Have you ever noticed when two people meet for the first time and enter into small talk, one of them will always ask, “What do you do?” It’s an innocent attempt to know more about a person, but it’s almost as if what someone does is the most vital thing about that person. No one ever asks, “Who are you? What are you all about on the inside? What are your dreams for your life?” It’s just, “Glad to meet you, what do you do?” And we automatically respond by talking about our job.
Since that question is always asked and we naturally desire to make ourselves look good, we sometimes use creative job titles to describe what we do. I once saw a job listed as a “color distribution specialist” for a house painter. Someone once suggested the title “field nourishment consultant” for a restaurant waiter.
I’ve even had the title “Patient Relations Coordinator,” a fancy job title for the person behind the glass at the clinic when you come to the doctor’s office. (Shout out to all my clinic friends!)
I saw a t-shirt recently with a great job title I should have used as a pastor: “Hardcore Devil-stomping Ninja.” A more accurate title might have been “Pastor of Absorbing Criticism.”
Because we value what people do as one way of getting to know them better, it’s only natural that we would feel the same way about God. When it comes to God the Holy Spirit, we want to know what he does. With that, let’s dive back into our look at the work of the Holy Spirit.
Several things may come to your mind when you reflect on the Spirit’s work. You might think about how he gives strength to us for a task or to carry us through a situation. Maybe you tend to focus on the gifts he gives us. His guidance through life might come to mind. Each one of these is a vital work of the Spirit, but before we discuss all the things he does, I want to narrow our focus to the one overall theme of his work.
Everything the Holy Spirit does revolves around one task – making Jesus Christ and his presence known. The Holy Spirit does many things, but each ties into his overarching job of pointing people to Jesus and his love.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27)
He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:14)
The work of the Holy Spirit is to “bear witness” about Jesus and “glorify” him. The Holy Spirit never draws attention to himself. That’s not his job right now. In this stage of history, from the birth of the church in Acts 2 until the return of Jesus, the primary job of the Holy Spirit is to point us to Jesus so we can know him, love him, be changed by him, and point others to him.
One quick warning: given that the Holy Spirit’s primary work is pointing people to Jesus, beware of any church, ministry, or individual who emphasizes the Holy Spirit over Jesus.
What are some of the ways the Holy Spirit brings attention to Jesus? Beyond the “bearing witness” and “glorifying” that we looked at in the previous two passages…
The Holy Spirit brings lost people to Jesus.
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. (John 16:8)
The word “convict” in this verse means not only proving that someone is guilty but also convincing that person of their guilt and their need for forgiveness. Only by the work of the Holy Spirit can an unsaved person even want to turn to Jesus. If you’re a believer, you are so only because the Holy Spirit worked in your heart to call you to your Savior.
The Holy Spirit will also help us know and understand what Jesus did and said.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)
In the immediate context of that verse, Jesus was telling his disciples that the Holy Spirit would help them remember all the things Jesus said and did in their presence. The Holy Spirit was then with them as they taught and wrote, spreading the Good News throughout the world.
Today, we have the Bible. The Holy Spirit worked within the disciples as they wrote the New Testament, and now he works within us, helping us understand what he inspired the disciples to write. His promise to “teach us all things” is as real for us as it was for the disciples.
That’s why each morning when I open my Bible, I ask for God’s supernatural help. I acknowledge that I’m unable to understand anything without him, and I ask him to show me the truth of what the author wrote, to open my eyes and ears so I can see and hear what God is saying to me at that moment, and to lead me to obey him fully. Without him, I can do none of those things.
As we move deeper into a study of what the Holy Spirit does, let us keep in mind that he isn’t here to bring attention to himself. His work is all about Jesus. He’s here to draw us to Jesus, to make us like Jesus in character, to help us to know Jesus better, and to remind us that through Jesus we are God’s children (Romans 8:15-17).
Again, I don’t know what you think of when you think of the Holy Spirit. Maybe it’s his empowering you to do greater things than you ever imagined impossible. It could be his spiritual gifts and how he’s equipped you to serve him. Maybe you think of the strength he gives to get through a difficult time, his guidance for you as you make hard decisions, or even as you make small decisions throughout each day.
The Holy Spirit does all those things and more. But behind it all, what he does is point people to and deepen our fellowship with Jesus.
It’s all about Jesus.
I love this message! Always such a great reminder that the Holy Spirit helps us focus on Jesus.