No one can come to God except by the Holy Spirit who draws him. Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit, so all believers are born of Him. Our very desire to respond to the gospel is the gift of God. Therefore, anyone who is a believer has the Holy Spirit since “no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3b).

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is at work in unbelievers as well. Indeed, He is in creation itself, wooing all of nature Godward (Romans 8:22–23).

The Holy Spirit works to bring lost humanity to Christ and works within believers to bring them into Christian maturity. We can thus say that the Holy Spirit is at work where Christ is not yet named, preparing the way for the hearing of the gospel. The Holy Spirit is also at work wherever Christ is known, deepening the understanding and obedience of the gospel among those who believe and leading them to apply the gospel to the continually changing world in which believers live and work.

The Holy Spirit is thus intimately involved in the process of redemption from creation to conversion and on to our ultimate glorification. We receive “adoption as sons” by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:5–6). The Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirits that we have become God’s children (Romans 8:14–16). The Holy Spirit reveals truth (John 14:17; 15:2; 16:13), comforts, and teaches (John 14:25–26). The Holy Spirit joins His voice to the Church to woo all nations into a living relationship with God.

More than once the Bible describes the Holy Spirit as the breath of God (Genesis 1:2, 2:6; John 20:22). Indeed, He is as mysterious and as intimate as breath. Like breath, He is our Life. The more we submit to Him, the more we experience Him at work in and through us.