Page 59 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 22

�mes when Paul was empowered to preach dient, we miss out on God’s blessings and expe-
and to con�nue on despite persecu�on during
his missionary journeys. The Holy Spirit also
empowers each believer with spiritual gi�s to
build up the church.
The second work of the Holy Spirit is to purify
which he does through the process of sanc�fi-
ca�on (Grudem p.639). The Holy Spirit helps
new believers break from the pa�erns of sin in
their lives and bring forth the fruit of the spirit,
love, joy, peace pa�ence, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness gentleness and self-control (Gal.
5:22-23).
The Holy Spirit reveals or gives evidence of Go-
d’s presence by giving witness to our spirit that
we are children of God (Rom. 8:16). This gives
us assurance and comfort. Believers are encou-
raged when they recognize the Holy Spirit wor-
king in their life and the lives of others. The
Holy Spirit guides and directs Chris�ans as we
walk with Him and our desires change to con-
form with the Holy Spirit’s desires and the fruit
of the Spirit grows within us (Gal. 5:16-26). Be-
cause the Holy Spirit is God, He can impart
truth (John 14:7), give wisdom (Deut. 34:9) and
hope (Rom.15:13). In addi�on, He teaches and
helps us understand scripture (Grudem pp.
640-45).
The Holy Spirit brings unity. This was observed
on the day of Pentecost when “the Holy Spirit
created a new community which was the
church” (Grudem, p. 646). Paul several �mes
men�ons the unifying work of the Holy Spirit
when he writes to the Corinthians, Philippians
and Ephesians about the fellowship of the Spirit
(2 Cor. 13:14, Phil. 2:1-2, and Eph. 2:18).
We also need to recognize that we must not
grieve or offend the Holy Spirit by being disobe-
dient. The Holy Spirit loves us and wants to
bring blessings, but we see warnings in the New
Testament against resis�ng the Holy Spirit. Paul
warns the Ephesian, Corinthian and Thessaloni-
an churches about grieving or quenching the
Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30, 1 Cor. 6:19-20, 1 Thess.
5:19). The most serious offense is blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit. Jesus warns the Phari-
sees of this when the Pharisees spoke against
the Holy Spirit a�ribu�ng His power to Satan.
Jesus said this will not be forgiven and is an
eternal sin (Mark 3:29). When we are disobe-
59
rience distance from God. However, when we
are obedient, we are in fellowship with God
and the Holy Spirit helps us be aware of his pre-
sence and blessing on our lives (Grudem pp.
647-49).
Holy Spirit’s Presence Impacts the Counselor
and Client
As Chris�an counselors, counseling is not just a
profession but a calling and ministry in which it
is important that we are dependent on the Holy
Spirit to guide and empower us. If the counse-
lor is going to allow the Holy Spirit to guide,
they must be sensi�ve to the Holy Spirit’s pre-
sence. This begins with our own spirituality. Tan
iden�fies seven aspects of Chris�an spirituality:
First it means having a deep hunger or thirst for
God (Ps. 42:1-2, Ma�. 5:6). … Second, it means
having a love for God based on a personal
knowledge of God (Ma�. 22:37-38; John 14:21,
23; Rev. 2:1-7). … Third it means being filled
with the Holy Spirit and surrendering to God’s
deepening work of grace in our hearts and not
yielding to the sinful nature or the flesh in us
(Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:6; Rom. 6:12-13). … Forth it
means discovering and using the spiritual gi�s
given by the Holy Spirit for God’s purpose and
glory (see Rom.12; I Cor. 12; Eph. 4: 1 Pet. 4);
bearing forth the fruit of the Spirit, which is ul-
�mately agape or Christlike love (Gal. 5:22-23)
and becoming more Christlike in every way in
our lives and character (Rom. 8:29). Fi�h it
means developing biblical thinking and having
a world view that is consistent with God’s eter-
nal perspec�ve as revealed in the BibIe, his in-
spired Word (cf. Rom. 12:2; Phil. 4:8; Col.3:16a:
2 Tim. 3:16-17). … Sixth, it means being invol-
ved in spiritual warfare, which requires the use
of supernatural power and resources from God
(cf. 1 Cor. 4:20; Eph. 6:10-18) … Finally, it means
that there are mys�cal aspects and experiences
in the depths of Chris�an spirituality, which
transforms us to be more Christlike, including
sharing in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings
(Phil. 3:10). (2022, pp. 443-44)
As Chris�an counselors we iden�fy with Holy
Spirit who is described by Jesus as the paraclete
which can be translated as Counselor, Comfor-
ter, Helper or Advocate (John 14:26). The Holy