INTERSECT | The Glorious Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Without doubt, the Star Wars saga has become one of the most popular movie series of all time. By now, nearly everyone — even those who care little about science fiction — has become somewhat familiar with the role of “The Force” in this intergalactic struggle. The Force is a mysterious, impersonal energy binding the galaxy together, and those who understand it and unite with it can tap into its seemingly magical power.

Sadly, many Christians seem to think of the Holy Spirit in similar fashion. Even well-meaning Christians sometimes refer to the Holy Spirit as “it” instead of a real Person. And some Christians and churches rarely speak of the Holy Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit is a real Person who seeks to know us and minister to us.

In this passage, while defending the superiority of the New Covenant against false teachers who clung to the Old Covenant and its law, Paul offered three descriptions of the glorious ministry of the Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit provides internal change. The Old Covenant law was written on tablets of stone. The New Covenant of the Spirit inscribed God’s law on the human heart. The old was external, a code of rules and regulations given by God. The other is internal, with change, direction, and power from the inside out.

This is not to say the Old Covenant God was concerned only with external obedience. Of course not! There was the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Though there were devout and faith-filled followers under the Old Covenant, the law could only go so far; it couldn’t reach the heart where true obedience begins.

Paul stressed this through the very existence of the church at Corinth. Responding to critics who questioned his authority, Paul indicated he and his fellow ministers did not need a letter of commendation from anyone. The transformation of the Corinthian believers was the only evidence needed. Nothing but the transforming power of the Spirit could explain the existence of this church in the midst of pagan culture. And, lest any of us forget, the Holy Spirit is the only reason for the building, growth, perseverance, and health of any church, anywhere. This Spirit-led testimony is being “read” by everyone in that community.

Our backyard fence keeps in our German Shepherd. He has escaped a few times, which provided comic relief for our neighbors who watched us trying to catch him. Ideally, our German Shepherd wouldn’t need an external, visible fence. It could be removed, and he would be happy just to stay in our yard. As you might imagine, this will never happen with our ornery dog. His stubbornness is a great analogy for the external law of God versus the internal work of the Spirit. The law was a fence to “keep us within God’s boundaries.” The Spirit writes the law of God on our hearts, guiding us internally to live happily under the Spirit’s control.

2. The Holy Spirit provides regeneration. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Paul used the word letter to denote the Old Testament law. It is important to understand the law wasn’t a bad thing. After all, it came from God, instructions flowing out of His character and nature. The law revealed the will of God for humanity.

But the expression the letter kills is based on the fact that the law convicts us as transgressors. Lawbreakers must be punished. In this sense, the law, which is holy and righteous and good, convicts us as sinners and kills us. This is what Paul said about his own life in Romans 7:6-12, concluding, “And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”

The problem isn’t God’s law; the problem is me. My internal sin problem. And the law couldn’t deal with my internal sin problem. That problem could only be solved by the gospel. The gospel, the New Covenant, was inaugurated by Jesus through His sinless life, substitutionary death, and subsequent resurrection, a new covenant in His blood. He secured not only forgiveness but also the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who believe.

While the letter kills, the Spirit gives life. He regenerates us, abides within, and gradually changes us from the inside out. His is not a ministry of condemnation, but of giving life and freedom from sin.

3. The Holy Spirit provides everlasting glory. The glory of the Old Covenant is passing, but the glory of the New Covenant is everlasting. Here, Paul stressed the exceeding glory of the ministry of the Spirit compared to the Old Covenant through the example of Moses and the Ten Commandments.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after receiving the Ten Commandments from God, his face glowed with a reflection of the glory of God. The Children of Israel, and even his own brother Aaron, were terrified — not by Moses but by the glory of God reflected through him. Yet the awe-inspiring glory present in the ministry of Moses under the Old Covenant fades in comparison to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant.

Maybe you have been camping and used a flashlight during the night. The “glory” of the flashlight shone brightly in the darkness, until dawn that is. As the sun rose, while you may still have had the flashlight on, its “glory” faded, overwhelmed by the glory of the sun.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit provides our hope of everlasting glory as we read in Revelation 21:22-24:

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it.

The work of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to be numbered among “them which are saved” who will walk in the light of God’s glory for eternity.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is truly glorious! I would like to point out one final thing about His ministry: it is intensely personal. The Holy Spirit deals with us as individuals. In Acts, during

Stephen’s final sermon before he was killed for his faith, he told the listening Jews: “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye” (Acts 7:51). His point is clear: you can resist the Holy Spirit, or you can yield to the Holy Spirit’s ministry in your life. He allows you to choose how you respond to His gracious and glorious ministry. I hope you will follow His gentle urging in your life.

About the Columnist: Dr. Barry Raper pastors Bethel FWB Church near Ashland City, Tennessee, and teaches ministry at Welch College.