Kile Baker
In ancient times, God’s Spirit had the same mission as He does today — to draw people to God, to help them live holy, righteous lives, and to convict them of sin, among other things. But the method in which the Spirit accomplished these things was different compared to now.
In the Old Testament, he empowered heroes like Moses, Samson, Gideon, Joshua, Saul, and Micah to prophesy, judge, lead, rule over, and perform acts of justice on God’s behalf. The Spirit of God enabled God’s communication by verbal and written means through Moses, David, Ezekiel, and other Old Testament authors so people could know who God is, how to follow Him, and how to orient their lives based on His commands. Lastly, God’s Spirit prepared Israel and the rest of the world to anticipate and receive the Messiah by prophetically announcing His arrival.
So what did God do through the people mentioned above that differs from how He interacts with the world today? The major difference between then and now is that the Spirit filled people in the Old Testament, but did not indwell in people like He does in the New Testament and today.
The advantage Christ-followers have because of God’s presence within them can’t be overstated. God’s Spirit in your flesh is the most powerful force in the world. The person of the Holy Spirit, residing in you as a person is the greatest way the world experiences God and gives Him glory.
Without God’s Spirit, the world follows its own rules, comes up with its own values, and determines what is good and what is not. This is often described in scripture as “life in the flesh.”
Natural desires ask this question: what’s good for me? What do I want? What do I think is important? What do I want my life to be about? This is where the Spirit comes in. Because of His help, insistence on being holy, and constantly pointing us back to Christ, we don’t think about natural desires or what’s good for us. We have supernatural desires. Instead, we ask this question: What glorifies God?
The Spirit of God through You
The Spirit of God is doing a great work in you if you’re a Christian. He is moving you away from natural desires and towards supernatural ones. He’s helping you become the new creation that God intended you to be in Christ. He convicts you of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11) based on God’s standards and leads us into Godly sorrow so we can reorient our lives around Him. He empowers you with spiritual gifts to edify and contribute to His Church.
In a way, we are partnering with the Spirit as He moves in us and through us to glorify Himself in the world. You have a part, and God has a part. And as we do our parts together, God works in us and through us to impact not just us but the world.
Sometimes we forget that quite possibly the greatest witness we can give to others of our faith, is the transformation that happens in us because of the work of Christ, through the power of the Spirit, to the glory of the Father. God could have chosen any way to work in the world, and He chose to show Himself through the people who are made in His image. This means people will see God in you before anywhere else.
So, What Is the Spirit’s Role in the World?
The Spirit’s role is to grow you, to glorify God, and to go throughout the world, drawing people to Christ.
