The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit lives within every Christian (Romans 8:9); however, He works in different ways in different believers. Paul says that we are sealed with the Spirit when we believe (Ephesians 1:13-14), but he also tells us to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). The disciples received the Spirit in John 20:22, but were filled with the Spirit in Acts 2:4, and then filled again in Acts 4:31. The Spirit can come in special ways for special ministry as well (Acts 13:2-4; 1 Timothy 4:14). Paul tells us not to put out the Spirit’s fire (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Timothy is told to fan into flame the gift of God given to him by the laying on of Paul’s hands (2 Timothy 1:6). We see that we can either allow the Spirit to work more and more in our lives, or we can stop the Spirit from working. We can either be filled with the Spirit, or we can put out the Spirit’s fire.

What does this “filling with the Spirit” mean? What works of the Spirit are not present equally in all Christians’ lives? They can be divided into two groups: the special gifts of the Spirit, examples of which are given in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; and the fruits of the Spirit, which are listed in Galatians 5:22-23. For a further discussion of the gifts and power of the Spirit, see General Article: Holy Spirit Baptism. The fruits of the Spirit, or “holiness,” will be discussed below.

What is holiness, or sanctification? Briefly, it is Christ-likeness. It results in love and in the other fruits of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Galatians 5:22-23). It involves separation from sin and from the world. But it also involves being set apart for God, whereby all our abilities and opportunities are given to God.

God views us as already being holy (Hebrews 10:10). But we see unholiness in our lives. How can we understand this? There are two meanings of holiness in the Bible. In the first sense, God as judge considers us to be holy or blameless. Jesus Christ is our holiness (1 Corinthians 1:30), and we are called “saints,” or “holy ones” (Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1). In God’s view this is our position in Christ.

But the second meaning of holiness in the Bible is the actual degree of holiness in our experience, in our lives. When we look at our lives, do we see perfect holiness? No, we do not. Christians are declared RIGHTEOUS when they receive SALVATION, but they are still sinners and need to become holy. This is an ongoing work of the Spirit whereby we can become truly holy in our daily lives (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2). God calls us to live a holy life (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7; 1 Peter 1:15-16), and Jesus commands us to be holy, or perfect (Matthew 5:48). But it is the Holy Spirit who actually makes us holy, or sanctifies us.

Sanctification is included in our salvation (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Without holiness we cannot see God (Hebrews 12:14). Holiness is not something we must have in order to be saved; it is something that becomes possible because we are already saved (Romans 6:22). We cannot become holy through our own efforts alone. The Holy Spirit helps us. It is by the Spirit that we put to death the sins of our sinful nature (Romans 8:13). Paul was concerned that the Galatians were beginning by accepting salvation as a free gift of God, but were then going back to human efforts to be made perfect or holy (see Galatians 3:3; General Article: Way of Salvation).

It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can become holy. But this does not mean that we have no part in the process. We must accept God’s discipline (Hebrews 12:9-11). We must train our bodies in holiness (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Timothy 4:7). We must “throw off’ all sin of body or spirit that may hinder us (2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:1-2), and we must offer our bodies and minds to God (Romans 6:13,19; 12:1-2). We should read the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), memorize verses (Psalm 119:11; 2 Peter 1:4), and then allow the Scriptures to change our behavior. We can receive help from the leaders God has placed over us (Ephesians 4:11-13). In addition to all this, we need to pray for God’s help (Colossians 1:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 5:23) or we will fail.

Some Christians believe that there is another step, a separate special experience of being sanctified. They believe that after much prayer and seeking God we can receive sanctification in a special experience and can know for sure that we have received it. They call this experience of sanctification a “second work of GRACE.” (The first work of grace is our salvation.) These Christians teach that initial salvation results in our being born again, separated from the world (1 John 5:4), and indwelt by the Spirit (Romans 8:9). We become infants in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1). But the “second work of grace,” sometimes called “the second blessing,” results in our being sanctified, separated from self (Galatians 2:20), and filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). We then become mature (Ephesians 4:13), and God’s love is made complete in us (1 John 4:12,17). Many of these Christians believe that we can be completely sanctified, so that we will no longer continue to sin knowingly or voluntarily (1 John 3:9). They believe that the latter part of Romans Chapter 7 gives a picture of the immature Christian, while Romans Chapter 8 gives a picture of a mature Christian who has had this “second blessing.” They point to the filling of the Spirit in Acts 2:4 and 9:17 as examples of this holiness experience (see General Article: Holy Spirit Baptism).

Most Christians, however, believe that sanctification is a slow process that takes time and will not be finished even when we die. They do not believe that there is a separate experience required for holiness. They point to verses which say we “are being” made holy (Galatians 3:3; Hebrews 10:14; 12:10-11), or which say that we are to keep on in the race and to continue to struggle against sin (Hebrews 12:1-4). Many verses in the New Testament tell us to “train” our bodies, “offer” ourselves, “run” the race, or “fight,” and because of such verses it appears that we have not become completely holy yet. Paul himself said that he had not been made perfect, but was still striving for perfection (Philippians 3:12-14), even though he included himself among the mature (Philippians 3:15). Some point to 1 John 1:8, where John says that if we claim to be without sin we are not being honest. The more we become “mature” in Christ, the more we realize our own sin and imperfection. At the end of his life, Paul said that among sinners he was the worst (1 Timothy 1:15). Christians holding this second opinion usually believe that the latter part of Romans Chapter 7 refers to the Christian in his daily struggle against sin.¹ They believe that a Christian may gradually come to experience more and more the victorious life described in Romans Chapter 8, but that in this world he will never completely end his fight against his old sinful nature.

Every Christian’s experience is different. Many Christians say that they have received this “second blessing” or special filling of the Holy Spirit. Some Christians experience sudden periods of increased holiness coming in addition to a more gradual experience of sanctification. God works in each life in different ways. We must not confine the workings of the Holy Spirit to our own limited individual experience.

Whatever we believe about a holiness experience, our responsibility is clear: we are commanded to be holy. Peter wrote: … be holy in all you do (1 Peter 1:15). Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

¹ There is another explanation for Romans Chapter 7- Many scholars believe that it does not refer to Christians at all, but to Jews like Paul, who were under the supervision (and bondage) of the Mosaic Law (see Galatians 3:19-25; General Article: The Purpose of the Mosaic Law, in The Applied Old Testament Commentary).