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9 Ways the Holy Spirit Influences/Works in a Person’s Life

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgement

“When He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:8-11).

Notice the verse above says that the Holy Spirit will convict the entire world of three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment. Every single person has experienced or will experience, these three convictions at some point.

We need the conviction of sin because it is necessary for someone to realize that they have sinned against God and that they need to repent of their sin. The only way for someone to want to repent of their sin is to first realize that they have sinned.

The conviction of righteousness is the Holy Spirit revealing to the person that has faith in Christ that they have been made right with God. That their sins have been wiped away and now they can have a relationship with God and Christ.

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are necessary for the believer to receive righteousness. Jesus reveals this by saying, “of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more.”

Finally, the conviction of judgment is the Holy Spirit revealing to all people that one day we will be judged for our lives.

Jesus says that that day is for the ruler of this world (Satan) to have his judgment carried out, but the Bible also makes it clear that we too will receive judgment for the conduct and actions of our lives. Of course, our judgment will be a lot different than the devil’s judgment because we have decided to repent.

Nevertheless, all of these convictions; sin, righteousness, and judgment, are essential for the person to go from the path of destruction to the path of life. Without the Holy Spirit constantly convicting us we would walk right into darkness.

We are born again by the work of Holy Spirit

Another difference the Holy Spirit makes in a person’s life is the work of the rebirth, or the born again experience.

The Bible makes it clear that to be born again is to be born of the Spirit.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God… Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit(John 3:3,5&6).

When we decide to put our faith in Christ, repent of our sin, and get baptized, the Spirit of God comes on the inside of us to give us a new nature. He takes away the old nature (the fall of man) and replaces it with God’s nature. (Related article: What is the Gospel?).

This is why the apostle Paul said,

“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:9-10).

This “new man” was birthed by the Holy Spirit on the day that we turned from our sin. This is all impossible without the Spirit of God giving us new life.

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Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of all things

Before Jesus died on the cross, He told the disciples that the Spirit of God would bring all things to their remembrance and that He would be their teacher.

“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 things that I said to you(John 14:26).

So, as we spend time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word, we should be conscious of the fact that Holy Spirit desires to teach us something. In fact, the main way the Holy Spirit teaches us is by reminding us of different passages of scripture and by assisting us in connecting them.

The apostle Paul mentions this in his letter to the Corinthians.

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual(1 Corinthians 2:12-13)

Notice the Holy Spirit teaches by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. These “spiritual things” that Paul is talking about is the scripture.

How do I know?

Because scripture makes it clear that the Word of God is the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17) and that the “word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Holy Spirit’s primary tool to teach us is the Word of God. This is why it is essential for every believer to stay in the Word daily. If not, we will be unable to reap the benefits of being taught by God.

Holy Spirit is our comforter

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning (John 15:26-27).

Holy Spirit is referred to as the Helper in this passage. The greek word for helper here is paraklētos. It can also be translated as comforter, aid, advocate, etc.

So, the Holy Spirit is our Helper, Comforter, and Advocate. If we truly believe this we should learn to commune with Him throughout our day and call on Him when there is need.

Interestingly, the passage where Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a Comforter is directly after Jesus telling the disciples that they will be hated and persecuted by men just like He was.

“Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you(John 15:19-20).

Judging by the context, the Holy Spirit is meant to be our comforter in the midst of trials and persecutions.

It is similar to Jesus saying, “in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The Spirit of God is a Spirit of prayer

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.” (Zechariah 12:10)

This verse reveals that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of prayer. Supplication is a form of prayer.

The Holy Spirit makes a difference in a person’s life by giving them the desire to pray and commune with God.

The apostle James mentions a similar thing when he said,

“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?” (James 4:4-5).

Who does the Spirit who dwells in us yearn jealously for? God!

God has placed in each believer the desire for Himself. And the main way to seek God is through praying and communing with Him.

This is also why James tells us to “draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” The only way to do this is by engaging with Him through prayer, worship, and thankfulness. Related article: How to Spend an Hour in Prayer (8 Helpful Tips).

Holy Spirit guides us and shows us things to come

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come(John 16:13).

In this verse, Jesus tells us there will be two things the Holy Spirit will do in the life of a believer: (1) He will guide us into all truth, and (2) He will tell us things to come.

The Holy Spirit is meant to be our guide in life. He is meant to show us which paths we are to take and reveal to us truths about God and His Word.

If we are walking in a close relationship with Him and submitting our will to Him, we will be able to hear His voice when we inquire Him for His counsel.

We are sanctified by the Holy Spirit

The most impactful difference the Holy Spirit makes in our lives is the fact that He is a Spirit of sanctification.

His only purpose in our lives is to make us look like Christ in every possible way.

Here are some verses that reveal this:

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord(2 Corinthians 3:18).

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1-2).

As you can see, from just a few verses, the Holy Spirit is the one who transforms us into the image of Christ. And the only way we can be changed by Him is by simply yielding to Him.

How do we do that?

We do that by simply spending time with Him and spending time in His Word. As we do these things, He will begin to remove all of the junk that doesn’t look like Christ and replace it with the qualities that Christ possessed whiled He walked on this earth.

The more we get to know Him, the more we will become like Him.

I have an article that goes step by step on how to begin to get to know God. If you want, you can check it out here.

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We are empowered to be witnesses by the Holy Spirit

Perhaps the most mentioned quality the Holy Spirit produces in a person’s life is God’s power.

The Bible consistently tells us that we are to receive the power of God when the Holy Spirit comes over us.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you (Holy Spirit); but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

The moment we receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God endues us with power to be witnesses of the Gospel. (Related article: Baptism in the Holy Spirit (In-Depth Study)).

To be a witness means to bear witness of something, to provide evidence for a thing.

How are we supposed to provide evidence of the Gospel?

By proclaiming it with signs, wonders, and miracles as the early church did.

The world is tired of hearing the proclamation of the Gospel without the demonstration of the Gospel. We need to be able to demonstrate the power of God if we want people to decide to follow Christ.

This is the difference between someone who is experiencing revival all around them, and someone who is stuck just going to church Sunday after Sunday.

The former is filled with God’s power from on high and is acting out in faith, and the latter is waiting for God to do something.

Let’s be filled with God. Let’s be a people of the Bible. And let’s flip the world upside down for Jesus!

If you want to know more about walking in God’s power, check out this article that covers receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit is God always being with us

When we look at all of these wonderful benefits and qualities the Holy Spirit brings to our lives, it is easy to forget how all of these come to be in the first place.

They come into our lives because we have received a Divine Personality; Holy Spirit.

You see when we receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, we aren’t just receiving God’s power, or His character, or His wisdom, but we are receiving Himself.

We are literally receiving God Himself into our lives, and the natural result of that is His power, guidance, character, wisdom, etc. Because all of those things are just a byproduct of who He is. (Related article: How to Walk in the Spirit).

And the only way to have all of these things become more prevalent in our lives is by walking with this Divine Person. By learning to commune with Him throughout our day and spending time in His word we become more like Him because He begins to mold us into the image of Christ.

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