Alicia Hoverson

Theology 2
Andy Draycott
April 30th, 2014

Holy Spirit Paper 1

This paper examines how the Holy Spirit changes and works through those that have
accepted Gods love. Kelly Kapic uses the words enliven, grant, give, and embrace to describe
the way the Holy Spirit works through the lives of His people. I will argue that God uses the
Holy Spirit to change and work through His people to share the message of God with nonbelievers. To do this I will call on Kapics own words, then use scriptural support, and conclude
by giving a few examples from my own experience.
Throughout reading Kapic's book, God So Loved, my theological insight has lead me to
believe that God uses the Holy Spirit to work through those who believe in him. Kapic puts it
this way, Gods Spirit enlivens our hearts, grants faith and repentance, gives us ears to hear,
eyes to see, wills to respond, and hearts to embrace the Truth (Kapic 89). In this quote Kapic is
saying that through the Spirit of God, peoples hearts will change and they will be given many
generous gifts. Gods gifts are meant to change our hearts so that people will see that there is
something different about the way His people live. every true act of Christian charity is
ultimately an overflow of Gods life and love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Kapic
98). An outpouring of the Holy Spirit is what gives people the capacity to love others
unconditionally.
The Holy Spirit is the key to loving others. When sinful people accept God as their savior
and let Him work in their lives their hearts are changed. Through the Holy Spirt God provides

the most generous gift He could possibly give. That gift is Gods wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:6-14).
When people gain the wisdom that God willingly shares with those that love Him people
genuinely change. They see others in a new light and treat everyone with loving kindness. The
best example comes from a conversion story in the Bible in Acts chapter 9. In this story a man
named Saul is persecuting Christians and God chooses Saul by blinding him and saying,
proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel (Acts 9:15). God
changes Sauls name to Paul and sends a man named Ananias to go to Paul and pray over Him so
that he may not be blind anymore. God sent Ananias so that you (Paul) may see again and be
filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17). After this moment Paul goes out and becomes one of
Gods greatest and most dedicated advocates. This story is meant to show a complete
transformation of someones heart once the Holy Spirit has entered it. Although, not everyone
who accepts the Holy Spirit into their life is as drastically changed as Paul, there is still a visible
difference in the way a person lives their life when the Holy Spirit is inside of them.
In my life I have experienced the Holy Spirit working through me. Recently, my desires
have changed to those that reflect the life that God wants for me and I believe these changes are
the Holy Spirit changing the desires of my heart. Everyday I realize more of the life I can have
through Him and the lives I can change because of Him. The other day I was on the phone with a
friend who was telling me about another girl whom I had introduced to Christ a few years ago.
My friend told me, Sophie was telling me how you were the first one to talk to her about Christ
and how she saw something in you that she wanted a joy and passion for life that she wanted.
I do not credit myself for what Sophie saw in me. I know that the Holy Spirit was what Sophie
saw working inside of me. The Holy Spirit changes heart and works through those that love Him.

In this paper I have examined how the Holy Spirit changes and works through those that
have accepted Gods love. By using Kapics words, scripture, and examples from my own life I
was able to argue the idea that the Holy Spirit is what changes and works through people.
Through the Holy Spirit peoples hearts can change so they may better share the message of
Jesus.