I Believe in the Holy Spirit 1

David Helton

Deep Creek Baptist Church

We Believe: The Apostles Creed • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

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John 14:15-31 Page 1071

Who is he, next week What Does He do…

Introduction idea

While every time the church recites the Apostles creed we reaffirm our faith in the Holy Spirit.

But in many churches beyond the acknowledgment of their belief,

there is much confusion.

In fact when it comes to the Holy spirit there is much confusion in the modern day church.

J. I. Packer in Knowing God has written of this ignorance:

“Christian people are not in doubt as to the work that Christ did; they know that He redeemed men by His atoning death, even if they differ among themselves as to what exactly this involved.

But the average Christian is in a complete fog as to what work the Holy Spirit does.

Some talk of the Spirit of Christ in the way that one would talk of the Spirit of Christmas—as a vague cultural pressure making for bonhomie and religiosity.

Some think of the Spirit as inspiring the moral convictions of unbelievers like Gandhi…

But most, perhaps, do not think of the Holy Spirit at all, and have no positive ideas of any sort about what He does. …”

Acts 19:2 “2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.””

In the Sate of Theology Survey that Ligonier does every 2 years (2022)

They ask this T/F Question

The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.

59% of respondents said they agree/somewhat agree.

Over half of Christians they polled believe the Spirit is just a force and not a person

Where 34% thinks that the Spirit is a person.

Which one is correct???

What does the Bible tell us about the Holy Spirit

So Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit Is a Person

The first point we must settle in our minds in regard to the Holy Spirit is whether the Holy Spirit is a real person, whose work it is to get hold of us and use us,

or whether the Holy Spirit is merely some vague power we are to get hold of and use to our benefit.

This is important as a mere matter of truth;

for either the Holy Spirit is a real person, or he is not.

But it is also important on a practical level.

If we think of the Holy Spirit as a mysterious power, our thought will continually be, “How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?”

If we think of the Holy Spirit as a person, our thought will be, “How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?”

The first thought is entirely pagan. The second is New Testament Christianity.=

The Holy Spirit is a person because….

He has the attributes of personhood, performs the actions of persons, and has personal relationships.

He has insight (1 Corinthians 2:10-11).

He knows things, which requires an intellect (Romans 8:27).

He has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11).

He convicts of sin (John 16:8).

He performs miracles (Acts 8:39). He guides (John 16:13).

He intercedes between persons (Romans 8:26).

He is to be obeyed (Acts 10:19-20).

He can be lied to (Acts 5:3),

resisted (Acts 7:51),

grieved (Ephesians 4:30),

blasphemed (Matthew 12:31),

even insulted (Hebrews 10:29).

He relates to the apostles (Acts 15:28) and to each member of the Trinity (John 16:14; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

The personhood of the Holy Spirit is presented without question in the Bible,

His actions that he does and that can be done to Him shows He is a person not a force.

Do you lie to a force,

Do you blaspheme a force

Can you make a force unhappy or grieved with how you are acting and hurting your spiritual walk with God.

No all these emotions that are attributed to the Holy Spirit

are personal and relation,

something that a force or a power does not have.

The Holy Spirit is a person.

Lets look at our passage

Jesus Calls the Spirit a Counselor.

John 14:16–17 “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.”

In these verses Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit saying,

This is a great promise, but it is great precisely because of the personality of the Spirit.

If the Spirit were only a power, the promise would be in the nature of a compensation—“I am going to be taken from you, but I will give you something to make up for my departure.”

This is not what this verse is talking about.

It is not a thing that is being given,

but rather another divine personality that is being sent.

This one must have knowledge, for he will know of the disciples’ distress.

He must have feelings, for he will identify with them in their distress and comfort them.

He must have will, for he will determine to carry out this commission.

Why is it so important that we see the Holy Spirit as a person and not a force that could be controlled or manipulated.

The thought of the Holy Spirit as a divine influence or power that we are somehow to get hold of and use, leads to self-exaltation and self-sufficiency.

One who so thinks of the Holy Spirit and who at the same time imagines that he has received the Holy Spirit

will almost inevitably be full of spiritual pride and strut about

as if he belonged to some superior order of Christians.

One frequently hears such persons say, ‘I am a spirit filled man,’ or ‘I am a spirit filled woman.’

It is almost as they see ourselves special and above other Christians because we have been able to tame and acquire more of the Spirit than others.

It is almost they see themselves as a special class or better Christian than others.

It seems that those who may view the Spirit as a force see themselves as a super Christian that is able to mold and control the spirit.

But if we once grasp the thought that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person of infinite majesty, glory and holiness and power,

who in marvelous condescension has come into our hearts to make His abode there and take possession of our lives and make use of them, it will put us in the dust and keep us in the dust.

Or the Christian who thinks that the Holy Spirit is not a force but the promise of Christ presence will be humbled not proud.

That Christian will instead think how can the Holy Spirit get more of me and make me more like Christ.

How the HS can show me more of my sin and show me how to defeat that sin and make more like my savior.

How can the Spirit mold me, use me, sanctify me.

We see this difference illustrated in the pages of the New Testament, as we might expect.

On the one hand, there is the case of Simon the magician, whose story is told in Acts 8:9–24.

He apparently believed in Christ through the preaching of Philip at Samaria, for we are told that he “believed … and … was baptized” (v. 13).

But he knew little about Christianity and therefore fell into the mistake of thinking that the Holy Spirit was a power to be purchased.

He actually offered the disciples money in order to receive “it.”

To this, Peter, who was also in Samaria at the time, responded,

Acts 8:20–22 “20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.”

The other example is from the beginning of the missionary movement involving Paul and Barnabas.

Of this we are told that “while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’ ” (Acts 13:2).

In the one case, an individual wanted to get and use God,

whom he imagined to be merely a power.

In the second case,

God got and used two individuals.

The first point that the Lord Jesus makes in his teaching about the Holy Spirit is that he is a person, as we have seen.

But what sort of a person is he? I

Is he an angel?

Is he a being superior to an angel but inferior to both the Father and the Son?

Or is he equal to the Father and the Son?

Is he God?

Actually, we have already begun to answer these questions in talking about the personality of the Spirit, but the answer is also taught in the verses that constitute our text.

The Holy Spirit is God.

John 14:26“26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

John 15:26 “26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”

John 16:7 “7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”

Here the Lord speaks of the Holy Spirit as “another Counselor.”

It is important in understanding Christ’s words to notice that there are two different words for “another” in the Greek New Testament.

One word is allos, the word we have here; it means “another just like the first one.”

The second word, heteros, means “totally different.”

Since there are these two words with two meanings it is always important to know which one is used whenever the word “another” occurs in the English text.

It is the first word, the word meaning “another exactly like the first one,” that is used when Jesus speaks of sending the disciples “another Counselor.”

Who is the first Counselor? It is obviously Jesus himself.

Therefore, the second Counselor is to be just like him.

That is, he is to be another divine being living with them and in them.

The holy Spirit is not a second place prize, since Jesus is in heaven.

Nor is the Spirit on earth while the Son is in heaven

Their ministries are linked and are working together.

Christ and the Spirit are both advocating for us and ministering for us

The person of the Holy Spirit means that we have someone just like Jesus

who is just not sitting on the passenger side of the car.

He is right there in your heart and life; and if you've been born again, if you're saved, if you're a child of God, everywhere you go the Holy Spirit of God goes with you. He's with you all the time.

It will make a great deal of difference in your own life if you believe that you are being indwelt and led and purified not by impersonal forces from a distant God, but by a person who in his essence is the love of God

John 14:23 (ESV)

23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, (Jesus) he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.(through the Spirit)

The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently,

God is one in essence and three in person.

These definitions express three crucial truths:

(1) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons,

(2) each Person is fully God,

(3) there is only one God.

He is a distinct Person

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons.

The Bible speaks of the

Father as God (Philippians 1:2 “2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus as God (Titus 2:13 “13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”

and the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:3–4 “3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.””

Are these just three different ways of looking at God, or simply ways of referring to three different roles that God plays?

The answer must be no, because the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons.

In the baptism of Jesus,

we see the Father speaking from heaven and

the Spirit descending from heaven in the form of a dove as Jesus comes out of the water (Mark 1:10–11).

How not to understand the Spirit…

Jehovah's Witnesses: ''The holy spirit is the invisible active force of Almighty God that moves his servants to do his will'' (Let God Be True, p. 108).

Mormons: ''The Holy Ghost is one of God's spirit children who has yet to gain a body, but performs a vital role in the Godhead as a testator (confirmer) of truth'' (MormonWiki.com).

United Pentecostal Church: ''The Holy Ghost is not a third person in the Godhead, but rather the Spirit of God (Creator), the Spirit of the resurrected Christ'' (upci.org).

The fact that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons means,

that the Father is not the Son,

the Son is not the Holy Spirit,

and the Holy Spirit is not the Father.

Jesus is God, but he is not the Father or the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God, but he is not the Son or the Father.

They are different Persons, not three different ways of looking at God.

In addition to these texts, the others we mentioned above make clear that the Personhood of the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Personhood of the Son and the Father. They are three real persons, not three roles God plays.

While the three members of the Trinity are distinct,

this does not mean that any is inferior to the other. Instead, they are all identical in attributes. They are equal in power, love, mercy, justice, holiness, knowledge, and all other qualities.

He is fully God.

Each person is fully God is three Persons,

does this mean that each Person is “one third” of God?

Does the Trinity mean that God is divided into three parts?

The doctrine of the Trinity does not divide God into three parts.

The Bible is clear that all three Persons are each one-hundred-percent God.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each fully God. For example, Colossians 2:9 says of Christ, “in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form.” We should not think of God as a “pie” cut into three pieces, each piece representing a Person. This would make each Person less than fully God and thus not God at all. Rather, “the being of each Person is equal to the whole being of God” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1994, page 255).

The divine essence is not something that is divided between the three persons,

but is fully in all three persons without being divided into “parts.”

Thus, the Son is not one-third of the being of God;

he is all of the being of God.

The Father is not one-third of the being of God; he is all of the being of God.

And likewise with the Holy Spirit.

Thus, as Wayne Grudem writes, “When we speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together we are not speaking of any greater being than when we speak of the Father alone, the Son alone, or the Holy Spirit alone” (Ibid., 252).

There is only one God.

If each Person of the Trinity is distinct and yet fully God, then should we conclude that there is more than one God? Obviously we cannot, for Scripture is clear that there is only one God:

Having seen that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons,

that they are each fully God, and that there is nonetheless only one God,

we must conclude that all three Persons are the same God. In other words,

there is one God who exists as three distinct Persons.

If there is one passage which most clearly brings all of this together,

Matthew 28:19 “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

First, notice that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinguished as distinct Persons.

We baptize into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Second, notice that each Person must be deity because they are all placed on the same level.

In fact, would Jesus have us baptize in the name of a mere creature? Surely not.

Therefore each of the Persons into whose name we are to be baptized must be deity.

Third, notice that although the three divine Persons are distinct,

we are baptized into their name (singular), not names (plural).

The three Persons are distinct, yet only constitute one name. This can only be if they share one essence.

Does it really matter that we know and constantly recognize that the Holy Spirit is divine?

Yes, it does, for if we know and constantly recognize his deity,

we will recognize and rely on his work.

If we do not,

then we will foolishly rely on our own limited wisdom, love, strength and other resources,

and forfeit that which he alone can provide.

In his writings on the Holy Spirit to which I referred at the start of this sermon J. I. Packer asks these pertinent questions: Knowing God

Our Response to the Holy Spirit

“Do we honor the Holy Spirit by recognizing and relying on His work?

Or do we slight Him by ignoring it,

and thereby dishonour,

not merely the Spirit,

but the Lord who sent Him?

In our faith: do we acknowledge the authority of the Bible,

the prophetic Old Testament and the apostolic New Testament which He inspired?

Do we read and hear it with the reverence and receptiveness that are due to the Word of God?

If not, we dishonor the Holy Spirit.

In our life: do we apply the authority and live by the Bible,

whatever men may say against it,

recognising that God’s word cannot but be true, and that what God has said He certainly means, and will stand to?

If not, we dishonour the Holy Spirit, who gave us the Bible.

In our witness: do we remember that the Holy Spirit alone, by His witness, can authenticate our witness,

and look to Him to do so,

and trust Him to do so,

and show the reality of our trust, as Paul did, by eschewing the gimmicks of human cleverness?

If not, we dishonour the Holy Spirit.”

The personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, as well as other truths about him, are practical teachings.

What remains is that we take them down off the shelf of high theology and put them to work in our lives.