59. Suffering and Gloryd

Suffering and Glory: The Spirit Working

1Pe 4:12-19 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; (13) but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. (14) If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (15) By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; (16) but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God. (17) For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (18) AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? (19) Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Introduction and Review: When we see the wording ‘the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you’ we are reminded of the glory of the Lord descending upon the temple/tabernacle and resting there. It is the place of God’s special presence; it was the place of the sacrificial system and all its symbology was applied. It was also possible for the glory of the Lord to depart from the temple/tabernacle because of the disobedience of the people. Yet in the midst of their disobedience the promise of restoration was given.

Eze 36:24-27  "For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land.  (25)  "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  (26)  "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  (27)  "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

This is the promise of the internal cleansing and internal new heart and new spirit and the promise of the Holy Spirit indwelling the believers. This cleansing and giving of a new heart and spirit was something the old system of sacrifices could not accomplish. So here, we see three things in verse 27

The Holy Spirit is given

Caused to walk in My statutes.

As a result, we will be careful to observe His ordinances.

Verse 14 reflects these truths. How does it reflect? We asked the question why were they reviled? They were reviled for the name of Christ. Meaning that they had a new identity, a new heart, and a new spirit. 1Peter 1:1 calls the recipients of this letter elect exiles and yet we know from the context of the letter that these people had probably grown up or spent most of their time in these different areas. The were exiles, strangers, aliens because of their election. They were reviled because they were elect in Christ, and that election from before the foundation of the world was proved in their salvation on the day that God had appointed.

They were reviled because they no longer ran in the sin that they had previously committed with their old friends and family from their old life. Goad had caused them to walk in His statures and they were careful to observe His ordinances. Why? Because of the working of the Holy Spirit. So while the text says the Spirit rests upon us. It is not a rest in the traditional sense of the word rest. The Christian has become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, the abode of the Most High. And as a reminder, though it was possible for the glory of the Lord to depart the temple/tabernacle. We have the assurance of the Word of God the Spirit of glory will never depart from us. The Spirit has made His place with us and the Spirit is working in us.

Importance of the Holy Spirit

Consider God’s foreordination, the working out of redemptive history with Christ’s, incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. We take joy and pleasure in that Christ has fulfilled all the requirements of the Law for us and we have been forgiven, reconciled and adopted into the household of God. Without the application made by the Spirit, it would be meaningless. We embrace the total depravity of man, his complete inability to choose Him. The dead cannot choose life and so it is by necessity the Spirit works. There is no spiritual good communicated to anyone but by the Spirit; whatever God in His grace works in us, it is by the Spirit. The Father decrees our salvation, it is through Son, by virtue of His life, death, and resurrection that salvation has been accomplished, it is through the Holy Spirit that salvation is applied. The Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son in assuring the Father’s decree and the Son’s sacrifice is fulfilled in those to whom it is to be applied.

The Spirit’s work in Salvation.

The Spirit’s work in Sanctification.

The Spirit’s work in Sustaining.

The Spirit’s work in salvation. 1Pe 1:1-2  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen  (2)  according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.

To sanctify means to set apart. These were set apart, separated from the others by the divine operation of the Spirit. How?

1.Regeneration

Tit 3:4-5  But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,  (5)  He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

John Owen says, ‘Regeneration consists in a new, spiritual, supernatural, vital principle, or habit of grace infused into the soul, the mind, the will, and the affections, by the Holy Spirit.

There are no new set of eyes or ears given, but these, given new life see spiritually. The heart and mind renewed in desire for the pursuit of Godliness. The effect of this is that the one who is born again loves spiritual things and values spiritual blessings. The result of regeneration is the desire for holiness. The ability to see sin as sin, to see good as good. There is no longer suppressing the knowledge of the truth. Rather it is the upholding and uplifting of it. The Spirit imparts and renews that which allows us to enjoy and commune with our God! The one born again marvels at the wondrous grace of God in giving Christ for such a wretch.

The marvel of regeneration is bringing a soul out of spiritual death to life. In creation it was bringing something out of nothing, in the new creation there is a far greater wonder, for in the first there was nothing to oppose it. But now new birth has all the powers of sin and Satan against it. And it is the Spirit that equips us, not only to survive, but to thrive. ‘And the gates of hell will not stand against it.”

The evidence of this regeneration is holiness. For this is God’s purpose for us in Christ. Eph 1:4  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. It is because of regeneration that we see the Law of God as good and we mourn for our sin and labor to put it to death.

It is in our regeneration through the work of the Holy Spirit that we see God in His kindness and mercy.

2.Faith

1Pe 1:5  who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Eph 2:8-9  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  (9)  not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

The bridge in our union and communion with Christ is through faith. This faith is not a natural act of the mind in giving a mental nod to the gospel, but it is a supernatural act produced by the Spirit of grace. The grace of faith to believe in what the world says is unbelievable. 1Co 1:18  For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

It is the faith that the Holy Spirit bestows that causes us to believe the Word. The same Spirit who authored the Old and New Testament through the hands of men works in the regenerate a faith that nothing can shatter. It is the faith that the Holy Spirit has bestowed through which the believer is assured that the Scriptures are indeed the very Word of God.

The Spirit not only produces faith in the written Word but also in the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Spirit works on the soul, awakening it and convicting it of sin, it is brought to realize the vileness of sin, it’s awful guilt, understanding that there is no deserving mercy or pity but that it is justifiably only suited for hell. There is none who can rescue from such a state except for the Holy Spirit Who makes known to the elect on that appointed day that Jesus saves, that through His shed blood the ungodly are justified by faith in Him who died and rose again on the third day.

The Spirit’s Work in Sanctification

2Co 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

This verse is the picture of progressive sanctification. The ‘we all’ are believers. The beholding in the mirror must be the Word of God as it is there that we see the glory of the Lord as it is displayed in the Old and New Testaments. The Law of the Old Testament the gospel in the new. And in the gospel it presupposes the breaking of the Law and it’s transgressors unable to seal the breach and also that God is graciously determined to save His people from it’s curse and He proposes to do so without making We all light of sin, without dishonoring the Law or compromising His holiness. All this He has done in Christ. His perfect justice and infinite love find their satisfaction in Christ. He has cleansed them from all their filthiness and their idols and given then a new heart and a new spirit. And as He has caused them to walk in His commands, they are careful to obey His ordinances.

We all with unveiled face means there is no more prejudice against the things of God. The enmity has been removed and we have been reconciled.

Beholding is present active meaning it is a continuous action in view. We are always beholding the glory of the Lord. His divine character. There are communicable and noncommunicable attributes of God, meaning there are attributes that are uniquely God’s. Example: His omnipotence, His omniscience. That which is communicable is His moral character and it is what this verse is speaking about. We are being transformed from glory to glory. Meaning from lesser glory to greater glory, that being conformed to the image of Christ.

The Holy Spirit labors, conforming us, growing us into the image of Christ. So that we stand in stark contrast to the world. For the worldly mind is at enmity with God; resenting His authority, disliking His holiness, hating His sovereignty, and condemning His justice. Those being transformed day by day love Him for the very reasons the world hates Him.

The Holy Spirit Sustains

Earlier I said the Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son in assuring the Father’s decree and the Son’s sacrifice is fulfilled in those to whom it is to be applied. That means not only in the application of salvation but also in securing and sustaining those whom God has elected. Jesus said Joh 10:28-29  and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.  (29)  "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

2Co 1:20-22  For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.  (21)  Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,  (22)  who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Rom 8:35-39  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  (36)  Just as it is written, "FOR THY SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."  (37)  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  (38)  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  (39)  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is because of the Spirit sustaining that Paul could proclaim this and that we may lay claim to it.