Our Agent of Transformation

In this month's special offer, Jerry Bridges communicates the personhood of the Trinity in his discussion of the Holy Spirit by showing the distinctive work of the Spirit, yet clearly conveying that the Spirit and God are one.

In chapter eight, we learn that it is imperative in our Christian walk to clearly understand both God’s role and our role. Here Bridges focuses on one role of the Holy Spirit:

“The transformation process the Bible describes is much more than a change of conduct or improved human morality; it is actually the work of the Holy Spirit in the very core of our being. In the only two instances in Scripture where the word transformed is used, it occurs both times in the passive voice. We are being transformed (2 Corinthians 3:18), and we are to be transformed (Romans 12:2). In both instances, we are the object, not the agent, of the transformation process; the agent is the Holy Spirit.

We do have an active role to play in this process. All moral exhortations and commands in the New Testament assume our responsibility to respond to them…but for now we want to focus on the role and work of the Holy Spirit. We need to do this for two reasons:

1. Dependence: Just as we are naturally inclined to depend on our own performance for our day-to-day relationship with God, so we are also inclined to depend on our own willpower and our ‘try harder’ way of thinking to effect change in our character. So, just as we must look outside of ourselves to Christ rather than our own performance for the assurance of our acceptance by a holy God, so we must look outside of ourselves to the Holy Spirit to work in us and enable us to work…
2. Avoidance is Detrimental: The second reason we need to consider the role of the Holy Spirit in our transformation is that some of the extreme, erroneous teaching about Him has made many of us very cautious of His work in our lives. But we neglect the work of the Holy Spirit to our detriment. After all, He is the resident member of the Trinity in us…It is the role of the Holy Spirit to apply and work out in our lives that which comes to us from God through Christ.”

Bridges goes on to discuss five main roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives, He is the:

1. Author of Scripture
2. Agent of New Birth
3. Witness to Our Adoption
4. Agent of Sanctification
5. Agent of Transformation

When we cry out to the Lord asking Him to help us in areas of our lives, we are essentially asking God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves; we are asking Him to change our hearts and the Spirit responds in at least three ways, according to Bridges:

1. He Brings Conviction: The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us to the point of recognizing sin in our lives. He does so by bringing scripture to light in our minds, by using adversity to get our attention, or by using someone close to us to point out specific sin.
2. He Creates Desire: After bringing us to the point where we recognize sin, He creates a God-centered desire to change, not for false motives, but a heart change. This is often where He reminds us of what Christ did for us and turns our duty into love.
3. He Creates Change: After making us aware of our need and creating a desire to change, the Holy Spirit works on our hearts to bring about change. This aspect of his work is both direct and mysterious, Bridges calls it the monergistic work of the Spirit. In other words, this is the point where we actually see change. When we realize we love a person that we formerly hated or we have patience in a situation that would have previously made us irrationally angry.

So the Spirit is vital in the work of our transformation and sanctification. We hope you will read Bridges’ book to gain a better understanding of the totality of the Spirit’s work in our lives.

Download an excerpt from the book (courtesy of NavPress) »

Donate now to receive your copy of "The Transforming Power of the Gospel" »