Biblical scholar explains how the Holy Spirit moves today

Riverside, Calif. (March 6, 2019) – The Holy Spirit is active today in a variety of ways in a Christian’s life, Dr. Graham Cole told a California Baptist University audience on March 5.

Cole is the dean and professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has written or contributed to multiple books, including “Engaging With the Holy Spirit” and “The God Who Became Human.” Cole spoke as part of the School of Christian Ministries Lecture Series at CBU.

Cole discussed various ways the Holy Spirit can be seen in the life of the believer, starting with “birthing believers.” He referenced John 3:1-8, where Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be born of the Spirit.

“Our birth from above, is our entrance into the family of God,” Cole said. “Regeneration is a miracle, whether the human experience is spectacular or quiet, it is a divine work.” 

The Holy Spirit also provides assurance, Cole said.

“The very fact that the children of God call on their heavenly father is itself evidence of the Spirit’s work,” Cole said.

Additionally, the Holy Spirit intercedes for believers, Cole said.

“If you live long enough, you’ll be spiritually winded more than once. The devil is real. Our fallenness is real and our fragility is real,” Cole said. “The Holy Spirit maintains our access to the Father, and sustains our intentionality to pray, even when we’re spiritually winded by circumstances and we just don’t know what to pray.”

Finally, the Holy Spirit dwells in believers and God is to be glorified in how they live, Cole said.

“In the Old Testament, the nations flock to Zion,” Cole said. “The New Testament idea is that Zion goes everywhere, wherever you are, there is Zion. There is the temple. The temple has gone global.”

Jenesis Andrews-Kendale, an applied theology freshman, said she took away from the lecture that prayer reveals a Christian’s beliefs.

“What stuck with me was the way that we pray models our relationship with the Father,” Andrews-Kendale said. The Holy Spirit is part of that relationship and needs to be part of prayer, she added.

Zac Bezansky, an applied theology sophomore, said he appreciates the lecture series.

“I love these opportunities. It’s really helpful because they do a good job of tying together everything [through the speakers] what we’re learning in the classroom, in an applicable way,” Bezansky said.