Chapter 31: His Role in Salvation and Miracles

Salvation

The Bible makes it plain that salvation is a free gift of God, received through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by our own works: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). In one sense, then, the person receiving salvation is passive—we do not earn it, achieve it, or contribute to it; we simply receive it.

And yet, behind the scenes of our salvation, the Holy Spirit is intensely active from first to last. Consider His work at each stage of the journey from lostness to sonship.

First, the Spirit brings the word to the sinner. We see this vividly in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian official: “The Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot” (Acts 8:29). The Spirit arranged the divine appointment, bringing the preacher and the seeking heart together at exactly the right moment.

Second, as the person hears the word, the Spirit convicts—exposing sin, awakening the conscience, and stirring a desire to turn. Jesus said the Spirit would “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8–11). It was under this convicting work that the crowd at Pentecost “were pricked in their heart, and said… what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). No one comes to genuine repentance apart from this gracious work of the Spirit.

Third, when the person believes and confesses Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9), the Spirit performs the miracle of regeneration—the new birth—imparting a new spiritual nature and making them “a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is the “born again” experience Jesus described to Nicodemus, and it is entirely the work of the Spirit, not of human effort: “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).³²²

Fourth, the Spirit carries on the work of sanctification—progressively transforming the believer’s character into the likeness of Christ, “conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). This is the gradual, gentle, lifelong work of the Spirit, and unlike regeneration, it calls for our active cooperation—“walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16).

The Spirit is also involved in our justification—our being declared righteous before God through faith in Christ: “but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified… by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11; cf. Romans 3:21–31). And the whole work reaches its goal in adoption—our being received into God’s own family as sons and daughters: “God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:4–7).

From conviction to conversion, from regeneration to sanctification, from justification to adoption—at every step the Holy Spirit is supernaturally at work. His roles are essential and comprehensive in bringing fallen men and women into right relationship with the heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. Salvation is God’s work from beginning to end, and the Spirit is the one who applies to our hearts all that Christ accomplished on the cross.

Gifts and Miracles

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and shares the same divine nature (John 15:26). And He distributes spiritual gifts to believers as He chooses (1 Corinthians 12:11; Hebrews 2:4). These gifts—prophecy, healing, miracles, and the rest—are manifestations of the Spirit at work, given for the glory of Jesus Christ and the common good of the church (1 Corinthians 12:4, 7).

The gifts of the Spirit are given freely to build up and empower the church, so that believers may live and serve in the power of God. When we see these gifts operating in a Christian, it is the Holy Spirit at work within them—and His primary aim is always to glorify Jesus, and then to lead and equip His people. It is worth remembering the distinction Scripture draws between the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit. The gifts (1 Corinthians 12) are for service and vary from believer to believer; the fruit (Galatians 5:22–23) is the character of Christ and is meant to grow in every believer alike. Gifts can be counterfeited; Christlike character cannot. And so, while we may earnestly desire the gifts, it is the fruit—love, joy, peace, and the rest—that is the truest evidence that the Spirit dwells within.³²⁴

Scripture gives us many examples of the Spirit’s power at work in the early church: Agabus prophesying a coming famine (Acts 11:28), Paul discerning and casting out a spirit (Acts 16:16–18), and Paul working extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11; 28:8–9). Miracles—supernatural events beyond the normal bounds of nature—are among the Spirit’s gifts (1 Corinthians 12:10).

Notice the pattern in Jesus’ own ministry: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (Acts 10:38). Even the sinless Son of God, in His earthly ministry, worked by the anointing of the Spirit—showing us the pattern for Spirit-empowered life and service. The early Christians followed in His steps, doing mighty works “through the power of the Spirit of God” (Romans 15:19). Though believers are the ones who act, it is ultimately the Holy Spirit who brings the miraculous to pass, empowering their faith (Matthew 21:22; Mark 9:23).

And the purpose of these miracles is never to exalt the individual, but to draw attention to the message of God’s kingdom and to the Lord Jesus Christ. When the sorcerer Elymas was struck blind, “then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord” (Acts 13:12): the sign pointed past the miracle-worker to the Lord. So the Holy Spirit works on two fronts at once—empowering believers, and drawing unbelievers to faith in Jesus through demonstrations of God’s power—and in both, the glory goes to Christ alone.