The purpose of the Holy Spirit

The first goal of the Holy Spirit is to make God's people capable of reaching the lost and attracting people to the cross of Jesus Christ. Just as He convinced us of sin, He also acts in the hearts of the unconverted, bringing them face to face with their iniquities and failures, with the futility of their separate life from God.

When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure from the earth, He said to them : "When the Comforter comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, which comes from the Father, he will testify of me ; and ye also bear witness, because ye are with me from the beginning" (John 15: 26-27).

Jesus tells us that we know the truth of the gospel because the Spirit of God has revealed it to us through His words. The Holy Spirit testified of the grace of God and His goodness. Our confidence in our position in the kingdom of God does not come from our own hope and imagination, but from the Creator Himself, from his gentle and light murmur in our souls. This is how we know that the love of God is real, eternal and unshakeable.

Jesus continued to explain the role of the Holy Spirit : "And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment : concerning sin, because they believe not not in me" (John 16: 8-9).

It is not our job to convince people of their sin. The Holy Spirit is already doing it. And we are not here to judge people for their sins. Our role is simply to be there for them, to talk to them about Jesus, to embrace them in their pain and suffering and to love them in the wonderful kingdom of God.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it (see John 3:17). Should we not have the same attitude ?

Nicky Cruz