If [even you] know how to give good gifts to your children, then how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
—Luke 11:13
In chapter 11 of Luke’s gospel, a disciple asks Jesus how to pray. Jesus gives him a model prayer—Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. This response should have been sufficient to answer the question.
But the answer didn’t speak to what the disciple really wanted to know—or so I gather. Jesus elaborated on his answer in a way that suggests he saw the further question on the man’s face. If that disciple was anything like me, then what he really wanted to know was, How do I pray effectively, Jesus? How do I pray so that my prayers will work?
Jesus perhaps paused a moment, and perhaps noted the others who were also listening.
He said there is something God wants to give you—he just wants you to want it. If you do, he will give more. “Keep asking and it will be given to you,” Jesus said. “Keep searching and you will find. Keep knocking and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).
What is this gift that will be given in proportion to your asking? The gift is actually a person—the Holy Spirit.
Indeed, the words of Jesus quoted at the top of this post imply that the Holy Spirit is a person who comes in quantity. That is, the Holy Spirit is someone of whom we can receive more and more, provided we continue to ask, seek, and knock. The gifts that the Holy Spirit provides are the gifts that God the Father desires to give, and we can have those gifts in increasing fullness.
So what are those gifts?
What, specifically, does the Holy Spirit do?
It is not an idle question. The Spirit is not portrayed in scripture to the same detail as the other two members of the Trinity. The Spirit is mysterious. We tend to overlook him. Francis Chan’s book about the Holy Spirit is aptly titled Forgotten God for this reason.
I wanted to understand specifically what it is God wants me to ask for, what gifts he wants to give. What follows, therefore, is a composite picture of the Spirit. I am grateful to Mr. Chan’s book for helping with this. Nearly all the verses of scripture below are cited in the book’s third chapter.
Here then are roles the Holy Spirit fills—or at least my attempt to describe them. To the extent that these summaries are correct, God wants to do more of these things. His Spirit wants to do more of these things. Assuming you want these things, too, then all you have to do is ask. The answer is already Yes. God wants the Holy Spirit to fill all of these roles. He wants the Spirit to be these things for you:
● Freedom and Life
The Spirit transforms who we are. Your outward life might change, but even if it doesn’t, he will give you a new life within that previous life. He will liberate you, producing a freedom that is unfazed by the outer trappings. (Romans 8:10-11, 2 Corinthians 3:17)
● The Instructor
He teaches you. The Spirit instructs you about the Son, and about all manner of things that couldn’t be known by earthly knowledge. He provides insight to specific challenges you face. In all these things, His way is to walk with you, illuminating the truth one step at a time. (Many verses: Psalm 143:10, John 14:26, John 15:26, Acts 13:2, Acts 15:28, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, Ephesians 3:18-19, 1 John 5:6)
● The Guide
The Spirit steers you rightly through this world of moral and spiritual confusion. He guides you in the matter of sin (because the world has a sense of good and bad that is not informed by Christ) ... in the matter of righteousness (in the same way Jesus would point out the righteous if he were here in the flesh) ... and in the matter of how to regard the world (because the kingdom of this world has already been judged). (John 16:8-11.)
● The Intercessor
He prays for you when you don’t know what to pray. (Romans 8:26)
● The Outfitter
He reveals abilities—gifts that are particular to you—so you can exercise these gifts for the benefit of others. (1 Corinthians 12:7)
● The Voice
In the hour when you are called before authorities because of your faith, he gives you words to speak. (Mark 13:11, Luke 12:12)
● The One Who Makes the Infinite God Our Dad
He also lets us know we are God’s chosen sons and daughters. The fear of God is coupled to this profound comfort. Through the Spirit, we see God the all-powerful as God our Father, our Abba, and we have the assurance that we are his beloved children. (Acts 9:31, Romans 8:15-16)
● The Creator—Your Creator
The Spirit is making you more like Jesus. He is making your nature more like the nature of God, so that you think, act, and live in ways that are in harmony with God’s Law—even without a need for the written law to keep you in check. (Genesis 1:26, Romans 8:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 5:22-23)
● The Emboldener
He gives you courage and personal power. He gives you hope. He will give you these things out of love. He will give them to you, also, so that you might act as the Lord’s witness. (Acts 1:8, Romans 8:26, Romans 15:13, Ephesians 3:16, 1 Thessalonians 1:5)
—Luke 11:13
In chapter 11 of Luke’s gospel, a disciple asks Jesus how to pray. Jesus gives him a model prayer—Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. This response should have been sufficient to answer the question.
But the answer didn’t speak to what the disciple really wanted to know—or so I gather. Jesus elaborated on his answer in a way that suggests he saw the further question on the man’s face. If that disciple was anything like me, then what he really wanted to know was, How do I pray effectively, Jesus? How do I pray so that my prayers will work?
Jesus perhaps paused a moment, and perhaps noted the others who were also listening.
He said there is something God wants to give you—he just wants you to want it. If you do, he will give more. “Keep asking and it will be given to you,” Jesus said. “Keep searching and you will find. Keep knocking and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).
What is this gift that will be given in proportion to your asking? The gift is actually a person—the Holy Spirit.
Indeed, the words of Jesus quoted at the top of this post imply that the Holy Spirit is a person who comes in quantity. That is, the Holy Spirit is someone of whom we can receive more and more, provided we continue to ask, seek, and knock. The gifts that the Holy Spirit provides are the gifts that God the Father desires to give, and we can have those gifts in increasing fullness.
So what are those gifts?
What, specifically, does the Holy Spirit do?
It is not an idle question. The Spirit is not portrayed in scripture to the same detail as the other two members of the Trinity. The Spirit is mysterious. We tend to overlook him. Francis Chan’s book about the Holy Spirit is aptly titled Forgotten God for this reason.
I wanted to understand specifically what it is God wants me to ask for, what gifts he wants to give. What follows, therefore, is a composite picture of the Spirit. I am grateful to Mr. Chan’s book for helping with this. Nearly all the verses of scripture below are cited in the book’s third chapter.
Here then are roles the Holy Spirit fills—or at least my attempt to describe them. To the extent that these summaries are correct, God wants to do more of these things. His Spirit wants to do more of these things. Assuming you want these things, too, then all you have to do is ask. The answer is already Yes. God wants the Holy Spirit to fill all of these roles. He wants the Spirit to be these things for you:
● Freedom and Life
The Spirit transforms who we are. Your outward life might change, but even if it doesn’t, he will give you a new life within that previous life. He will liberate you, producing a freedom that is unfazed by the outer trappings. (Romans 8:10-11, 2 Corinthians 3:17)
● The Instructor
He teaches you. The Spirit instructs you about the Son, and about all manner of things that couldn’t be known by earthly knowledge. He provides insight to specific challenges you face. In all these things, His way is to walk with you, illuminating the truth one step at a time. (Many verses: Psalm 143:10, John 14:26, John 15:26, Acts 13:2, Acts 15:28, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, Ephesians 3:18-19, 1 John 5:6)
● The Guide
The Spirit steers you rightly through this world of moral and spiritual confusion. He guides you in the matter of sin (because the world has a sense of good and bad that is not informed by Christ) ... in the matter of righteousness (in the same way Jesus would point out the righteous if he were here in the flesh) ... and in the matter of how to regard the world (because the kingdom of this world has already been judged). (John 16:8-11.)
● The Intercessor
He prays for you when you don’t know what to pray. (Romans 8:26)
● The Outfitter
He reveals abilities—gifts that are particular to you—so you can exercise these gifts for the benefit of others. (1 Corinthians 12:7)
● The Voice
In the hour when you are called before authorities because of your faith, he gives you words to speak. (Mark 13:11, Luke 12:12)
● The One Who Makes the Infinite God Our Dad
He also lets us know we are God’s chosen sons and daughters. The fear of God is coupled to this profound comfort. Through the Spirit, we see God the all-powerful as God our Father, our Abba, and we have the assurance that we are his beloved children. (Acts 9:31, Romans 8:15-16)
● The Creator—Your Creator
The Spirit is making you more like Jesus. He is making your nature more like the nature of God, so that you think, act, and live in ways that are in harmony with God’s Law—even without a need for the written law to keep you in check. (Genesis 1:26, Romans 8:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 5:22-23)
● The Emboldener
He gives you courage and personal power. He gives you hope. He will give you these things out of love. He will give them to you, also, so that you might act as the Lord’s witness. (Acts 1:8, Romans 8:26, Romans 15:13, Ephesians 3:16, 1 Thessalonians 1:5)
