Christians who display joy will bring something positive to the workplace that the world cannot provide. When we go through a trial and have confidence in God’s ability to work out all things for good, those who do not know him may ask us where this joy comes from. At that moment, we have earned the right to explain to our co-workers the reason for the hope we have in Christ (1 Peter 3:15).

In my Christian walk, I have observed several key truths about the Holy Spirit I would like to explore as we prepare for Pentecost Sunday. I discussed the first two in my recent article, and I will look at the third and fourth today.

• The power of the indwelling Spirit enables Christians to do great things for Christ’s Kingdom.
• We experience God’s presence through the Holy Spirit as he teaches us and reminds us of Jesus’s words.
• The gifts of the Holy Spirit help us to find our purpose.
• The fruit of the Spirit makes us like Christ.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Here are the passages where the Apostle Paul provides a list of spiritual gifts for all believers: Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, and Ephesians 4:11-13. The Apostle Peter mentions them in 1 Peter 4:10-11.

To begin, let us go back to the book of Exodus, where we see a worker who yielded his talents to serve God. God selected a craftsman named Bezalel, one of the talented construction workers who he ordained to be in charge of building and furnishing his tabernacle. God tells Moses, “I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts” (Ex. 31:1-3).

I do not think that Bezalel suddenly developed these things overnight. To the contrary, he had already possessed these technical skills, aptitudes, and know-how because God had sovereignly developed them over the course of his entire life “for such a time as this.” The presence of the Spirit of God enabled him to do the job well, with the strength that God provided to accomplish this great work.

The spiritual gifts each Christian has were designed to be used in and out of the church, wherever we work. Paul indicated that this outworking of the Holy Spirit was “given for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). Miroslav Volf writes, “As the firstfruits of salvation, the Spirit of Christ is not only active in the Christian fellowship but also desires to make an impact on the world through the fellowship.”

Read More