James Montgomery Boice, the former pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, tells the following true story in his commentary on Romans.1

In 1966, a Hindu holy man named Rao announced to his followers that he was going to walk on water.  The announcement brought a great deal of attention with it.  On the day of the event, several thousand people gathered around a large pool in Bombay, India to watch Rao perform the miracle.

Finally, the holy man showed himself to the multitudes and stepped to the edge of the pool.  A hush fell over the crowd.  As the crowd grew quiet, Rao glanced towards Heaven, stepped forward onto the water, and “SPLASH!” he fell in.  As he emerged from the water wet and fuming, Rao glanced towards the thousands of people at the edge of the pool and said through gritted teeth: “One of you is an unbeliever.”

It is great to know that our salvation does not depend on man’s efforts.  As Christians, our eternal destiny is not like the faith of the Hindu people. According to Rao, he could not walk on water because someone in the crowd lacked faith.  Christians, however, can thank God that their place in Heaven does not depend on someone else’s faith.  It is not achieved by the efforts of men; it is achieved by the efforts of God.

The Holy Spirit displays this power through what is known as special grace.  Special grace is “the grace of God that is given to the elect.”2  There is a grace that God gives to everyone, which is known as common grace,3 but special grace is given to those who have been chosen from before the foundations of the earth.4  It is the unique mercy that God gives to certain people because of His foreknowledge and will, not because of their actions in this life.5

This grace has a lot of different names.  It is called efficacious grace because it is effective in redeeming those who were once lost.6  It is called saving grace because it saves lost sinners.7  It is called sovereign grace because God alone initiates it and carries it through.8  Whatever it is called, this is the grace of God that is shown to the elect and it is a ministry that the Holy Spirit has a huge role in.

God the Father chooses and predestines men.9  God the Son dies for men and procures their salvation.10  But it is God the Spirit Who enters into men and makes their souls come alive.  It is the Spirit Who indwells believers, keeping them in the faith, and causing them to believe.

The Spirit does this in two distinct areas: salvation and sanctification.  This article will talk about His work in salvation.  Another article in this edition will talk about His work in sanctification.

What role does the Holy Spirit play in our salvation?  What does the Spirit of God do to bring us to Jesus Christ in saving faith?

I. HE CONVICTS

John 14-16 is Jesus’ last uninterrupted speech to His disciples before He is crucified.  In this speech, Jesus tells them that He is about to leave the earth (14:1-4), return to the Father (14:12-14), and send the Holy Spirit to them.  Jesus will not leave the disciples alone.  He will send them His Spirit.  John 16:7-11 says:

 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

One ministry of the Holy Spirit is that of bringing conviction.  The word for “convict” in verse 8 is elegxo.  Elegxo means “to convict, to reprove, to correct.”11  It can also mean to “expose someone.”12

One ministry of the Holy Spirit will be to expose the world to its guilt.  He will make guilt known to the world.  He will make men realize the depths and the seriousness of what they have done against God.  He will let people see how they have offended God and, in the process, lead them to God.

In verses 8-11, there are three ways that the Spirit convicts men of their guilt.  First, He convicts men of guilt in regard to sin.  Verses 8-9 state:

And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.

If the Holy Spirit did not expose men to their rebellion against God, they would never see it.  They would never repent and be saved.  They would just go on breaking God’s Law.  So the Spirit convicts men of their guilt in regard to sin.

Second, the Spirit convicts men of their guilt in regard to righteousness.  Verse 10 goes on, “And concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me.”  This conviction is not just to restrain sin but to bring men to Jesus Christ.  Not only does the Spirit show men that they are not righteous; the Spirit also shows men that they need the righteousness of another.13  He shows them that they need a righteous man to stand in their place.  They need a substitute.  They need a sacrifice.

Verse 10 says that this righteousness was shown to all when Jesus ascended into Heaven: “because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me.”  Jesus’ resurrection and ascension showed that God the Father approved of His life and saves men through it.  One of the Spirit’s ministries is to convince men of that reality.

Third, the Spirit convicts men of their guilt in regard to judgment.  Verse 11 says, “And concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”14  The Holy Spirit convicts men of the fact that Jesus Christ has defeated the powers of darkness on the cross. His death and resurrection defeated all the powers of sin and, if a man would be saved from Hell, he must believe that.  He must realize that Satan stands condemned by the powerful resurrection of the Son of God.

He must believe in Jesus Christ as His eternal salvation.  He must be exposed to the truth and have his eyes opened to it to see that Jesus’ resurrection judged the Devil.  It is a ministry of the Holy Spirit to do that.

II. HE CALLS

The Holy Spirit confronts men of their guilt but He also calls them to God.  He makes Jesus appealing to them.

Before the Holy Spirit gets involved, men may be attracted to certain aspects of Christ but not to all of Him.  They may like His morality as many liberals do who see Him as a great religious teacher but not as a substitute for sin.15  They may like Jesus’ sacrificial example but reject His deity as the Socians did in the 16^th Century.16  They may like Jesus’ bold stance against authority like the Jesus movement did in the 1960’s.17  They may like His grace but reject His lordship as many easy-believism proponents do today.18

When the Spirit calls a man to Jesus, however, He calls a man to all of Jesus.  He makes every part of Him appealing.  It is wonderful to know that the Holy Spirit does not simply stop at convicting us of our sin.  He also draws us to Christ.  He makes us want to know Christ and love Christ and serve Christ and count the cost and follow Christ.

To say that another way, the Holy Spirit does not just make us realize that we are lost, He makes us realize that there is Someone Who can save us.  Not only does He show us that we are going the wrong way by convicting us, but He also shows us the right way by calling us.  John 15:26 says:

When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.

The Spirit will testify about Jesus.  He will tell others Who Jesus is and what He came to do.

A few other passages talk about the “calling” of the Spirit.  Romans 8:28-30, also known as “The Golden Chain of Salvation,” says:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

In the chain of events that bring about our salvation, God foreknows us, then He predestines us, then He calls us, then He justifies us, and then He glorifies us. 19  Third in the list is the calling.  God the Spirit calls us to Himself.  He speaks to our hearts and woos us.  He attracts us to the Savior.

First Peter 2:9 also mentions this when it says:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light . . .

The Spirit calls us out of darkness and into the Gospel light.

Even the Greek word for “church” mentions this.  It is ekklesia and means “called out ones.”20  The church is those who have been “called” out the world by the Holy Spirit and drawn to Christ.  No one is a true member of the church who has not been called.

III. HE REGENERATES

The word regeneration means to “live again.”21  It means to have a new life.  At salvation, the Holy Spirit gives us a new birth.  He changes us from those who were once dead to those who are now alive.22

In John 3, Jesus talks to a man named Nicodemus about regeneration.  Nicodemus was at the top of the social ladder in the First Century.  He had the world by the tail.  He was a Pharisee (v. 1), a ruler of the Jews (v. 1), and the teacher of Israel (v. 10).  He was a leader in Israel’s social, political, and religious life.  He was a man who thought his first birth would have been enough to save him.  So Jesus tells him in verse 3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again.  Even with all of his credentials, he must be regenerated if he would see Heaven.  And how does this happen?  Who can do this?

Verses 5-8 tell us:

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit regenerates us.  He gives us a new birth.  The Holy Spirit changes our old nature into a new one.  He convicts us and He calls us and He changes us.

Contrary to much of what we hear today, this new birth is a work of God and not man.23  Yes, we must repent24 and believe.25  Yes, we are responsible for our own souls.26  Yes, we will all go to Hell if we do not receive the saving work of Jesus Christ.27  The Bible says all of that but it also says that salvation is a work of God alone.  It is not something that we contribute to.

As verses 6-8 put it, you do not tell the wind where to blow, and you do not birth yourself.  That is what Jesus is telling Nicodemus in this passage.  What Jesus is emphasizing here in John 3 is that Nicodemus cannot do this on his own effort.  He cannot regenerate himself.  The Holy Spirit must do that.

J. C. Ryle sums this up well in his little book, Regeneration:

Regeneration means, that change of heart and nature which a man goes through when he becomes a true Christian . . .

Some believe the Bible and live as if they believed it; others do not. Some feel their sins and mourn over them; others do not. Some love Christ, trust in Him, and serve Him; others do not. In short, as Scripture says, some walk in the narrow way, some in the broad; some are the good fish of the gospel net, some are the bad; some are the wheat in Christ’s field, and some are the tares . . .

Now, what is the explanation of the difference? I answer, unhesitatingly, regeneration or being born again. I answer that true Christians are what they are, because they are regenerate, and formal Christians are what they are, because they are not. The heart of the Christian in deed has been changed. The heart of the Christian in name only has not been changed. The change of heart makes the whole difference.28

IV. HE INDWELLS

 

To indwell something is to live inside of it.29  The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit lives inside of believers forever.  Romans 8:9 says:

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

There are times when the Holy Spirit temporarily lived inside of someone in the Old Testament,30 but that is not the case in the New Testament.  In the New Testament, the Spirit lives inside of believers permanently.  In the New Testament, the Spirit indwells Christians from the moment they are saved until the moment they die.  Romans 8:9 even goes to far as to say that, if that is not happening, then you are not saved.  One proof that you are born again is that the Spirit lives inside of you.

Not only does the Spirit regenerate you and make your soul come to life but, once He does that, the Spirit stays there.  He does not go anywhere.  He does not leave you even though you give Him plenty of reasons to want to.

Some other passages that mention the indwelling of the Holy Spirit include Second Corinthians 6:16:

Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

“I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

Galatians 4:6:

Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

First Corinthians 3:16:

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

It is helpful to mention here that being indwelled with the Spirit is not the same as being filled with the Spirit.  Filling has to do with sanctification and indwelling has to do with salvation.31 Believers are never commanded to be indwelt by the Spirit even though they are commanded to be filled,32 which is why filling has to do with the doctrine of sanctification and indwelling has to do with the doctrine of salvation.33

V. HE BAPTIZES

To baptize something is to immerse it or submerge it in water.34  While the word literally applies to a physical baptism, several passages in the New Testament teach that the Holy Spirit baptizes believers spiritually.  He immerses them into something.

First Corinthians 12:13 says that He baptizes believers into the church.

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, have all been baptized together into one body.  They have all been baptized into the church.  They have all been submerged into the Body of Christ together.

Romans 6:3 says that the Holy Spirit baptizes believers into Jesus Christ.

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

We have all been immersed into the person of Jesus Christ.  We have been united with Him.  Those who are saved have been put together with Him in such a way that we receive His righteousness and He receives our sins.35

Galatians 3:26-27 says the same thing another way.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

We have been clothed with Christ.  The Holy Spirit has put the perfect holiness of Jesus on us just like someone would put on a jacket on us.  The Spirit covers us and protects us from danger.  He keeps us from suffering the penalty of our sins in Hell.

Colossians 2:12 says that not only have we been baptized with Christ, but we have been baptized into His death and resurrection.

Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Jesus’ death for sin and His resurrection from the dead are so tied to us by the work of the Spirit that Paul says we have been united to them.  We have been plunged into them just like a body is plunged into water.

Ephesians 4:4-6 says that we have been baptized into one faith.36

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

In summary, to be baptized is to be immersed.  At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the church and into Christ and into one faith.

VI. HE UNITES

Going along with baptism, the Holy Spirit also unites us with Christ.  He immerses us into the Person of Jesus Christ in such a way that Jesus’ righteousness becomes ours and our sins become His.  We become buried and raised with Him as Colossians 2:12 talks about.  Jesus becomes sin on our behalf as Second Corinthians 5:21 says:

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Some theologians call this “penal substitution.”37  The Son of God gave up the reward for His holy life and exchanged it for the punishment of our unholy life.  He substituted His perfect righteousness for ours and was judged by the Law on our behalf.

What is of interest to us is that it is the Holy Spirit Who makes all of this happen.  He applies salvation to our soul.  He unites us with the Son of God.  Louis Berkhof says it this way:

The work of Christ was not finished when He had merited salvation for His people and had obtained actual possession of the blessings of salvation. In eternity past He took it upon Himself to put all His people in possession of all these blessings, and He does this through the operation of the Holy Spirit, who takes all things out of Christ, and gives them to us . . .

Jesus calls attention to this organic relationship when He says, “I am the vine, ye are the braches; he that abideth in me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for apart from me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

This union may be defined as that intimate, vital, and spiritual union between Christ and His people, in virtue of which He is the source of their life and strength, of their blessedness and salvation.38

The Holy Spirit takes all of these blessings of Christ and gives them to us.  He baptizes us into the life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God.

Some passages that talk about this include Colossians 2:12, which was just referred to.

Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

First John 4:13 says:

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.39

Romans 6:3-5 says:

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.

The Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus Christ in His death and in His resurrection, which leads us to a seventh role the He plays in our salvation.

VII. HE SEALS

To seal something is to endorse it.40  Most people in the ancient world could not read.  If a message had to be passed from one person to another, writers would place their seal upon it.

Every major business or household had its own particular emblem that people could recognize.  In order to send messages, they would roll up the message, put hot wax on the outside of it, and place that emblem down into the hot wax.  In the place where the wax dried was a seal that showed who it was who sent the message.

Sealing a document was also a form of protection, as it made sure that no one had opened or tampered with it.  If the message came to its recipient with the seal broken, the messenger could be beaten or even put to death.  This was especially the case if it concerned matters of state.

So a seal endorsed and protected a message.  With that in mind, Ephesians 1:13-14 says:

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

As Paul is telling the Ephesians about the wonderful salvation that they have, he tells them that they have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.  They have been protected and endorsed by the Spirit of God, which serves as a guarantee of something better to come.41

The presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life should be an encouragement because it is a promise that the next life will bring us into Heaven.  We will be with God in eternity because verse 14 says that we are His own possession. We have been sealed with the Spirit and He is our deposit of better things.

Ephesians 4:30 says all of this another way:

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.42

The Holy Spirit seals us in order to preserve us until the day of redemption.43  He keeps us in the faith.  He keeps us saved.   He seals us in order to protect us from things that would harm our soul and draw us away from Christ.

The Bible teaches that once saved always saved44 and the Holy Spirit is the One Who makes that happen.  He calls us to Christ and He gives us the new birth and He lives inside of us and He seals us all in order keep us saved.  If the Spirit of God lives inside of you, He will never leave you.45  He will seal you and He will keep you sealed until the day of your glorification in Heaven.

CONCLUSION

The Holy Spirit is very busy today.  While many Christians like to focus on outward miracles like speaking in tongues,46 the greatest information we have about His work concerns inward miracles.  The greatest miracles that we see Him do are inside the soul of man.

That is where it would be best to leave this article.  The Holy Spirit convicts, calls, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, unites, and seals a believer, all in order to save him.  If the church today would focus more on this miracle and less on the other ones, it would be much better off.

 

 

1. Romans, Volume 2 in The Boice Commentary Series (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005) 911-918. [↩]
2. This is my own definition. Wayne Grudem provides another one in his Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000 ed.) 1254. There he says that special grace is “the grace that brings people to salvation.” [↩]
3. This is my own definition. Wayne Grudem defines common grace as “the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation” (Ibid., 1238). [↩]
4. Eph 1:3-4. [↩]
5. Rom 9:14-18. [↩]
6. Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki, & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999) 43. Efficacious is “a term that describes the ability of something to fulfill the purpose for which it is made or given. The term usually is used in reference to the purposes and grace of God. God’s grace, then, is efficacious inasmuch as it is able to bring about salvation in those whom it is directed.” [↩]
7. Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Carlisle, Penn.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2003 ed.) 436. While Berkhof does not use the term “saving grace,” he certainly gives the idea when he writes, “Special grace removes the guilt and penalty of sin, changes the inner life of man, and gradually cleanses him from the pollution of sin by the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit. Its work invariably issues in the salvation of the sinner.” [↩]
8. Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Volume III (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003 ed.) 5, 31. Charles Hodge describes sovereign grace with the term “regeneration.” In his own words, “Regeneration, therefore, is a spiritual resurrection; the beginning of a new life . . . Regeneration is an act of God . . . He is the giver of faith and repentance. It is not an act which, by argument and persuasion, or by moral power, He induces the sinner to perform. But it is an act of which He is the agent. It is God who regenerates. The soul
   is regenerated. In this sense the soul is passive in regeneration, which is a change wrought in us, and not an act performed by us.”  [↩]
9. Rom 9:11; 11:5; Eph 1:5, 11; 1 Thess 1:2-5. [↩]
10. Lk 19:10; Jn 3:16-17; Rom 5:10. [↩]
11. A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, ed. by W. F. Arndt & F. W. Gingrich (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957) 248-249. [↩]
12. Ibid. [↩]
13. This is what Peter talks about in 1 Peter 2:21-25: “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”    Jesus committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth so that He could be our righteousness.  His wounds healed us and His righteousness was imputed to our account to make us righteous before God (also see 2 Corinthians 5:21). [↩]
14. Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John in The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995) 620. “The work of judgment refers to the defeat of Satan on the cross. This defeat is not an arbitrary feat of power, but a judgment. Justice is done in the overthrow of the evil one.” [↩]
15. Charles Sheldon, In His Steps (Uhrichsville, Ohio, Barbour Publishing, Inc., 2002) 1-2). Charles Sheldon displays this line of thinking when he describes a sermon from one of his characters in In His Steps. “He had emphasized in the first part of the sermon the Atonement as
    a personal sacrifice, calling attention to the fact of Jesus’ suffering in various ways, in His life as well as in His death. He had then gone on to emphasize the Atonement from the side of example, giving illustrations from the life and teachings of Jesus to show how faith in the Christ helped to save men because of the pattern or character He displayed for their imitation.” Notice that He does not say that the Atonement was achieved by Jesus dying in the place of sinners. It merely functioned as a moral example for sinners to live by. [↩]
16. The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. by J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978) 912. Socianism taught “an acceptance of Jesus as the revelation of God but nevertheless solely a man.” [↩]
17. The Jesus Movement was a campaign to reach hippies with the Gospel during the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was one of the events that created Contemporary Christian Music. For more information about it, visit www.one-way.org as of 2/27/14. [↩]
18. Millard J. Erickson, The Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2001 ed.) 55. Easy believism “stresses that to be saved, one has but to believe – there is no need for a real commitment.” [↩]
19. Theologians have debated throughout the years as to whether this is a chronological order or just a logical one. The debate is known by the Latin term ordo salutis or “order of salvation.” For a scholastic discussion of it, see Augustus Hopkins Strong’s Systematic Theology (Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 2009 ed.) 794. [↩]
20. Robert Saucy, The Church in God’s Program (Chicago: Moody Press, 1972) 11-12. [↩]
21. Webster’s New World Dictionary, ed. by Michael Agnes (New York: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2003) 542. This definition is my own. Technically, the term means “to cause to be spiritually reborn; to bring into existence again” but the idea is the same. [↩]
22. Jn 5:25-27; Eph 2:5; Col 2:13. [↩]
23. Dave Hunt & James White, Debating Calvinism (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah Publishers, 2004) 339. Dave Hunt summarizes the thoughts of many when he writes, “Calvinism treats man as a puppet that God makes willing, yet the Bible gives man credit for having a willing heart as though the willingness were his own. The judgment seat of Christ, His promised rewards, the Great White Throne judgment, and the lake of fire are meaningless if all is of God and nothing is from the heart of man. The many statements about the person being willing from his heart become nonsensical.” [↩]
24. Mk 6:12; Lk 13:3; Acts 2:38; 17:30. [↩]
25. Jn 3:16, 36; 8:24; 11:25-26. [↩]
26. Matt 12:37; Rom 2:5-8; 14:12. [↩]
27. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” [↩]
28. Regeneration: Being “Born Again” (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2003) 11-12. [↩]
29. Arthur W. Pink The Holy Spirit (Memphis, Tenn.: Bottom of the Hill Publishing, 2011) 83. In this book, Pink quotes the following words from Matthew Henry: “The Spirit visits many who are unregenerate, with His motions, which they resist and quench; but in all that are sanctified He dwells: there He resides and rules. He is there as a man at his own house, where he is constant and welcome, and has the dominion.” [↩]
30. For instances of this, see the article “The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament” in this edition of JTST. [↩]
31. For more information about this, see “The Holy Spirit Today, Part 2” in this edition of JTST. [↩]
32. Eph 5:18. [↩]
33. For more information on the filling of the Spirit and how that relates to sanctification, see “The Holy Spirit Today, Part 2” in this edition of JTST. [↩]
34. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 131. The Greek word for “baptism” is baptize. It means “to dip oneself, to immerse, to wash, to sink, to drench.” [↩]
35. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Volume 7 (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1976) 191. This is known as the doctrine of imputation. “The word impute means to reckon over to one’s account, as the Apostle writing to Philemon regarding whatever Onesimus might owe Philemon declared: ‘Put that on mine account’ (1:18).” [↩]
36. James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997) 131. In other words, we believe the same thing about Jesus Christ and salvation. James Montgomery Boice writes, “[Paul] is saying that because we have one Lord we also have one faith. That is, we do not believe diverse doctrines where the core of the gospel is concerned. We believe that God Almighty sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to become like us and die for our salvation.” [↩]
37. Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, & Andrew Sach, Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2007) 21. “The doctrine of penal substitution states that God gave himself in the person of his Son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment, and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin.” [↩]
38. Berkhof, 449 [↩]
39. F. F. Bruce, The Epistles of John (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983) 110-11. What the Apostle John is saying here is that the evidence that we are united to Christ is that the Holy Spirit lives in us.  The Spirit living in us enables us to be one with the Son. [↩]
40. The following information concerning “seals” is taken from The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Volume Five (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978 ed.) 319-324. [↩]
41. The NIV Bible gives this idea when it translates verse 13: “who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession– to the praise of his glory.” [↩]
42. William Hendriksen, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon in New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004 ed.) 222.  William Hendriksen provides a helpful explanation of what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit. “Hence, whenever the believer pollutes his soul by any deceitful, vengeful, covetous, or filthy thought or suggestion, he is grieving the Holy Spirit. This is all the more true because it is the Spirit that dwells within the hearts of God’s children, making them his temple, his sanctuary (2:22; 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 6:19). By means of every evil imagination, cogitation, or motivation that indwelling and sanctifying Spirit is therefore, as it were, cut to the heart.” [↩]
43. Ibid. The day of redemption is “the day of Christ’s return, when our lowly body, refashioned so that it will have a form like Christ’s glorious body, will rejoin our redeemed soul in order that in soul and body the entire victorious multitude may inhabit the new heaven and earth to glorify God forever and ever.” [↩]
44. John 10:29 says, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” [↩]
45. Romans 8:9 says, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” Our entire salvation depends on the Spirit of God dwelling within us. Therefore, if we cannot lose our salvation, we cannot lose the presence of the Holy Spirit within us once we have been saved. [↩]
46. For more information about speaking in tongues,
    see “Do People Still Speak in Tongues?” in the Theological Questions at www.justthesimpletruth.com [↩]