1. Theology 21
Explain the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life describing the importance of this role in the counseling process.
Terry Enns
wordsofgrace.wordpress.com

2. Definitions: the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Triune God — a person, not a feeling, force, idea, or movement. That He is a person (though not in bodily form) is clear from —
His intellect, emotions, and will.
His functions — including teaching, praying, testifying, convicting, and guiding.
His relationships — he can be obeyed, grieved, blasphemed, resisted, and lied to.

3. Definitions: the Holy Spirit
“Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything. He is a Person, the same as you are a person, but not material substance. He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve, and rejoice. He is a person.” [A. W. Tozer.]

4. Definitions: the Holy Spirit
“If we think of the Holy Spirit as a mysterious power, our thought will continually be, ‘How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?’ If we think of the Holy Spirit as a person, our thought will be, ‘How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?’ The first thought is entirely pagan. The second is New Testament Christianity.” [James Boice.]

5. Definitions: the Holy Spirit
Some essential works of the Holy Spirit —
Creation (Gen. 1:2; Job. 26:13; Ps. 104:30)
Inspiration (2 Pt. 1:21)
Virgin birth of Christ (Mt. 1:20; Lk. 1:35)
Regeneration of man (Jn. 3:5-10; Titus 3:5)
Comfort of man (Acts 9:31; Jn. 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7)
Sanctification of man (2 Thess. 2:13)
Intercessor for man in prayer (Rom. 8:26)

6. The Holy Spirit in the OT
His ministry was limited in number.
His ministry was limited in duration.
His ministry was for special service.
His ministry of salvation was incomplete.
His ministry was present throughout the Old Testament.
We now have a more complete manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:16-17; Eph. 1:13-14).

7. Regeneration of the Holy Spirit
In the Old Testament
Conviction of sin (Gen. 6:3, 5; 8:21; Jer. 17:9 // Jn. 16:8)
Transformation of heart was promised (Dt. 30:6; Ezk. 36:25-27)
Hebrews 11 — assumes each OT saint was genuine believer; regeneration was not fully defined until the NT, but still occurred in OT.

8. Regeneration of the Holy Spirit
In the New Testament
The Holy Spirit is the producer of new life (Jn. 3:5-10; Titus 3:5)
The instrument the Holy Spirit uses to regenerate men is the Word of God (1 Pt. 1:23)

9. Baptism of the Holy Spirit
To believe in Christ is to receive baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27)
Receiving the baptism of Spirit means being placed in the body of Christ
Every believer receives the same Spirit at point of salvation (Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Cor. 12:4)
The Holy Spirit is God’s agent in bringing believers into body of Christ (i.e., Christ is the baptizer, the HS is the agent of baptism, cf. Mk. 1:7-8; Mt. 3:11-12; Lk. 3:16; Jn. 1:33-34). It is the Spirit’s initiation and work that produces His baptism.

10. Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Salvation and the baptism of the Spirit are not two separate phases (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27-28)
To make Spirit baptism a separate process from salvation is to tamper with truth of salvation (Jn. 7:37-39); salvation and baptism are one process.
The arrival of the HS through baptism is a powerful demonstration of the faithfulness of God’s work for our good and His glory.

11. Sealing of the Holy Spirit
Something “sealed” is owned (and kept and made safe) by another (Jer. 32:10; Dan. 6:17). The one who is sealed is protected and secured.
The sealing work of the Spirit is done at the time of salvation.
The sealing work of the Spirit is done apart from any action on our own.

12. Sealing of the Holy Spirit
The sealing work of the Spirit is only for believers.
Like indwelling and baptism, sealing is not a process.
The Spirit is both the One who seals and He is Himself the seal.
The purpose of the seal is not only to identify us as God’s but to serve as a promise of God’s future, full redemptive work for us.

13. Sealing of the Holy Spirit
The implications of sealing —
Because we have been sealed, we are secure. We belong to God.
Because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to live like Christ.

14. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit refers to the truth that the Holy Spirit lives within each individual believer, and lives there permanently.
When we say the Spirit indwells believers, we are not talking about a particular location.
Because He is a spiritual and not a physical being, He cannot be said to be spatially present.
The word “in” is used to denote relationship, not location (e.g., that believers are “in Christ,” does not refer to location, but relationship).

15. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Jn. 14:16 — He is given as a promise of Christ
Eph. 1:13 — He is given at the time of salvation (also, Gal. 3:2)
1 Cor. 6:19 — He is given to all believers (even the not so godly ones)
Eph. 4:30 — He is given as a promise of the future
Psalm 51:11 — He is given, never to be taken away

16. The Filling of the Holy Spirit
To be filled with the Spirit means to live under the control of the Holy Spirit.
The filling of the Spirit does not refer to:
a second act of blessing after salvation that produces advanced spirituality.
indwelling.
a process of progressively receiving Him by degrees or in doses.
the baptism of the Spirit.
being sealed, or secured, by Him.
the so-called charismatic gifts.

17. The Filling of the Holy Spirit
Eph. 5:18 — “filled” = “controlled”
Filling, unlike indwelling and sealing, is a command
Filling is conditional — it is dependant on obedience — the Spirit indwells all believers, but not all believers are filled with Him.
Filling is repeated — it is not a constant condition

18. The Filling of the Holy Spirit
“To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to have the Spirit fulfilling in us all that God intended Him to do when He placed Him there. To be filled is not the problem of getting more of the Spirit: it is rather the problem of the Spirit getting more of us.” [Lewis Sperry Chafer.]

19. The Sin Against the Holy Spirit
The sin against the Holy Spirit was the Pharisees’ sin of attributing the authenticating work of Christ, upon whom God had placed His Spirit (12:18) to Satan (12:24).
The work of casting out demons from the man had, in fact, been accomplished by the power of the Spirit of God working through Christ (12:28).
The sin against the Spirit was final because it was the final witness they were rejecting.

20. The Sin Against the Holy Spirit
The sin was committed in historical context. The Pharisees had personally observed the work of Christ and attributed it to the work of Satan.
Summary:
The sin was against Christ
The sin was against the Holy Spirit
The sin against the Spirit was eternal (v )
The sin cannot be reduplicated today as it is not the same as unbelief and as it would demand the physical presence of Christ and attributing His work to the work of Satan.

21. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Spiritual gifts are spiritual abilities and responsibilities given to each individual believer by the Holy Spirit for use in the church body so that the body is equipped and built up.
These gifts are gifts of grace
The gifts are various, but the source and purpose is the same (1 Cor. 12:4-6)
The gifts are exercised by the individual, but God is still the One who does the work (1 Cor. 12:6)

22. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
These gifts are supernatural, not natural (1 Cor. 12:11)
These gifts are to each individual believer to be used in serving others (1 Cor. 12:11)
These gifts are to be used in proportion to the grace that gave them to us (Rom. 12:6)
These gifts are given according to the Spirit’s will, not worthiness or unworthiness (1 Cor. 12:11); different forms of gifting do not imply different levels of sanctification or significance.
These gifts are for the benefit of the entire church (Eph. 4:11-13)

23. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The lists of gifts are given in Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4 (these are likely not exhaustive lists).
The “sign gifts” (prophecy, tongues, miracles, healing) were authenticating gifts that ceased to exist (1 Cor. 13:8; Heb. 2:3-4) after the completion of the Biblical canon.

24. The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Spiritual fruit is to be distinguished from spiritual gifts.
To produce spiritual fruit means that we look like Christ:
instead of living like the world, we will live like Christ;
instead of losing the battle to flesh we will win the battle with the flesh;
instead of carrying out the desires of the flesh, we will carry out the desires of the Spirit.

25. The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Spiritual fruit will be inward — characteristics that reflect a transformed heart
Spiritual fruit will be outward — characteristics that reflect transformed relationships
Spiritual fruit will be Upward — characteristics that reflect transformed worship
Because of the work of the Spirit in his life, the believer thinks rightly, relates graciously to others, and worships faithfully. He is transformed from the inside out.

26. The Holy Spirit and Counseling
Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the counselor (Titus 3:5). It is a monergistic work.
Sanctification is the work of the Spirit in cooperation with the obedience of the believer (Gal. 5:16-18, 25); it is a synergistic work (though the counselor cannot produce this either).

27. The Holy Spirit and Counseling
The Spirit is fully available to all believers equally and works in all believers fully and to the same purpose (transformation; Col. 3:9-11).
The counselor is in just as much need of transformation as the counselee (though likely in different areas). The counselor needs the work of the Spirit just as much as the counselee.

28. The Holy Spirit and Counseling
“The Christian life begins and continues by the power of the Holy Spirit, whom God has graciously sent first to awaken us to our need for salvation, then to give us a new birth, and finally to dwell within us to eventually present us flawless when Christ returns.” [MacArthur, Silent Shepherd.]