I believe in the Holy Spirit 3

David Helton

Deep Creek Baptist Church

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

0 ratings

· 1 view

Notes

Transcript

What He does

Today I want to look at two activities the Spirit doe sin the life of a Christian. One is a single event with forever effects, and the other is a repeated event that grows us in our salvation and service to Christ.

The Indwelling of the Spirit

Ephesians 1:3–14 is actually a single sentence

that embraces most of the essential doctrines of Christianity.

It deals with the doctrines of

God,

the Trinity,

election,

the work of Christ,

forgiveness,

the gospel,

grace, creation,

the consummation of world history when all things are brought together in subjection to Christ—and others besides.

In this collection of doctrines Paul also talks about the Holy Spirit,

and his elaboration of this subject is even more comprehensive than the ideas presented previously.

What we have in verses 11–14 is a rich statement of the chief doctrines of the Holy Spirit and his work.

Ephesians 1:11–14 “11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

We were Predestined

Ephesians 1:11–14 “11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

At first reading, this seems to be saying the same thing as verse 4, where Paul wrote that God “chose us in him before the creation of the world.”

That is, it seems to refer to the eternal election of believers to salvation.

But that would be redundant.

Actually, in this verse Paul is carrying the argument a bit further,

Ephesians 1:4–5 “4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

When God saves someone through His grace

he planned to before the foundation of the world

(meaning before your were born

and before you heard the Gospel,

before you experienced “becoming a Christian)

and his salvation from sin to full membership in his family

is effective and lasting for eternity

meaning it saves in this life, though this life,

after the end of this life, and forever in the life to come.

We see this in these verses clearly.

God predestined people to be given an inheritance by the work of Christ.

Those who hope in Jesus, Trust Jesus, follow Jesus, praise Jesus are sealed in salvation by the Holy Spirit.

That means our remaining a Christian with authentic saving faith in Jesus is not dependent on the power of our will and ability to sustain ourselves through trial and life, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Proof: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace (Chapter 6: Forever Grace)

When we looked at planned grace, we see the the threefold harmony of the Trinity.

It’s clear throughout the Scriptures that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

are working together

at all times to sustain our salvation from the beginning to the very end of time.

•The Father plans our salvation to the end:

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

The Son promises to carry out our salvation to the end:

Hebrews 12:2 “2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The Spirit guarantees our salvation to the end:

(2 Corinthians 1:22 “22 and GOD who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Because we were predestined and chosen by God, the Spirit pursues us.

We were Pursued

The first work of the Holy Spirit is what theologians term “the effectual call.” It is what is referred to in verse 11:

Ephesians 1:11 “11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”

showing how, having first “predestined” to salvation, God now chooses those who have been chosen, thereby working out his purposes in their particular lives.

This is accomplished by the Holy Spirit,

who pursues us and

who opens our eyes to understand what Christ has done for us,

grants faith to believe on him,

and moves our wills to embrace him as our personal Savior.

This effectual call by the Holy Spirit is necessary because,

apart from it, no one would turn from sin to Christ.

Instead, all would turn from Christ, deeming his lordship something to be repudiated and the just demands of God something to be abhorred.

Apart from the Holy Spirit the world crucifies Christ.

That is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit:

John 16:8–11 “8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

Ephesians 1:13 “13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,”

Paul pictured this truth the truth of the Holy Spirits work with the image of a seal,

the imprint on a clump of clay that kept ancient scrolls secure.

“When you believed,” Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).

A seal in the ancient world implied at least 3-4 realities.

A seal

(1) prevented tampering and thus implied protection on contents and

(2) denoted ownership. Seals also indicated

(3) genuineness or

(4) authenticity.

See Harold Hoehner, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2002), 238.

We are sealed for God’s possession, protection, and proof.

When we are saved we are sealed, baptized filled for the first time with the Holy Spirit and says that …..

We are a Possession of God

The Holy Spirit is also God’s claim on us that we truly are his possession.

The phrase “possession” is used explicitly in verse 14.

Ephesians 1:14 “14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

So when Paul wrote that God seals us through his Holy Spirit,

he was declaring, first, that we are God’s possession —

and no one steals God’s stuff because

no one can overcome God’s power

or slip undetected past God’s defenses!

That’s what Jesus was getting at when he said,

John 6:39 “39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

John 10:27–29 “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

If you are God’s property —

someone who has been transformed by God’s power —

no one, not even you,

can remove you from God’s hand.

If you have authentic saving faith in, hope in Jesus, you are owned and possessed by God, you are His.

He possesses you and every aspect of life and joy possible.

As member of His kingdom and family

He instructs us, guides us, commands us,

encourages us, and empowers us with a new

life capable of persevering in this life in such a way we are able to have our lives be both effective and fruitful for Him.

We are also protected…

We are protected form God’s Wrath

A seal also suggests protection.

When Jesus said, “They shall never perish” (John 10:28), he reminded us that we can never leave God’s fold.

Death comes from sin, and since the power of sin has been removed from us, so has every form of death that lasts past this life. “Jesus, as emphatically as possible, states that those to whom he gives eternal life will never be lost, will never be cast into hell. . . .

This is one of the strongest statements of God’s preservation of his people in the whole Bible, and it comes from the lips of Jesus, the Savior of the world.” God’s grace is based on who he is, not on who we are. His plan is fixed and his hand is steady. He does not change his mind, he does not get nervous, and he does not hesitate.

When God chose us, he declared,

“These people belong to me.”

There is nothing in the universe strong enough to remove God’s chosen ones from his hands.

Romans 8:38–39 “38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Believers don’t merely enter eternal life when they die;

eternal life enters us when we believe and it can never leave —

if it did leave us, it wouldn’t have been eternal!

This seal of possession and protection provides, according to Paul, an unbreakable promise.

Ephesians 1:14 “14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

When we trusted Jesus in response to the Spirit’s work of resurrecting grace,

the Holy Spirit became in our lives “a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance

God chose us as his portion and possession (Ephesians 1:11)

and then placed his Spirit within us as “a deposit” —

a down payment or first installment — promising that he will redeem us at the end.

Think about what this means for us:

If anyone who trusts Jesus (“when you believed,” Ephesians 1:13) is lost, that would mean God made a down payment and claimed a property as his own, but then defaulted on his payments. T

That means we would no longer be able to sing, “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe,”

but “Jesus paid it partly, and it depends on me whether he pays the rest” —

which would drop a bit of a damper not only on our theology but also on our music.

Remember: God’s planning never writes a check his power can’t cash!

Paul made that point clear when he described the faith of Abraham: “He did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God.” And what was the assurance that undergirded Abraham’s belief? He was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20 – 21).

Whatever God promises, he possesses the power to do,

and his down payment through the Spirit is his promise that he will finish all that he started.

The same God who “began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” until his kingdom comes (Philippians 1:6)

He is the proof of our redemption. ?????

Protection

Seals also indicated (3) genuineness or (4) authenticity.

It means we can ask ourselves some questions about our present spiritual condition to test if our faith is authentic. What we are looking for in ourselves is an authentic saving faith. One where we rest our assurance that Jesus paid it all and that work and payment was more than sufficient in our lives to be empowered to live new lives. It doesn’t mean we will never sin, we will, we do. But in those times what is your response? How do you respond when the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin though God’s word, through godly brothers and sisters in Christ, through your conscience? Are you grieved by your sin the way it grieves God? Do you desire to be free from the sin, do you desire repentance? Is your heart soft or is it hard? Do you dig in, do you begin to believe the oldest lie on the planet that God’s commands are not for you joy and your life but they are because he is not for you. Do you believe there is no consequence for sin? Where is your present hope? Right now, is it the saving work of Jesus or is it in your works, or that you don’t really need to be saved? Is there evidence in your life that the Holy Spirit is working in you? (Fruit of the Spirit). Are you growing in or increasing in qualities we talked about in 2 Peter 1:3-10? We don’t have to wait till death or the end of our life to have assurance. God doesn’t want us in a constant state of fear and questioning when it comes to our salvation…. Unless that is precisely what he wants for those whose overwhelming pattern of walking away from God. We, you, can simply look back to some glory days of ministry or closeness with God and say we’ve got fire insurance. If you are not presently walking with and trusting Jesus you actually have no assurance. This doctrine is a comfort to those who have genuine faith in Jesus and is a call to repentance and forgiveness to those who do not presently.

Preservation

Application: The Spirit’s sealing gives us the assurance of our salvation

The Spirit Fills us for Christ The Infilling of the Spirit

Ephesians 5:18–21“18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

The filling of the Spirit is arguably the most controversial, divisive, and misunderstood ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Ask any Christian what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

The answer may reflect ignorance, fear, speculation, fanaticism, or indifference.

Why is there so much confusion about Spirit-‐‑infilling? Two reasons: NO TEACHING AND WRONG TEACHING.

The point of this passage is simple, practical, and life-‐‑changing:

You must be filled with the Spirit to be a devoted, growing, and fruitful Christian.

Spirit-‐‑infilling has nothing to do with getting more of the Spirit.

When you trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your heart immediately, completely, and permanently.

Romans 8:9b says, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

But if you are saved, you do not need the Spirit to fall on you.

He lives within you.

But there is a difference between Spirit-‐‑indwelling and Spirit-‐‑infilling.

It is like getting a new car.

But you cannot figure out how to start it.

So you put it in neutral and push it around everywhere you go. It does not have to be that way.

You can be what God wants you to be, do what God wants you to do, and have what God wants you to have.

But you must be filled with the Spirit.

The verb filled means to bring something to its level of containment.

When used metaphorically,

it denotes exclusivity or totality.

Something that is filled does not have room for anything else.

To be filled with something is for that thing to be the dominating presence, controlling influence, or driving force of your life.

The Lord has not given the Spirit to merely reside in your life.

The Holy Spirit should preside over your life.

Living under the power/control of the Spirit.

This prohibition against drunkenness is a contrast to being filled with the Spirit. Spirit-‐‑infilling is not spiritual intoxication.

A drunken person is under the influence and so is a Spirit-‐‑filled person.

But the two realities are antithetical.

On the day of Pentecost, the unbelieving crowd mocked the Spirit-‐‑filled believers, saying they were drunk with wine. In Acts 2:15, Peter responded, “For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.”

Peter categorically denied the disciples were drunk.

Galatians 5:23 says the fruit of the Spirit is self-‐‑ control.

To put it another way, alcohol is a depressant;

Spirit-‐‑infilling is a stimulant.

It does not make you lose control.

It gives you the power to control yourself.

So the phrase, “full of the Holy Spirit,”

describes a person who habitually lives with every area of his life under the control of the Spirit.

He is not a self-willed man, but a Spirit-controlled man.

The fullness of the Spirit does not mean that he once had a dramatic experience,

but rather that he has consistently walked with

his life yielded to the Holy Spirit,

so that the fruit of the Spirit characterizes his life.

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?\

Its a command not a suggestion

The New Testament never instructs Christians to be baptized, indwelt, sealed, gifted, or anointed by the Spirit. We receive these gifts the moment we are saved.

They are the standard equipment of the Christian life.

Spirit-‐‑infilling is not standard equipment.

Yet it is necessary for the standard equipment to function properly.

So God commands us to be filled with the Spirit.

The two commands in verse 18 carry the same weight.

It is just as sinful for a Christians not to be filled with the Spirit, as it is to be drunk with wine.

Its for everyone, not just some

The call to be filled with the Spirit is all-‐‑inclusive.

It is not just for Pentecostals, Charismatics, or so-‐‑called Full Gospel Christians.

It is not just for a select group of spiritually elite “supersaints.”

It is not just for pastors, teachers, missionaries, evangelists, or other spiritual leaders.

It is not just for active church members who participate in organized ministry programs.

It is not just for those who choose or desire it.

God commands all Christians to be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:21-‐‑6:9 outlines the practical implications the Spirit-‐‑filled life has on our daily relationships.

It tells us that every Christian husband and wife should be filled with the Spirit.

Every Christian parent and child should be filled with the Spirit.

Every Christian employee and employer should be filled with the Spirit.

All Christians – individually and collectively –

are commanded by God to be filled with the Spirit.

What kind of church would this be if every member was filled with the Spirit?

It is repeated, not permanent.

The filling of the Spirit is not a second work of grace that sanctifies you from sin once-‐‑and-‐‑for-‐‑all.

Spirit-‐‑infilling is to be a continual experience in the believer’s life.

When someone asked D.L. MOODY if he was filled with the Spirit, he answered, “Yes, but I leak.”

Our minds can be on the things of God one moment and the things of the world the next.

So keep short accounts with God.

When the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin attitudes, words,

repent, and submit yourself again to the filling of the Spirit.

It is received, not performed.

Verse 18 says: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

This command is in the passive voice.

Spirit-‐‑infilling is the work of God, not man.

You cannot fill yourself. It is your duty to submit to this command.

But we must ask God to do it for us.

It happens by humble submission, not human achievement.

It is like commanding someone to be loved.

You cannot do that on your own.

If I command you to love, you can do that.

However, if there is not someone who wants to love you,

you cannot be loved.

But there is someone who wants to love you.

And there is someone who wants to fill you.

The Holy Spirit is more willing to fill you than you are to be filled!

I. The Characteristics of Spirit-‐‑Infilling Ephesians 5:19-‐‑21 record the characteristics of Spirit-‐‑infilling. But there is no mention of speaking in tongues, emotional experiences, signs and wonders, being slain in the Spirit, or any other ecstatic phenomena. There is no place in the New Testament where a Spirit-‐‑filled person claimed to be filled with the Spirit. In John 15:26, Jesus said, “He will bear witness about me.” In John 16:14, Jesus said, “He will glorify me.” The Holy Spirit is the “SHY” member of the Trinity. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. And Spirit-‐‑filled Christians do not show off how spiritual, gifted, or mature they are. To be filled with the Spirit is to be empty of self. What are the characteristics of Spirit-‐‑infilling?

Living with the Word of God permeating your life.

Ephesians 5:18 is obviously parallel with Colossians 3:16.

Both texts are followed by joyful singing, thankfulness to God, and instructions about wives and husbands, children and parents, and slaves and masters.

But in Colossians 3:16, rather than saying, “be filled with the Spirit,” Paul says, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” H. A. Ironside observes (In the Heavenlies [Loizeaux Brothers], p. 269),

If to be filled with the Word is equal in result to being filled with the Spirit,

then it should be clear that the Word-filled Christian is the Spirit-filled Christian.

As the Word of Christ dwells in us richly,

controls all our ways,

as we walk in obedience to the Word,

the Spirit of God fills, dominates, and controls us to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So to be a Spirit-filled Christian, you must be growing in your understanding and application of God’s Word.

Living a life of praise and appreciation

For worship

The Greek structure of Ephesians 5:18-21 is interesting.

The central command is “be filled by the Spirit.”

This command is modified by five participles,

“speaking to one another,”

“singing and

making music,”

“giving thanks always,” and “

submitting to one another.”

These five participles are either

(1) how we become filled with the Spirit or

(2) what happens when we are filled by the Spirit.

In fact, I believe it is both of these.

These five participles all refer to actions that occur in corporate worship at church.

If you find yourself far from the Spirit, repent of your sins (you cannot be filled with the Spirit if you are filled with sin!) and join in other believers in worship and body life.

As you do, you put yourself in a position to be filled with the Spirit.

At the same time, when you are filled with the Spirit,

you automatically speak to others in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs while giving thanks to God!

In reality, this passage describes the ideal working of the Holy Spirit in the corporate body.

These actions are not done individually but are done together as a church.

The Holy Spirit fills his people as we worship together.

Application: The Spirit’s Filling gives us the ability for service.

So the question which arises is: What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Clearly, there are two things, at any rate, which obviously go with this term. It is something that happens which gives authority and power and ability for service and witness. The apostles were given it there at the very beginning, and the result was that they began to speak with other tongues, and Peter, filled with the Spirit, preached his sermon. Then again, after they had prayed, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. And when Paul was confronted by the opposition of that clever man, the magician Elymas, he was filled especially with the Spirit in order to pronounce a judgment, and the judgment fell upon the man. So it is clear that the filling with the Spirit happens for the sake of service; it gives us power and authority for service.

Let me emphasise this. This filling is an absolute necessity for true service. Even our Lord Himself did not enter upon His ministry until the Holy Spirit had descended upon Him. He even told the disciples, whom He had been training for three years, who had been with Him in the inner circle, who had seen His miracles and heard all His words, who had seen Him dead and buried and risen again, even these exceptional men with their exceptional opportunities, He told to stay where they were, not to start upon their ministry, not to attempt to witness to Him, until they had received the power which the Holy Spirit would give them.

This is something, therefore, which is vital to our witness. It was the whole secret of the ministry of the apostle Paul. He did not preach with enticing words of human wisdom, but preached, he said, ‘in demonstration of the Spirit and of power’ (1 Cor. 2:4). He was filled with the Spirit for his task. Is this not something which causes us all to pause? Whatever the form of our ministry, it is only of value while we are filled with the power of the Spirit. So we should realise the necessity of seeking this filling of the Spirit and of power before we attempt any task, whatever it may be.

for good works

Ephesians 2:8–10“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”