The Holy Spirits pre-indwelling work

When a person comes to Christ, it never begins with them. It begins with God.

Long before anyone confesses Christ, long before faith is expressed, long before repentance forms, the Holy Spirit has already been at work. Scripture shows that salvation is a supernatural process that starts before the new birth — a divine sequence operating quietly within the heart.

This “pre-indwelling” work of the Holy Spirit is not regeneration itself, but the preparation for regeneration. It is the ground being ploughed before the seed of life is planted.

Let’s explore the How the Holy Spirit prepares a heart for salvation, 

The goal is simple:
To show that salvation is always God’s work from the beginning to the end — and that true belief always reveals itself.

 

THE SPIRIT’S PRE-INDWELLING MINISTRY

What God does before a person is born again

Scripture repeatedly shows a seven-fold movement of the Spirit in those whom God draws to Himself. These movements overlap and build on one another, forming a recognizable spiritual journey.

Let’s walk through each one — clearly and biblically.

 

1. Conviction — When the Heart Awakens

Conviction is not emotional panic; it is spiritual awakening.
It is the moment when light enters a dark room, when the heart suddenly recognizes, “Something is wrong… and it’s not out there — it’s in me.”

Jesus said the Spirit “convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment” (John 16:8).
Conviction is the Spirit’s opening move — the first divine touch that disturbs a person’s spiritual sleep and awakens their conscience.

It is the inner realization:

• “I am not right with God.”

• “My righteousness is not enough.”

• “I am accountable before a holy God.”

We see this vividly in the Philippian jailer.
Before he believed, he trembled and cried,

“What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:29–30).

At that moment, it was not the earthquake that shook him — the Holy Spirit did.
Minutes earlier, this man was unmoved, unbothered, even harsh toward Paul and Silas. He treated them as prisoners, chained them without compassion, and continued his night without a thought about God.

But when conviction came, everything changed.

His posture changed.
His priorities changed.
His perspective changed.

The Spirit pierced his conscience, exposed his guilt, and pressed on him the reality of judgment and the urgency of salvation. Suddenly, the man who cared nothing about his soul could think of nothing else.

Conviction always does this. It moves a person:

• from confidence to concern,

• from self-assurance to spiritual urgency,

• from indifference to the desperate search for salvation.

The jailer’s trembling question was not weakness — it was the evidence that the Holy Spirit had begun His work.
Conviction is always the first sign that God is drawing a person. It is the doorway through which every true believer passes.

Conviction opens the door to the journey.

 

2. Illumination — When Truth Becomes Clear

If conviction awakens the heart, illumination opens the eyes.

Illumination is not simply learning something new; it is when God gives the heart the ability to see what it could never see before. Paul explains that unbelievers are “blinded” (2 Cor. 4:4). The mind can process information, but the heart remains darkened, unable to grasp the true meaning of the gospel.

This is why many can hear sermons for years and yet remain unmoved.
The words enter the ears, but they do not penetrate the heart.

But when the Holy Spirit illuminates, everything changes.

We see this clearly with Lydia.
She had listened to Paul before. She was a worshiper of God. She was familiar with the Scriptures. Yet none of it truly connected—until the moment

“the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.”
(Acts 16:14)

That single sentence captures the miracle of illumination.
In that moment:

• Truth became personal.

• Christ became clear.

• The message made sense.

• Her heart recognized what her ears had only heard.

Illumination is the Spirit turning the light on inside the soul.

It is the moment a person says:

• “I see it now.”

• “This makes sense.”

• “I never understood it like this before.”

• “It feels like truth has become alive.”

It is not human insight—it is divine revelation.

The gospel moves from being heard to being seen.
From being explained to being understood.
From being information to becoming revelation.

This is why illumination is essential before a person can believe.
A darkened heart cannot trust what it cannot see.
But a heart illuminated by the Spirit recognizes Christ and responds to Him with clarity and conviction.

Illumination is God saying,
“Let there be light.”

And in that light, the sinner finally sees the Savior.

 

3. The Draw — When the Heart Feels Pulled Toward Christ

If conviction awakens the conscience and illumination opens the eyes, divine drawing moves the heart.

Drawing is the mysterious, inward pull of God upon the soul. It is not emotional persuasion, intellectual curiosity, or human initiative. Jesus made this clear:

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”
— John 6:44

Left to itself, the heart does not wander toward God.
It wanders away.
It hides, resists, avoids, and excuses.
But when God begins to draw a person, something undeniable shifts inside them.

They begin to feel compelled — pulled — attracted toward the very One they once ignored.

No example captures this better than Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a religious leader, a man of influence and reputation. He had every reason to stay away from Jesus. Approaching Christ publicly would have cost him respect, authority, and possibly even his position.

Yet something inside him refused to stay away.

He came to Jesus at night (John 3:1–2), guided not by full understanding, but by a quiet, persistent pull. He did not yet believe. He did not yet understand the new birth. He did not yet confess Christ. What he did have was the inward pull of the Spirit.

Divine drawing feels like:

• “I need to look into this.”

• “I can’t get this message out of my mind.”

• “There’s something about Jesus I can’t ignore.”

• “I don’t fully understand, but I want to know more.”

It is the Spirit bending the will toward Christ.

Drawing is gentle but firm.
Not forceful, but irresistible.
It is the earliest sign that the heart is being repositioned toward God.

And like Nicodemus, many people experience this before they ever believe:
a late-night curiosity, a deep question that won’t go away, an unexplained pull toward Scripture or prayer, or simply a sense that God is calling them closer.

Divine drawing is the Father initiating relationship.
It is God moving first.
It is grace reaching out before the sinner reaches back.

When a heart begins to move toward Christ, it is not the human spirit making the first step —
it is the Holy Spirit drawing the sinner toward the Savior.

 

4. Softening — When Pride Breaks and Humility Appears

If conviction awakens the heart and illumination opens the eyes, and divine drawing stirs the will, then softening is where the Holy Spirit begins to reshape the heart itself.

Scripture describes the natural human heart as hard—stubborn, resistant, self-reliant, and spiritually unresponsive. A hard heart cannot repent, cannot receive truth, and cannot submit to God. That is why the Holy Spirit performs this essential operation:

“I will remove the heart of stone… and give you a heart of flesh.”
(Ezekiel 36:26)

The softening of the heart is not a person becoming more emotional or sentimental. It is God breaking down the inner walls that once blocked truth and humility.

One of the clearest biblical pictures of this is found in the prodigal son.

Before he returned to his father, before he confessed his sin, before he decided to change direction, Scripture simply says:

“He came to himself.”
(Luke 15:17)

That is the moment of softening.

It is the point where:

• pride collapses,

• excuses fade,

• rebellion loses its grip,

• and the heart becomes willing to turn back.

He had been stubborn, defiant, and determined to live on his own terms. But when the Spirit softened his heart, his posture changed. His thinking changed. His desires changed.

He moved from:

• “I will go my own way”
  to

• “I will arise and go to my father.”

This change did not come from circumstances alone.
Many suffer and remain hard.
Many face consequences and remain unmoved.
Pain does not soften the heart — the Spirit does.

Softening is the invisible miracle where the Spirit gently breaks the hardness of a sinner’s will and makes repentance possible.

It feels like:

• “I can’t keep living like this.”

• “I need to come back.”

• “I was wrong.”

• “I need God.”

Softening is not repentance itself, but it is the bridge that leads to repentance.
It prepares the sinner to turn, to confess, to surrender.

And without this work, no one would ever repent at all.

Softening is God making the heart willing.
It is the Spirit preparing the soil for the seed of new birth.

5. Revelation — When God’s Holiness Is Seen
and the heart breaks

If conviction wakes the heart, illumination opens the eyes, drawing stirs the will, and softening humbles the soul, then revelation is where everything becomes unmistakably clear.

Revelation is the moment when the Holy Spirit allows a person to see God as He truly is and to see themselves in the light of His holiness. It is not a vision of the eyes, but a revelation of the heart. Until this happens, a person may feel guilty, interested, or curious — yet still remain blind to the true weight of their condition.

Revelation changes that.

The clearest biblical example is found in the calling of Isaiah.

Isaiah enters the temple and suddenly sees “the Lord, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1).
For a prophet, a righteous man, a religious leader, this should have been a moment of confidence — but instead, he collapses under the weight of holy revelation and cries:

“Woe is me! For I am undone.”
(Isaiah 6:5)

This is what revelation does.
It strips away illusions.
It exposes the true condition of the heart.
It confronts a person with the blazing holiness of God.

Revelation is the moment when:

• God is no longer distant — He is real.

• Sin is no longer theoretical — it is personal.

• Judgment is no longer abstract — it is deserved.

• Self-righteousness is no longer possible — it dissolves.

Isaiah had preached to others, understood Scripture, and served faithfully — yet it was only when the Spirit revealed God’s holiness that he understood his own unworthiness.

Many people feel bad about their actions.
Many feel guilty.
Many feel the need for change.
But revelation goes deeper — it is the Spirit showing that:

“I am not just guilty — I am unclean.”
“I am not just imperfect — I am spiritually undone.”
“I do not just need improvement — I need mercy.”

Revelation is the turning point, where the sinner stops comparing themselves to other people and sees themselves in comparison to a holy God.

This is the moment the heart realizes:

“I cannot save myself.”

That realization does not crush the person — it frees them. It prepares them for grace.
Because only when the Spirit reveals the holiness of God does the sinner recognize their need for the cleansing and saving work of Christ.

Revelation is the final breaking of pride.
It removes every hiding place.
It brings the sinner face-to-face with eternal truth.

And it is this moment of holy clarity that prepares the heart for faith.

 

6. Faith — When Trust in Christ Is Formed within the heart

Up to this point, the Holy Spirit has awakened the heart, opened the eyes, drawn the will, softened pride, and revealed God’s holiness. Now comes the moment where all these movements converge into something new:

Faith.

Faith is not positive thinking, human effort, or emotional inspiration.
It is a spiritual work — something born within the heart by the Holy Spirit.
Paul says clearly:

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
(Romans 10:17)

And again:

“It is the gift of God.”
(Ephesians 2:8–9)

Faith is not manufactured by the sinner — it is generated by the Spirit through the Word.

We see this beautifully in the crowd at Pentecost.
Peter preached Christ crucified and risen, exposing both their guilt and God’s grace. As the Word went forth, something supernatural happened inside them.

Before they said a word, before they repented, before they were baptized,
Scripture says:

“They were cut to the heart.”
(Acts 2:37)

That phrase describes the moment faith was conceived.

This “cutting” is not emotional pain —
it is the Spirit piercing through every defense, every doubt, every excuse, until the heart recognizes Jesus as Lord and Christ.

Faith begins with a sudden inner certainty:

• “This is true.”

• “Christ really is who Scripture says He is.”

• “I believe this with my heart.”

• “I must respond.”

This is the birth of trust —
not blind faith, but Spirit-revealed faith arising from Spirit-opened eyes.

The people at Pentecost then cried:

“What shall we do?”

That question is the expression of new faith.
It is the heart reaching toward the Savior it now believes in.

Faith is the turning of the heart toward Christ.
It is trust replacing doubt.
It is surrender replacing resistance.
It is the will bowing to the truth of God’s Word.

And, importantly:

Faith precedes salvation,
but it is also created by God to lead the person into salvation.

It is the bridge between seeing the truth (revelation)
and responding to the truth (repentance).

Faith is the Spirit-enabled ability to take hold of Christ.
It is the spiritual conception before the new birth.
It is the heart saying:

“I believe — and I cannot unbelieve.”

This is why faith marks the final step before regeneration.
It completes the inner work that prepares the sinner for the new birth of Stage 2.

7. Repentance — When the Heart Turns Toward God

After the Spirit has awakened the conscience, opened the eyes, drawn the will, softened the heart, revealed God’s holiness, and generated faith — something decisive happens:

The heart turns.

This turning is called repentance. But repentance is often misunderstood. It is not self-improvement. It is not moral effort. It is not trying to “do better.” Repentance is a Spirit-enabled shift of direction — away from sin and toward God.

Paul describes it as something God grants:

“God may perhaps grant them repentance…”
(2 Timothy 2:25)

Repentance is not the sinner rising to God —
it is God lowering grace to the sinner.

The clearest picture of this in Scripture is the crowd at Pentecost.

After Peter preached, the Word cut through every defense, and faith formed in their hearts. Immediately, they cried:

“Brothers, what shall we do?”
(Acts 2:37)

Their question wasn’t confusion —
it was conviction turned into desire.
Faith was already active.
Their hearts were ready to respond.

Peter’s answer was simple and clear:

“Repent…”
(Acts 2:38)

And they did.

That moment — when the hearer steps out of darkness and moves toward God — is the fruit of the Spirit’s entire pre-indwelling work. Repentance is the outward expression of an inward transformation already set in motion by God.

True repentance looks like:

• a change of mind (seeing sin as God sees it),

• a change of direction (turning away from what once ruled the heart),

• a change of allegiance (embracing Christ’s lordship),

• a change of desire (hungering for righteousness).

It is not perfection but pivot.
Not flawless living but a surrendered heart.
Not instant maturity but instant reorientation.

Repentance is the heart’s first step toward home —
the first movement of a life now governed by Christ.
It is the final act of the Spirit’s preparation before the new birth of Stage 2.

If conviction wakes the sinner,
illumination enlightens them,
drawing attracts them,
softening humbles them,
revelation exposes them,
and faith persuades them —

then repentance is the moment the sinner responds.

It is the doorway through which every true believer must pass.

Repentance is the final turning of the heart toward God —
the last step before salvation’s new life begins.

 

 

THE PROCESS BEFORE SALVATION TABLE

Below is a simple, clear snapshot of the Spirit’s pre-indwelling work.
Each step shows what God does and how Scripture illustrates it.

The Journey of a Heart Being Drawn to God

Step	What Happens	Biblical Example	What It Shows Us
Conviction	Awareness of sin, guilt, and danger	Philippian Jailer (Acts 16)	The sinner awakens and feels personal need for salvation.
Illumination	Spiritual understanding dawns	Lydia (Acts 16)	Truth becomes clear; the gospel becomes more than words.
Drawing	The inward pull toward Christ	Nicodemus (John 3)	God stirs desire and pulls the heart closer to the truth.
Softening	Pride breaks; humility rises	Prodigal Son (Luke 15)	The heart becomes willing to turn and to surrender.
Revelation	God’s holiness and our sinfulness are exposed	Isaiah (Isa. 6)	The sinner sees God rightly and feels their own unworthiness.
Faith	Trust in Christ begins forming	Pentecost Crowd (Acts 2)	The heart believes the message and reaches toward Christ.
Repentance	The heart turns toward God	Acts 2 Crowd (Acts 2:38)	The sinner responds, ready for the new birth that follows.