The Person of the Holy Spirit
Acts of the Apostles • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Background:
Background:
The gospel is moving to the Gentile world here in Acts 10. Peter has had revelation that he should no longer despise those who he believes to be unclean, but that God has a heart for the entire world, not just the house of Israel.
Context:
Context:
Now, Peter is finally preaching to these Gentiles. But, as you are going to see in v. 44, the Holy Spirit interrupts Peter, and begins to do His saving work before Peter ever offers an invitation.
Who is the Holy Spirit? And what does He do?
This is what we are going to answer today, as we read in the book of Acts 10:44-48
I. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God
I. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
What word was Peter speaking?
Of course, Peter was giving testimony of Jesus Christ. But giving a testimony of Jesus Christ is more than just telling a story…when we share the reality that Jesus was given power by God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, when we explain that Jesus was sinless and righteous before God, when we share that Jesus died upon that cross for the forgiveness of sin, and when we share that Jesus rose from the grave because He was perfect and because He was powerful, we are preaching the Word of God.
It’s possible for us, to share the testimony of Jesus Christ without power. The reason we do this is because we don’t really believe it, and we aren’t confident in its saving work.
But here, in Acts, it says that when Peter begin to share the Word of God that the Holy Spirit poured Himself out upon all those who believed, which was every Gentile in attendance that day.
Why do we call it the Word of God?
Well, think of one of the most prolific arguments against submitting to Jesus Christ…
A lost person will often say, “Well, you know, the Bible was written by men, it contains errors, and contradictions, it’s good for some teaching, but it’s not divine.”
The reason that Satan attacks the validity of Scripture and tries to make it seem obsolete and contradictory, is because if he can make it the Bible seem ordinary, then he can convince people to ignore it’s power…and by ignoring the power of God’s word, they ignore both the power of God regarding salvation and the power of God regarding His judgement.
Simply put, we call it the Word of God because this collection of Holy Books is the collection of the God’s spoken word given to man.
How did we get this collection? How did God communicate His word to the world?
In the Old Testament, He did so through the prophets. The phrase “thus sayeth the Lord” appears more than 400 times in the Old Testament Scriptures.
In the New Testament, He did so through the Apostles and through others God selected.
In both cases, we have the Bible because of the work and because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed…
knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
So, the word, all of the Word, the Old Testament and the New Testament were written by men, but by men who were selected by God, and given the Word of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
How does the spoken words from God, get penned on paper by men? Jesus explains this process of how Scripture got from the Heavenly places, down to the earth.
Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
What Jesus is saying, is that every word He speaks is a word that has come from God.
Let’s look at another one…
For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.
What Jesus is trying to explain to His disciples is this:
That God initiated this saving work, that God spoke into existence salvation in the heavenly places, and now has sent Jesus, His Son, as the communicator of this salvation that God has ordained.
But, Jesus, because the world was not ready for certain things, did not tell everything that we needed to know, but revealed to the world what was necessary at that time.
When did He unveil the entire mystery of the Gospel? When did God unveil the entire plan?
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
Well, if Jesus gets His words from God…where does the Holy Spirit get His words? He gets His words from Jesus.
He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
That is, the Holy Spirit will only speak as He is directed by Jesus.
Also, that the Holy Spirit will never glory in Himself, but that He will give the glory to Jesus Christ as the Son Who was sacrificed for the salvation of the world.
Here is how the Triune God has communicated His spoken word to this world:
The Father initiates revelation by a spoken commandment.
the Father who sent Me gave Me a command
The Son (Jesus) responds to that spoken commandment in perfect obedience.
Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
The Spirit listens to the Son’s commands, and carries them out in perfect obedience
[The Holy Spirit] will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He [The Holy Spirit] will take of Mine and declare it to you.
The Holy Spirit communicates to the Apostles what Jesus has heard from God.
and thus, we have the Holy Scripture.
But God has revealed [His mysteries] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
So, to help you remember…think of it this way:
The Father speaks it, the Son completes it, the Spirit teaches it, and the Apostles received it.
Look again in Acts 10:44 so we can tie it all together
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
What’s happening here?
Well, here we are again…look one more time
The Father spoke that salvation…the Son completed that salvation…the Holy Spirit taught that salvation…the Apostle Peter preached that salvation…Cornelius and his house received that salvation.
So, we have talked about the Holy Spirit and the Word of God…how it came down to us…but what we are going to do now is reverse engineer this process to understand point #2.
II. The Holy Spirit and the Work of God
II. The Holy Spirit and the Work of God
What is the work of God?
The work of God is salvation of man.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The Triune God, the Father, Son, and Spirit, are working in perfect harmony to glorify the Father, and the greatest way the Father receives glory is when people exercise faith in Him through submission to His Son.
The greatest glory that the Father receives is when His Son Jesus is confessed as the Lord.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
When we confess Jesus as Lord, we bring glory to God.
So, just like the Father’s spoken salvation was passed down by the Son, through the Spirit, to the Apostles, and to the ends of the earth…
Glory is being given by those on the earth, through the Spirit, because of the Son, back to the Father…
Read with me now and look at the work of God take place.
And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
If the work of God is salvation, then how can a person be saved?
We saw in v. 44 that the Holy Spirit was poured out on these Gentiles…meaning that they are saved because they are now indwelled with the Holy Spirit.
Look there in v. 45 and I want you to read it like this…
And those [Jews] who believed were astonished, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
A person is saved and indwelled by the Holy Spirit when they believe the testimony preached by the Apostles, taught to them by the Holy Spirit, concerning Jesus Christ.
In other words,
We are saved by believing the testimony of Jesus Christ
When these Gentiles believed what Peter preached concerning Jesus, The Holy Spirit poured out on them just like He did the Jews. This was astonishing these Jews, because the Jewish people still connected their salvation and their faith with their law. That’s why Luke wrote v. 45 to say, “and those of the circumcision who believed were astonished.”
Because, just like Peter earlier in the chapter, the Jews that came with Peter didn’t believe the Gentiles were worthy because they were not circumcised, as in, they didn’t follow the Jewish law.
Here is what you should learn from this truth.
You cannot earn salvation
The Bible says that salvation is a free gift from God, it doesn’t come from any earthly source.
For by grace you have been saved through faith (belief), and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Remember our saying? The Father spoke it, and the son completed it.
If the Son, who is Jesus, completed it when He died on that cross and rose from the grave, nothing needs to be added to it…neither circumcision nor baptism…but we are saved by believing.
But let’s get back to the work of the Holy Spirit.
v. 45 says,
The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
There it is…a gift spoken into existence by the Father…completed on the cross by the Son…and now being poured out by the Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit begins to work in a person…what exactly happens?
There is a conviction of sin
What this means is that the Holy Spirit exposes the ways that we have disobeyed God. But, most importantly, what the Holy Spirit does is he convicts people of their failure to believe in Jesus as their salvation. What the Holy Spirit does is He makes people restless and unsettled, attempting to move them toward salvation in Jesus Christ.
And when [The Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
If that person should choose to respond to the wrong they have done and believe in Jesus as their salvation…
The Holy Spirit brings regeneration
This means that the old self has been removed, and the Holy Spirit gives you a new birth.
Jesus talks about this in John 3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This rebirth that Jesus is talking about, is the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, where you were once dead, the Holy Spirit fills you and makes you alive.
Titus explains this process…
According to [The Father’s] mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit
That means that we are now spiritually cleansed, and we are spiritually alive because of the filling of the Holy Spirit.
So, once a person is convicted and responsive to Jesus Christ…not only is there spiritual cleansing and new life (regeneration)….
The Holy Spirit brings unity with Jesus
When you become a Christian, you are baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit. And when you have the Holy Spirit in you, when the Holy Spirit has cleansed you, and has renewed you, you now identify with Jesus.
That means that you are now united with Him in your purpose…but you are also united with Him in His perfection.
For, as the scripture says:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
This means that everything you once were, any sin that you ever committed, the worst thing you have ever done has been washed away by the cleansing power of God. The Holy Spirit has come, He has filled you, He has regenerated you, and now you belong to Jesus Christ.
This is what baptism pictures. Baptism cannot and will not save you…baptism is not necessary for salvation…but what baptism does is gives testimony to the world that you now belong to Jesus.
It gives testimony to the local church that you are partnered with them in their mission to accomplish the work of Jesus Christ.
Baptism serves the purpose of being obedient to Jesus after you are saved, and it serves the purpose of showing the world exactly what Jesus does inside of a person through the Holy Spirit…when a person believes on Jesus Christ for their salvation, they are then totally immersed in the Holy Spirit…that’s why, when we baptize, we immerse, we don’t sprinkle.
Now we know that the Holy Spirit brings regeneration, the Holy Spirit unifies us with Jesus…
The Holy Spirit gives gifts for the Church
We’re not going to go through a list of spiritual gifts…but there is, within our text for today, something that you need to see when considering what we understand to be spiritual gifts.
For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
These who were saved began speaking in tongues as a sign to the Jews. This was necessary because God was showing those Jewish believers that the Gentile world is also receiving the Holy Spirit.
People today teach that tongues are a sign of salvation, and if you today do not speak in tongues then you are not saved…they also teach that tongues are some form of angelic language that is used for the purpose of magnifying God. However, in Acts 2 and on the day of Pentecost…tongues were used to preach to each man in their own language…and that’s exactly what tongues are…a real and intelligible language spoken for the purpose of communicating God’s word.
But tongues are not the only gift that the Holy Spirit gives…
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Now, the big question is not “Do spiritual gifts exists” but the important question is “Why do they exist?”
Look again in v. 46
For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
In this day…in Acts 10…this gift was given to prove that God has given His Spirit to the Gentile world.
For the church today, whatever spiritual gift you have or think you have is not for your benefit and not for your glory, but for the glory of God and for the advancement of His Kingdom.
Anything that you posses, whether that is spiritual cleanliness or spiritual gifts, is something that God has freely given, something that you didn’t earn. Everything you have to offer is supposed to be used to obey the Commands of God.
So, we’ve said that the Holy Spirit has given us the Word of God that comes from God…
We’ve said that the work of God is salvation…that the Holy Spirit convicts you, cleanses you, joins you with Jesus, and gifts you to expand His Kingdom. And now, we are going to talk about how the Holy Spirit moves you to obey the commands of God.
III. The Holy Spirit and the Commands of God
III. The Holy Spirit and the Commands of God
“Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
God has given us certain commands in His word that we have committed ourselves to following, if we have trust Jesus as our savior.
The first command of obedience is to be baptized, so I want you to see this truth
Baptism is obedience, not salvation
There are a lot of people, and that includes people that go to baptist churches, that think baptism is the same thing as salvation…but its not.
Baptism pictures on the outside exactly what the Holy Spirit does on the inside. And when we are baptized, we are symbolically being buried in a tomb and then raising from the dead.
Why get baptized?
If baptism isn’t necessary for salvation, then why is such a special event?
It shows that you’re saved.
Look there in v. 47
Acts 10:47
There was no call for baptism until after salvation had taken place.
A lot of people ask about baptism, and, even though it’s not the right question to ask, it opens the door for me to share about Jesus Christ with that person. If a person asks me if they can be baptized, the very first question I ask is, “Why?”
Almost every time they say, “So I can have my sins washed away.”
And its such an easy way for me to begin explaining to them that Jesus paid their sin debt with His blood on the cross, and that He rose again on the third day, and that He has sent the Holy Spirit as His witness, and that the Holy Spirit is who washes us and purifies us, not the water.
It shows us our new relationship with the Triune God.
So, not only does it picture the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, not only does it picture the internal regeneration and cleansing given by the Holy Spirit, it symbolizes our new found relationship with the Holy Trinity.
Look now in v. 48.
Acts 10:48
in the name of the Lord means in name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
What this does, it is shows the world, it gives testimony to the reality that we have been made right with God through salvation, that we identify with Jesus Christ in His burial and resurrection, and that we are now immersed and walking in the strength and power of God’s Holy Spirit.
But, baptism isn’t the end…there is the process of maturing, and the process of being taught the things of God by a mature believer.
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
They asked Peter to stay a few days…why?
Because these new Christians have a burning desire to learn and to know more about the things of God.
Let me read to you Matthew 28:20
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
This was another command Jesus gave to the Apostle Peter and to the church…but willing teachers need to have willing learners.
If you are a Sunday School teacher, I want you to know that you have an important job here in this church. If you are just showing up on Sunday, without studying your lesson, without trying to make a real impact in your class, then you are doing your class and this church a great disservice.
Still, there are some of you that claim to be followers of Jesus, but you make no attempt to understand the things of God. You might be a deacon, a leader, a teacher, or whatever, and you are not actively deepening your understanding of God’s word.
You show up on Sunday waiting to be spoon fed…
The Bible says that Jesus and His word are the bread of life…the reason you feel spiritually anemic, the reason you show up to church empty, is because you haven’t eaten all week. It’s time for you to start feeding on the word of God and being satisfied by His Spirit.
But church, this is more than just knowledge…you have to have understanding. There’s a world full of people that can give me the Sunday School stories and the right answers…there are a lot fewer people that have the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
