Scripture, empathize it and long to obey it, we only do so considering of the Holy Spirit, who illumines our minds and warms our hearts to Christ and his salvation (1Jn. 2:20–27).
• The Church: The aforementioned Spirit who brings faith and salvation to the private sinner brings faith and conservancy to all of the people of God. The Holy Spirit is the one who creates holy, family fellowship (Phil. 2:i–2). As the Spirit of adoption (Rom. viii:15), he creates one family of God (Eph. 1:3–6; Eph. 2:15). The Apostle Paul describes gospel unity every bit the piece of work of the Spirit, "For in one Spirit nosotros were all baptized into ane torso—Jews or Greeks, slaves or gratis—and all were fabricated to potable of 1 Spirit" (1Cor. 12:thirteen). The Spirit of truth confronts many spirits of mistake by teaching and affirming truth (1Jn. 4:6). He "embeds shared truth in the collective heart of the people of God—visibly expressed in confessional solidarity, theological allegiance, corporate holiness, and hermeneutical unity. Equally the Reformers discerned and affirmed, such apprehensive agreement [of Scripture] arises only in the visible, confessing body of Christ. And such understanding comes non past mere reliance upon the commonage wisdom of the interpreters but upon the Spirit in Scripture speaking to the family of God in 1 voice."⁹ Not everything in Scripture is as clear, so there are different theological and ecclesial traditions. But in their all-time manifestation, denominational distinctions represent the shared and Spirit-wrought commitment to trusting, understanding and obeying Scripture. Soteriology (teaching well-nigh conservancy) is distinct from ecclesiology (education apropos the church) but must never be severed from it. Why? Considering the Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of his church, where Christ openly reigns and is exalted.
• Justification: Scripture speaks frequently of the justification of sinners in the death/resurrection of Christ. Due to Christ'southward sinless, covenantally faithful life, the Father vindicates him, declares him righteous (1Tim. 3:16). Past the agency of the Spirit, believers enjoy Christ'southward vindication/justification as our own: "y'all were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1Cor. 6:11b; cf. Rom. 3:24). Justification is secured by Jesus; information technology is practical to us past his Spirit.
• Sanctification: Those united to Christ further enjoy "expiry to sin and newness of life [which] are effected in our identification with Christ in his expiry and resurrection."¹⁰ Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit, every bit he binds the states to the Christ who, at his resurrection, not only overwhelms the guilt of sin (for our forgiveness), but conquers the ability of sin and death (for our holiness). Sanctification is secured by Jesus; it is given to usa and worked in the states past his Spirit (Rom. 6:i–11; Gal. v:16).
• Assurance: Though believers face seasons of fierce dubiety, the Holy Spirit kindly tenders assurance of salvation upon our hearts (1Jn. 5:1–13). In our deepest affliction, the Spirit of God affirms our identity as God's children and Jesus' brothers (Heb. 2:11). Christ in his darkest hour prayed, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you lot. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what yous volition" (Mark 14:36). Children of God detect deepest comfort from our heavenly Male parent, when nosotros, past the ministry building of the Holy Spirit, echo our Elder Brother and Savior, "Abba! Father!" (Rom. 8:15; cf. Gal. 4:6). Jesus' obedience secured gospel certainty; the Holy Spirit warms our hearts with that Christ-produced certainty.

Conclusion

Salvation is both divine piece of work and divine souvenir. As such, it is thoroughly Trinitarian, with essential aspects of salvation effected respectively and impeccably by the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Without the gracious purpose of the Father, there is no conservancy. Without the satisfactory work of the Son, in that location is no salvation. Without the faithful agency of the Spirit, there is no salvation. For the Holy Spirit of Christ is "the primal that unlocks for u.s. the treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven."^eleven

Further Reading

Selected Online Resource

• Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., "'Life-Giving Spirit': Probing the Center of Paul's Pneumatology," JETS 41/4 (December 1998): 573–589.
• David B. Garner, "Redemption Applied," Tabletalk (April 2019)
• Thomas Goodwin, "The Work of the Holy Spirit in Our Conservancy."
• Robert A. Peterson, "The Most Important Work of the Holy Spirit."

Selected Print Resources

• Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (IVP, 1996).
• Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., "The Holy Spirit," Westminster Theological Journal (1980): 58–78
• Robert Letham, Union with Christ in Scripture, History, and Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2011).
• John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans, 1955).

---

This essay is part of the Curtailed Theology series. All views expressed in this essay are those of the author. This essay is freely available nether Creative Commons License with Attribution-ShareAlike, assuasive users to share it in other mediums/formats and adapt/translate the content as long as an attribution link, indication of changes, and the same Creative Commons License applies to that material. If you are interested in translating our content or are interested in joining our community of translators, please reach out to us.

This essay has been translated into French.

This work is licensed under CC By-SA 4.0

Other Essays

pickardmarned.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-holy-spirit-agent-of-salvation/

Share this post