Change is not only possible, but it is a reality for every follower of Christ! Those who have turned from their sin to trust in Jesus for salvation have already experienced massive change as they have been brought from death to life and darkness to light. However, this change is also gradual as we continue to walk with Christ. How is this so? The answer is through the power of the Holy Spirit. So, it is important for us to know who He is, what He does, and how He sanctifies us.
Who The Holy Spirit Is
The Holy Spirit is God, the Third Person of the Trinity, coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Son (Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 3:17). He possesses all the attributes of God, being self-sufficient (John 6:63), infinite (Isaiah 40:12-17), omnipotent (Psalm 104:30), omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-8), and all-wise (Ephesians 1:17). Significantly, the Holy Spirit is connected with both the Father and the Son in two key trinitarian passages. First is the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The second is found at the end of 2 Corinthians, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). These passages place the Holy Spirit on the same divine footing as the Father and the Son. Thus, the Holy Spirit is God and He is to be worshiped as God.
What the Holy Spirit Does
With this understanding of who the Holy Spirit is, let us now look at what He does. As God, He creates (Genesis 1:2), gives life (Job 33:4), and justifies sinners (1 Corinthians 6:11) He is the author of Scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21), He bears witness to Christ (John 15:26), and He is the One who raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11).
The Spirit also plays a vital role in the life of the believer—He saves (1 Thessalonians 1:4-10), seals (Ephesians 1:13-14), indwells (1 Corinthians 3:16), guides (John 16:13), teaches (1 Corinthians 2:12-13), convicts (John 16:7-8), strengthens (Romans 8:9-11), and produces spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). What all this means is that the Holy Spirit helps Christians become more like Christ through the process of sanctification. But exactly how does that process take place?
How The Holy Spirit Sanctifies
Romans 6 and 8 give us a concise picture of how the Holy Spirit is engaged in the process of sanctification. In Romans 6, we have wonderful positional truths that are matched with the imperatives of how we are to live out that truth. Paul says that positionally, we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life because we have been united with Christ and have been set free from sin (6:4, 5, 7). Then Paul commands, “So… consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God” (6:11), “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body” (6:12), and “present your members as slaves of righteousness” (6:19). In short, we are to live in accordance with the life that we have been given in Christ.
Romans 8 then tells us how the Holy Spirit empowers us to live this way. The Spirit has set us free in Christ and dwells within us, giving life to our mortal bodies so that we can set our minds on the things of the Spirit, and live a life that pleases the Lord (8:2-11). However, the shocking statement that Paul makes is that the Spirit who dwells in us is the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (8:11). This means that, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have divine resurrection power in us giving life and strength to us so that we might live not as slaves of sin but as slaves of righteousness, which Paul says is the fruit of sanctification (6:19, 22)!
But not only that, Paul goes on to say, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” We are so weak in fact that we cannot even ask God for help without the help of the Holy Spirit as he “intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (8:26). And what does the Spirit help us with? He is the One who is conforming us to the image of the Son as God as works all things together for good, “for those who are called according to His purposes” (8:28-29). So, the Holy Spirit indwells, empowers, and helps to sanctify and conform us into the image of Christ. Thankfully, as we are being conformed to Christ, we can look to Christ as our example for how to live the life the Spirit gives to us.
When Jesus was baptized and the Spirit came down like a dove to rest upon Him, it communicated that Jesus was starting His earthly ministry through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. Jesus was then led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, where He resisted all forms of temptation because He was submissive to the will and Word of God. As a human, Jesus shows us the perfect example of what it means to live life in complete submission and obedience to the Holy Spirit. We see this clearly in the garden when He prayed on the night he was betrayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). In His humanity, Jesus submitted Himself to the Father’s will through the work of the Holy Spirit within Him.
It is the Spirit-empowered humanity of Jesus that allows him to be our faithful high priest who can sympathize with us in our weakness because He was tempted as we are in every way, yet without sin because He was submissive to the Holy Spirit throughout His life (Hebrews 4:14-15). This great high priest grants us access to boldly draw near the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). The One who was without sin, and completely submissive to the Spirit, has given us that same Holy Spirit to help us obey God’s commands (John 14:15-16).
As we sit with those in need of change, the divine help of the Holy Spirit is tremendously encouraging for both counselor and counselee. For the counselor, we know that change is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit as He uses His Word in the life of His people to conform them to Christ. We simply get to be the conduit He uses in that process as we have the joy of pointing people to Jesus. For the counselee, there is great hope in knowing that they are not stuck in sin, no longer defined by their sin, but instead they possess the divine power through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who gives what is needed to live that joyful life of pleasing the Lord.
Conclusion
Praise God that change has begun and will continue to be the experience of every believer! In salvation, we have experienced the greatest change that can ever happen—we have become a new creation in Christ. Throughout our lives, we will continue to experience change as we grow in conformity to the image of Christ through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. May the Lord make us faithful followers of Christ as we submit to the Holy Spirit and live to the glory of God!
