1. He Gives Us Power

The Bible tells us in Acts 1:8 that “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” When you put this into context, we are listening in to Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he left, and was ascended into heaven.

It does not take much imagination to discern why he said these things. He knew that he was leaving, and obviously wanted to comfort those who he was leaving behind. He had given them a job, and wanted them to know that they would have what they needed to finish the job.

So he said “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” which when you think about it are very encouraging words. Basically, Jesus is saying, “look, I’ve got to go away, but all the power in the world is mine (Matthew 28:18), and I’m going to give that to you too. So go tell people about me!”

All the power is his, and he’s choosing to give us power too?  We cannot be witnesses to what God has done without power and authority to do so. The Holy Spirit gives that power.

2. He Convicts of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgement

John 16:8 says “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” These are some of the most important jobs of the Holy Spirit, as without these functions, there would be little differentiating between us as Christians and the world that we live in that surrounds us.

Often characterized as a “still, small voice,” the Holy Spirit lets us know what we can do better, prevents us from falling into sin, and lets us know when we are doing things correctly. Another way of looking at this is the Holy Spirit’s giving us the ability to live morally upright lives before God.

3. He Helps Us to Understand and Interpret Scripture

This is another very important aspect of the Holy Spirit’s ministry, helping us to understand and interpret scripture. Yes, the text itself was initially revealed, but through the work of the Holy Spirit, it can often take on new or refined meaning in an individual believer’s life.

John 16:13 says, “ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” So everything that we have heard from Jesus will be revealed to us anew through the spirit.

4. He Reminds Us of the Things Revealed Through Jesus

Similar to the previous job of the Spirit, He will remind us of what Jesus has done, and how exactly that benefits us. John 14:26 says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

This is very important in our lives, because as Christians, we are called to live and be like Christ. The Spirit will remind us of the things that Jesus has taught us, and the benefits of our salvation at the exact moment we need it. Praise God!

Conclusion

It is my hope that you now have a better understanding of what the purpose of the Holy Spirit’s purpose in this world is, and how it is that He accomplishes his purpose.

The Holy Spirit will positively pour out of the Christian who surrenders to the Lord. However, water can’t flow from a cup that has not been filled with water, and the Holy Spirit can’t flow from a Christian who has not been filled by him.

Finally, I want to ask that you examine yourself and your life. If there are things in your life that are flowing out that are not what you know the Spirit is, perhaps you should give those things up, and be filled instead with the Holy Spirit.

-Listen to the 5 minute mini message this article was based off of:

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