Empowered by the Spirit

Jim1120 - May 23, 2025

If it is true that all believers have the power of the Holy Spirit, it is an awesome concept to comprehend.

It raises a number of questions:

I. Where does it say in the Scriptures that we have the power of the Spirit?

Jesus called the coming of the Holy Spirit as being “clothed with power.”
Look at Luke 24:49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Galatians 3:27 says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (see Eph. 1:3; Col. 3:10). The Spirit baptizes and that results in being clothed with Christ, and clothed with the power of the Spirit which Jesus spoke of Luke 24:49. This demonstrates we are “in Christ.”
1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” The Corinthian church was one of the most carnal or immature churches and yet Paul tells them they are all baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. The baptism comes now, with conversion and it has nothing to with a greater spirituality, because it happened even to unspiritual people: people not walking with the Lord, the Corinthian church. For us today, it has nothing to do with power, or a second blessing from God. We all have the Spirit. (Acts 1:8; Eph 3,16,20).

II. Why is the power of the Holy Spirit given to us?

Is it to work miracles like Jesus and the Apostles? Is the power given to work miracles like Moses, who parted the Red Sea, Jesus, who walked on water, and Paul, who sent out handkerchiefs to heal people?
There is a difference between what is recorded in history and what is taught for us to obey. Moses worked miracles and taught the law. Jesus worked miracles and gave us the great commission, among other great teachings, we should obey. Paul worked miracles and gave us the epistles to obey.
This is the point: We are not to teach the experience of Jesus and the Apostles; but we are to experience the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles. We need to know the difference between description of an event and a prescription of a teaching. We can’t mix up these things. Just because Jesus or Paul did some miraculous things, doesn’t mean we can do it or should do it.
But what is this power we have? The Greek word “power” (dunamis) means the ability to perform. The idea is like a “dynamo,” not “dynamite,” which blows things up.
In our case, power is the ability to perform the will of God.

III. What do we have to do to experience the power of the Holy Spirit?

A. Deal with Sin.

Paul says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Eph. 4:30).
While He never departs from us, we can grieve Him. We can live with Him, and not be close to Him, because we grieve Him.
What grieves the Holy Spirit? In a word—”sin.”
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Eph. 4:31). If we are holding on to anger, we don’t have the full potential of the power of the Holy Spirit, because He is grieved. He will not empower you if you grieve Him.
But how do we deal with sin in our lives?
(1) By confessing (1 John 1:9). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Note, it is ALL. We don’t have to run around and worry if we have confessed every sin. Confess the sins you know and He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness, even the sins you don’t know.
(2) By forsaking (Prov. 28:13), “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” If you don’t seem to effectively use the Spirit’s power in your life, maybe you should examine your internal life of anger and bitterness.
(3) By replacing (Eph. 4:32). “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Here we replace the sins that God has forgiven with kindness, tender-heartedness, forgiving each other. Could it be that we are not experiencing the Holy Spirit’s power is because we are holding on to sin, to grudges and an unforgiving heart?

B. Do the will of God.

Paul commands, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:19).
The word “quench” means “to extinguish, to put out.” It was used to put out a fire.
You might say to me, Jim, this verse is talking about “quenching” so what does this have to do with the will of God? Notice what verse 18 says, “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” So, we are not to quench or put out the Spirit when the Spirit gives us a GO-AHEAD to do God’s will, in this case, thanksgiving.
Paul is saying, “Do not prohibit the free exercise of spiritual gifts in the assembly.” We quench the Holy Spirit when we refuse to do the will of God.
What is this difference between “grieving” the Spirit verses “quenching” the Spirit?
Simply put: Quenching the Spirit is saying NO when the Spirit says YES. Grieving the Spirit is saying YES (to sin with anger) when the Spirit says NO. It’s essentially rebellion against the Spirit of God, that is, His will for us and His warning to us.
So, in essence, to say it positively, To be empowered by the Holy Spirit we are to do the will of God.
But what is the will of God?
Everything you need to know about the will of God is in the Word of God. God’s will is His moral will. He gives us wisdom to discern anything in our life that is amoral, such as the school we attend, the kind of car we drive, where we live, what job we have, etc.
All moral decisions are in the Scriptures and we quench the Spirit when we ignore those issues of obedience, of submission, of faith, and of dependance to which the Word of God has something to say.
We will experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to do His will.

C. Depend upon the Holy Spirit

Paul says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
How do we “walk” in the Spirit? The crux of the issue is that little word “in”. Some argue that walking in the Spirit is regulating one’s life by the rule/direction of the Holy Spirit. Here the word “in” means in the sphere or realm of the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 says, “Let us also walk in the Spirit.” The Greek word translated “walk” in verse 25 means to “walk in line or alignment.” It’s a different word than “walk” in verse 16. The Holy Spirit gives believers the rule, the direction by which to order their lives. This is done through obeying and aligning our lives by and with the Word of God, which the Spirit of God inspired. In Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
So, the rule/direction of aligning ourselves with the Spirit is serving one another through love. So, when we serve one another through love, we are depending upon the Spirit as we walk with Him.
That is one view point. There is another view point which is held by the majority of commentators.
Walking “in” the Spirit means “walking by means of” the Holy Spirit; that is, walking with the help of the Holy Spirit. Believers obey the Word of God by being dependent upon the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. The word “walk,” which denotes effort, seems to be the opposite of dependence, but maybe that is the concept Paul means to convey. It is a picture of a man/woman walking or leaning on some kind of support, or better with his/her arm around the Spirit’s shoulder. There is effort and dependence all at the same time.
Dallas Willard (who don’t agree with too much) says it well here, “Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Effort is action. Earning is attitude. You have never seen people more active than those who have been set on fire by the grace of God.”
We pursue walking in the Spirit with grace in action and not with the attitude of earning the power of the Spirit. We act from our walk with the Spirit, not to obtain power, but we walk with Him to activate the power of the Spirit we already have.
The Spirit works from the inside out, through our dependance, knowledge of His love, with the fullness of God and it is in accordance with His power working in us.
The power is an unparalleled aid which the Holy Spirit granted to all of us. Jesus’ followers have ability to go beyond their own natural-born strength, and that is the power you have been given, but not just for yourself, but for the well-being of others.

Take-aways:

You have the power of the Spirit, don’t look for what you already have
Keep short accounts as you live your daily life with the Spirit
Confession is done to maintain your walk in the Spirit not to get it back