India #9 The Work of the Holy Spirit
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
In order to understand the Holy Spirit more fully, we need to look more closely at what He does.
If we are to know who He is, we must understand what He does.
The work of the Spirit of God is supernatural and in many way just plain hard for us to understand.
It is hard for us to understand supernatural truth because we are physical natural beings.
Theologians call this the incomprehensibility of God.
God in His three persons is an infinite Being.
We are finite beings.
Thus we as finite beings struggle to understand the infinite.
In order to understand the deeper truths of God, then God must speak to us in a way that we understand.
God speaks to us using terms and illustrations that help us to see Him more clearly.
This is why Bible study, and Bible conferences are so essential.
We are looking into the very heart of God.
As the third person of the Trinity, the Spirit of God is also infinite and difficult to fully grasp, which is why we can learn so much about Him as we study the work that He does.
THE SPIRIT REGENERATES
THE SPIRIT REGENERATES
Jesus teaches us that when the Spirit comes, he will perform three primary functions.
“And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
These three are essential in salvation.
If a person is to be saved, they must recognize they are a sinner.
They must understand true righteousness, which can only be seen in Christ.
And they must realize, that the judgement of God awaits the unbeliever.
But this presents a problem.
These are all spiritual truths that the lost unbelieving person cannot understand.
If a person is to come to faith, they must first come to understand spiritual things.
So we have a problem.
Spiritual understand is necessary to be saved, but the lost are spiritual dead and cannot understand spiritual truth.
1 Cor 2:14 makes this clear.
But a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually examined.
So the first thing that has to happen before anybody can be saved is regeneration.
Regeneration means to have new life imparted.
Regeneration occurs when the Spirit of God breaths new life into a spiritual dead person.
This is both an Old and New Testament teaching.
In Ezekiel 36:22-38 we have the verbal description of God’s saving work in the nation Israel.
But then in Ezekiel 37 we have a visual picture of that work.
Ezekiel sees a valley full of dry sun bleached human bones.
This is a picture of Israel in their dead lost condition.
Then YHWH says Ezek 37:4-6
Then He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh.’
“Thus says Lord Yahweh to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.
‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh come up upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am Yahweh.’”
Ezekiel did exactly as he was told, and that valley of dry bones became alive.
This was the OT illustration of regeneration.
In the NT we have John chapter 3.
A man named Nicodemus came to Jesus with a question on his mind, he never asked the question because Jesus began to answer it for him.
The question was, how can a man be saved.
Now think about that question.
If someone said to you, how can I be saved what would you say?
You would probably say something like repent of your sin, believe Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead and you can be saved.
And all of that is true.
The problem is, we are talking to spiritually dead people who do not have the capacity to do what we just told them they need to do.
Which is why Jesus did not answer the question that way.
Jesus doesn’t even mention believing in Him until verse 16.
Jesus began with this, you must be born again!
If you want to be saved, before you can believe, you must be born again.
You must come alive spiritually if you are to understand spiritual truth.
The great testimony of Jesus is this, before a person can believe, they must be regenerated, born again, given new spiritual life.
While we were still dead in sin, God made us alive. Col 2:13
And you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions.
Notice the order, made alive, then having graciously forgiven.
The great mistake we tend to make here is the order of events.
Some think that we believe and are then made alive through the new birth.
But the truth is, in our spiritually dead condition, we would never believe.
But a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually examined.
The spiritually dead will never choose God.
God was first do a work of regeneration if a person is to believe.
Jesus illustrated and taught this in John 3.
THE ROLE OF THE SPIRIT IN REGENERATION
THE ROLE OF THE SPIRIT IN REGENERATION
The John 3 text opens with a Pharisee named Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night to have a spiritual discussion.
The key to understanding this passage is to realize that Nicodemus had a nagging question on his mind and Jesus begins to answer it for him in verse 3.
But what is the question on the mind of Nicodemus?
Since Jesus begins to explain salvation and how it takes place, we must conclude that Nicodemus was concerned about his salvation.
Nicodemus was “the teacher of Israel”.
He had risen to the top of all that Judaism had to offer, He was a ruler of the Jews.
Tradition tells us he was one of the three richest men in Jerusalem.
He had it all, but something inside of him was amiss, and he knew it.
Nicodemus lacked any assurance of his salvation.
When you have achieved all that your religious system has to offer, and you have no assurance, then you are a troubled man.
His question was, how can I be saved, how can I know I am saved and entering into the Kingdom of God?
Deep down in his legalist system of belief, he was asking, what must I do in order to be right with God?
I think Nicodemus came expecting Jesus to give him one more legalistic hurdle to jump over.
One more law to keep.
But that is not what happens.
You must be born again was the answer Nicodemus received.
This was a total shock to him.
Literally the phrase could be translated, and probably should be translated, born from above.
I believe the context dictates that interpretation.
In other words Nicodemus it is not what you do that will get you into the Kingdom of God, it is what God does that makes that happen.
Much has been written about verse 4.
But honestly, Nicodemus gets it, he understands immediately that Jesus is saying, nothing you have done has any merit.
This is why Nicodemus asks how can a man be born when he is old?
He is saying, how can I start over at this stage in my life?
Let’s analyze what Jesus just said, you must born again.
In our first lesson we learned that man is totally depraved, totally sinful and unable to help himself.
There are none who are righteous.
There are none who understand spiritual things.
There are none who seek after God.
If that is true, then how are we to ever be saved?
The answer is found in the new birth.
Through the new birth from above, the spiritually dead person is made alive spiritually.
This is key.
Once we have been born from above, made alive spiritually, then we have the capacity to believe and to seek God, and to understand spiritual truth.
Nicodemus could not understand what being born again fully meant because he was spiritually dead.
What are the truths contained in being born again from above?
First, Jesus chose the words “born from above” to illustrate there is nothing we can do to make this happen.
Consider your physical birth, what did you do to make that event take place?
Did you create yourself in your mother’s womb? No!
Did you grow yourself by eating well? No!
What did you do to bring about your physical birth?
The answer is absolutely nothing.
The verb “born” is in the passive voice.
Which means the action was performed on the subject by an outside party.
You could cut your own hair, that is the active voice.
Or someone else could cut your hair, that is the passive voice.
Being born from above is in the passive voice, meaning it is performed on the subject by an outside party, namely the Spirit of God.
In verse 3, verse 5, twice in verse 6, verse 7, verse 8, all in all, 6 times Jesus refers to the new birth, and every time it is in the passive voice.
This drives home the truth, being born again is an act of God performed on the person.
But again, some people believe that the new birth is prompted by man’s activity, ie faith.
But does that fit with what Jesus is teaching?
No.
Second, the new birth is a spiritual birth from above.
Notice in verse 6 the contrast Jesus draws.
As I just explained, the physical birth is also in the passive voice, meaning the baby did nothing to bring about their own physical birth.
So too is the case with the spiritual birth.
It is here in verse 6 that we see clearly the birth Jesus is taking about is a spiritual new birth, and the active agent is the Spirit of God.
The spiritual new birth comes about because of the regenerating work of the Spirit of God.
That which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.
Again, not only is the new birth not a work of man, but it is the work of the Spirit of God.
If you have been born again, it is because the Spirit of God breathed new life into.
Just as we saw new life breathed into that valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37, the same has taken place in you and I .
We were spiritually dead in our sin, but God made us alive together with Christ through the new birth which the Spirit of God brought about.
The Spirit of God is the power of the new birth just as He is the power of all things spiritual.
Third, the Spirit is not under the control of man.
Earlier in John 1 Jesus addressed the new birth briefly and we need to look at what He said.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Notice, those who are the children of God have been born, this is the first indication of the new birth in John’s gospel.
But then Jesus identifies three great truths pertaining to the new birth that makes us a child of God.
First, the new birth of which Jesus speaks is not of blood.
It has nothing to do with ones heritage.
The Jews believed you were saved in part because you were a Jew, because Abraham was your father.
Jesus just throws that out.
You are not born from above because of your heritage, because you are descended from Abraham as the jewish people believed.
Second, the new birth is not the result of will of the flesh, your good works.
Again, the Jews also believed you could earn your salvation by keeping the most important aspects of God’s law.
That just is not true.
Nobody is born again because they did good works.
In fact, YHWH says in Romans 3, nobody does good.
Third, you are not born again because of the will of man.
This means, nobody chooses to be born again in and of themselves.
I did not choose to be born physically, nor could I make that choice spiritually.
Fourth, but by God!
THERE IT IS, THE NEW BIRTH IS A WORK OF GOD ALONE!!!!
Let me share a great hermeneutical truth with you.
John 1:1-18 is what we call the prologue to John’s gospel.
In the prologue John touches on virtually every great truth he believes concerning Jesus and salvation.
But he just mentions it.
Then later in the gospel, John comes back to that same point, and gives us a deeper explanation.
John 1:12-13 is one of those briefly mentioned truths concerning the new birth, and then in chapter 3 John fully explains it by giving us the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.
The new birth is not because of who you are related to.
The new birth is not the result of your good works.
The new birth is not a choice you made for yourself.
The new birth is an act of God.
Jesus explains that same truth in verse 8.
Here Jesus uses an analogy of wind that is uncontrollable.
Wind blows where it wishes and mankind is powerless to do anything about it.
Recently in our home town, strong winds called tornadoes ripped through town and destroyed homes and businesses.
There was absolutely nothing anybody could do to change the force of the wind.
Wind is outside of our control.
Do you see the point?
Just as wind is uncontrollable, so too is the
Spirit who brings about the new birth.
The Spirit blows where it wants, when it wants, and brings about the new birth and there is nothing anybody can do to control it.
This means again, the new birth is a passive event, performed by the Spirit of God upon the subject, ie a person.
Next, the Spirit of God is invisible.
Wind is invisible.
You can see the result of wind, but not the wind itself.
This is also true of the Spirit of God.
With the exception of Pentecost, we do not see the Spirit come upon people.
All we see is the evidence of the Spirit’s presence.
When we see consistent love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and grace, we know the Spirit is working because these are the fruit of the Spirit.
When we see a person who was an unbeliever begin to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are witnesses the work of the Spirit.
But we don’t actually see the Spirit anymore than we actually see wind.
We see the effects of the work of the Spirit.
This affirms that the Spirit is God because God is invisible.
Next we see the regenerating work of the Spirit is unpredictable.
We have no idea where wind comes from or where it is going, it is unpredictable.
Let me tell you this, there will be times when you preach the gospel and you do a wonderful job exalting Jesus, and nobody is saved.
There will be other times when your efforts aren’t so good, and people will be saved.
You see it isn’t about how well you and I do or don’t do.
It it really about when and where the Spirit is at work.
When the Spirit of God brings about the new birth, unbelievers are made alive and then begin to confess and follow Jesus Christ.
It is of great important we take notice of the order of things here.
Remember, Nicodemus had that nagging question, how can I enter the kingdom of God?
Most today would answer that question, just believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you can be born again.
But that is backwards.
Jesus begins with the new birth.
Jesus doesn’t even mention believing until verse 16.
John 3:16 is a great verse, but believing comes after the new birth.
Believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior is evidence of the new birth.
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
Professing Jesus Christ is evidence of the regenerating power of the Spirit of God.
So is everyone who is born of the Spirit of God. vs 8.
Everything that is true of wind, is true of our new birth.
It was beyond our control.
It was the invisible work of God’s Spirit.
It was unpredictable.
Remember I referred to Ezekiel 36:22-38, let’s turn there now.
In verse 22 we see the sovereignty of God in salvation.
He is about to act for His names sake.
This means that God is about to save people because He wants to, and for His own glory.
What follows is an act by act description of the work of sovereign God in salvation.
Notice all the “I will” statements.
I will vindicate my holiness.
The Jewish people had failed to honor Holy God.
God is going to change them so that they can and will.
I will gather you from the nations.
God did just that in 1948 when the Jewish state was reborn.
I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean.
God cleanses people, we do not cleanse ourselves.
This cleansing by water is what Jesus is referring to in John 3:5 when He refers to being born of water.
Jesus is saying in order to enter the kingdom of God you must be cleansed of all sin.
Which is the next I will.
I will cleanse you from all filthiness and idols.
I will give you a noew heart and put a new spirit in you.
This is the new birth.
It was right here in the old testament all along.
I will remove your heart of stone.
I will give you a new heart.
I will put My Spirit within you.
The new birth is God in you.
The Spirit of lives in you and God put it there, not you.
Back in John 3 Jesus chastised Nicodemus for not understanding the new birth.
Nicodemus was “the teacher” of Israel.
He should have known these truths.
So what can we conclude from Jesus’ words in John 3?
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Salvation is a sovereign work of God.
The Father sends the Spirit upon whom He wishes to bring about the new birth.
Jesus Himself said, John 6:44
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
How does the Father draw?
Through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
The Father draws, the Spirit breaths new life, and Jesus will raise him up on the last day.
There are two important words you need to remember.
Monotistic and syncrotistic.
Monotistic means that the new birth is solely the work of God.
This is what the Bible teaches.
Syncotistic means that the new birth is a cooperative effort by man and God.
Man believes, and God then brings about salvation through the new birth.
But if that is true, then faith is a work of man, and that would destroy grace.
We are not saved by a cooperative effort.
Salvation is solely the work of God.
The New birth is solely the work of God.
The Father elects those whom He wants to save.
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love,
To be chosen is to be elect.
The Spirit brings about the new birth in the Elect.
And then, and only then, can a person believe.
The Spirit brings about the new birth in part as pastors?
Or why preach the gospel?
First, we preach the gospel because it is commanded by God that we do.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The verb to go is in the imperative mood which means in Greek it is a command.
Preaching the gospel is a command.
Second, we preach the gospel to all people everywhere because we do not know who the elect are, or who the Spirit is about to give new life to.
That is the whole point of John 3.
Third, we preach the gospel because this is the means by which God saves souls.
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe.
God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Let me say it another way.
The role of the Spirit is regeneration is to convict of sin, judgment, and righteousness. John 16:8.
But this does not take place in a vaccum.
For the most part, when we preach the true gospel, we give the Spirit the opportunity to convict of those things.
So as Paul commanded Timothy, I now command you, preach the word!
In season and out, preach the word.