The Holy Spirit
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TEXT
John 14:16
John 14:16 (ESV)
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you….
This is God’s word.
INTRO
After Jesus lived, died, and rose again, His story wasn’t over.
4 weeks ago, which feels like 4 years ago, we looked at His ascension.
But His story doesn’t even stop there.
After He ascended, John 14:26 and the the Nicene Creed we read tell us He did something else.
What was it?
After Christ ascended, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit.
Today I want the scriptures to show us who the Holy Spirit is and why He was sent.
Uncle Holy
For some, those “Who?” and “Why?” questions have been answered differently.
Crazy Uncle
You might think the Spirit is the church’s crazy uncle.
We like Him, we think He’s sweet and has good heart, but when company comes over, we maybe accidentally lock him in the basement because we don’t want Him to scare our guests.
Unimportant Uncle
Or maybe to you He’s the church’s unimportant uncle.
He’s family but you met once 10 years ago at a reunion but you haven’t talked since.
Dead Uncle
You might think the Spirit is the church’s dead uncle.
You look back fondly on your family history in Acts; what mover and shaker Uncle Holy was, god bless Him.
But he’s been dead for a while now and all we have are pictures on the mantelpiece.
These are routes many have taken concerning the Spirit.
But it’s not the route of God’s people. It’s not a road Christians can travel.
A critical part of the life of Jesus is that He sent the Spirit to us, and therefore
we want Him at the dinner table, not in our basement;
in our living room, not on the mantelpiece.
So to do that we’re going to look at:
the Spirit in the Eternity
the Spirit in the Present,
the Spirit in the Future,
and what that means for everyone watching this today, believer and unbeliever.
1 | The Spirit in Eternity
The Bible opens with a declaration that the universe has a beginning and therefore necessarily the universe is dependent upon a creator.
Romans 11:36
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
And who is that Creator that from and through and to all things are?
God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
To get specific in the creation narrative, it is the Spirit, the “breath” of God, that animates God’s creation.
Psalm 33:6-9
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host...9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
God’s Spirit then acts as the agent of all life, He is the One who gives life to the dead.
Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
And not only is the Spirit the Giver of life, He’s sustainer of life.
Job 34:14-15
If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,15 all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
Life is not given without the Spirit of God.
Life is not sustained without the breath of God.
This is Who the Spirit is.
He is God, Life Giver, and Life Sustainer.
2 | The Spirit in the Present
If this is how we’re to understand the Spirit’s person and work in eternity, how are we to understand His person now?
Where to begin?!
Our CLC statement of Faith attempts to convey the Spirit’s work in one paragraph, but it’s hardly sufficient!
“...the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.”
Who and what is the Spirit in the present? All that and more. Let’s look at at 7.
Jesus Glorifier
First and foremost, in this present age, the Spirit is the “Jesus Glorifier”
John 16:14
He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes…. 14 He will glorify me…
Every moment in your life,
any good work you’ve ever done unto the Lord,
anytime you’ve opened up God’s word for yourself
or felt your heart strangely warmed from a teacher unpacking it,
or any time you’ve resisted your sinful flesh and chosen the joys of holiness,
that’s the Spirit of God working in you, glorifying Jesus.
That’s the Spirit’s joyful task!
Sin Convicter
Next, the Spirit in love shows us our sin and need for a savior.
John 16:8
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
As the Gospel is preached under Spirit’s power, as you, not just “the professionals”, but every member of the body, open your mouth and declare the gospel, not only do the guilty “see” their guilt before God, they “feel” it.
That’s the Spirit taking your stammering lisping tongue and putting it to work to save the lost, even over the YouTube’s!
If you’ve ever been horrified by your sin, or terrified by God’s right wrath towards sin, that’s the Spirit bringing those realites to bear on your soul.
It’s not an eloquent speaker or Christian halloween spook house that bids us to flee from the wrath to come, it’s the Spirit, who wants no one to face that day unprepared.
The Spirit prefers to offend us with the tough truth about our sin now, rather than allow us to take our self-righteous delusions into the not yet.
God convicts the world of sin because God is love.
Sinner Regenerator
And as this is happening, as the Spirit is convicting us of guilt, He begins the work of regeneration, of taking our sin sick hearts and healing them, making them new!
Titus 3:5
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
God sent the Son.
The Son died and rose again.
And the Spirit applies that work of grace to us by faith, making dead sinners living saints!
(Eph 2:11–13)
Ephesians 2:11–13 (ESV)
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Helper/Advocate/Strength Giver/Counselor/Sustainer
And now, as sinners cured and turned saints, the Spirit is our helper!
John 14:16
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper…
In this present evil age, God has not left His people alone to work this out on their own!
No, the sent Spirit is our helper, our advocate, our strength giver, and counselor, who never leaves us as we await the day of the coming and revealing of our Lord Jesus.
Gift Giver
And how does He help? How does He sustain us until that day?
By giving gifts!
1 Corinthians 1:7-8
so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Spirit’s gifts exist to sustain us, to point us to, to make us ready for the Day of the Lord.
They are a deposit, a down payment from the Lord for the church to (1 Corinthians 14:12) to be edified and built up in this present age, and to bring us into the age to come.
These gifts are going to pass away (1 Corinthians 13) when we enter into the age to come, but for now, the Spirit gives them to the bride to help us be made ready.
Protector
Also the Spirit protects and guards the believer
1 Peter 1:4-5
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
...to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power (the Spirit, the breath, the ruah) are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
The Spirit of God is guarding and protecting the believer right now for an inheritance that the believer will receive not now,but later, “a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”
To the end of the age, Jesus tells us in Matthew 28, He’s with us! Not leaving us!
Right now, the Spirit is helping, protecting, guarding, and interceding for us as we wait for future glory!
Romans 8:26-27
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.
26 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.
Hope Giver
The last present action I’ll deal with today concerning the Spirit is that He is Hope Giver.
Romans 5:2,5
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God….5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The gift of the Spirit now, in the present, in your living room, is to be understood eschatologically, meaning, it’s to be understood as divine power to live now for the age to come, the Day of the Lord, and the resurrection.
Titus 3:5
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
…..by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Even now by faith the Spirit is keeping our hope tank full, reminding us of God’s promise to remake us and remake the world; the hope of eternal life, and resurrection.
3 | The Spirit and the Future
And speaking of resurrection, we now look to the Spirit and the future.
Back to the beginning, the Spirit is both Life Giver and Life Sustainer.
“As God created the Heavens and the earth by His Spirit through His word, so He will also renew and re-create them in the age to come.”
- John Harrigan
We’re fresh into Easter and rightly have resurrection on the mind.
The good news about the Holy Spirit, the good news of Him proceeding from the Father and Son, is just that; it’s news of resurrection.
Romans 8:11
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead (literally, physically, bodily) dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies (literally, physically, bodily) through his Spirit who dwells in you.
On the Day of the Lord, at His coming, our fallen, mortal, susceptible, aching, bodies, will be raised to literal, physical, new life!
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Resurrection!
Jurgen Moltman writes:
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, and is as such the Spirit of the resurrection of the dead. The Spirit of the Father and the Son is the divine quickening power of the new creation of all things, the power empowering the rebirth of everything that lives….the Spirit does not draw the soul away from the body, nor does it make the soul hasten toward heaven, leaving this earth behind. It places the whole earthly and bodily person in the daybreak colors of the new earth.
Jurgen Moltman
This is the ultimate work of God’s Spirit; and Easter was a taste, a teaser, of things to come.
Colossians 1 and Revelation 5 tell us that Jesus was the “firstborn” in this way. He, God’s beloved Son, was the first to taste this fruit of resurrection to a body that will never die.
As the Spirit of God gave life to Adam in the beginning, so also will the Spirit of God give life to His righteous descendants in the end.
- John Harrigan
And so as believers, Romans 8:29 tells us we’re promised to, by the Spirit’s power, be conformed to the image of His Son; promised to taste the same fruits of resurrection that Jesus tasted on that third day.
4 | Resurrection or Condemnation?
So what do you want?
At the Day of the Lord,
John 5
“the dead will hear the voice (the Spirit, the breath) of the Son of God...and...all who are in the tombs will come out, those who have done good to resurrection life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.
What the Spirit is giving us today is breath in our lungs, time before the day of the Lord, to by the same Spirit, repent of our sin against God and trust in Christ;
To follow Jesus wherever He leads.
Those who do this, at the return of the King, will come out of their tombs and walk into resurrection life.
Those who who don’t, at the return of the King, will come out of their tombs and walk into a resurrection unto judgement.
Believer, let this encourage you. Your best life is not now, but by the Spirit, it’s to come.
Unbeliever, let this push you into repentance and faith.
If you have questions about this story, this gospel, go to out website….
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