Now let’s look at the more practical side of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Paul describes the new birth a little differently in Titus 3:3-5, but its clear he’s talking about the same thing Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about in John 3. This is what he says. “For we also were once thoughtless, disobedient, deceived, continually giving in to all sorts of cravings and fleshly pursuits, wasting away in our own wickedness and envy, hated by others and hating them back. But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior appeared, He delivered us. And this was not because of anything good we had done on our own, but because of His mercy and by the cleansing of the new birth through the renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
There are two things here that help us understand what the Holy Spirit does. Paul mentions the “cleansing of the new birth”, the same spiritual concept we looked at previously, that is, the inner cleansing of the New Covenant (as opposed to the outward rituals, ceremonies, etc. of the Old). The Father wants to clean us up on the inside from all those inward faults (and the outward manifestations of them) listed by Paul in the quote above.
Then he tells us this cleansing comes “through the renewing of the Holy Spirit”. Now “renewing” is specific and comes from anakainosis, from ana, again, and kainos, qualitatively new. The Holy Spirit cleans us up on the inside by giving us new qualities different from the old. Paul gives us a similar, but more extensive, list of things we need to have cleansed in Galatians 5:19-21. Then he tells us the new qualities the Holy Spirit is able to bring into our lives. These are the fruit of the Spirit he then lists in the verses that follow (22-23).
Now, when you look at these lists it becomes clear the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to help us change the focus of our lives from one that pursues the things of the world and the flesh (sin nature) to a life in pursuit of true spiritual qualities (the nature of God). The key word here is change! The Holy Spirit wants to change us from who we are into Who He is.
And one of the most definitive verses on this change is 2 Corinthians 3:16-18. "And anytime a person turns to the Lord, that veil of spiritual darkness is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and when the Spirit of the Lord comes, He brings freedom. And we can see clearly, just like looking into a mirror, a revelation of Who the Lord is. And in this way we begin to be changed into His image, from one revelation to the next. And the Lord, Who is the Spirit, is the One Who makes this all possible."
The context of this is verses 14-15 where Paul explains the presence of a veil of spiritual darkness or blindness that resulted in the reading of the Old Testament. The Jews allegiance to the old prevented them from recognizing Christ and the fact that He was the fulfillment of the old and now the new had come. Then in the passage above he explains that when they came to the Lord that veil was taken away and they could begin to see clearly.
And in the next two sentences Paul through the Holy Spirit tells us exactly what the ministry of the Spirit does. I’ll repeat it. “And in this way we begin to be changed into His image, from one revelation to the next. And the Lord, Who is the Spirit, is the One Who makes this all possible.” Now, let me get just a little technical here. “Begin to be changed” in the translation above is from metamorphoo, taken from meta, denoting a change of condition, and morphoo, to form, so, to change into another form or transform.
And, this is a present indicative, meaning it does not indicate repeated or continuous action, but rather the beginning of the action. What Paul is saying is that when we come to the Lord the process of being changed into the image of the Lord begins. He, however, does not mention here when the change is completed. We’ll look at that in the next lesson.
For now, let me go back to this passage and explain from personal experience what Paul means when he says, “And we can see clearly, just like looking into a mirror, a revelation of Who the Lord is.” When you look into a mirror (either before or after you came to the Lord) you will not see an image of Christ. Neither will you understand the qualities of His character (Who He is) or His nature (what He does). You will simply see an exact image of yourself. So, what is Paul talking about here?
I’ll try to make this brief. After 35 years in institutional, denominational religion I was sick and tired of the deception, resistance to truth, hypocrisy and politics of it all. I walked away. But my soul craved an intimacy with God that religion could never deliver. I began to get alone with Him and cry out for the spiritual reality that had so far evaded me.
In the beginning my time with Him was spent telling Him what I wanted, when I wanted it and how I wanted it delivered. Not surprisingly, nothing happened. In general, religion tends to teach people God is at their beck and call, anxious to do their bidding. However, anyone who determines to submit themselves to God and be obedient to Him eventually learns that He is in charge. What happens and when it happens is His province and His alone! So, after some weeks had passed, I began to sense the idea that it was time for me to shut up and listen. Sometime later, I don’t remember how long, I sensed something that I knew was from God. There was no mistaking it. The words were there in my mind, crystal clear, “What do you think of My Son? How do you compare?”
From that point on my times with Him were spent in honest introspection, identifying my own faults and shortcomings. I began to understand that He didn’t care about what I had to say about anything else. The focus was squarely on me. He was making it clear to me in no uncertain terms that when I compared myself to Christ, I had some serious problems. He was forcing me to look into that mirror. And when I did, all I could see was myself. So, you can ask, how is that a revelation of Who the Lord is?
This is how it works. When we honestly identify our faults, He is then able to give us through situations, circumstances, even personal revelation the opportunity to reject those faults and accept (and in most cases demonstrate to others) the character and nature of Christ. And in this way we begin to be changed into His image. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail; but if we’re willing, the opportunities will always be there. And, if we fail in an area, good news, He’ll give us another opportunity. This is the inward cleansing of the New Covenant through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.