Here’s a quick review of what we’ve learned so far in this series about the Holy Spirit:
· The Holy Spirit a member of the Trinity:
o It is a unique relationship.
o It is difficult to completely define or explain.
o We’re talking about trying to comprehend the Infinite God, but we are only finite human beings.
· Is He real? Yes! He possesses:
o Intellect
o Will
o Emotion
· The Holy Spirit in the act of regeneration:
o Regeneration is an act accomplished by the Holy Spirit of God at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.
o People are dead to God, spiritually speaking.
o The Holy Spirit “re-births” true believers; He regenerates true believers.
o He makes our spirits alive to God. We are “born again”
· The Holy Spirit in the birth of Christ:
o Jesus was conceived in Mary, by the Holy Spirit apart from any male human being.
o Jesus is the Son of God, which means He is Deity.
o Jesus was born of a human mother. That’s where He gets His true humanity.
o Jesus is, truly, the “God-man.”
· The Holy Spirit in the life of Christ:
o The Holy Spirit was there at the baptism of Jesus.
o Jesus was controlled by the Holy Spirit.
o Jesus was led by the Spirit.
o Jesus did miracles through the power of the Spirit.
o Jesus was sealed by the Spirit (so are we).
o Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit.
o Jesus prophesied by the Spirit.
o Jesus was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit.
That brings us to this next article:
The Holy Spirit In the Work of Salvation
We’ll be looking at two topics in this article: Common Grace and Efficacious Grace
First, let’s look at common grace:
- Common grace can be defined as the Holy Spirit’s influence on the whole world, both believers and unbelievers.
- God’s Sovereignty and Divine intervention demands that the power of God be effective not only in the saved, but in the unsaved as well.
- Open to Matt. 5:43, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you 45 in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
o “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good”
o “And sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”
- Common grace, then, is the grace that God pours out on the entire world, both the saved and unsaved, the righteous and the unrighteous people of the world.
The importance of common grace is that it affects the whole world, not just the church, in two ways:
- #1 -- In restraining evil:
o The world isn’t as evil as it could be, or will be, one day, when the church is gone.
o Why not? Because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the world through the Church through Christians.
- #2 -- In the work of salvation, the Holy Spirit is active in the revealing of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world:
o It’s the Holy Spirit who reveals the truth of the gospel to people.
o In this age of grace:
§ The Holy Spirit is present in the world through the Church, through the saints whom He indwells.
§ The members of the Church witness to, and evangelize, the unsaved world.
o Why is that true? 2 peter 3:9 gives us some reasons.
o 2 peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
§ The Holy Spirit places that spark of curiosity in the unbeliever.
§ He draws people to Jesus.
§ Remember, “There is none who seeks after God.”
o If we look at Romans 3:9-15 we read, “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; 11 there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; 12 all have turned aside; together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. 13 Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; 14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; 15 their feet are swift to shed blood, 16 destruction and misery are in their paths, 17 and the path of peace have they not known. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
o Remember, He is the Spirit of:
§ Truth
§ Holiness
§ Life
§ Wisdom
§ Exhorting toward good and away from evil
§ He is present in the world and in the church
So, for a brief recap: There are two reasons for the importance of common grace:
- Through common grace, grace given to all people, saved or unsaved:
o #1 -- Holy Spirit helps to restrain and resist sin and evil in the world:
§ By doing that, He directly affects the course of human history.
§ He does so in order to make God’s purposes for mankind come to pass.
o #2 – He reveals, or makes known, the way of salvation to a fallen race who do not, and will not, seek after the One true God on their own:
§ This revealing of the way of salvation is critical for completing God’s purpose of calling out the Church during this age of grace.
§ Common grace makes possible the salvation of souls which man is incapable of doing:
Ø Human beings are not able to save themselves.
Ø But it does not make salvation a certainty
§ Important note: Common grace is not saving grace. Stay with me. I’ll explain this a little later
Man’s Need for Common Grace:
- The fall of man had tremendous consequences:
o Sin was imputed or put on every individual’s account.
o Mankind is spiritually dead and apart from God.
o Mankind has a fallen, sinful nature.
o Mankind doesn’t even want to seek God (Romans 3:10-18).
- The cross of Christ is foolishness to non-believers: 1 Cor. 1:18, “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
- The natural man cannot comprehend the things of God, 1 Cor. 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
- The natural mind is hostile toward God, Romans 8:7, “Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so”
- The natural man can only come to God if God calls him to Himself, John 6:44, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
- The devil has blinded the natural man to the truth of the gospel and only the Holy Spirit can open his/her eyes, 2 Cor. 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
The Limitations of Common Grace:
- Common grace has no effect upon the will of a person:
o Example: Seeing creation doesn’t make a person seek after God.
- Common grace provides no illumination of God’s Word:
o Non-believer can’t understand God’s Word, but the rain still falls and his crops still grow.
- No fruit of the Spirit found in those who have only experienced common grace.
- Religious instinct or fear of God are related to common grace:
o But this never leads to salvation or an understanding of the gospel.
So how do men and women come to Christ?
Efficacious Grace:
- “Efficacious” means that it is, without question, effective. It produces the desired effect.
- It’s effective because it will certainly reveal the gospel to someone and lead him or her to saving faith.
- Efficacious grace is the effectual call from God the Holy Spirit to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ:
o It’s effective because it’s from God and not from man.
- Remember, common grace is the general call through nature, creation, stars, mountains, trees, design, and order in the universe. But common grace doesn’t lead to saving faith.
- Efficacious grace always leads to salvation. Common grace does not.
- Efficacious grace is an act of the Holy Spirit dependent solely upon God for achievement:
o Rom. 1:1, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle”
o Gal. 1:6, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;”
o Eph. 4:1-6, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
o 1 Cor. 1:22-24, “For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
o Efficacious grace is never a human choice.
o It’s an act of God proceeding from His power and Sovereignty.
- Efficacious grace can’t be resisted! Why not? It’s the exercise of the mighty power of God, who speaks and it is done:
o It’s irresistible in the sense that its never resisted:
§ Eventually, the person comes to God through faith in Jesus.
§ Some people say, “God got a hold of me,” or “I simply couldn’t say no.”
o And it’s irresistible is the sense that it’s certainly effective in bringing a person to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
- Man’s total depravity and spiritual death requires efficacious grace:
o Without an irresistible calling by and from the Holy Spirit, mankind is damned forever. Why?
o Imputed sin, the sin of Adam, which mean no one is holy or acceptable to God.
o Men are spiritually dead. We can do nothing to make ourselves acceptable to God
o Man’s nature is fallen with no desire to know, or seek God, “no man seeks after God.”
Defense of Efficacious Grace:
- The word “efficacious” is not found in the Scriptures.
- If the term is not in the Bible, how do we know that it’s true?
- #1: An act of God must be effective or He’s not God!!
o Eph. 2:8-9, it is the “gift of God.”
- #2: Its’ vital to the doctrine of predestination: Eph. 1:3-14,
o “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 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, 14 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.”
Summary: Efficacious Grace
- Efficacious grace produces God’s desired effect which is the saving of peoples’ souls for all eternity.
- An act solely dependent upon an Omnipotent, Sovereign God, through His Holy Spirit. Therefore:
o It’s irresistible.
o It is of a certainty that it will be effective in revealing the gospel and leading to saving faith.
- Remember Eph. 1:3-6, “. . . He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the beloved.”
- Romans 8:28-30, “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. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
- The Holy Spirit in the work of salvation is the One who extends to us this irresistible efficacious grace.
- He draws us to Himself.
- He’s the one who’s at work in the world, through believers, to reach out to lost souls and reach them with his wonderful saving grace.
How Do Believers Fit Into This?
- We don’t need to worry; God’s in control.
- Be holy. Live in a manner worthy of your calling: some need to grow up, some need to mature in your walk with Christ.
- Be ready:
o Expect the Holy Spirit to use you to share your faith in Jesus.
o Know the Word. Study the Word. That is Crucial to growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
- Be available. Say to the Lord, “Here I am Lord, use me.” But mean it from your heart and soul.
- Lastly, we need to read Eph. 2:8-9 frequently to remind ourselves that a person is saved solely by God’s grace alone, through our faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
May the Lord continue to open your eyes to His wondrous love, mercy and abundant grace.
By His Grace,
Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.
