CHRISTIANS BELIEVE
in the
Trinity,
who is
ONE God in three persons.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."
When Jesus speaks in Matthew 28:18-19
concerning his authority, he states it in Trinitarian terms: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The name is singular, but it involves plurality as well: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The early church pondered this for a long time before working out how to speak about God without falling into error. They decided it best to speak about God as consisting of "one substance, three persons", and concerning the Spirit of God, they formulated the following statement in 381 AD:
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
In this article, we raise two questions. Do you believe in the Spirit, and if so, is it the Spirit as the Bible reveals him? In the following, we briefly outline some of the Spirit's work in the world and the church - and you may be surprised to hear just how much you need him.
[First...]
The Spirit is a person (we must not speak of the Spirit as an impersonal force, as "it") and without him and his work, we cannot be saved. The Spirit persuades us and gives us an assurance of Scripture's infallibility and authority. The Spirit is involved in illuminating our minds so we gain the understanding we need to be saved. The Spirit makes us comprehend and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ - without the Spirit's work we are blind to the gospel, and blind to the word of God.
[The Spirit and the World]
The Bible teaches that the Spirit was involved in creating the world, hovering over the face of the earth (Genesis 1:2). The Spirit is present everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10), giving life to all God's creatures (Psalm 104:29-30). Notice in Psalm 33:6, the 'Word' of God, and 'Spirit' of God (in the NIV translated 'breath') are closely connected in creating. Just as Jesus only does his Father's will, so the Spirit works in perfect unity and submission - he doesn't do his own thing.
Furthermore, the Spirit, as the agent of creative wisdom in the OT, brings about God's purpose for Israel; his work is even seen in producing cultural endeavors such as giving wisdom to craftsmen in Exodus 31:2-3, and his work is found even among men who are not necessarily saved themselves (such as Saul, Cyrus, and Balaam). So it would seem even culture and the creative arts have some connection to the general role of the Spirit.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit empowered the servants of God with strength (Judges 14:6) and wisdom (Deuteronomy 34:9; Numbers 27:18-23); and the ability to prophecy (Numbers 11:25). He also came upon (literally "rushing on") Israel's King for a time (1 Samuel 11:6; 1 Sam 16:13-14). The Spirit of God was God's presence with Israel (Isaiah 63:10-14; Haggai 2:4-5). Yet this was accompanied by a sense of incompleteness and the expectation that one day in the future "all people" would be endowed with the Spirit. (Numbers 11:29); as would the coming King (Isaiah 11:2; 42:1; 61:1).
[The Spirit and Jesus]
In the New Testament, the Spirit was involved in Jesus' conception (Luke 1:15), empowered the prophecy of John the Baptist (Luke 1:35, 67, 80); and at the baptism of Jesus, came to rest, dwell and uniquely anoint Jesus as the one with whom God was well pleased (Luke 3:16). It was Jesus and his ministry which brought about a change in the Spirit's role.
While the Spirit has always been active in the world, and among God's people, the Spirit was only poured out on some people, and only for a time. The Spirit was removed from King Saul, and later still David fearfully prayed "Do not take your Spirit from me".
But at the resurrection of Jesus, the Spirit was given by Jesus to all who believe, to act as comforter for them, and to remain on them as a seal and guarantee of their salvation.
[The Spirit and Salvation]
The Spirit brings us into relationship with God. In the New Testament, the Spirit is poured out on all flesh (Acts 2), baptizing all into one flesh (1 Corinthians 12-14).
The work of the Spirit involves every area of salvation: in being born again (also known as regeneration), in coming to saving faith, and in the ongoing Christian life (also known as sanctification - being made more and more like Jesus). The Spirit is the author of faith, he alone convicts and convinces that Scripture is the Word of God; he alone gives illumination and understanding of this Word; and he alone is the agent of God's effective calling. The Westminster Confession (the statement of faith of the Presbyterian Church) states it well:
They who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ; are effectively called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified and kept by His power through faith unto salvation.
The "elect" in the above, are those whom Christ has persuaded by His Spirit to believe and obey, and in whom their hearts are now governed by the Holy Spirit, and for whom Jesus' obedience and satisfaction is imputed or credited. In other words, as 1 Peter 1:2 says, these are those...
"Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood."
Notice in this verse the Trinitarian nature of salvation. It is all God's work - and it is underpinned by the "sanctifying work of the Spirit". Regarding the life of the Christian, the Spirit is always in operation. By the Spirit, Christians are kept through faith for salvation; repentance and signs of faith are infused; believers grow in grace and receive the ability to do good works. Furthermore assurance is granted by the "Spirit of adoption", an assurance which may be revived after having grieved the Spirit. By the Spirit we can pray "Abba, Father".
And most notably, the Spirit is involved in our resurrection. As Romans 8:11 states,
"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."
In the Christian, the Spirit is at work, but it is a work that is not yet completed: the Spirit is the first fruits (Romans 8:23); the guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:12-14); and seal (2 Corinthians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:12-14); but we await the final day when the Spirit's work within us is complete, and we are finally and ultimately gathered with Christ in heaven.
Neglecting the Holy Spirit.
IF WE SIMPLY DIDN'T THINK ABOUT the Holy Spirit,
would the church be any worse off?
This fireside chat suggests we may well be.
Here's why.
(1.) If we neglect the Spirit in our thinking, we minimize the uniqueness of God's work in Christians since Jesus. - The Old Testament (OT) promised a time when the Spirit of God would be poured out on all God's people, not only on some, at particular times, for particular roles, as he had in the OT. Jesus is the one who promised his disciples the Spirit before his departure to heaven. The Bible teaches that all Christians are indwelt by the Spirit of God, and thus have a greater experience of God than believers in the OT. This should give us great encouragement.
(2.) If we neglect the Spirit we are in danger of neglecting that salvation is all God's work. - Salvation is not only based on the work of Christ but on the secret work of the Holy Spirit within us.
(3.) If we neglect the Spirit we are in danger of underestimating the power of God needed to make us holy. - The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 are not amazing manifestations that would dazzle a stadium, but the rather mundane everyday miracles of love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness. This should encourage us to strive harder for holiness, because working with us, and even despite us, is the Holy Spirit.
(4.) If we neglect the Spirit we are in danger of underestimating the experience of comfort, care, perseverance and assurance that is ours in Christ by the work of the Spirit. - Jesus speaks of the Spirit as our comforter, our prayer intercessor, our seal and guarantee. The Spirit is involved in all aspects of our being saved, including the resurrection (1 Peter 1:12). Again we should be encouraged to know the care of God in this.
(5.) If we neglect the Spirit we can be in danger of thinking too highly of ourselves. - If we do not recognize our dependence on the Spirit in saving us, as outlined above, we can be in danger of becoming proud, thinking somehow our own abilities were involved in our salvation. Ultimately, pondering our dependence on the Spirit keeps us humble.
In short, if Christians neglect thinking and teaching about the Spirit,
we are in danger of overlooking the enormity of God's work in our lives.
Jens Norved is editor, co-founder and one-man-hype-machine of gracenotworks.com
(Printed With Permission)
