By John A. Huffman Jr.
The Bible has much to say about the work of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ. Four specific functions are mentioned among others.
First, the Holy Spirit is a person. He has intelligence, feeling and will. The Bible shows the Holy Spirit as speaking, testifying, searching, commanding, revealing, striving and making intercession.
Theologian Louis Berkhof writes, "In general it may be said that it is His task to bring things to completion both in creation and redemption."
The Westminster Confession states: "He is the Lord and Giver of life, everywhere present, and is the source of all good thoughts, pure desires, and holy counsels in men."
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Second, the Holy Spirit was active in the creation of the world. You see that in Genesis 1:2, which describes that ". . . the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters" (NIV).
Third, the Holy Spirit moved the prophets and apostles to the writing of the Holy Scriptures. All Scripture is "God-breathed," inspired by the Holy Spirit, as well as preserved, illumined and applied to the hearts of men and women by the Holy Spirit through reading, teaching and preaching of the Bible.
Fourth, the Holy Spirit is the only efficient agent in the application of redemption.
The Westminster Confession states: "He regenerates men by His grace, convicts them of sin, moves them to repentance, and persuades and enables them to embrace Jesus Christ by faith. He unites all believers to Christ, dwells in them as their Comforter and Sanctifier, gives them the spirit of Adoption and Prayer, and performs all those gracious offices by which they are sanctified and sealed unto the day of redemption."
Our Confession of 1967 states: "God the Holy Spirit fulfills the work of reconciliation in man. The Holy Spirit creates and renews the church as the community in which men are reconciled to God and to one another. He enables them to receive forgiveness as they forgive one another and to enjoy the peace of God as they make peace among themselves. In spite of their sin, He gives them power to become representatives of Jesus Christ and His gospel of reconciliation to all men."
It is easy to shy away from discussions of this topic because of the controversy it can provoke. There is always the danger of exclusivism. It is easy to place one's own experience on a pedestal as the ultimate of spirituality. When we discover the deeper dimension of life in the Holy Spirit, we can so easily look down on someone else who has not had our same experience.
One man who helped me early in my ministry to come to a reasonably balanced understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life was Dr. David M. Howard, a missionary statesman who served in ministries such as the Latin-American Mission and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. He described his own experience as a freshman in college who desired to delve more deeply into the things of God. He was pliable and open to any help that others wanted to give.
