The Ongoing Presence of the Holy Spirit

Jim Davis

In the fictional movie Jurassic Park dinosaurs were created from the DNA found in the blood that a mosquito had sucked from a dinosaur millions of years ago. The mosquito had been trapped in tree sap where it was perfectly preserved. It was there inside the DNA in that blood that they found the genetic code to recreate dinosaurs. Although this movie was fictional in that we do not have the power to create life, it contained a lot of truth about DNA.

Each strand of DNA [d(eoxyribo de·ox·y·ri·bo) n(ucleic) a(cid)] created by God was designed to bring about God’s powerful purpose in its specific place in creation. DNA is a nucleic acid that carries the genetic information in the cell and is capable of self-replication and synthesis of RNA [r(ibo)n(ucleic) a(cid).] The sequence of nucleotides within a strand of DNA determines our personal hereditary characteristics. The power the Holy Spirit set in motion in that first DNA strand continues to be felt throughout God’s creation. 

We are familiar with how your DNA can define the one and only you. We know that much of what we are to be was locked into our personal DNA when we were conceived and formed within the womb. Our sex, personalities, temperament, color of hair, skin, eyes—were all locked up in our DNA code.

The Bible reveals that God imagined you, then He designed you and finally he created you. He created you through the power of his Holy Spirit. Jeremiah writes, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations’" (Jeremiah 1:4-5 NIV). The Lord revealed to Jeremiah that he knew him before he was born in the womb. He had set him apart to a prophet to the nations before he was born.

Imagine your life—my life—designed before birth to fulfill a specific purpose of God in his creation. Job said, “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4 NIV). Try to imagine God reserving a special calling for you before his Spirit made you. Imagine God assigning you a specific DNA code before you were born. God’s Holy Spirit has designed each of us to fill that specific purposed of God’s in creation. 

Paul recognized that God had a specific purpose for his life as he wrote, “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus” (Galatians 1:15-17). Paul recognized that God had set him apart at birth to preach to the Gentiles, but Paul didn’t understand his purpose until the grace of God called him.

This doesn’t mean that “whatever will be, will be” for we can thwart God’s specific purpose for our lives. We can defeat God’s intentional will for our lives. Paul writes about his way of life before he discovered God’s specific purpose. “For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:13-17). This is what happens when we fail to discover God’s purpose in all things.

Paul writes, “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace . . .” God’s grace is designed to call us back to what he created us for and set us apart for at birth. Here we see the purpose of God’s grace. Salvation is designed to call us back to God’s original intentional purpose for our life. We must remember that each person has a God given purpose.

Salvation is about God calling a lost world back to his original plan. It is about calling each of us back to the purpose for which he sent us into this world. 

In the beginning God purposed and planned the existence of our world. When God gave the command for the world to be created, Jesus Christ was there creating the elements to fulfill God’s purpose. The Holy Spirit moved upon the created elements as he set creation in motion to reach the boundaries of God’s purpose.

Understanding the universe as the purposeful intention of God gives our lives meaning as we seek to help God fulfill his purpose for his world through our lives. 

The Holy Spirit’s Purpose

The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s work in our world is to bring out God’s design in creation. He was there in the beginning giving direction to creation. He was active in bringing our lives into being. He continues to be active as he seeks to persuade us to heed God’s call for our lives. The Spirit of God contends with us to bring about God’s purpose. When God decided to destroy the world by a flood, the lord said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years" (Genesis 6:3). As Noah built the ark the Spirit of God contended with men; when the refused him they died in the flood. Later in the days of the judges, “The Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him” (Judges 6:34-35). It is obvious that the Spirit of God’s purpose is to direct the world and those who live in it to fulfill God’s purpose.

Salvation is about God seeking to recommission the Holy Spirit to regenerate—to give us a new life free of the condemnation of Satan through a new spiritual birth. The Holy Spirit is recommission in our lives when we obey Christ. Peter speaks of the, “Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." (Acts 5:32) 
We think of the church at Corinth as a charismatic church. The Holy Spirit had endowed the church with special gifts. The gifts were to bring about God’s purpose or design for the congregation at Corinth. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he writes, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). The Holy Spirit was given to the first century Church to bring about God’s design for the church.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. NIV

The word “gifts” in these verses comes from the Greek word “charisma.” It had to do with divine compassion bestowed as God gave the Corinthians a spiritual endowment of gifts. It had to the special endowment given by God to accomplish his purpose. How God’s Spirit sought to manifest himself in each member at Corinth was different, but it was for one common good. The gifts were designed so that the church could function as the body of Christ on earth.

We may not think of the church today as being charismatic. We think of a charismatic church as shouting praises to the Lord. We actually confine it to the worship service of the church. We even refer to the “charismatic gifts,” which has really warped our perspective of what was going on in the first century church. The word “charisma,” the root word for “charismatic” means gift. However the word “charismatic” comes from the root word “charisma.” We have skewed it to say, “charismatic gifts.” This is actually a misnomer because it has left us believing that they had something we don’t have. The Spirit was simply there dispersing God’s “charisma” or gifts—there weren’t “charismatic gifts”—they were just gifts.

God has empowered us with the presence of the Holy Spirit so that we can carry out our duties in the field he has assigned each of us.

Sadly, many have limited the gifts or “charisma” of the Holy Spirit solely to the worship service. Of course, the first Corinthian letter speaks a great about the use of spiritual gifts in worship. Most of what Paul writes is dealing with gifts of the Holy Spirit in the context of the worship service. However, Paul is dealing with the misuse of the gifts in the worship service. He is not limiting the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the worship service. He is merely dealing with the area of their misuse. For too long we have only thought about spiritual gifts only in the context of worship. 

We must not limit the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit to the context of worship or else we will miss out on many gifts he has given us and is seeking to impart to us. Often when we try to tell others what we believe, we describe the kind of worship service we have. I often wonder if we have much of a description of salvation other than describing how we worship. Have you thought about how much of the change and disturbance in the church today is over what goes on in worship services?

The Holy Spirit is given to guide us in all of life. Peter promised us that we would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when we are baptized. We have seen that our very lives are a gift of the Holy Spirit. He was there when we were formed in our mother's womb. He was there designing us for the purpose God has designed us for. He is present seeking to call us back to what we were created for.

The Holy Spirit is seeking to allow God to see our world through our eyes. He wants God to touch the world through our hands. He wants God to listen to the world through our ears. What gifts we were given at birth. In contrast Satan’s evil spirits seek to focus our eyes on ourselves.

Satan steps in through this evil nature he has somehow planted in us and gets us off track. At this point the Holy Spirit seeks to step in and redirect our lives back to God. Spiritual salvation has to do with rediscovering God's intentional will for my life. The gift of salvation is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Eternal life is a gift of God as the Holy Spirit regenerates our life in Christ.

Romans 6:22-23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV

Eternal life is a gift that comes by the grace of God.

Romans 5:15-17
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. NIV

The greatest gift the Holy Spirit seeks to bring to us is understanding.

1 Corinthians 2:12-13
12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. NIV

The greatest need for understanding revolves around our personal lives. When Satan entered into God’s creation his design was to bring misunderstanding and confusion.

Why Such Confusion Spiritual Gifts

If the Bible is so plain about God creating that first strand of DNA with purpose, why are we so confused? It is strange how Satan can move into our lives turning the greatest blessings of the Holy Spirit into our greatest liabilities. He led the Corinthians to use the great gifts of God’s spirit to their own shame. This is the story of every life without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

There are two spirits dwelling in our hearts—we often define them in simple terms—good and evil. I would like to be a little more descriptive—an evil Spirit and the Holy Spirit.

Romans 7:21-25
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! NIV

This is how we were when we were lost. We still have the same struggles after becoming a Christian, but there is a huge difference. There is no longer any condemnation as a Christian.

Paul cries out “What a wretched man I am!” That is precisely how each of us feels when Satan’s spirits have their way with our lives. Do you know why we often cry out “What a wretched man I am!?” It is because we take our eyes off of the Holy Spirit’s gift of life from within. It is amazing how our attitude changes as we focus on the Holy Spirit rather than evil spirits. Notice how Paul’s attitude changed when he focused on walking in the Spirit.

Romans 8:1-4
8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,  2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. NIV

One thing very obvious in Romans that I so readily see in my life is how often I focus on my accomplishment, or shall we say lack of accomplishments as an indication of my self-esteem. When we really take an honest look within it is very easy to come up empty.

Romans 8:6-7
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. NIV

Focusing on the riches of salvation through the eyes of the Holy Spirit sets us free from what we are powerless to accomplish. Those mistakes are still very much a part of our lives, but there is no longer any condemnation. 

Romans 3:21-24
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. NIV

The greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is that he gives us the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail. God’s image of us doesn’t increase or diminish with our successes and failures. Before meeting Christ Paul was crying out in his wretchedness, but Christ saved him from the wretchedness of his own works. This is where our freedom in Christ is found—freedom to follow God while leaving the results in his hands whether we succeed of fail. Knowing that our salvation is not based upon the quality or quanity of  our works is the most reassuring thing about eternal regeneration the Holy Spirit is seeking to bring about. It involves works, but our boast is the liberty and freedom we enjoy despite the quality of our works. 

Failure to the Christian merely opens our hearts even wider for a more complete filling of the Spirit of God. Your failure allows you to see your deepest need; the deeper your understanding of your need the more fully the Spirit of God can fill you and the greater the freedom from condemnation. This was the freedom Paul spoke of.

1 Corinthians 15:44-51
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 

Conclusion:

Paul writes, “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.” (2 Corinthians 10:12-13 NIV) Paul speaks of the field God has assigned; this field God has assigned us is a field of opportunity designed to bring about the purposes of God as he endows us with the spiritual blessings or gifts to accomplish his purposes in our world.

1 Peter 4:10-11
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. NIV