The Spirit Purifies
Big Idea: The Holy Spirit convicts us, purifies us, and transforms us to be like Christ, encouraging us to surrender, cooperate, and live gratefully for God's grace.
Look around your home and you'll likely find something crafted from gold. Inside a ring, you may see a number followed by the letter K, indicating its gold purity—the ratio of gold to other metals. A 10K piece contains 42% gold, 12K holds 50%, and 24K signifies pure gold. Higher purity means higher value.
In my experience, I've observed 10K Christians, 12K Christians, and 20K Christians. The transformative power of the Holy Spirit molds believers into true 24K Christians—radiant and pure reflections of Christ. This refining never reaches completion in our earthly lives but continues without pause.
Today I want to explore how the Spirit purifies us. His singular aim? To reshape us into Christ's image, gradually freeing us from sin's grip while developing Christ's character in our daily existence.
We have to understand the Biblical picture of the human condition. According to the Bible, there are really only two masters we can serve: sin or the Spirit. Many of us think it's possible to sit on the fence. The reality is this: if you're not serving God, you're serving Satan.
When we become Christians, the Bible says we are new creatures. We stand justified before Holy God, and everything about us is new.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
But perhaps it has been your experience that you have not always lived up to this new position. Sometimes our conduct does not match our position in Christ. The story goes that Emperor Napoleon was embarrassed by the actions of a soldier who shared his name. The emperor looked at his fellow Napoleon and said, "Either change your behavior or change your name."
Once we're saved, God looks at us, and instead of seeing our sins, he sees the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. We have a holy standing before God, not because we are holy, but because Christ is holy. The problem is, we still have this thing called the sin nature. The reality is, even the most mature Christian is not perfect. And the Holy Spirit's job for the rest of our lifetimes is to make our conduct match our position in Christ. I'll say it again: the Holy Spirit's job for the rest of our lifetimes is to make our conduct match our position in Christ.
Now how would you like a job like that? You think your job is hard!
Let's start at the beginning. Before you believed in Christ, what were you like? You were probably a very nice person. Your mother probably loved you. You likely had friends. And compared to other people, you were probably a morally upright person. If you ask the average person on the street, they would have to say that they were hoping to go to heaven because they've tried their best to obey God. But here's the catch. God's opinion is completely different.
The Spirit Convicts
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:8-11)
The Holy Spirit begins to work. And what a work he has to do. This is the first purifying work that the Spirit ever does. If you read the passage, the Spirit convicts the world of three things:
The Spirit convicts the world of sin.
In our culture, "sin" has virtually disappeared from conversation. When did you last hear someone speak plainly about sin? Even within church walls, we've replaced this sharp-edged truth with softer substitutes—"shortcomings," "blemishes," "flubs." These euphemisms dull our conscience. Yet the Spirit cuts through our linguistic evasions, bringing precise conviction about the reality of sin in our lives.
Here's the reality he brings to our attention:
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
(Jeremiah 17:9)
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:6-8)
The Bible is very clear that we have a sin problem. And the Spirit convicts us of our sin. The greatest sin, according to John 16:9, is that people do not believe in Jesus Christ. Because he is the only means of salvation given to us.
The Spirit convicts the world of sin.
The Spirit convicts the world of righteousness.
Instead of measuring ourselves by other people, the Spirit convicts us by revealing the holiness of God. And like Isaiah, we cry:
Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! (Isaiah 6:5)
Seeing Christ's righteousness makes us aware of our own shortcomings in righteousness. We realize that God doesn't grade on the bell curve.
The Spirit convicts the world of sin and righteousness. The Spirit also convicts the world of one more thing:
The Spirit convicts the world of judgment.
And the Spirit also convicts us of the coming judgment. How do we know about the coming judgment? Because Satan, "the ruler of this world," is already condemned.
Tony Evans likens the unconvicted soul to a wasp feasting on sandwich jam. Absorbed in sweetness, the insect remains oblivious as the sandwich owner lifts a knife overhead. The wasp savors each moment of pleasure, utterly unaware of impending danger. So too with those who haven't experienced the Spirit's conviction—indulging in worldly delights while completely blind to approaching judgment. They consume life's temporary pleasures, never glimpsing God's raised hand of justice poised above them.
If you're a true and genuine believer this morning, you've experienced the Spirit's conviction. But some people resist it. When Christ appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, he said to him:
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. (Acts 26:14)
In other words, why are you fighting the Spirit's convicting power? Before Stephen became the first Christian martyr, he preached a sermon in which he said this:
You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. (Acts 7:51)
It's possible to resist the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This morning, it's possible that someone has been convicted by the Holy Spirit. You know that you haven't come to Christ in repentance. If you died today and faced God's judgment, you would realize that your good deeds and efforts wouldn't be sufficient. You realize that your only hope is in Jesus Christ, that he gives you an infusion of his perfect righteousness. But you haven't believed and trusted in him yet. This morning I would say to you: "Why are you kicking against the goads?" Come to Christ this morning.
The Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. If you are a Christian, there's something else he does.
The Spirit Purifies
As I mentioned, when we come to Christ, we are new creatures. The Spirit cleanses us, breaking away from our past patterns of sin. Paul says of the Corinthians:
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
He gives us an initial break with sin, and we become new creatures. The Bible is clear that from the point of conversion on, we are no longer ruled or dominated by sin. We no longer love to sin.
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:11-14)
Through the Holy Spirit and Christ's resurrection, we have the strength to resist sin's temptations. Sin is no longer our master, as it was before we were saved. Even though we may sin, the Holy Spirit shifts our desires, reducing our love for sin.
If you're like me, you still struggle with sin. No one here can say, "I am completely free from sin." The Holy Spirit continuously works in our lives, gradually freeing us from sin and making us more like Christ.
I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. (Romans 6:19)
In other words, Paul says that our task is to grow more and more in sanctification, just as we previously grew more and more in sin. We could all echo the words of the apostle Paul who said:
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)
The New Testament devotes considerable attention to guiding believers toward Christlikeness. The Spirit is active in believers, purifying us from sin and shaping us into Christ's image. This transformation progresses throughout our lives, and will be fully realized on the morning of our resurrection.
The third person of the Trinity is called the Holy Spirit. It's no surprise that one of his main roles is to cleanse us from sin and make us more holy in how we live.
The Spirit convicts, and the Spirit purifies.
What This Means
How should this change how we live? I want to give you two applications, and then ask you three questions.
Two Applications
My first application is that we ought to praise God the Holy Spirit for taking on this great task. It is primarily the work of God. We can take little credit for our spiritual growth. Paul prays:
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.(1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Paul tells the Philippians:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
The Scriptures say that the Holy Spirit works in us to transform and sanctify us, leading to a holier life. Peter speaks of the "sanctifying work of the Spirit" in 1 Peter 1:2. Paul talks about the "fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness, and he produces holiness within us.
My second application is that we have a role in this. The Spirit is purifying us, but we are not just passive spectators. We have a role in this as well.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)
Paul says we do this with the Spirit's help, but he also says we must do it! It is not the Holy Spirit who puts to death the wrongful things that our sinful selves want; it's Christians who must do this – with the Spirit's help, of course.
Again, Philippians 2:12-13 says:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
Paul encourages them to keep on working to complete their salvation, because God is working in them. They need to further work out the realization of the benefits of salvation in their lives.
The Bible encourages growth through consistent Bible reading, meditation, prayer, worship, Christian fellowship, and self-discipline, without suggesting any shortcuts. We are going to come back to this theme in a few weeks when we talk about the fruit of the Spirit.
Three Questions
Let me pose three questions as we close. The Spirit's work of transforming sinners into saints demands divine persistence.
First, have you been resisting the Spirit's conviction? Perhaps you sense that hesitation within yourself, a reluctance to surrender to Christ in full repentance and receive the Spirit's transforming touch. If this describes you, don't postpone your response another day.
Second, do you regularly thank God for his sanctifying work? Consider the profound grace shown when the Spirit refuses to abandon His project in you. Isn't it remarkable that your growth doesn't depend solely on your discipline? Even now, the Spirit works within you, steadily increasing your holiness.
Third, are you actively participating in this process? Your cooperation matters profoundly in this divine partnership.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
It's possible to bring grief to the Holy Spirit by resisting his work of sanctification in our lives. Don't make this mistake. Work out your salvation as the Spirit works in you.
The gospel assures us that the Spirit’s work of sanctification is rooted in the finished work of Christ. Jesus' death and resurrection secured our salvation and broke sin's power over us, allowing the Spirit to transform us to be more like Him. This means that our standing before God is not based on our efforts but on Christ’s perfect righteousness, freely given to us by grace.
As we grow in holiness, we should remember that this transformation isn't about earning God's favor but about responding to the favor we've already received. The Spirit’s work in us is a gift of grace, and our role is to cooperate with him in faith, trusting that he will complete the good work he has begun. Whether you identify as a 10K or 24K Christian today, the gospel reminds you that your worth is based on Christ's purity, not your own. The Spirit is consistently refining you for God's glory.
The gospel invites us to respond to the Spirit by surrendering to Christ, obeying the Spirit, and living gratefully for the grace that transforms us into Christ's likeness. Surrender means confessing our sins, repenting, and trusting fully in Christ’s finished work on the cross. Cooperation means practicing spiritual disciplines like reading Scripture, praying, worshiping, and being part of a Christian community to align our lives with the Spirit’s guidance. Gratitude shows that our growth is a grace, not just our own effort, and gives us hope that the Spirit will finish the good work started in us.
Let us yield, act, and give thanks, knowing that God’s Spirit is faithfully transforming us for his glory.
