Week of: February 4, 2007
Series: The Holy Spirit
Title: The Father, The Son, and The Other One ~ Part 1
Scripture: Psalms 32:2; Genesis 1:2; 1 Samuel 6:19; Psalms 51:11; Isaiah 63:10, 11; Colossians 1:15-16
We don’t have the time to get into an in-depth study of the Spirit from the entire Bible. It would just take too long. Instead, what I hope to do for the next several weeks is to major on how Paul understands the Spirit, and minor on the understanding of the rest of the Bible. In the later part of our study, most of our references will be from Paul’s writings, and other references will come from the Old Testament and the rest of the New Testament.
Introduction of Terms
Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Trinity
In familiarizing one’s self with these terms, let’s start in the Old Testament. The word spirit in the Old Testament is used in two ways. One is the spirit of a human being, in the Hebrew language it is “nepes” and in our English language, it noted with the little “s” spirit.
Nepes means “breath” or “life” and later on it came to mean “soul” or “spirit.” Within the Old Testament, a human being is described as dust indwelt with a “nepes” or “life.” Nepes is never used of God.
The other name for spirit in the Old Testament is “ruah.” It too means “breath” or “wind” and later on it came to mean “soul” as well. However, it is used with a strong moral side. Look at Psalm 32:2, “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.” So this word is applied to the human spirit here and to God’s Spirit elsewhere. Either way, the spirit with a little “s” or Spirit with a capital “S” means “breath” or “wind.” Don’t let it confuse you…anytime you see Spirit or the Spirit of something capitalized in the Bible it is God or it is of God.
The terms Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of God, even the Spirit of Christ as seen in the New Testament are the same thing. The term Holy Spirit is one the New Testament seems to have adopted as their proper name for the Spirit of God. Don’t worry if your Bible uses the “Holy Ghost” as it means the same thing as Holy Spirit. Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit is the same thing.
The term Holy Spirit comes from two Old Testament ideas that were not only distinct but pointed into different directions—“Holy” and “Spirit.” The Spirit with a capital “S” we’ve understood to be breath or wind, of the life-force of God. In Genesis 1:2 it is interesting to note that while “the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters like a hen might hover over her eggs waiting for her baby chicks to hatch. So that with each spoken word, God breathed his Spirit (His life) into His creation, calling it into being.
Holy means “separate or different.” If something is holy, it is different or separate from everything else. God is Holy because there is no one like Him. God is so different that He is mysterious, powerful, awesome, and not directly approachable. In fact, so unapproachable was God that no one, not even Moses, could look on the face of God and live. We will see later on that, in the Old Testament, God was thought to dwell in two places. One was the Ark of the Covenant which was kept in the Tabernacle, and the other in the Temple in the Holy of Holies. Anyway, so holy was God that 70 men died because “they looked into the ark of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 6:19)
So the term Holy Spirit puts, at least, the ideas of holiness and creation together in one understanding of God. But did you know that the term Holy Spirit is found only in two passages of the Old Testament (Psalms 51:11; Isaiah 63:10-11)? However, in the New Testament, the term Holy Spirit occurs almost 100 times. It occurs 13 times in the Gospel of Luke, 43 times in the book of Acts, and 17 times in Paul’s writings. So the New Testament embraces the “Holy Spirit” as its proper name for the Spirit of God.
The Trinity is a harder term to understand. In fact, I don’t know of anyone who fully understands what Christians mean as the Trinity. Using the Ice, Water, Steam analogy; H2O at room temperature is water/liquid, frozen is ice/solid and boiled is steam/gas…... None are lesser than the other. No single member of the Trinity serves a subservient role to the other. They are not one-two-three; they are all number ones. Each are co-equal, co-eternal, and in many cases, essentially doing the same things. Although Jesus is thought of being the redeemer, He is also seen as the creator (Colossians 1:15-16). There is also the idea of the Spirit being the creating action of God. As we saw, the Spirit (Genesis 1:2) is hovering over the primeval waters of creation, much like a mother hen would hover over eggs that were ready to hatch. We rightfully say that Jesus is our Savior, but God the Father and the Spirit have always been in the saving business as well.
A.W. Tozer writes: “Every act of God is done by all three Persons. God is never anywhere present in one Person without the other two. He cannot divide Himself.” He goes on to say that for “the accomplishment of some specific work one Person may for the time be more prominent than the others are, but never is He alone.” (Tozer on the Holy Spirit by Marilynne E. Foster)
It is very important for us to learn in what way and under what kind of circumstances the Person of the Holy Spirit might be the more prominent member of the Trinity acting in our lives. In many Baptist churches, the Holy Spirit is a forgotten member of the Trinity. It is a buried treasure that is waiting to be discovered and released in our midst. While the Holy Spirit is and has always been in our lives and been in our midst, it is my opinion that “it must have emphasis sufficiently sharp to detonate it before its power is released.” Our task during this study will be to increase our appreciation for the Holy Spirit so that God might unleash His power and grace among us.
Week of: February 11, 2007
Series: The Holy Spirit
Title: The Father, The Son, and The Other One ~ Part 2
Scripture: Ephesians 1:13-14; Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Exodus 33:15-16; 1Kings 8:11; Ezekiel 10:18-19; Ephesians 4:30; Ezekiel 37:27; Malachi 3:1; Zechariah 14:16-19
Reminder: “s” in the Bible refers to the spirit of man; “S” in the Bible refers to the Spirit of God.
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
How do we start visualizing the ministry of the Holy Spirit? The Baptist Faith and Message, revised edition, page 31, (Southern Baptist Convention Doctrinal Statement) written by Herschel Hobbs, says this about the Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired Holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He calls men to be Saviour, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
What comes to my feeble mind is that the numerous things which Hobbs says about the Holy Spirit can also be said about Jesus and God the Father.
Where does the role or job of one member of the Trinity end and the other begin? Calvin Miller (Loving God Up Close, page xii) gives us a good place to begin in seeing the various roles of the Trinity in the Christian’s life, and from there we must allow the Spirit to lead us:
The Holy Spirit lives to bring God—vast as he is—within the narrow circumferences of our lives. In my life, I have learned to think of him as the near side of the Trinity. God the father pervades the universe yet remains a holy distance from my need. God the Father is all around me—omnipresent, the theologians say. Yet for all his splendor, he rides the world on inaccessible thunderheads. Jesus, the Son, remains in heaven awaiting the grand moment of his return. But the Holy Spirit lives and walks in my small world, calling like a pleading lover to summon me to grace.
Again as good as this might sound, one must realize that it is real difficult to draw a clean and distinct line on what each member of the Trinity does. In fact, I don’t believe that Paul drew that clean of a line. One thing I found in my study of Paul is that, while he gives us some guidance on the role of the Spirit in our salvation and sanctification, he is not opposed to using various members of the Trinity interchangeably in the life of the church. We must all draw upon the Spirit to help understand the ministry of the Spirit in our lives and the life of our church.
Next week, we will take a look at the history of the Spirit in the Old Testament before getting into a more in-depth study of the role of the Spirit.
Week of: February 18, 2007 - Church closed for Sunday Services due to weather.
Week of: February 25, 2007
Series: The Holy Spirit
Title: The Father, The Son, and The Other One ~ Part 3
Scripture: Our scripture is in the following review
Review of Doctrine of Holy Spirit
1) Spirit means “wind, breathe, or life.”
2) Holy Spirit is a combination of two ideals: holy meaning “the separateness or the otherness” of God, and Spirit the life giving force of creation. Thus God’s Spirit is an unique, completely different, life giving force that has brought creation into being.
3) The Spirit or the Holy Spirit is a member of what Christians call the Holy Trinity. The Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are all co-eternal and co-equal persons of the one and only living God.
4) One member of the Trinity may at times have a more active role in our lives than the other; however, every act of God is done by all three because all three are one.
5) In order to focus on what the Holy Spirit does, we are trying to visualize His ministry as seen in the Bible.
6) Biblical history of Spirit in the Old Testament.
- Deut 30:6 and Jeremiah 31: 31-34.
- Exodus 33:15-16.
-1Kings 8:11
- Ezekiel 10: 18-19
- Ephesians 4:30
- Ezekiel 37:27
- Malachi 3:1
- Zecheriah 14: 16-19
7) This Sunday (February 25, 2006) a continuation of last Sunday.
-Ezekiel 10: 18-21
-Ezekiel 11: 1-23; Jeremiah 31: 31-34
-Malachi 3:1
-Haggai 2:1-5
8) Biblical understanding of Holy Spirit in Paul’s writings.
-1 Corinthians 11:23-25
-2 Corinthians 3:1-6
-Romans 8:3-4
-1 Corinthians 14:24-25; 2 Corinthians 6:16
-1 Corinthians 3:16-17
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Biblical history of Spirit in the Old Testament
At the heart of Paul’s understanding of the Spirit is that it is promised by God. (Ephesians 1:13-14) This is part of the new covenant that was promised in Deuteronomy 30:6 and Jeremiah 31:31-34. The Spirit in the New Testament, according to some scholars, marked the return of the lost presence of God, one that was lost in the fall.
1) The most prominent way in which the presence of God was experienced in the Old Testament is in the tabernacle and the temple. In Exodus 3, God appears to Moses in a burning bush. He instructs Moses to bring the people back to him to worship. In chapters 20-24, Moses is given the book of the covenant. He is given the tabernacles instruction in chapters 25-31. However, the golden calf incident occurs, to which God announces in chapter 33 that His presence will not go with them, an angel will go instead. Look with me at Exodus 33:15-16. Even more than the law or any other distinguishing characteristics of God’s people, God’s presence with Israel distinguished them as His people. God’s presence has always been and will always be the distinguishing mark of God’s people.
2) The Deuteronomy promise is finally fulfilled in the construction of Solomon’s temple where the same glory as in Exodus 40 descended and “filled the temple.” (1Kings 8:11) Thus Jerusalem and specially the temple became the focal point of Israel’s existence with God and its existence in the Promised Land. To Israel, that’s where God lived among His people.
3) However, over the years Israel’s sin became so great and Israel’s refusal to deal with that sin became so strong, that God departs the temple and leaves Israel to the doom and gloom of their enemies. Read Ezekiel 10:18-19. Do you think God’s presence completely abandoned His people? It might give you the impression that that has happened here. But God is always near, not all the sin in the world can make God completely turn His back on His people. I had a preacher tell me not too long ago that God literally hated sinners. Not hated sin, mind you, but hated the actual person. He used the proof text that God loved Jacob, but hated Esau. (Genesis) And it really upset me, because there is just no excuse for preachers to believe that kind of stuff. A layperson might believe such, especially one that doesn’t know his or her Bible, but not a preacher. Anyway I let him know that I disagree wholehearted and quoted Romans 5:8. “But God proved his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” If because of sin, God hated or abandoned us, we would have been in hell a long time ago. Rest assured “O sinners God still loves you, and is only a prayer away.” Yet, I do believe this, if we want to be close to God, if we want to be near to God, we must understand that God hates sin and is grieved by it. Ephesians 4:30 says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” You cannot expect to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life when you refuse to deal with the sin problem that you have. Israel refused and God’s presence left them.
4) Hope is not lost. Ezekiel 37:27 prophesizes a return. Malachi 3:1 also prophesizes a return. Zechariah 14:16-19 talks about the inclusion of the Gentiles as a primary motif. The second temple is built but does not add up to the first. Haggai complains, “Who of you if left, who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?” (Haggai 2:3) This temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. Many Jews are awaiting the next building to take place so that the presence of God will be before them.
5) For Paul, a very important theme lies in Isaiah 63:9-14 because he equates the “Holy Spirit of God” with the divine presence of Exodus. See Isaiah 63:10 and Ephesians 4:30.
6) From the Old Testament to the New, Paul understands the association of the Spirit with the New Covenant, prophesied in Jeremiah and fulfilled in the death of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:25). The covenant is the way that the Spirit is realized in and among us. See Ezekiel 36:26 & 27. This coming of the Spirit into the heart of the believer and into the community of believers fulfills three dimensions of God’s promise:
That God would give his people a “new heart.” See 2 Corinthians 3:1-6.
This “new spirit” is God’s spirit, who will enable God’s people to follow his decrees and laws. According to Fee, the Spirit’s fulfillment of this theme is Paul’s answer (Romans 8:3-4; Galatians 5:16-25) to the question of what happens to righteousness if one does away with observance of the Law.
The Spirit is God’s way of giving life (Ezekial 37:14), in which Paul picks up in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6. 1 Thessalonians 4:8 is another reference that expresses that theme. So God made a new covenant effective for the people of God through the death and resurrection, but the Spirit is the key to the fulfillment of that reality in the lives of God’s people.