THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE
BELIEVER’S LIFE
Dr. Ron Walborn
What are the works of the Holy
Spirit that take place on the inside
of a person, that transform them
from the inside out?
I. PRE-REGENERATION/REGENERATION
ACTIVITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
A.
Pre-Conversion work of the Holy Spirit
1.
Conviction of sin
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am
going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor
will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him
to you. When he comes, he will convict the
world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness
and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do
not believe in me; in regard to righteousness,
because I am going to the Father, where you
can see me no longer; and in regard to
judgment, because the prince of this world now
stands condemned. John 16:7-11
I. PRE-REGENERATION/REGENERATION
ACTIVITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
A.
Pre-Conversion work of the Holy Spirit
1.
2.
Conviction of sin
Drawing people to Christ
“No one can come to me unless the Father who
sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at
the last day.” John 6:44
I. PRE-REGENERATION/REGENERATION
ACTIVITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
A.
B.
Pre-Conversion work of the Holy Spirit
The work of the Holt Spirit in Conversion
(Regeneration)
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
a member of the Jewish ruling council. [2] He came to
Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a
teacher who has come from God. For no one could
perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were
not with him."
[3] In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one
can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
[4] "How can a man be born when he is old?"
Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time
into his mother's womb to be born!"
[5] Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can
enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and
the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives
birth to spirit. John 3:1-6 (NIV)
body
soul
spirit
Sense
Consciousness
Self
Conscious
-ness
(mind, will,
emotions)
God
Conscious
–ness
(marred or
lost at Fall)
26I
body
soul
spirit
will give you a
new heart and put
a new spirit in
you; I will remove
from you your
heart of stone and
give you a heart of
flesh. 27And I will
put my Spirit in
you and move you
to follow my
decrees and be
careful to keep my
laws. Ez. 36:24-27
II. POST-REGENERATION WORK OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Post-Regeneration Conviction & Guidance
[13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he
will guide you into all truth. He will not
speak on his own; he will speak only what
he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to
come. [14] He will bring glory to me by
taking from what is mine and making it
known to you. [15] All that belongs to the
Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit
will take from what is mine and make it
known to you. John 16:13-15
A.
II. POST-REGENERATION WORK OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT
(the rest of this outline is not necessarily sequential in this
chronological order—I believe it may be possible to get
empowered before getting sanctified and sanctified
before getting empowered)
B.
Sanctification: There comes a point in every
believer’s life (subsequent to salvation) when
the Holy Spirit calls him or her to a deeper level
of consecration, commitment and surrender.
When we say “Yes” to this call, the Spirit of God
does a work within us to bring us to a new level
of experiential holiness in every area of our
lives. This work is both crisis and progressive.
[23] May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify
you through and through. May your whole spirit,
soul and body be kept blameless at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24]The one who calls
you is faithful and he will do it. 1 Thess. 5:23-24
Notice it is God doing the work of sanctification
Notice his prayer is that your spirit, soul & body
“may be kept” blameless (someone else is doing the
“keeping”)
Finally notice that it is the one who calls you that is
faithful and HE will do it!
It’s ALL about JESUS and HIS Performance, NOT our
self-effort!
[16]But whenever anyone turns to the Lord,
the veil is taken away. [17] Now the Lord is
the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom. [18] And we, who with
unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are
being transformed into his likeness with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Cor. 3:16-18
“True Holiness is not “cleaning up our act.” It
is the recognition that we are utterly
powerless to “clean up our act” forcing us to
come to Christ in complete brokenness.”
There are Two Kinds of Christians:
Spiritual vs. Worldly – “Brothers, I could
not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere
infants in Christ.” I Cor 3:1
Self-Propelled vs. Spirit-Led - Romans 7
vs. Romans 8
Filled vs. Not Filled – Ephesians 5:18
“While this will result in changes in external
behavior, the focus is not on the externals, but on the
internal presence and leading of the Spirit of Christ”
What does this look like?
Rev. John Soper
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Some say, “It’s all about purity.”
Some say, “It’s all about power.”
Some say, “It’s all about joy.”
Jesus tells us in John 15 that He is the
Vine and we are the branches.
Because of our relationship with Jesus,
we:
“will bear much fruit . . .”—PURITY
“ask whatever we want . . .”—POWER
“our joy will be complete”—JOY
According to Jesus, the fullness of the
Holy Spirit involves all of these things.
II. POST-REGENERATION WORK OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT
A.
Empowerment
[17]The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to
him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is
written: [18] "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to preach good
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight
for the blind, to release the oppressed, [19] to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 4:17-19
B. When does this Experience take place?
1.
2.
Subsequent to Salvation
John 20:22 is the initiation of the Church
(Regeneration)
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As
the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
[22] And with that he breathed on them and
said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. [23] If you
forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if
you do not forgive them, they are not
forgiven."
John 20:21-23 (NIV)
B. When does this Experience take place?
1.
2.
3.
Subsequent to Salvation
John 20:22 is the initiation of the Church (Regeneration)
Acts 2:1-4 is the Empowerment of the
Church (Subsequent to Salvation—notice the
context of Acts 1:4,5,8)
“Every Christian does NOT have this Acts 2
empowerment! If they did, the Church would
be in much better shape than it is.”
[4]On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he
gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but
wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have
heard me speak about. [5] For John baptized with
water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the
Holy Spirit…[8] But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth… Acts 1:4-5,8
[2:1] When the day of Pentecost came, they were all
together in one place. [2] Suddenly a sound like the
blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled
the whole house where they were sitting. [3] They saw
what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and
came to rest on each of them. [4] All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4
B. When does this Experience take place?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Subsequent to Salvation
John 20:22 is the initiation of the Church
(Regeneration)
Acts 2:1-4 is the Empowerment of the Church
(Subsequent to Salvation)
This is not limited to a one-time
experience. There is to be an ongoing
expectancy that the Holy Spirit wants to fill
and refill the Believer again and again
(Eph. 5:18)
After they prayed, the
place where they
were meeting was
shaken. And they
were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and spoke
the word of God
boldly. Acts 4:31
And the disciples were
filled with joy and with
the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:52
While Peter was still
speaking these words,
the Holy Spirit came on
all who heard the
message. [45] The
circumcised believers
who had come with
Peter were astonished
that the gift of the Holy
Spirit had been poured
out even on the
Gentiles. [46] For they
heard them speaking in
tongues and praising
God. Acts 10:44-46
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through
the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found
some disciples [2] and asked them, "Did you receive
the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered,
"No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
[3] So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you
receive?“ "John's baptism," they replied. [4] Paul said,
"John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told
the people to believe in the one coming after him, that
is, in Jesus." [5] On hearing this, they were baptized
into the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] When Paul placed
his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and
they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Acts 19:1-6 (NIV)
Why did Paul ask the question: “Did you receive
the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
Hint: This is not a Regeneration question!
C. How should we describe this experience?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The Filling of the Holy Spirit
The Unction (E.M. Bounds)
The Anointing
The Spirit-Filled Life
The Crisis Experience
My suggestion—Call it whatever you want so
long as you are living with the tangible
reality of the power of the Holy Spirit!
D. The “Coming Upon Anointing” of the Holy
Spirit
1. While every Christian is regenerated by the
Holy Spirit and therefore “has” the Holy Spirit
(Romans 8:9), not every Christian is living in
the empowerment of the Holy Spirit...
D. The “Coming Upon Anointing” of the Holy
Spirit
17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and
teachers of the law, who had come from every
village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was
present for him to heal the sick. Luke 5:17
2. The NT and Church History support “the
coming upon anointing” of the Holy Spirit at
special times and ministries. E.M. Bounds
called it “the Unction,” while others have
referred to it as “the anointing.”
E. Experiential/Evidential Results:
1. Intimacy with God
(worship)
2. Love beyond
reason
5. Zeal for Holiness
6. Boldness in
Evangelism
3. Joy unspeakable
7. Spiritual Power &
Authority
4. Indescribable
Peace
8. Release of Spiritual
Gifts
9. The Fruit of the Spirit
I have never met a man who was filled with the
Holy Spirit and did not know it. A.W. Tozer
F. Testimonies:
“The Holy Spirit descended upon me in a
manner that seemed to go through me, body
and soul. I could feel the impression, like a
wave of electricity going through and through
me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and
waves of liquid love…no words could express
the wonderful love that was shed abroad in
my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love. I
literally bellowed out the unutterable
gushings of my heart.” —C.G. Finney
F. Testimonies:
“Oh what a day, I cannot describe it. I
seldom referred to it. It is almost too
sacred an experience to name…I can
only say that God revealed Himself to
me and I had such an experience of His
love that I had to ask Him to stay His
hand.” —D.L. Moody
F. Testimonies:
(In a hotel room with Stephen Olford,
Billy Graham asked to be filled with the
Holy Spirit. Laughing hilariously, he
described his experience saying…)
“I’m filled! I’m filled! I’m filled! This is
the turning point in my life. This will
revolutionize my ministry.”
—Billy Graham
FINAL THOUGHTS
The work of the Holy Spirit is for every
believer. It is NOT a REWARD! It is a GIFT!
[38] Peter replied, "Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your
sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you
and your children and for all who are far
off—for all whom the Lord our God will
call." Acts 2:38-39
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much
more will your Father in heaven give the Holy
Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13
When you ask the Holy Spirit to fill you…
 Ask with expectancy without agenda
 Do not compare your experience with others
 Focus on Jesus!
 Allow Your hunger for more of Him to grow
without demanding “Instant” answers!
“I would rather have a man or
woman on my platform who has
never received the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit but is hungry for Him,
than to have a person who has
received the “Experience” and
grown complacent in it.”
—Smith Wigglesworth