The Will of God and the Work of the Holy Spirit by Pastor Walter Snyder Q: When the Bible says the Holy Spirit makes intercession for the saints "according to the will of God," what does "the will of God" mean? Thank you. Q: If a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in him, where does the Spirit go if he sins? Can the Spirit continue living in a wicked heart? Or does He leave and come back when He is truly repentantly invited? A: The second question finds answer in the context of the first, which comes from the eighth chapter of Romans. The question involves prayer---but includes the chapter's other verses, involving sin, grace, Law, Gospel, the Holy Spirit, Christian life, and eternal life in Christ. Romans 8 follows up on the earthly conflict within the saints (7:7-25). Sin seeks to gain the upper hand in the believer and Christians cannot do that which truly pleases God. Yet in His Grace, God forgives us for the sake of Jesus Christ (8:1). We who cannot be righteous in and of ourselves have Christ's righteousness. The Holy Spirit applies Jesus' perfection to believers in Christ and God accounts us as sinless and holy for Christ's sake, clothing us in Christ's righteousness. This means that "if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (8:10)" I noted last week column that death ~in~ sin is overcome by death ~to~ sin as we are baptized into Christ's death and resurrection (6:1-11). Therefore when Paul talks about Christian life, he talks about baptized Christians still struggling against sinful human flesh. The Spirit works through baptism and the Gospel, dwelling within all in whom He creates faith. Every good thing we do results from relationship. Paul cautions believers in Ephesians 4:30, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." This happens when we say to God, "My will be done," instead of, "Your will be done. (Mt 6:10)" If all sins drove the Spirit out of the Christian's heart, then the Spirit would never inhabit any hearts, since sin continues to cling to all of us. All sin, especially willfully planning and committing evil, does "grieve the Holy Spirit" and can result in His abandoning one who previously believed. Sins of weakness, while still contrary to God's will, do not necessarily totally sunder our relationship with the Spirit. Otherwise, a sinner could never cry out in faith for God's mercy. If we do, for a time and through our own sin, make our hearts inhospitable for the Spirit's indwelling, He continually works to call us back to the sonship of the Gospel (see the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32, especially verse 32, "This your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.") The Spirit endeavors to conform our lives with the prayer our Savior taught us. We confess with Paul, "Nothing good dwells in me.... I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (Ro 7:18-19)" This includes prayer, since, "We do not know what to pray for as we ought (8:26)" Because of this, the Spirit of God "helps us in our weakness.... The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (8:26)" Prayer is an alignment of our hearts, minds, and souls with God's will (what He desires to happen). Since we cannot align ourselves, the Spirit works to bring us into accord with God's good and perfect will. He moves us to ask God to let happen what God wants us to happen and to make us His instruments of peace and reconciliation. When "the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, (8:27)" He prays on our behalf to the Father, "Your will be done." He works to overcome sinful inclinations, so that "the good I want" and not "the evil I do not want" becomes "what I keep on doing." This "now" and "not yet" of righteousness and of being aligned with God's will appears at the heart of Jesus's words, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt 5:48)" The Spirit prays that we would be perfect in God's eyes through faith in Christ and that ultimately our entire selves will, in the resurrection, be totally in accord with God's perfect will. Christ warns against resisting the Spirit: "All sins will be forgiven ... but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. (Mk 3:28)" The Spirit lives within the hearts of sinners, for all believers are still sinful. Willfully and wantonly despising His work and renouncing the faith He creates becomes what some call "the unpardonable sin," for the one who refuses faith and God's grace rejects any chance of pardon (see Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:29). Lest anyone worry, if you still seek God's pardon and peace in Christ, you have not blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, for it is only by the Spirit's work that you can do this. Q: Please tell me, how do you do God's will? Thank you and God bless. A: As we've seen, we cannot, on our own, believe in Jesus or do His Father's will. Gospel and Spirit clothe us in Christ's righteousness instead of our own righteousness (actually our sins; see Isaiah 64:6). Faith responds to Paul's exhortation: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (12:1-2)" The Spirit reveals God's will: Believe in Christ, be forgiven, love one another. He leads us to stay in the Word and be forgiven so we can do our "spiritual worship." We often think "worship" is what we do in church services. Actually, "church" is God's renewing and restoring us so that we "worship" by living as Christians away from His house. This worship isn't our own voluntary and natural action; we do the will of God through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard Version~, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Ask the Pastor, © 2004 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others. Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."