The Holy Spirit in a challenging world (by Prof Jan Hattingh)

Loading player...
The aim of this essay is to help the reader to experience the working of the Holy Spirit in its fullness in this challenging world. The work of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life starts long before he or she experiences the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit as God the Creator in action, is constantly at work and sustains all creation and living beings.

This presentation will unfold as follows:

- We will first discuss the general working of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life.
- Thereafter, we will discuss the baptism in the Holy Spirit as a second experience after the new birth; the fulfilment of the promise made in Joel 2.
- Jesus was introduced as the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit. We will explore the meaning of the words used to describe the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
- The magnificent meaning of the working of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life will be discussed from Paul’s two prayers in Ephesians.
- We will look at an example of the working of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life in this challenging world – the fight in a broken world, so that God’s good purpose can be fulfilled (Rom. 8).
- The imperative to “live by the Spirit”.

Original article: ats.ac.za/blog/the-holy-spirit-in-a-challenging-world
29 May 2023 English South Africa Christianity · Education

Other recent episodes

Artificial Intelligence and the future of the pastor

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming one of the most disruptive technologies of all time, with the potential to changing life as we know it. This discussion aims to explore the profound impact AI is having on employment, society and human cognition. It will then look at the unique job…
7 Mar 2025 19 min

Artificial Intelligence is not a tool but an agent

“AI is not a tool but an agent. A tool is used by a human, but an agent can learn and change by itself, and make decisions by itself.” – Yuval Noah Harari The World Economic Forum is currently meeting in Davos, Switzerland. WEF is an unelected body of world…
22 Jan 4 min

Bachelor of Theology

Auckland Park Theological Seminary’s Bachelor of Theology is accredited by the Council on Higher Education and South African Qualifications Authority, and registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training. The undergraduate degree comprises of the six theological disciplines plus one of the two Biblical languages, Hebrew or Greek. Original:…
13 Jan 2 min

The voice of the Church

The address given by Dr Pieter Oldewage at the 2025 graduation ceremony of Auckland Park Theological Seminary. I was raised in an atheistic home without any exposure to the Bible or church life. Six months after my conversion, I applied to this seminary to pursue training as a full-time pastor…
13 Nov 2025 10 min

Distance Education at ATS

At Auckland Park Theological Seminary, we use distance education for teaching and learning, which has many benefits. One main advantage is that students and lecturers can be in different places. This method also saves money because students don’t have to move or travel, making higher education available to more people…
27 Oct 2025 5 min