The Holy Spirit and Salvation

STUDY FOUR: THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SALVATION

© Rosemary Bardsley 2009

The Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit has an essential and indispensable role in our salvation. God the Father does not automatically make us his own just because he sent the Son to die for us. Jesus the Son does not automatically save us just because he died for us. Without the operation of God the Holy Spirit in and on the individual human being not one person would benefit either from the love of God the Father or from the sacrifice of God the Son. We are saved by the unified purpose and united action of the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

A. The Spirit of God and our knowledge of God

As we have already seen:

• The Holy Spirit is responsible for the inspiration of the biblical writers and the accurate recording of the written Word of God.
• The Holy Spirit enlightens our minds so that we can personally understand God’s truth.
• The Holy Spirit actively confronts us with God’s truth, convicting us of guilt in respect to sin, righteousness and judgment.
• The Holy Spirit works in unison with the words of Jesus Christ to reveal the Father.

Each of these operations of the Holy Spirit is essential for our salvation. Without his action we would not and could not understand either who God is or what he requires of us; without his action we would not and could not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We would still be trapped in the darkness of misunderstanding unless the Spirit had come and set us free from that darkness.

B. Salvation is being regenerated by the Spirit

Individual people become Christians by being born again. This is called regeneration, and is the action of God, specifically, the action of the Holy Spirit:

The foundational teaching on regeneration is John 3:1-8 where Jesus confronted Nicodemus with the necessity of being born ‘again’ – where the Greek anothen means ‘from above’, or, as Jesus pointed out, being born ‘of the Spirit’. Without this regeneration Nicodemus, and we ourselves, are nothing more than ‘flesh’ and can be nothing more than ‘flesh’ [John 3:6] – ‘flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit’. It is thus essential to be ‘born of the Spirit’ [3:8] – to be regenerated by the unseen, but nevertheless effective, work of the Spirit of God. Without this regeneration we are spiritually ‘dead’ [Ephesians 2:1,5] totally unable to see or to enter the kingdom of God.

C. Salvation is being baptised by the Holy Spirit into Christ and baptized by Christ with the Holy Spirit

When the New Testament refers to baptism it uses three different prepositions after the word ‘baptize’. The use of these prepositions is analysed in the table below.

Without digressing too far into a study on baptism it is nevertheless essential to distinguish between water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism – essential because such a distinction is clearly made by the Scripture. Indeed each of the four gospel writers deliberately makes this distinction.

There are two important facts that we must keep in mind when we speak of the Holy Spirit ‘baptism’:

[1] That Holy Spirit baptism is distinguished from all water baptisms. When the Scripture speaks of baptism in connection with the Holy Spirit it is not teaching about water baptism of any kind – neither the water baptism of John the Baptist, nor the sprinkling of infants, nor believers’ baptism by immersion. Nor does it make Holy Spirit baptism dependent on or simultaneous with water baptism.

[2] That there are two distinct but intimately connected synergistic truths describing the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the concept of being ‘baptized’.

• The believer is baptized by Christ in [en] the Spirit, and
• The believer is baptized by the Spirit into [eis] Christ.

There is a kind of mutual spiritual immersing: Jesus Christ immerses us in/with/by the Holy Spirit, and we are immersed in/with/by the Holy Spirit into Christ.

C.1 Jesus Christ baptizes us in/with/by the Spirit

We need to remember, as we saw in the table above, that the Greek en is the only preposition used in relation to being baptized in, with or by the Spirit. [The only exception is Matthew 28:19, where people are to be baptized’ into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’]. Where our English translations use these three prepositions which we understand quite differently from each other, the Greek uses only en.  Its primary reference is to position [location]; only its secondary reference is to instrumentality.

This baptism by Christ in/with/by the Spirit is also termed ‘the gift of the Spirit’ and ‘receiving the Spirit’. It happens to all genuine believers as an essential part of their salvation. It is an aspect of the complete spiritual blessedness which is given to us at the time of our conversion.

This is the baptism referred to by John the Baptist when he said:

• ‘I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire’ [Matthew 3:11].
• ‘I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit’ [Mark 1:8].
• ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit’ [John 1:33]. 

And by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:13b:

• ‘… and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.’

From the very nature of its description in the New Testament this baptism in/with/by the Spirit is something that happens to every believer without distinction or difference when they first truly believe in Christ. It is part of the blessedness of the comprehensive and complete salvation given by sheer grace to those who believe. Here the Spirit of God comes to us and makes us his dwelling place. [The significance of this indwelling Spirit, which is essentially speaking of Christ in us, will be detailed further in a later study.]

C.2 The Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ and into his body

In addition, every person who truly believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is, simultaneously with the above regeneration, at this point of conversion, baptised in/with/by the Spirit ‘into Christ’ and into the church, the body of Christ.

We are baptized by [en] the Spirit into [eis] Christ, and into his body. This refers to us in Christ.

1Corinthians 12:13a: ‘For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free …’

Galatians 3:26-28: ‘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. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’

[I understand both of these verses to speak of the Holy Spirit baptism whereby we are united to Christ. I would also include here Romans 6:3 – ‘don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?’ To understand this verse as water baptism, rather than Spirit baptism, is validate those who teach baptismal regeneration, and to make salvation dependent on the human act of baptism rather than on the divine regenerative action of the Spirit, which is clearly outlawed by other scriptures.]

This aspect of Holy Spirit baptism unites us with Jesus Christ, and therefore unites us with every spiritual blessing that Jesus Christ obtained for us through his life, death and resurrection. By this Holy Spirit baptism we are united to and identified with the death of Christ. By this Holy Spirit baptism his death becomes our death. Without this baptism into Christ by the Spirit, which includes being baptized into Christ’s death, we would not and could not be saved; we would not possess any aspect of the salvation which Christ obtained for us. Without this baptism into Christ by the Spirit we would be standing before God still exposed in all of our sin and guilt, still exposed to his wrath. This baptism into Christ by the Spirit occurs simultaneously and synergistically with Christ baptising in/with/by the Spirit.

This baptism by the Spirit into Christ also incorporates us into ‘the body of Christ’, the church, and annuls all flesh based distinctions between believers. Paul clearly teaches ‘For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body …’. There is no biblical support for any teaching that distinguishes between believers on the basis of Holy Spirit baptism. On the contrary the Bible teaches that this Holy Spirit baptism renders all distinctions irrelevant.

[Additional point: Together these two elements of Holy Spirit baptism demonstrate the unity and equality of the Son of God and the Spirit of God.]

D. Salvation is having a new and secure relationship with God which is implemented, affirmed and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit

From the New Testament we learn that at the point of conversion, and from that point on, we possess new life. When the Holy Spirit brings us to new birth [regeneration] and baptizes us into Christ [baptism in/with/by the Spirit], and when Jesus Christ simultaneously baptizes us with the Spirit, a massive change takes place in our relationship with God:

D.1 By the Holy Spirit we are marked and sealed as God’s

The New Testament teaches that Holy Spirit is God’s mark upon believers, identifying us as belonging to him and sealing us for our final redemption. The Holy Spirit is thus God’s guarantee of our salvation both now and in the future. In this context the word firstfruits - ‘deposit’ or ‘down payment’ - is used in reference to the Spirit. The indwelling Spirit is God’s ‘down payment’ anticipating the day when we shall be ‘forever with the Lord’.

D.2 By the Holy Spirit we are identified and confirmed as God’s children

As well as guaranteeing our eternal salvation the Holy Spirit confirms our identity as the children of God, assuring us that we have the right of sons to call God ‘Abba, Father’, even though we live in the context of suffering [Romans 8] and the context of legalistic heresy [Galatians 4], both of which would raise strong doubts about that sonship.

D.3 By the Holy Spirit we have access to God

Before our conversion we were banned from the presence of God by our sin. We had no right of access to him. A part of the salvation believers have in Christ is permanent present access into the very presence of God through his once-for-all substitutionary, sin-bearing death and his present representative mediation [Romans 5:2; Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19-22; 1Peter 3:18]. One such verse refers to the role of the Holy Spirit in this unimpeded access.

D.4 By the Holy Spirit we are set apart for God

The New Testament also refers to the Holy Spirit as the one who sets us apart for God. The word used is ‘sanctified’ – which essentially means to be set apart by God for God – for God’s special possession, use and purpose. In each of these verses this is clearly a saving action that happens at the point of our conversion, quite distinct from the on-going sanctifying work of the Spirit by which he progressively transforms the believer, and which will be detailed in a later study.

D.5 By the Holy Spirit we are justified

In an interesting one-off verse [1Corinthians 6:11] Paul teaches that believers are ‘justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God’. Here we understand that justification by faith, which is obviously grounded in the work of Christ on the cross, is, nevertheless not ours without the operation of the Spirit of God by which we are united to Jesus Christ and his death.

D.6 By the Holy Spirit we are ‘washed’

The New Testament also teaches a connection between the Christian being ‘purified’, ‘washed’ or ‘cleansed’ and the Holy Spirit. The context of each of the verses below indicates that this cleansing is part of the grace-based salvation obtained in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, and has nothing to do with our personal spiritual performance.

D.1-6 Summary

The operation of the Holy Spirit of God in implementing and affirming our new and secure relationship with God is one that generates strong assurance in the believer. Paul alludes to this confident trust in Romans 5:1-5 where he speaks of the peace with God, the joy even in suffering, and the confident hope which are generated by the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which he has given to us. It is by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and not by any personal merit, that this complete, permanent, and grace-based relationship is established and affirmed.

E. The essential presence of the Spirit – Romans 8:1-14

In Romans 8:1-14 Paul seeks to confront us with the same flesh/Spirit contrast with which Jesus Christ confronted Nicodemus [John 3] and the Samaritan woman [John 4].

Left to ourselves [that is, in our natural, flesh-only, state]:

• we are under ‘the law of sin and death’ and are, by that law, condemned [8:1-4]
• we live for our own human agenda [8:5]
• our mindset is death [8:6]
• we are hostile to God and neither willing nor able to submit to God’s law [8:7]
• we cannot please God [8:8]
• we are controlled by our flesh [8:9]
• the Spirit of God does not live in us [8:9]
• we do not belong to God [8:10]
• [by inference] are in a state of ‘death’ [8:10-11]

In clear distinction from this, those in and upon whom the Spirit has done his saving work:

• have been set free from the law of sin and death by the life-giving work of the Spirit [8:1-2]
• have been removed forever from condemnation [8:1]
• have been credited with the perfect righteousness of Christ [8:3-4]
• are identified with the agenda of the Spirit [8:5]
• have the mindset of life and peace [8:6]
• [by inference] are reconciled to God and please God [8:7-8]
• are controlled by the Spirit [8:9]
• are indwelt by the Spirit [8:9] and thereby identified as belonging to Christ
• are identified with the sin-bearing death and life-giving resurrection of Christ [8:10-11]

All of this amazing change is attributed to the saving work of the Holy Spirit.

Further, it is only ‘by the Spirit’ that we have abandoned our ego-centric, flesh-based belief that we have the ability to gain and maintain God’s acceptance on the basis of our human performance; it is only by the Spirit that we have been led to recognize and accept the grace-driven salvation provided by God in Christ [8:12-14]. By the Spirit we have thus ‘put to death’ the deeds of ‘the flesh’, counting them, as Paul did in Philippians 3, as less than nothing.

Thus it is the Spirit of God who breaks through and demolishes our sinful confidence in our own ability, and in doing so, does for us what we ourselves could never do – sets us free from all condemnation through the death and resurrection of Christ, and brings us safe into the family of God where there is life and peace.

SUMMARY: The New Testament clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit has an essential and indispensable role in our salvation. The Holy Spirit is no add-on to the Gospel, nor a second or higher step to which we ascend beyond the Gospel and in addition to Christ; rather the Holy Spirit works in unity of will and purpose with the Father and Son to bring us to salvation. Just as salvation is not possible apart from Christ so salvation is not possible apart from the Holy Spirit.