Where In The Bible Will I Find:

How The Holy Spirit Converts?

We have long believed that if any one is ever saved it will be by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit operates upon the heart of the sinner in conversion, but it also declares that He exercises His influence through the written word.

The Holy Spirit and the Word are not the same any more than God and His Word are the same, but the Word is the instrument through which these operate on man's heart today. The same truth is used in every conversion today (Mk. 16:15-16; Heb. 4:12). While there is no conversion without the Holy Spirit, there is no operation of the Holy Spirit in conversion independent of God's Word.

Often the same things are ascribed to the word in conversion that are attributed to the Holy Spirit's work in conversion.

Notice several things that are said to be done by the Holy Spirit and the Word in conversion:

1)     ENLIGHTENS.  “…the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psa. 19:8).

2)     CONVERTS. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" (Psa. 19:7).

3)     GIVES LIGHT. "The entrance of thy words giveth light" (Psa. 119:130).

4)     GIVES UNDERSTANDING. "Through thy precepts I get understanding" (Psa. 119:104).

5)     SAVES.  “…receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" (Jas. 1:21).

6)     PURIFIES. "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit." (I Pet. 1:22).

7)     PRODUCES FAITH. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17).

8)     IS SPIRIT AND LIFE.  “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (Jn. 6:63).

9)     JUDGES US.  “…the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (Jn. 12:48).

From these and other verses of the New Testament, we conclude that the Holy Spirit uses His word to convert the souls of men today. (Eph. 6:17).

--Gary Colley