Being the Church: One in Faith - The Ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

“The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.” (Evangelical Alliance Statement of Faith; Article 9).

We have already discussed the Person of the Holy Spirit, as part of our teaching on God the Holy Trinity in Article 1: “The one true God who lives eternally in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

This Article reminds us that “God is triune; there are within the Godhead three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the work of salvation is one in which all three act together, the Father purposing redemption, the Son securing it and the Spirit applying it.” - J. I. Packer

In focusing on the work of the Holy Spirit, this article and the next - “The church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers — given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit’s gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.” - describes what God the Holy Spirit does for us as believers in Christ who have been justified by faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

This Article looks at the impact of the Holy Spirit on the individual Christian whereas the emphasis of the next Article is the corporate body of Christ!

Here there is a great reminder - “The Holy Spirit's main ministry is not to give thrills but to create in us Christlike character.” - J. I. Packer

“Getting God in focus means thinking correctly about his character, his sovereignty, his salvation, his love, his Son, his Spirit, and all the realities of his work and ways; it also means thinking rightly about our own relationship to him as creatures either under sin or under grace, either living this responsive life of faith, hope, and love or living unresponsively, in barrenness and gloom of heart.” ― J.I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God

“The ministry of God the Holy Spirit” is broken into 4 parts here (though there is more to the application of the Spirit to the individual life than this…) “...who leads us to...”:

1. Repentance.

That repentance is central to the Gospel is demonstrated by Jesus who began His public ministry, preaching the exact same message: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’ ” (Mark 1:14–15).

When people listened to Christ or to the preaching of the Apostles, they would often respond by asking, “What should we do?” The answers included, “Believe in Christ,” “Believe and be baptized,” or “Repent and be baptized.”

Since this concept of repentance is so central to the Gospel, it’s important that we fully understand it.

The word repentance comes from a Greek word metanoia. The prefix meta can mean “with,” “beside,” or “after.”

The root noia is the verb form of the noun that we find frequently in the Bible as nous. This is simply the Greek word for “mind.”

So literally speaking the word metanoia has to do with “the mind afterward,” or, as we might say, “an afterthought” which by extension came to mean “a thoughtful changing of the mind.”

In the Bible it is also worth noting that the feeling most often associated with repentance in Scripture is that of remorse, regret, and a sense of sorrow for having acted in a particular way.

Repentance involves sorrow for reprehensible behavior and a determination to a changed behaviour as a result - “fruit worthy of repentance”(Matthew 3:18).

Repentance is not a thought or feeling it is an action arising from a feeling. You have not repented unless and until you have turned away from sin - 2 Cor 7:9-10.

Genuine repentance is something that is worked in us by the Holy Spirit.

It is a gracious activity by God - Acts 5:31

The Holy Spirit quickens our souls, making us alive spiritually, and the fruit of this work is godly repentance and faith - Ephesians 2:1–2.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there is a powerful metaphor for repentance.

Lady Macbeth, the ambitious and cunning wife of the play’s protagonist, is wracked with guilt over her part in the murder of King Duncan.

One night, as she sleepwalks and hallucinates, she recalls her crimes. In anguish, she attempts to wash the blood from her hands.

However, there is no soap strong enough to remove the stain of her guilt, and she cries, “Out, damned spot!”

The image of being made clean is at the heart of the repentance. We are corrupt, and we must be made clean by “the blood of Jesus.” see Psa 51;1 John 1:9-2:3;Luke 18:9-12.

And of course repentance is necessary for our continuing relationship.

We have need of continual repentance before God in order that we might live in right relationship with him. It arises from our desire to live in such a way as to please God and to experience “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord”(Acts 3:19)

“Repentance means turning from as much as you know of your sin to give as much as you know of yourself to as much as you know of your God, and as our knowledge grows at these three points so our practice of repentance has to be enlarged.” (J.I Packer).

Question 1 - How do you engage in the practice of repentance and why is repentance and confession of sin such an important part of our relationship with God and one another?

2. Unites us with Christ through new birth:

Charles Spurgeon once said, “There is no joy in this world like union with Christ. The more we can feel it, the happier we are.”

Union with Christ happens as a result of the “new birth” - we are “born again” into it, or more technically, we are united to Christ through “regeneration” - see John 3:1-11.

Our union with Christ brings us into connection with Jesus and all the soul-saving, sanctification, safety and security that it brings us complete satisfaction in Christ.

Lets just outline what some of these benefits are:

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 1:30: “You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” In other words, in connection with Christ we have righteousness that is not ours but his. He became our righteousness. He became our wisdom. He became our redemption and sanctification, and it all happened in him.

Philippians 3:9 says that the righteousness we need to stand before God comes from Christ - “. . . and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. see also 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:1

Ephesians 1:4 says that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:6 states that we have received grace in the Beloved, in Christ.

Ephesians 1:7 says that we have redemption in Christ. God’s purchase of us from bondage to sin and Satan and death becomes real and effective for us in connection with Christ.

Ephesians 1:13 declares that in Christ we were sealed by the Holy Spirit. The connection with Christ is what makes it possible for the Spirit to secure us forever.

What’s the cause of this union with Christ?

1 Corinthians 1:30, “Because of him [God] you are in Christ Jesus.” In other words, by God’s agency.

This happens by the new birth, and you can see that in 1 John 3:6-9, where abiding in Christ comes from being born of God.

And we are to experience this every day of our lives!

How? Paul answers, “by faith”: “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith” (Colossians 2:12).

Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

“The healthy Christian is not necessarily the extrovert, ebullient Christian, but the Christian who has a sense of God’s presence stamped deep on his soul, who trembles at God’s word, who lets it dwell in him richly by constant meditation upon it, and who tests and reforms his life daily in response to it.”- J.I. Packer.

Question 2 - Think of what being united with Christ means for you and makes you feel? Why would you recommend a relationship with him to others?

3. Empowers our discipleship :

The Christian life is empowered and energized by the Holy Spirit.

There are so many passages in Scripture about the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer but there are 3 that I want us to think about tonight as we seek to understand how to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

(i). Ephesians 3:14-19 - “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

The result of the answer to such praying is that there will be a greater and deeper relationship with Christ.

Jesus will fill our hearts and consume our attention. Our love for Him will blossom and grow in every dimension. We will be like a fertilized garden. We will grow in every way. This happens because of the “power through His Spirit.” It occurs when the Holy Spirit has control of our lives.

(ii). Ephesians 5:17-18 - “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Walking in the Spirit is nothing more than a continual process of being filled by the Spirit which keeps us from wild living!

The result is increasing victory over sin, peace and joy in the heart, and submission/humility towards others.

But we must seek this filling and choose to do those things which enable the Holy Spirit to take control - saying no to the flesh and saying yes to the Spirit of God.

Many Christians have found that the Holy Spirit has changed their lives, given them victory over many of their sins, provided them with peace and joy in their heart and given them a tremendous longing to know Him, and a deeper love for Him.

I must ask the Lord to direct the Holy Spirit within me to drain the life out of sin and in prayer. - J. I. Packer

(iii). Galatians 5:16-23: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

The Greek word for “walk” is PERIPATEO which means “to walk up and down” or “walk about” in the Spirit.

Walking in the Spirit is the habitual practice of “being constantly filled by the Holy Spirit” and “dwelling in the Word richly” day after day, moment after moment.

So walking in the spirit is a God consciousness. It's having Christ foremost in all your affections.

It's pursuing God with all of your heart, as we're commanded to, loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

To walk in the Spirit is the key to victory over our sinful desires and to living a holy life. The key to victory over sin is not self-punishment, doing penance, or mortification of sin it is living a holy life as we keep in step with the Holy Spirit of God to Gal. 5:16 see Rom. 8:2; Gal. 5:25; 1 Pet. 4:6.

“The Christian’s motto should not be ‘Let go and let God’ but ‘Trust God and get going.’”- J.I. Packer.

“Being led by the Spirit should be the natural lifestyle of the sons and daughters of God. As you intentionally seek to maintain an awareness of His presence throughout the day, He is only a thought away. When your mind turns to Him, He gives sensitivity to the things of God and understanding about the situations and people in your life. Take a walk with the Spirit today, and learn to know His voice. Whenever your mind is not occupied with the duties of the day, focus your thoughts on Him, asking for His guidance and looking expectantly for His leading. When He gives it, rely on His power to obey.” ("Walking in the Spirit" - In Touch - Mar. 3, 2010 by Charles Stanley)

Question 3 - Thinking about the verses we read on living in the Spirit, what challenged you? What puzzled you? What questions do you still have?

4. Enables our witness.

The Holy Spirit is God the evangelist. - J. I. Packer

We already covered this as part of our Being the Church series but suffice to remind you of what the Scripture says here:

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

Acts 4:31 “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

Conclusion: Thank God for the work of the Spirit in your life!

“The Christian’s life in all its aspects – intellectual and ethical, devotion and relational, upsurging in worship and outgoing in witness is supernatural; only the Spirit can initiate and sustain it. So apart from him, not only will there be no lively believers and no lively congregations, there will be no believers and no congregations at all.” (J.I Packer)