Our Holy Helper

Romans 8:18–27 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Scripture: Romans 8:18-27

Belgic Confession: Article 11

Sermon Title: Our Holy Helper

           This afternoon we return to the Belgic Confession by looking at Article 11. The title given to this section is “The Deity of the Holy Spirit.” When we think about God, we think of the Trinity—the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Usually, much can be said about God the Father, and what we know about him and what he does. Even more can be said about Jesus—last time we considered what his deity means, and as we get further into the Confession, we will look at his two natures as well as other things he has done. But then you get to the Holy Spirit, and our doctrinal statements tend to run thin on words. With that in mind, while this article is a bit brief, nevertheless, the deity of the Holy Spirit entails that he is God, and no less God than the Father or the Son.  

           About a year ago, some of you might remember we looked at verse 18 through the end of the chapter. Our main focus was on our new life, turning towards God because we have been forgiven. In that message I described the Holy Spirit in passing as our holy helper. With Article 11 in our minds, we will zoom in on what God’s word says about the third person of the Trinity.

           Brothers and sisters in Christ, something big happened in our country on Friday. It was Inauguration Day for our new President Donald Trump. I think most, if not all, of us knew that. It seems like it’s been plastered everywhere, and television networks continue with around the clock coverage of the first days. Now that Trump is in office, like a lot of people, I’m still waiting to see what it means. I’m hesitant about being gung-ho and extremely excited about him being elected. Our passage talked about spiritual groans, but we might be more accustomed to political groanings right now. But for his supporters and for cautious people like myself, we want to see how all of this talk about change and helping America will actually be accomplished.

           But as we consider the passage before us this afternoon, it was words from another president’s inaugural address that came to my mind. It’s John F. Kennedy, and that famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” Those words came to mind, because when it comes to the Holy Spirit, I think a question that we might have is “What can the Holy Spirit do for me?” If we adapt JFK’s encouragement, “Ask what you can do for your God,” we know the answer there. What can we do for God? He has told us! Live a life of repentance and forgiveness.  Show the love he has shown to us, and obey his commandments. Live seeking to bring honor and glory to him. Go and make disciples of all nations. We may or may not follow-through on those things very well, but we know this is what we can do for God.

           But when it comes specifically to the person of the Holy Spirit, what can he do for me? What can he do for us? There’s a lot of talk among Christians today about this. Some people would say the Holy Spirit tells me what to do—in terms of career, in terms of words for a specific time and situation; he prompts me to help someone else or to go somewhere. The Holy Spirit is similar to or is viewed as a conscience. Some people believe that the Spirit has brought them a tangible feeling of peace and calmness in a time of grief or trouble; it feels like an invisible blanket or chill came over them. We might think too in terms of spiritual gifts we read about in Scripture—speaking in tongues and healing and things of that nature—that’s where the Holy Spirit is. 

If we think about the Holy Spirit in these ways, we are attracted to the Spirit because we know God is with us. If the Holy Spirit really works like this, then our sense of God being in control is preserved. If I’m at a crucial juncture in my life or if I’m on one path I shouldn’t be, certainly God will use his Spirit somehow at the proper time to warn me and get me back to him.     

This kind of language and assessment of what the Holy Spirit is doing can be valid. In John 14, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as a Counselor, an Advocate—the spirit of truth, unseen and unknown by the world, but living in and with believers. When Jesus would ascend, God by the Holy Spirit would still be with his people to teach and remind us of Jesus’ message and vision. In Acts 2, it is the Holy Spirit that went into believers on Pentecost, enabling them to speak in tongues—in the different languages of the people present there in Jerusalem. We read of the Spirit being given by God, in the fulfillment of the prophet Joel’s words, and he is associated with the ability to prophesy, have visions, and dream dreams.

           All these are concrete answers to the question I’m asking this afternoon—what can the Holy Spirit do for you? Romans 8 provides 3 more answers to that question that we will consider. 

First of all, we are told in verse 23, “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” So, the Holy Spirit gives us the firstfruits as we look forward to our full adoption and redemption. 

           In one sense, what Paul is referring to here is our sanctification. That you and I as believers are being made holy, and that happens by the Spirit. That means that our redemption is not just a stamp on a form to be filed on a stack of who is saved or who is not—but it is something that is actively taking place only by God in our lives. When we think of what Jesus tells us the Comforter will do for us—continuing the work he had begun, it’s to this effect. If we believe in God and receive salvation through the grace of Christ, we cannot help but experience his redemption even as we live and walk on this earth. The Belgic Confession deals with sanctification in an article of its own so I’ll leave any more details on that until we get there.

           What Paul is also talking about here though is that the Holy Spirit is an ongoing witness to us of our God-given salvation. Every one of us here knows that Jesus is not living on this earth in 2017 as a citizen like he did back in Jerusalem.  He has ascended into heaven where he remains until he returns. But the overarching picture of human existence, of history, of God’s creation, is the redemption of all who turn to Jesus, of all who will be washed in his blood. God desires for his children to know that they have in fact been washed. We have been redeemed, we and all believers are in the book of life waiting for the glorious kingdom that we have been hearing about in Revelation. But it’s not enough, it’s not proper and satisfying for any person to tell us we have been saved beyond doubt. Thus, God the Father has given his Holy Spirit to witness this to us.

           Considering all of this, just as Jesus cannot be removed from the work and existence of the Father and the Spirit, and the Father from his Son and Holy Spirit, so the Spirit is not removed or existing on his own apart from who the Father and the Son are and what God’s purposes are. The Holy Spirit, in all that he is and does for us, is a minister to true redemption. He is a witness of God’s claim on our lives. That final section of the Heidelberg Catechism Answer 1 says it clearly, “Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready…to live for him.” Knowing and being assured of salvation, the fruit is our living for God. This is the first thing that the Holy Spirit does for us from our passage. 

           The second teaching we turn to now is in verse 26, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” If we had continued on to verse 34, we find Paul proclaiming that Jesus also intercedes for us. We understand that in the context that he also has the right to condemn. He who died for our sins has the right to condemn, but to all who believe in him, he is interceding for us before God the Father. In the mindset of God being in covenant with us, he is maintaining the covenant promise of our eternal life.

           But back to verse 26, the Spirit is also our intercessor. Paul writes this in the context that we have weaknesses and that there are times in prayer when we find ourselves speechless. When we consider the Christian life, or the life of faith, we often do it with an understanding of maturing. People who are disciples whether of Jesus or of anything else, start with little knowledge and skill in a field, but they are expected to grow over time. Prayer is one of those areas of our faith that is able to develop over time—but early on in years or in immaturity, we might profess to be weak. We read this passage then to say especially when I don’t know what I’m doing or when I can’t get the words out of my mouth eloquently, then the Spirit can present my requests to God for me.

           That’s probably how we typically read and apply it. When there is something going on and I am at a loss for words—God, you know what I want, you hear my heart, listen to your Spirit. But these words also have a bearing on the mature believer as well—that bearing is that they humble us. There are times, where in spite of our maturity, our experience, our strength that we find ourselves unable to do something. Another word in the definition of the word translated here as weakness that might grab our attention is incapacity. Weakness can carry this connotation that once you grow up, then you don’t have to think about this. But incapacity is much more something that we would struggle consistently with—that would always require us to seek help. 

           The Holy Spirit, our holy helper, is always with us, and yet he also works for us before God in a way that is consistent in the areas of our lives where we are imperfect and broken. This is not to say that the Spirit does not help us in those precise moments when we realize we are lost for words; he certainly does. But we must be humble enough to remember and recognize that we are always in need of God’s help in our lives. We must be willing to admit we are never without infirmity. We will never be enough on our own power. That is precisely why God has given us a helper. That when we realize God, I’m not enough, I can’t do this on my own, I don’t know what to do—we are kept in the reality and assurance that he by his Holy Spirit knows and cares for our every need. We need this divine help.

We come now to the final piece of this passage related to what the Spirit does for us, and a more appropriate way to phrase it is who the Spirit is for us. It’s certainly linked to the work of intercession that we have been focused on. Paul writes in verse 27, “He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” On first glance, we recognize that God the Father knows the mind of the Spirit.

In Article 11 that we looked at earlier, we professed, “The Spirit is…of one and the same essence, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son.” As much as we differentiate between the three persons, they are always one. One person does not get to go and serve their agenda, which is competing or harmful against the purposes of the others. No, they are one, they are united. Paul is not saying that the Father only knows our prayers because he is secretly tapping into the mind of the Spirit. No, they share this mind. That further teaches us the character of the Trinity and how the Holy Spirit is involved. The requests and prayers that we say and that are said on our behalf are received into Godhead through the Holy Spirit. 

The second part of this verse continues that the Spirit intercedes for the saints, for us, in accordance with God’s will. How easy it is for any of us to say that we think we know best, that we think we know what God’s answer must and will be. We can present our prayers and when God doesn’t give a response that is exactly what we asked for, we are hurt or angered or confused. Yet what Paul is saying is that when the Holy Spirit works on our behalf, intercedes for us, what he is able and willing to do is to bring our needs before God in accord with his will.

The Holy Spirit is our teacher. Not only of salvation unto eternal life, but a teacher of what God wills. When we pray or find ourselves troubled in prayer, we shouldn’t just be looking for the answer that we can record how and when and what God did to answer that individual prayer. But the Holy Spirit is able to show us how we can more and more align ourselves with the God we turn too. The Holy Spirit doesn’t give us a blueprint that when someone has this problem, present the prayer this specific way, and this will be the outcome. No, the Holy Spirit teaches us how we can trust God, how we can understand that our lives are not just in a game that we have to choose the right strategy. Rather the Holy Spirit reveals the perfect will of God’s sovereign plan. 

Through this, the Holy Spirit gives us not only the knowledge of who God is and what he does, but how we can turn to him in a more sanctified way. Brothers and sisters, may we never forget that we have access to but we also have a need for the Holy Spirit. We need the assurance of God’s salvation, we need his power and sufficiency in our weakness, and we need him to reveal who God is to us and to all who may believe. Amen.