The Holy Spirit’s Work in Transitioning a Sinner to a Saint
The law of sin and death is simple: you sin…you die (Rom 8:2). Paul, the Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ, established that all have sinned (Rom 3:23; 5:12). This means that every person has a death sentence from conception (Ps 51:5). Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin (Rom 5:12). That man was Adam, the first man (Gen 2–3).
Death visited Adam and Eve at the Fall (Gen 3). They sinned, and the result was spiritual death (Eph 2:1). They were dead to God. All of their offspring were conceived in the same spiritual deadness of their souls. Because the things of the Spirit of God are spiritually appraised, the natural man without the Holy Spirit does not comprehend his plight (Rom 6:23; 8:9), nor God’s salvation (1 Cor 2:14–15).
The body of sin that the soul of man occupies, until its death, is weak (Rom 8:3). The flesh is a slave to sin (Rom 6:6). It wants satisfaction from the world, and the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4) keeps the flesh of men occupied with diverse temptations and indulgences.
The mind of the natural man is set on the flesh (Rom 8:5). The futility of the mind is demonstrated by a dark ignorance to the consequences of sinful sensuality (Eph 4:17–19). The lust of the flesh is greedy but only temporarily satisfied. In addition to the darkening of the mind, by sin, there is also a hardening of the heart (Eph 4:19).
Those who belong to Jesus Christ have the Spirit of God’s Son indwelling them (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11; 1 Cor 3:23; Jas 4:5). This is the life-giving Spirit (Jn 6:63; Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 15:45; 2 Cor 3:6), who causes God’s elect to be born again (1 Pet 1:3). This is life from the dead for one’s soul (Rom 11:15). The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the Spirit who regenerates the souls of God’s chosen people (Jn 3:1–8).
The spiritually dead soul is made alive to God by God (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13). The result is union with Christ in God (Col 3:3; 1 Jn 4:13). While the Spirit of God abides in the soul of the regenerated man, the regenerated man has his place, seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph 2:6). With the gift of new life given to the ungodly sinner, he becomes a new man (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15). His new identity is intimately and inseparably tied to Christ.
The born again now lives by faith in the Son of God (Gal 2:20). Faith is a gift of God (Eph 2:8–9; Phil 1:29), and a man’s faithfulness to God is a fruit of God’s indwelling Spirit (Gal 5:22), who wills and works God’s good pleasure into the saint (Phil 2:13).
The Spirit-filled believer is a new creature being crafted by God (2 Cor 5:17), into the image of Christ, the perfect God-man (Rom 8:29). This work of the Holy Spirit, in His new creation (Gal 6:15) is called “sanctification.” Sanctification is the will of God for His elect, redeemed, regenerate people (Rom 15:16; 1 Thess 4:3, 7; 5:23; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2). Those who walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 25), while walking in faith (2 Cor 5:7), are walking in the Light of truth (Ps 119:160).
Those under the sanctifying care of the Helper/Teacher are made subject to God’s Word of truth (Jn 17:17). The natural man loathes the Bible, and he languishes if made to sit under it. The spiritual man delights in the Law of God (Ps 1:2; 119:70). It is more precious to him than silver or gold.
The Spirit of God, giving the spiritual man the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), sets the Christian’s mind on the things above (Col 3:2), where Christ is seated on the glorious throne of God (Heb 1:3). With his mind set on the things of the Spirit (Rom 8:5–6), the lover of God in Christ also has an affection for God in his heart (Phil 1:8). He loves God because God first loved him (1 Jn 4:19), by pouring out His love in that man’s heart (Rom 5:5).
With God’s love manifesting, the Christian now loves the brethren in the church (1 Thess 4:9), his neighbor in the world (Lev 19:18; Mt 22:39), and even his enemies (Mt 5:44). Trusting in the sovereignty of His Lord and God, the saint employs this greater love (Jn 15:13), to sacrifice his own life in this world, for the benefit of other elect souls, who remain lost (2 Tim 2:10). Here is his new life purpose: to steward the mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 4:1).
Christian, all these things are evidence of the Bible’s veracity, and they serve as a comfort from the Comforter (Jn 14:16). It is He who bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom 8:16).
At your disposal, beloved, is all that God entrusts to you for life and ministry. The source of your supply is God, who gives His grace to you for every good deed (2 Cor 9:8). With the measure of faith given to you (Rom 12:3), therefore, give your life away as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1; 1 Pet 2:5), which is acceptable to God and your reasonable service. In giving yourself for others’ benefit, you too will know the joy of the Lord, even when you take up your cross in following Him. Here is the Holy Spirit’s work in transitioning you from a sinner to a saint.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
September 15, 2022
