God's Gift to You- the Holy Spirit (part 2) 

In this second part, we will look at several concepts about the Holy Spirit as explained in the Bible. Let us look into three concepts about the Holy Spirit outlined in the Bible-

1. We are saved by the Spirit
2. We are empowered by the Spirit
3. We are to walk in the communion of the Spirit.

We are Saved by the Spirit

In John chapter 3, Jesus spoke to the Jewish ruler about the process of being born again: ‘Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life' (John 3:6, NLT). This process of the Holy Spirit giving birth to spiritual life, our new nature, is what occurs when we get saved. Jesus goes on to explain how a person becomes born again in John 3:14-16 (NLT): ‘And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.’

 Some people refer to being born again as regeneration. A new life, and a new spirit is born in us. (check John 1:12-13, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 4:6).

‘But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.’ (John 1:12-13, NLT)

‘For he made Him who knew no sin to be made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV)

‘And because we are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son in our hearts, prompting us to call out, “ABBA, Father”’. (Galatians 4:6 NLT)

The nature which the Holy Spirit creates in us is exactly like Himself. We are united and joined with Christ by virtue of the Spirit of God that resides in us. We are God’s own possession and have been bought by Him through the precious blood of Christ

‘but the person joined to the Lord is one Spirit with him’.  (1 Corinthians 6:17, NLT) 

We Are Empowered By The Spirit

Not only are we saved by the Holy Spirit, we are also empowered by the Holy Spirit in three different ways:

1. We are empowered to serve God and do extraordinary things
2. We are empowered to love God and live to please Him in all ways
3. We are empowered to fellowship with God and enjoy all the benefits of salvation

When we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, it is such a beautiful thing that He does in our lives. Perhaps you might have wondered and thought that it would be a beautiful thing to still have Jesus walking the face of the earth with us, because your Christian life and walk with God would have been better. Think of it for a moment, Jesus Christ said it is of ‘great advantage that I go away because if I do not go away, the helper, advocate and comforter will not come’.

Be reminded that the presence of the Holy Spirit means that you carry God in your life and the benefits of that are so enormous.

The Holy Spirit empowers us with variety of gifts to serve God and do extraordinary things for Him. These gifts are highlighted in 1 Corinthians 12:6-10. Some of these gifts are also mentioned in Romans 12:4-8 and 1 Peter 4:10-11. A few of the gifts are spectacular gifts like speaking in tongues, interpretation, miracles, healings, faith etc. There are also service gifts like encouragement, helps, administration and mercy. Then there are ministry gifts like teaching and prophecy. As a child of God, you have been endowed with a gift which you must discover and use it to do extraordinary things for God. The purpose of the gifts is to help us build up other believers.

Perhaps, you think that only a category of people are anointed and called to do extraordinary things for God. This is a wrong conception. While there are individuals called to office gifts in Ephesians 4:11-12, the responsibility they have is to help all the members of the body of Christ to identify, cultivate and mobilize their gifts for the work of the ministry. You can do extraordinary things for God, believe me. The work of bringing men to salvation and establishing them in the faith is an extraordinary miracle. When you are involved in this, God begins to add more lines to your ranks by releasing additional gifts that can help you do your assignment more effectively, trusting in the power the Holy Spirit supplies.

You may want to ask, can I desire some particular gifts, like tongues? The Bible encourages us in Luke 11:13 NLT: ‘So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” And 1 Corinthians 14:1 NLT reads: “Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives- especially the ability to prophesy.” So, let me share this awesome personal testimony with you from a member in Pens For Christ, which you might find helpful:

Personal Testimony 

“I recall being told of the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues while in the university. I totally struggled with this idea coming from a church background where it almost seemed like an offense to speak in tongues. After a while, I started having the desire to be able to pray/speak in tongues at least for the reasons highlighted in the passage below:

‘For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. ...He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.’ 1 Corinthians 14:2, 4 NKJV

I wanted whatever could lead to my edification and building up of my relationship with God. Other passages that stirred my desire are quoted below:

• ‘But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.’ (Jude 1:20, NKJV).
• ‘For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.’ (John 4:24, NLT)
• ‘Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.’ (Ephesians 6:18, NLT)
• ‘For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying. 15Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand’ (1 Corinthians 14: 14-15, NLT)

This desire to pray in tongues sometimes caused me to go out for ministrations for this all to no avail. I often left such place feeling that I was asking God to give me what I already had. I remember a friend saying he believed the ability is resident in every believer; I just needed to speak out. But this never really came through for me. Yet, I desired this experience to strengthen my spiritual life.

While worshipping in a different church, I opened up to the pastor. He opened up a few scriptures, prayed with me and encouraged me to start speaking. I noticed that I uttered a few incomprehensible words. He encouraged me to keep on exercising the gift on daily basis.

For the next few days, the ‘tongues’ weren’t forthcoming. However, whenever someone near me was praying in tongues, I could easily connect and start uttering words I did not understand. I started wondering if I was just saying rubbish or manipulating. However, the things I was saying would not be the same as the person praying in tongues near me. In fact, I discovered that hardly any two people were uttering the exact same words/sounds. It was almost as if I simply needed to connect to the right frequency and the flow was effortless. The empowerment, boldness and peace that I experienced were also unquestionable.

When I discussed my doubts with the pastor, he encouraged me to speak by faith. He explained that the disciples began ‘to speak....as the Spirit gave utterance’ emphasizing that it was my role to speak (not the Holy Spirit's) while He gives the utterance. He explained that the Holy Spirit will sometimes give the prompting but at other times, we would simply switch on to His frequency.

I thank God today for that empowerment and frequent prompting. I know of times where I had prevailed in prayers without knowing what exactly I was praying about, but it sometimes became clearer as times went on. There is this feeling of knowing you have prayed through on an issue, without necessarily knowing what you have said. At other times, I have received words or impressions while praying in the Spirit. Indeed, ‘the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will.’ (Romans 8:26-27, NLT)

As I continue to grow in my walk with God, I have also been privileged to help other people tap into the river of grace that is already in them in person of the Holy Spirit. I have seen people release themselves to the Holy Spirit and begin to pray in the Spirit. I believe this is consistent with the words of Christ in John 7:37-39: ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)’ (KJV) - AM

You can also believe God for your own peculiar experience in being empowered by the Holy Spirit for fruitful service in the kingdom. You can discover and begin to make use, mature and mobilize spiritual gifts to do extraordinary work for God. You can also seek help from mature believers. At Pens For Christ, we will be willing to help you.

The Holy Spirit does not only empower us for service alone but He also empowers us to love God and live in a way that pleases Him. Before we were saved, we were held bound by sin and could not live a life that pleases God. Now, because the Holy Spirit lives insides of us, He liberates us to be able to do the things that pleases God. This is the reason He is called the Spirit of liberty. He empowers us by enabling us to understand the word of God, which is called the perfect law of liberty which transforms and changes us (2 Corinthians 3:16-18; James 1:21-25). When we also walk in step with the Spirit of God, He produces the fruit of the Spirit in us (Galatians 5:22-23).

Finally, the Holy Spirit empowers us to be in constant fellowship with God. We want to fellowship with God because we love Him and want to do those things that pleases Him. We will be discussing more of this in the Part 3 of the article under the Sub topic: Walking in the Communion of the Holy Spirit.

Ize & Sola