Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 04024 One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is His work of conviction. Popular usage often treats conviction as a vague feeling of spiritual unease, something close to guilt. But Jesus’ description in John 16 is far more specific, and far more searching. Understanding what the Spirit actually does when…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04025 There is a real difference between reading the Bible as a piece of ancient literature and reading it as the living Word of God speaking into your situation. That difference is not primarily about intelligence or education. It has everything to do with the Holy Spirit’s work of illumination, the ministry by which…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 04022 Paul’s instruction in Galatians 5:16 is not a vague encouragement to be more spiritual. “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” is a precise description of a way of living that has practical content. The question of what it actually means to walk by the Spirit…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 04023 Every Christian has moments of genuine uncertainty about their own spiritual condition. Am I acting out of the Spirit’s leading, or am I following my own desires and calling it God’s will? This is not an abstract theological question; it touches something very practical about self-knowledge, discernment, and honesty before God. Scripture provides…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 04020 The Holy Spirit produces fruit in the believer and distributes gifts to the believer, and while both come from the same Spirit, they are doing entirely different things. Conflating them causes no end of confusion in the church, particularly when spiritual gifts are treated as evidence of spiritual maturity, or when character is…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04039 The question of whether unbelievers can experience the Holy Spirit touches on something fundamental about the Spirit’s nature and mission. If the indwelling of the Spirit is the defining mark of belonging to Christ (Romans 8:9), does that mean the Spirit has no contact with unbelievers at all? The answer is more nuanced…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04033 If the Bible is the Word of God, and if its authority depends on its divine origin, then the mechanism by which God produced it matters enormously. Scripture’s own testimony is that the Holy Spirit played the decisive role in the process of inspiration, ensuring that human authors writing in their own styles,…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04044 Being sensitive to the Spirit’s leading is one of those phrases that Christians use regularly but rarely unpack. It can sound mystical or subjective — as though some believers have a special spiritual sixth sense that others lack. But the New Testament’s teaching on this is more concrete and more accessible than that….
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04042 Most Christians have heard that it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit. The phrase comes from Ephesians 4:30, where Paul writes: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” But what does grieving the Spirit actually look like in everyday life? And…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 03017 Most Christians use the names “Jesus” and “Christ” interchangeably, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the two words are doing very different things. One is a personal name; the other is a title of office. Understanding the distinction opens up something genuinely rich about who he is and what God was…