The Ministry of The Holy Spirit (Part 4)
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 3:1-18
Context
Context
We are still in our series titled “Who Am I”. We have been looking at the Scriptures and trying to answer the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” or “Who does God say that I am?”
It is impossible to answer this question without bringing up the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As we place our faith in Jesus as Lord of our lives, we experience a new birth. All of this is made possible through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We have discussed in some detail what all the Holy Spirit does in and through us, but today we want to look at another facet of His ministry in us. Today, we want to talk about how the Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ.
1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you?
2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God.
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away,
8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?
9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.
10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels.
11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech—
13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.
14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.
16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
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 by the Spirit of the Lord.
Let us pray!
Content
Content
Look at this last verse. It says that “we all, with unveiled face, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
When we place our faith in Jesus, we are instantly imputed the righteousness of Christ. This is what we call justification. It is the moment in which we are considered Holy and righteous before God because of the righteousness of Christ that has been laid upon us.
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
And this justification is accomplished by the power and work of the Holy Spirit:
11 … But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
In justification, we are adopted into the family… we are set apart for Christ… and we are spiritually transformed into a new creation for Christ with the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us.
But this does not mean, that we somehow instantly become perfect Christians, who never sin or struggle with temptation again. As newborn Christians, we are much like newborn babies. We are very immature in our walk; we are very immature in our understanding; we are very much limited in our work for God.
But as the Holy Spirit continues to dwell within us, He begins to work on us, much like our earthly parents did for us when we were at such a vulnerable age physically. This is called the process of sanctification, and it is just that, a process.
It begins at the moment of our salvation, but it continues for the rest of our earthly lives. We are continuously being transformed into the image of God, so that we might reflect and express His glory upon us.
How does the Spirit accomplish this sanctification?
The Holy Spirit Helps Us To Behold The Glory Of The Lord
The Holy Spirit Helps Us To Behold The Glory Of The Lord
7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away,
***Talk about Moses spending time with God.
29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.
Moses had spent so much time with God that his face was literally shining from the glory of God upon Him. He had become so much like God in those 40 days on the mountain, that he shone with the light of God.
The problem was that no one else had ever witnessed anything like that before and it made them afraid. They couldn’t grasp why Moses was glowing, and it scared them.
30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.
31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them.
32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.
33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.
So Moses would cover up the glory of the Lord by putting a veil over his face.
Here was the issue, they couldn’t understand that this glory that was shining through the face of Moses was meant for them all. And it is meant for us. God wants us to behold His glory.
13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.
16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
When someone comes to know Christ personally, which means that they have been saved by His grace, the veil of God’s glory is removed so that we might behold the fullness of who He is.
God does not want us to know Him in some limited capacity. He wants us to know Him fully. So after we are saved, the Holy Spirit removes the veil from the face of God so that we might see Him for all that He is.
God wants you to know Him.
The Holy Spirit Helps Us To Bare The Glory Of The Lord
The Holy Spirit Helps Us To Bare The Glory Of The Lord
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 by the Spirit of the Lord.
It says that we are being transformed into the image of Christ. This means that as we go through this process of sanctification, little by little, we are looking more like our Savior, acting more like our Savior.
As we see the unveiled face of God and behold His glory, it does something to us. This is why reading the Bible is so important, praying is so important, meditating on the things of God is so important. The more time we spend gazing into the glorious face of God, the more we are encouraged by the Holy Spirit to be like Him and live according to His will.
During our new birth, we take on a new identity. This means that we are no longer to view ourselves the same way. We are no longer children of this world, but rather children of God. Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is reminding us of this fact repeatedly.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Amen!!! We are children of God. And do you know how the Scriptures refer to the children of God? As saints, not sinners. We are no longer to characterize ourselves by the very thing that Jesus died to set us free from. We were sinners, and we have been saved by the grace of God. But we were set free from the bondage of that sin so that we might live to righteousness.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
God has equipped us with the Holy Spirit so that through Him we can conquer the old us and live for Christ. We are to view ourselves as saints, not sinners.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
And here is why it matters so much:
2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
Notice what Paul says. He says that the church is an epistle of Christ. This means that the life they live before others is like a living book, and he says that this epistle is being read by all men. You are the fifth Gospel. The world may not be reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but they are reading you.
We have been called to be game changers, influencers… not Social Media influencers, but Spiritual influencers. Having Tik Tok doesn’t make you godly, but having Christ does. And Christ has commissioned us to influence the world around us.
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
We have been called to be salt and light, both of which influence the atmosphere they are placed in.
Listen, I have heard people say over the years, “I am no example to anyone. I am not worthy enough to have anyone model me.” Let me just say to you, that this is a lie from the pits of hell. That is exactly what the devil wants you to think. He wants you to think that you have nothing to offer, that you are not good enough to lead others in the path of righteousness, that you have no capacity for teaching others the things of the Lord.
But this could not be further from the truth of Scripture.
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Apostle Paul said, I am going to live my life, to the best of my ability, like the Lord Jesus did. I am going to do what He did, say what He said, treat others the way He treated others, etc. So imitate me as I imitate Christ.
We have got to get away from this mentality of “I am just a sinner saved by grace.” Theologically, this is not incorrect. We were sinners, and yes we were saved by grace. But this phrase implies more than that. It implies that we are nothing. It implies that we have nothing to offer.
Listen to me, you have everything to offer because you have Jesus. You have the Gospel of salvation to offer. You have love to offer. You have the Word of God to offer.
So let us view ourselves as God views us. Let us step into this high calling of God upon our lives and make a difference in the world around us.
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
We are children of God. We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. So let us rise to the occasion. Let us plant our feet on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and walk in that light. Let us proclaim His love and His righteousness everywhere we go. Let us be the game changers that He has called us to be, that He has equipped us to be. Let us rise against evil, without and within, and let us fight fervently for truth. Let us do all of these things with the eager expectation that we are fighting for eternity.
Commitment
Commitment
As we come to a close, I want to encourage each of you today to give liberty to the Holy Spirit.
If all of this we talked about today is foreign to you, then you need to be saved. You need to humble yourself before God and place your faith in Him. He loves you. He died for you. He wants to save you.
Heads down and eyes closed.
Christians come first. Come and pray. Come and pray for your own walk with the Lord. Come and pray for this church. Come and pray for this nation.
If you need to be saved, lift your hand. Alright, right there where you are, I want you to pray to God. Just be honest with Him.
