Our Most Precious Faith
The Holy Spirit
As we continue our study of our doctrinal statement this morning we will take a look at our statement regarding the Holy Spirit.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person, the third Person of the Godhead. He convicts the world of sin, and indwells, seals, and places into the body of Christ all believers at conversion (John 16:8; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30).
Understanding the Holy Spirit is difficult. Though the knowledge of the Father and the Son are in many ways so far beyond us, at least we can somewhat visualize the work of God the Father and the work of the Son, as we can at least understand somewhat the character of a Father, and of course, Christ who came and lived among as a human. But the work of the Spirit is less tangible for us. This certainly leaves us with some mystery of the Spirit and the work of the Spirit. Another thing is that the Holy Spirit’s work is less obvious to us, as much of the work of the Holy Spirit is serving the Father and the Son, in other words, it is much more of a subordinate ministry. However, as we learned with the Son, that Christ’s ministry of serving the Father in no way makes Christ inferior to the Father, nor does the fact that the Spirit who serves the Father and the Son make Him inferior.
I also think that we just have not been exposed as much in the teaching of the Person of the HS as we have been of the Father and the Son. Many of us grew up with the term the “Holy Ghost” and likely as children came away with little understanding of the actual Person of the Holy Spirit, as a thought of a ghost to us maybe placed images of picturing Jacob Marley’s ghost visiting Scrooge. Another confusion that we have with our understanding of the HS is the modern-day charismatic movement, where the Spirit is front and centre regarding the miraculous in healings and tongues, and the whole prosperity gospel got thrown in the as well. So, I suppose that this may have caused many believers to stand back a bit and be a little afraid to over-emphasize the work of the Spirit.
Yet, there is no question in the Bible that the HS is deity and part of the Trinity. We looked at a few passages last week where we saw the distinction of all three Persons of the godhead. We also saw where the Holy Spirit was involved in creation. The Holy Spirit, because He is God knows all things. First Corinthians 2:10 says that the Spirit teaches us all things about God. And of course, His divine power is seen in creation. As God, the Holy Spirit is everywhere, as David said, where can I go from Your Spirit? As God, the writer of Hebrews refers to Him as the “Eternal Spirit,” and He is known as the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:17). We also saw the distinctness of the Holy Spirit, (Matt 28:19) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Hard to argue with this statement of three distinct Persons. Second Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”
And within that distinctness is one of the greatest works of the Spirit which often involves the human heart His work of convicting, renewing, enlightening, and His work in salvation. And we see the closeness of the HS in regard to the human heart in verses such as Acts 15:28, where it says that “it seemed good to the HS to not burden you with anything else.” This gives to us such a gentle and kind view of the Spirit, where He actually considers and understands our limitations. And of course, the Holy Spirit is front and centre when it comes to the inspiration of the Scriptures, where the Bible tells us that the biblical writers were carried along or moved by the Holy Spirit. We also know that the Holy Spirit, as is the Father and the Son, ai a Person, as He is referred to as “He” is the Bible. He was a “Person” who was sent after the ascension of Christ, Jesus said:
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. You know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16-17 (LSB)
In fact, Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit would come to them, it would actually be an advantage for the disciples that Jesus would go and send the Holy Spirit, as Jesus spoke about “greater things” being done after His death and ascension, which was certainly true for these disciples as they flourished spiritually after the resurrection and when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Millard Erickson makes this statement:
“The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force, and that person is God, just as fully and in the same way as are the Father and the Son.”
Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology 786
I should say at this point that we do need to be careful that we might use terms such as speaking of or looking for “more of Christ” or “more of the Spirit,” because as believers we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing. We have already been chosen before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love. We have already received forgiveness for our sins according to the riches of His grace. We have already been caused to abound in all wisdom and insight. We have already been given an inheritance. We have already been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. We have already been sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit. And we are already God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. So, do we need more? things such as tongues? or healing? No, our prayer should be not for “more” but to obedient to the wisdom, light, strength, and love which we have already been given.
I know that many would associate the need of the miraculous with the work of the Spirit. However, this would be a grave error. For if we removed the time of the exodus in Egypt, the times of men like Elijah and Elisha, the times of the New Testament church, we would have a hard time finding a handful of miracles throughout 6,000 years of history. And therefore, if we emphasized the work of the Spirit with such miracles only, we would view the work of the Spirit as limited and frankly as dead today, and this is not true. Now, this does not mean that God could not break through in His sovereign purposes and cause miraculous events, but He has chosen not to. There was a great reason why we see miracles at specific times in human history. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. In other words, over the course of history God has written His Word. And it is during these periods where we see a concentration of the miraculous. The writer of Hebrews went on to say:
“[H]ow will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? That salvation, first spoken by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
Hebrews 2:3-4 (LSB)
In other words, a confirmation of much of the Old Testament was the miraculous through Moses. A confirmation of the much of the prophetic books was the miraculous done through some of the prophets. And confirmation of the New Testament is the very fact that it was accompanied by signs and wonders and various miracles during the time of Christ and the apostles. D. A. Carson says here that God added His confirmation to this apostolic preaching of the apostles by the miraculous. So, does the Holy Spirit cause the miraculous today? Of course, He does, even in the salvation of souls, the greatest of miracles! Does He heal today, or does he cause people to communicate and share the gospel to those of other languages? Certainly, but not in the same way. For faith healers do not walk into sick kids’ hospital and demand that children up out of their beds and be completely healed. I do not know of anyone who can travel the other side of the world and immediately, without any prior training, begin preaching in another language so that people can understand.
Again, this does not mean that God could not at anytime display signs and wonders, but at this time, He has chosen not to. And certainly, through the providence of God He does heal and He does take lives, as all these things are always under His sovereign control. So, we could say that the Holy Spirit was specifically involved with creation, involved with the writing of the Scripture; was involved in the signs and wonders throughout the Bible; and specifically involved with the human heart. Yet if we limit the Holy Spirit to such things as what we might call miraculous, we will miss and limit our own understanding and influence of the Spirit’s work in us today as a people. Now to say that the Person of the Holy Spirit is a mystery would be an understatement, His work of convicting, indwelling, sealing, and His work in salvation. We see this in the words of Jesus when Jesus said that:
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8 (LSB)
It may be similar to trying to define where the wind comes from or trying to place parameters around the wind. Impossible! Listen to some of these thoughts reading the Holy Spirit. Corrie Ten Boon, “[W]hen you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” Adrians Rogers, “When you educate without the Holy Spirit, you only get a clever devil.” D. L. Moody, “The work of the Spirit is to impart life, to implant hope, to give liberty, to testify of Christ, to guide us into all truth, to teach us all things, to comfort the believer, and to convict the world of sin.” A. W. Tozer, “I don’t want the world to define God for me. I want the Holy Spirit to reveal God to me.” J. I. Packer, “The Holy Spirit’s main ministry is not to give us thrills but to create in us Christlike character.” Charles Spurgeon, “Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are ships without wind. We are useless.” And the final one I have chosen is by R. A. Torrey and is one that I believe gives a proper view of the work of the Spirit:
“If we think of the Holy Spirit only as an impersonal power or influence, then our thought will constantly be, how can I get hold of and use the Holy Spirit; but if we think of Him in the biblical way as a divine Person, infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely tender, then our thought will constantly be, ‘How can the Holy Spirit get hold of and use me?’”
- A. Torrey
So, let us try to look at some of this mysterious work of the Spirit as written in our statement.
The Spirit’s Work of Convicting
There are really two aspects of the Spirit’s work of convicting. The first would be the general conviction that occurs in the world. The second would be specifically in the heart of the individual. I will deal briefly with the first as it does not directly deal with our statement. But the HS is stated as the Restrainer in the Bible.
“And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.”
2 Thessalonians 2:6 (LSB)
The context of this passage is referring to a “man of lawlessness” who will come. He could be referred to as the antichrist or one of many that will come trying to deceive. And Paul writes where that the Restrainer will hold this evil off until God’s timing. This is likely a reference to the Holy Spirit. Now this may come through the protection of a government or the work of the church, but it would seem that it is the overriding work of the Holy Spirit, as the restraining work of the Holy Spirit. This is not unlike when in Romans 1 where God said that he would give them over. And we see that in our society today, but likely no where near what it could be like. And when Christians stand for Christ and allow their light to shine, either the convicting work of the Spirit will cause some to submit to Christ or cause great anger and opposition in the hearts of others.
But truly we do see the restraining hand of the Holy Spirit in our world, that restrains sin even in the lives of unbelievers; otherwise, total anarchy would characterize our world. We should never fail to be thankful for the Spirit’s restraining hand in our society today. But to our point specifically is the convicting work of the Holy Spirit regarding sin in an individual. And I would see a difference here as the convicting work in the big picture of the world is a work that the world is restrained outside of their control, whereas the specific conviction of sin in the heart of a person is responded to by some and ignored by others.
“And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
John 16:8 (LSB)
- F. Westcott gives this great insight to this action of “convicting” by the Holy Spirit:
“Whatever the final issue may be, he who convicts another places the truth of the case in dispute in a light before him, so that it must be seen and acknowledged as truth. He who then rejects the conclusion … rejects it with his eyes open and at his peril. Truth seen as truth carries with it condemnation to all who refuse to welcome it.”
- F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John 228
And we might ask when does the Holy Spirit convict the world of sin? The answer would be “all the time.” Paul Enns wrote that:
“All people have an awareness of their accountability to a righteous God, all the while being participants of His blessing towards them.”
Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology 349
Therefore, we could say: Because the Holy Spirit convicts the heart of man of sin, every person is accountable before God for His actions. This brings us to out next point:
The Spirit’s Work in Salvation
This next scope of the Spirit becomes more focused again. This is now not a general influence on society in restraining sin. This is not a work on the hearts of conviction upon all people that may or may not be ignored, but this is now the specific work in the hearts of those toward salvation. Some would describe this as “efficacious grace.” John F. Walvoord wrote:
“Effacacious grace is the instantaneous work of God empowering the human will and inclining the human heart to faith in Christ.”
John F. Walvoord, The Holy Spirit 122
Now there is much to said about this, but much of it will apply to our statement on salvation which is two weeks from now. But in reference to the Holy Spirit, I need to comment. As what we see in the Scriptures when the HS comes upon the heart of a person for salvation, one of God’s elect, that person will believe. Paul taught the Corinthians that the preaching of Christ to those who were perishing is foolishness; but to those who are called, it is the power and wisdom of God. Therefore, some have called this “irresistible” grace. In other words, this kind of conviction placed on the human heart is so strong and forceful and according to the purposes of God, that it cannot be resisted.
Yet at the same time in the purposes of God and the mystery of the gospel, this conviction must be accepted, and the gospel must be believed, man must make a real choice. In other words, man’s will, must believe the gospel in order for him to be saved. Yet to those who do believe, man’s will is not fighting against this belief and conviction but willingly responding to the truth of salvation. In other words, he is not kicking and screaming his way into heaven. John MacArthur teaches that the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a person whom God has called, willingly comes to Christ, not opposed to their wills, but as their wills are changed and made alive by the Spirit. If you are saved this morning, you need to be so thankful for what the Spirit of God has done for you. Anyone want to take credit for their salvation this morning? This is a miracle way beyond healing you physically! As mercifully our stubborn will is transformed by God’s Spirit. Therefore, we could say: Because the Holy Spirit convicts the person of salvation who has been called by God, that person’s heart will choose to respond in faith.
The Spirit’s Work of Indwelling
The Bible teaches that when a person comes to Christ in faith, they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Bible often refers to this as the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul said to the Christians in Corinth (2 Cor 1:22) you have been given the gift of the Spirit as a pledge. Paul said to the Christians in Thessalonica (1 Thess 4:8) the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you. John said (1 John 4:13) “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” Therefore, this gift of the Spirit is given to us upon salvation. Paul said (Eph 1:13) “after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.” In fact, if someone is truly a believer, he must have within him the Holy Spirit.
“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
Romans 8:9 (LSB)
And Paul wants us to realize the great value in receiving this truth by faith, that when you came to believe, the Holy Spirit entered into you. Paul asks (Gal 3:2), “did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” Jude confirms this by saying that those who are outside of the faith are devoid of the Holy Spirit. Now some have tried to teach that the Holy Spirit is given to those who are obedient. An example would be Acts 5:32 where Peter says:
“And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God gave to those who obey Him.”
Acts 5:32 (LSB)
So, the conclusion might be that the Holy Spirit is only present within the obedient person. In other words, they live an exemplary life and therefore are indwelt with the Spirit. Yet it is interesting, that in the very next chapter in Acts, where Peter has just said that the HS is given to those who obey Him, he states:
“And the word of God kept on spreading, and the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”
Acts 6:7 (LSB)
The key here for obedience is faith to those who are believing in Christ for their forgiveness. Jesus Himself said (John 3:36), he who believes in the Son [i.e. he who has faith in the Son] has everlasting life. Now this does not diminish the massive responsibility of this indwelling. For remember Paul said that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, but we also understand that the HS is present in the heart of even struggling believers. For listen to the depth of his challenge to the struggling believers in Corinth:
“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:17-20 (LSB)
What is Paul doing here? Well, he is not only trying to draw attention to the wrongness of sin within the human body, but he is reminding these believers of the great offense of their sin being committed in the very presence of the Holy Spirit. So, what is to be the response of the believer, considering that the Holy Spirit is present within the Christian? One, your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within you. Two, this Holy Spirit whom you have from God. Again, reminding us that this is a gift from God. And three, that you are not your own. Why? Because you have been bought with a price. So, what is our response? Therefore, glorify God in your body. Folks, the key here is that we do not get this backwards. The Holy Spirit is not given to those who obey. No, the Holy Spirit is a gift given to those who believe; so that, through the Spirit, they are able to strive to be obedient and stive to glorify God. Therefore, we could make this statement: Because the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, the heart of the Christian is to glorify God.
The Spirit’s Work of Sealing
A passage we read earlier said that the believer has been sealed and that the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a pledge. A seal in the Old Testament was a literal seal that confirmed or authenticated a document or edict. Sometimes a king would hand down a document before his death that contained in it what son of his would be the next king. And it was sealed and opened when he died, confirming which son was to be the heir to the throne. In this case the seal regarding the Holy Spirit has the whole idea of ownership, that the seal confirms that this person has been identified as belonging to God. Another example would be the branding of cattle, as the animal would have the mark of his owner clearly set upon it, making it obvious who the owner was. Look again at this verse in 1 Corinthians adding the verse before it:
“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.”
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (LSB)
The emphasis here in this passage is that this is a work that God has done, not us. And with the mark of a seal, the teaching is that this is permanent seal and ownership, as Paul will later speak (Eph 4:30) that we are sealed for the day of redemption. So, we are not only sealed confirming the ownership of God on us, but we also have the security that we are sealed until the day of our redemption, the day we will be eternally redeemed and will be ultimately made to be perfect like Christ, not just in position but also in full glorification of our complete being. In that Ephesians passage, Paul says do not grieve the Holy Spirit or you will not be sealed by the Holy Spirit. No, he actually says, do not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed. In other words, proper obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit does not secure your sealing. But proper obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit demonstrates your sealing—confirms that you are one of His. We could also turn to a passage such as Romans 8. And though it does not say the word “sealing” it is part of this same work spoken of:
“Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, [we could add … He sealed] and He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.”
Romans 8:29-30 (LSB)
Therefore, we could conclude with this statement regarding the sealing of the Holy Spirit: Because the Holy Spirit seals every believer, the heart of the believer is assured of his salvation, and his obedience will showcase the Lord’s ownership of his life. That final statement must be the work of the Spirit. Not perfection—as it will be in eternity—but the striving and desire to live Christ. Can you make those statements in your life? Maybe you do not believe by faith. Or maybe your faith is simply a word-only faith, but it is not your heart issue. Maybe you look at the work of the Spirit as some miraculous event, but do not realize the work that the Spirit desires to do in your heart. So, let’s consider the Spirit’s work personally in your life.
Because the Holy Spirit convicts the heart of man of sin, every person is accountable before God for His actions. Maybe you are not a Christian this morning. Yet do you realize that each of us are accountable to God? That your uneasiness with sin is due to the restraining work of the Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit convicts the person of salvation who has been called by God, that person’s heart will choose to respond in faith. Do you realize that salvation is a work of God in your life? That if you know Him, rejoice in Him. If you do not know Him, plead with Him that he might call you.
Because the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, the heart of the Christian is to glorify God. Paul would remind us of this morning; do you not realize that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in you? That the sole purpose of your life is to give God glory whether we eat or drink or whatever we do.
Because the Holy Spirit seals every believer, the heart of the believer is assured of his salvation, and his obedience will showcase the Lord’s ownership of his life. Are you certain of your salvation this AM? Peter said that we need to make are election and calling sure because it must be the most important thing in your life. And when you know that you are owned by Christ, serve Him as your Lord and Saviour. Let’s pray. Lord, we praise You this morning for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May we know and experience His work daily in us. May we never grieve the work of Spirit in our lives. That we might be obedient to the words of Paul, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” And all God’s people said, amen.