9 Reasons to Embrace the Work of the Holy Spirit

Clarence L. Haynes Jr. Contributing Writer
Updated Dec 22, 2022

I want to ask you a question right out of the gate. Are you truly aware of what the Holy Spirit can do in your life?

In the Bible he is called our Helper, but how does he help us? It is fair to say that of all the persons in the trinity, the Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood and misrepresented. Not only does he get blamed for many things he has nothing to do with, but believers often miss the importance of his work in their lives. For this reason, so many believers fail to live up to their full potential in Christ and often miss out on God’s best because they don’t understand the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

The Bible is very clear about the work and purpose of the Holy Spirit. Today I want to analyze one place in Scripture and identify nine reasons you need to embrace the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

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Reasons to Embrace the Work of the Holy Spirit

While there are different passages you can turn to, the text we are going to consider is Romans 8:1-16. Every work of the Holy Spirit I am about to share with you comes from within these verses. For each work of the Holy Spirit, I will define it and give you the verse it comes from. I will trust you to read the whole passage on your own, but just know this is the context from which all these truths about the work of the Holy Spirit in your life come.

1. The Spirit Gives Life

Romans 8:2 – “Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

Before you got saved, the Bible is clear you were spiritually dead in your sin. However, the moment you received Jesus as your savior your spirit was made alive to Christ. This experience of giving life was done by the Holy Spirit. John 3:3-8 would refer to this as being born again, or being born of the Spirit. Your salvation is when you, who was once dead, became alive because the Holy Spirit gave you life.

2. The Spirit Gives Life and Peace to Our Minds

Romans 8:6 – “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”

If there is a work of the Holy Spirit, you must embrace it to allow him to govern your life. In other words, you must submit and allow him to work in your life. There are only two directions you can go in life: you will either follow the Holy Spirit or you will follow your flesh or sinful nature. There are no other options. When you follow the flesh, you end up in conflict with God in your life and in your mind. When you follow the Holy Spirit, you come into agreement with God, therefore your life and your mind are filled with peace.

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3. The Spirit Identifies Us, or Marks Us as Belonging to Christ

Romans 8:9 – “…And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.”

At the moment you were born again, the Spirit of God was given to you. Remember he is the reason you are born again in the first place. Once you are born again it is the Holy Spirit that marks you as belonging to Christ. When God sees you, this is the mark he is looking for because this identifies you as belonging to him.

4. The Spirit Makes Us Subjects of Eternal Life

Romans 8:10 – “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.”

Currently we still live under one of the curses of sin, all of us will die one day. However, because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, you are now a candidate for eternal life.

5. The Spirit Lives in Us and Gives Us the Hope of Resurrection

Romans 8:11 – “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

This verse gives you two reasons to embrace the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. The first reason is your hope of resurrection is a result of the Holy Spirit. Remember the Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead, and the same Spirit of God will raise you from the dead on that day.

The second truth to embrace is to recognize the Holy Spirit is living in you. The reason this is so important is because the Holy Spirit becomes the source for everything you do in your Christian life. As a believer, you don’t have to do anything in your own strength, because you can do everything by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you.

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Woman walking down a road with arrows pointing two directions

6. The Spirit Gives You the Ability to Put to Death the Misdeeds of the Body

Romans 8:13 – “…but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

Here is a truth that sometimes as Christians we don’t always want to accept. As a Christian you don’t have to live in sin, you choose to live in sin. You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, which means you have the power to overcome sin. However, this will only happen when you embrace the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and yield yourself to him. When you do, you will have all the power you need to help you overcome and put to death besetting sins in your life.

7. The Spirit Leads Those Who Are His

Romans 8:14 – “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

This ties into belonging to God, which we talked about earlier. If you are a child of God, then the identifier is that your life will be led by the Spirit. Since this is true, the reverse of this is also true. If you are not led by the Spirit, you do not belong to God. That’s why is someone claims to be a Christian, but only lives after their own impulses and desires, you must question if they truly belong to Christ.

8. The Spirit Removes the Fear We Have in Approaching God; the Spirit Identifies Us as Sons and Daughters, and Gives Us the Right to Have Intimacy and Relationship with God

Romans 8:15 – “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

Because of the Holy Spirit, you no longer have to be afraid to approach God. The reason is you are not approaching an impersonal God – you are approaching your Heavenly Father. You are not coming to him as a sinner or a slave, but you are approaching him as a son or daughter. Your right to this level of intimacy with God is made possible by the Holy Spirit living in you.

Peaceful woman with eyes closed and hands over her heart

9. The Spirit Confirms in Your Heart That You Are God’s Child

Romans 8:16 – “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

One of the last works of the Holy Spirit you need to embrace in your life is the inner confidence he gives you that lets you know you are truly God’s child. How do you know you are truly saved? This is possible because the Holy Spirit confirms it in your heart. There is a peace, a witness, and a confidence the Holy Spirit gives you, letting you know you belong to him.

Conclusion

If I were to sum up all the reasons you need to embrace the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, it would come down to this: Your entire Christian life comes down to your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Your life in Christ begins with the Spirit when you are born again and continues in the Holy Spirit throughout your life.

For this reason, you have two choices. Either he is going to do the work in you, or you are going to attempt to do it on your own. If you go the route of doing it on your own, you probably already know how that is going to turn out. That’s why I encourage you to truly embrace the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. When you do, you will discover the ability to be everything you desire to be in Christ. Not because of you, but because of the work of the Holy Spirit who lives in you.

Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.