Ten Reasons We Can't Do Without the Holy Spirit

BY DAVE STEEL

In some Christian circles he may not be talked about as much as the other two members of the Trinity, but the Holy Spirit is active in and around us, being mentioned several hundred times throughout the Bible. Jesus once told his disciples not to go anywhere without the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). Here are ten reasons we can’t do without him.

1.       The Spirit gives us life.

The Bible says it was the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. He’s the source of our life too.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you (Rom. 8:11).

2.       The Spirit reassures us of God’s love.

. . . because sometimes you just need to be reminded that God’s got you.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Rom. 8:16).

3.       The Spirit helps us in our weakness.

Have you ever felt so confused or powerless that you didn’t even know what to pray?

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans (Rom. 8:26).

4.       The Spirit gives us wisdom and guidance.

It’s good to know where to go for wisdom anytime you need it.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives (Col. 1:9).

5.       The Spirit makes us better.

In light of what’s going on in your life right now, what character trait do you most need today? Chances are it’s on the list of what the Spirit wants to produce in you.   

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). 

6.       The Spirit transforms us.

What do you want to be when you “grow up”? What if you could be just like Jesus? That’s what the Spirit intends to do with you and me.

We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18).

7.       The Spirit qualifies us for ministry.

When it comes to who gets picked for certain ministry opportunities, it’s about who you know. Only those who are full of the Spirit qualify for certain jobs.   

Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them (Acts 6:3).

8.       The Spirit equips us for ministry.

The Spirit not only qualifies us for ministry. He also equips us for ministry by endowing each believer with a special spiritual gift for serving the body of Christ.

There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit distributes them. . . . To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1 Cor. 12:4, 7). 

9.       The Spirit empowers us to witness for Christ.

Even after spending three years with Jesus and seeing him after his resurrection, the original disciples still lacked the one thing they needed to effectively share the good news about their Savior. Jesus told them,

Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. . . . You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses (Acts 1:4, 8; cf. 4:31).

10.   The Spirit gives us courage.

What would you do with more courage? The Spirit is ready to provide it.

The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power (1 Tim. 1:7).

This list of reasons why we can’t do without the Holy Spirit is far from exhaustive. But it reminds us of the Spirit’s essential role in enabling us to live the supernatural life Jesus is calling us into.

Of these ten reasons we can’t do without the Holy Spirit, which one speaks most urgently to you right now? Turn it into a prayer for the Spirit’s work to be done in you today.

A Better Way to Assess Spiritual Health

BY DAVE STEEL

“We don’t smoke. We don’t chew. And we don’t go with girls who do.”

That about sums up what some people think it means to be a Christian. But judging a person’s spiritual health (our own or someone else’s) based on what we don’t do can be misleading. I’ve known plenty of people who don’t smoke or chew tobacco who are not Christ followers. I’ve also known plenty of people who smoke or chew who are Christ followers.

This very conundrum has led some to believe that it’s futile—not to mention intrusive and judgmental—for us mortals to try to evaluate anyone’s spirituality.

But the apostle John seems to have no problem with our testing someone’s spirituality. “Do not believe every spirit,” he says, “but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). The apostle Paul even exhorts us to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Cor. 13:5).

Since there are times when we need to evaluate our spiritual health and that of others, what metrics are we to use?  How can we “test” such things?

It’s instructive to note that while Jesus issued plenty of prohibitions, he never said, “People will know you are my disciples if you don’t do such-and-such.” He does say, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35) and “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8). It turns out that recognizing Christ’s true followers is more about what we do (loving one another, bearing spiritual fruit) than about what we don’t do (smoking, chewing, fraternizing with those who do). As one writer put it, “[True spirituality] is not suppression: it is expression. It is not holding in self: it is living out Christ.”[1]

Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). The presence of this fruit is the true measure of spiritual health. The apostle Paul picks up this same idea, calling it “the fruit of the Spirit.” It’s that set of virtues that the Holy Spirit manifests in the life of those living in vital union with Christ. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These are the qualities we can expect to find in the life of a growing disciple of Jesus.

So in our diligence to weed out the sin from the vineyard, let’s not forget to check on the quality of the fruit that might be growing there.

 

 

[1]Lewis Sperry Chafer, He That is Spiritual (Wheaton, IL: Van Kampen Press, 1918), 60.