The Holy Spirit

Introduction

This is our fifth week in this series of sermons based on the Apostles’ Creed. So far we thought about God the Father Almighty who made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. And we’ve thought about Jesus Christ, God’s Only-Begotten Son and our Lord. And then over the last two weeks we’ve been thinking about the two parts to Christ’s ministry: his humiliation and his exaltation.

His humiliation consisted in the way he was conceived by the Holy Spirit so that he was born of the Virgin Mary and became one of us. And he lived a life of sorrow and suffering which culminated in his suffering under Pontius Pilate when he was crucified and died and was buried and descended to hell in the sense that he really did die and was kept under the power of death for a time.

That was his humiliation. And we thought about how it was necessary for our Saviour to be God and man in one person. He had to be God, because God had promised in the Old Testament that he would save his people. And he had to be man, because it would not have been right for God to punish any other creature for the sins we humans have committed. Since humans had sinned, then a human should be punished. And whereas many people despise the body, the fact that God the Son took to himself a human body tells us that the body is good and should not be despised. And the fact that God the Son came down to earth to save us tells us that salvation is not about us climbing up to God by our good deeds; it’s about God coming down to us. God has come down to us in the person of his Son to save us. And whereas the Roman cross was a symbol of Roman brutality and vengeance and power, the cross of Christ speaks to us of God’s love and mercy and his willingness to pardon us and of Christ’s willingness to make himself weak for us and for our salvation. And his cross should shape our lives so that we live lives of love and mercy and forgiveness and we should serve one another in weakness instead of ruling over one another in power.

And after’s the Lord’s humiliation, he was exalted by the Father. And his exaltation consists in being raised from the dead on the third day; and ascending to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; and how he will come again one day to judge the living and the dead.

That was his exaltation. And we thought about how his resurrection was a historical event. It really did happen. However, it is not merely a historical event, because it has significance. It means something. It makes a difference.

It makes a difference by making clear to us that our sins have been paid for in full. If Christ had not been raised, then we would still be in our sins. But since he was paid for our sins full, he could be released from death.

And his resurrection makes a difference because all who believe in him are — right now and in this life — raised with Christ to live a new kind of life: one of obedience to God. In fact, just as the life he now lives belongs to the new creation to come, so anyone who believes in him becomes a new creation too, because we’re born again of his Spirit who comes into our lives to renew us inwardly in God’s image. And he will make us new in body and soul when Christ comes again.

And Christ’s resurrection makes a difference, because it guarantees that we too will be raised from the dead to live in body and soul with God forever. And so, it changes our attitude to death. Death is our great enemy and it robs us of our loved ones and it will rob us of our life. But because of Christ, it is a defeated enemy, because Christ triumphed over death and he will raise us from the dead as well.

And Christ’s resurrection makes a difference to how we regard the world. We take it for granted that things will only ever deteriorate over time. A garden which is not maintained will become a wilderness. Our bodies, once we reach a certain age, begin to wear out and go wrong. And what is alive now will be dead in the future. Things just get deteriorate over time. And so, we may be tempted to think that there’s no point in starting anything, because everything is destined to perish. But the resurrection gives us hope, because we know that this fallen and broken world will be renewed when Christ comes again. God’s good creation, which has been spoiled by sin, will be restored and made perfect. And therefore our labour in the Lord is not in vain. We’re not wasting our time when we obey the Lord in this life. We’re not wasting our time when we keep ourselves from evil and seek to do what is right and good. We’re not wasting our time, because Christ’s resurrection gives us hope for the future.

And since Christ was not only raised, but exalted to the highest place to rule over all things for the sake of his church, then we don’t need to be anxious or afraid, because we know that Christ our King is protecting us; and whatever affliction he may send into our life, he’s able to use them for our good.

So, that’s what we’ve been thinking about over the last four weeks. Today we come to the next line in the Creed which is, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit.’

You’ll notice, of course, that the Apostles’ Creed is thoroughly trinitarian, because it begins with God the Father; and then it tells us about God’s Only-Begotten Son; and now it’s about God the Holy Spirit. While all three Persons of the Trinity are involved in everything God does in the world, nevertheless it’s appropriate to ascribe the work of creation to the Father from whom all things come. And it’s appropriate to ascribe the accomplishment of our redemption to the Son who alone became incarnate and who alone gave up his life on the cross. And it’s appropriate to ascribe the application of our redemption to the Holy Spirit who is the Lord and Giver of life. So, he’s the one who enables us to repent and believe so that: we’re added to Christ’s holy, catholic or universal church; and we enjoy the communion of the saints; and we receive the forgiveness of sins and the hope of the resurrection of our bodies and everlasting life in God’s presence. The Holy Spirit is the one who takes what Christ has done for us and he applies it to us by uniting us by faith to Christ the Saviour.

Today we’re going to think generally about the Holy Spirit; and in the coming weeks we’ll think about the rest of what the Creed says about his work in our lives.

Old Testament

The first reference to the Holy Spirit in the Bible is in Genesis 1:2 where it tells us that when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was formless and empty and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. We say that God the Father created the heavens and the earth through his Son and by the Spirit. And so, here’s the Spirit, hovering over the waters of this formless and empty and dark earth; and he’s ready to take this formless earth and shape it; and he’s ready to take this empty earth and fill it; and he’s ready to take this dark world and bring light to it.

And he brings life. The Hebrew word for Spirit can also be translated wind or breath. So, when God created Adam, Adam’s body was lifeless until God breathed the breath of life into him. And in this way Adam became a living being. And the Breath of God, or the Spirit of God, brings life. And so, in Job 33:4 Elihu says that ‘The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty has given me life.’ The Spirit brings life.

According to Exodus 31 the Lord filled Bezelel with his Spirit so that he had the skill and ability and knowledge for all kinds of crafts to make furnishings for the tabernacle. And so, though we are fallen and corrupt, nevertheless God has not left us without talents and abilities. Because of his common grace, which is his kindness to all people everywhere, he fills each person with natural gifts in art and science and in every other area of life. So he not only gives us life, but he enables us to develop our life here on earth and to grow and to flourish.

In Numbers 11 the Lord commanded Moses to choose 70 elders to help him lead the people of Israel. And the Lord said he would put his Spirit on them to enable them to carry the burden of the people. And so, God filled these men with his Spirit to help them to govern his people at that time. And so, the ability to lead and govern is another of the gifts which God’s Spirit gives to us. And throughout the Old Testament we see how the Spirit of God rested on certain people to enable them to lead God’s people. For instance, in Numbers 27, Joshua was appointed to succeed Moses. And we read that the Spirit was on him. God gave him his Spirit to equip him to lead his people. And in Deuteronomy 34 we’re told that Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom. In other words, the Spirit of God gave him the wisdom he needed to lead God’s people. And when we get to the book of Judges, we read in several places how the Spirit of God was upon the judges who were appointed by God to save his people from their enemies and to govern them at that time. And so, the Spirit was on Othniel and Gideon and Jephthah and Samson. And in 1 Samuel 10 we read how the Spirit came upon Saul so that he prophesied. And by giving him the Spirit, the Lord enabled Saul to rule the people. However, in 1 Samuel 16 we read how the Spirit departed from Saul, because God had rejected him as king and God was going to appoint David in his place.

So, the Spirit rested on certain people to help them to lead God’s people. And the Spirit of God also rested on certain people to enable them to prophesy. So, back in Numbers 11, where we read how the Spirit came and rested on the 70 elders to enable them to lead, we also read that they began to prophesy. In Numbers 27 we read about Balaam who was hired by Israel’s enemy to curse Israel. However, instead of cursing Israel, he blessed them and the Spirit of God enabled Balaam to proclaim God’s word and to foretell the coming of the Saviour. And in 2 Samuel 23 King David said that the Spirit of God spoke through him so that God’s word was on his tongue. David was not only God’s king, but he was also a prophet who was able to proclaim God’s word to his people at that time.

And throughout the rest of the Old Testament we have the prophets who were enabled by God’s Spirit to speak on God’s behalf. As the writer to the Hebrews puts it, in the past God spoke to our forefathers at many times and in various ways. He spoke to them through the prophets and by his Spirit. And as Peter says in 2 Peter, those Old Testament prophets spoke to our forefathers as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

And then, the Lord announced through the prophet Isaiah the coming of God’s Special Servant. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding and counsel and power and knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And the Lord would anoint his Special Servant with the Spirit to preach good news to the poor and to release prisoners from the darkness.

And so, when God sent his Spirit on his prophets to enable them to proclaim God’s word, it was to foreshadow the One to come, who is Jesus Christ our Saviour, who was anointed with the Spirit to proclaim the good news of salvation. But God also announced through the prophet Joel how one day he will pour his Spirit on all kinds of people. And so, God was planning on doing something new in the days to come.

The Spirit and the Saviour

The number of references to the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is comparatively few compared to what we find in the New Testament. The New Testament witness to the Spirit begins, of course, with the angel who explained to Mary that she will bear a son by means of the Holy Spirit. In fact, just as the Holy Spirit overshadowed the waters at the time of the creation, so the power of the Most High will overshadow Mary in order to begin God’s new creation. And because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary’s child will be holy.

Later, when Mary visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit and blessed Mary and her child. And after John the Baptist was born, his father Zechariah was filled with the Spirit and prophesied about John’s future work. And then, after the Lord was born and Mary and Joseph brought him to Jerusalem, Simeon was filled with the Spirit and he praised God because of the child.

When John began his public ministry, he told the people that there was one coming after him who will baptise with the Spirit and fire. And when the Lord began his public ministry, the Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Afterwards he returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and preached in the synagogues. When he entered the synagogue in Nazareth he read from Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is one me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor….’ And after the reading, he told the congregation that those words were now fulfilled in their midst. He is the one who was to come who was filled with God’s Spirit. And so, he preached the good news and he healed the sick and cast our demons by the power of the Spirit. And then the writer to the Hebrews tells us that the Lord Jesus offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins through the Spirit.

The Spirit and Believers

And after the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven, he received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and poured him upon his people on the Day of Pentecost. And so, he fulfilled Joel’s prophecy that the day would come when God would pour his Spirit on kinds of people. Before Christ’s death and resurrection, God confined his saving work to the people of Israel. But now he’s extending his saving work to people throughout the world by giving them his Spirit to enable them to know and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus spoke of the coming of the Spirit in the gospel of John. He told his disciples that he would be with them for only a little while longer. But he told them that it was for their good that he was going away. It was for their good because unless he goes away from them, the Counsellor will not come to them. But if he goes, he will send the Counsellor to them.

He was referring to the Holy Spirit. Earlier he called him ‘another Counsellor’. And by referring to ‘another Counsellor’, he means that he himself was the first Counsellor and the Holy Spirit will be another Counsellor who replaces him. The Lord Jesus was the original Counsellor; and the Holy Spirit will be the next one.

So, what does he mean when he refers to a ‘Counsellor’? The Greek word is Parakletos. Different English versions of the Bible translate that Greek word in different ways. The old King James translates it as ‘Comforter’. The ESV and Good News Bible translate it as ‘Helper’. Others translate it as ‘Advocate’. The NIV has ‘Counsellor’. And the fact that there are so many different translations of this one word indicates that there’s really not one English word which properly conveys what is meant by it. However, Counsellor is not bad, so long as we’re thinking of a legal counsellor and not the kind of counsellor who counsels people with personal problems. We’re not to think of the Holy Spirit as an Agony Aunt or a psychologist. We’re to think of him as a legal counsellor or a lawyer. But even then we have to be careful. When we think of a legal counsellor or a lawyer, we think about hiring a stranger who draws up contracts and leases for us to sign and who might represent us in court if we pay them. But in Bible times, a Counsellor was your best friend. Perhaps someone was taking you to court. And so, you would ask your best friend to help you. He’d be at your side as you face your accuser; and he’d speak in your defence and he’d offer you advice and he’d encourage you. He’s the person you turned to for support to help you cope with this difficult situation.

And, doesn’t that sum up part of what the Lord Jesus did for his disciples when he was on the earth? For instance, in Mark 2 the Pharisees complained to the Lord Jesus that his disciples had broken the Sabbath Day. And do you remember what the Lord did? He defended his disciples against their accusations. And do you remember how the Lord warned Peter that the Devil wanted to crush him? But the Lord Jesus said that he had prayed for Peter. In other words, he had gone on Peter’s behalf to his Father in heaven to seek all the help Peter needed so that Peter’s faith wouldn’t be crushed by the Devil.

And so, with the news that the Lord was leaving them, maybe some of the disciples began to be afraid: Who’s going to defend us now? All these years, we stood behind the Lord Jesus and he defended us and helped us. Who is going to do that for us now?

But the Lord answered their fears by telling them that once he leaves them, he’s going to ask God the Father to send them the Holy Spirit to take his place. From now on, the Holy Spirit would be the one who would support them and strengthen them and defend them and help them.

And, of course, to see the effectiveness of the Spirit’s counsel, we only have to look at the book of Acts. After the Lord’s death, the disciples hid themselves away behind locked doors. They were so afraid that they too would be arrested and executed. However, after the Lord’s resurrection and ascension, he poured the Holy Spirit upon them. And what a difference he made to them! They unlocked the doors, and came out into the open, and preached about the Lord Jesus with boldness and courage. They were no longer afraid. They were no longer timid. They were now fearless, because the Holy Spirit was helping them.

But that’s not all he will do. The Lord Jesus went on to explain to his disciples that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its guilt. He said in John 16:8: ‘When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.’

And the Lord went on to elaborate what he meant by sin and righteousness and judgment.

He said: ‘In regard to sin, because men do not believe in me.’ When the Lord was on the earth, most of the people did not believe in him, even though it was clear by the things he said and did that he had come from God. And most people still do not believe in him. And the Holy Spirit has come to convince men and women and boys and girls of the sin of their unbelief so that they will turn to the Saviour and trust in him for forgiveness.

Then the Lord said: ‘In regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father….’ After the Lord Jesus went to the Father, he sent his Spirit to carry on the work he began to do on the earth which is to show us that our own righteous deeds are like filthy rags; and even our best deeds are spoiled by sin; and none of us by ourselves is good enough for God, because all of us are sinners who need forgiveness. The Spirit shows us our unrighteousness and convinces us that we need to be covered in Christ’s perfect righteousness.

And then, he said: ‘In regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.’ The prince of this world is the Devil and until the time of Christ’s death and resurrection he was able keep the whole world in the dark about Christ. But now that Christ has died and risen, the Devil stands condemned. He has been defeated by Christ. And the Holy Spirit has come to enable sinners to make a true judgment about themselves and about Christ. He will show our sin and guilt and he will show us that Christ is the only Saviour of the world.

The Lord had been warning the disciples that the unbelieving world will be against them. He said to them that they will be hated and persecuted by an unbelieving world. However, he then went on to tell them that he will send them the Holy Spirit to help them to stand up to the world. And, like a prosecuting attorney, the Holy Spirit will help them to turn the tables on the unbelieving world; and he’ll help them to convince the world that they are wrong to reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we see this in the book of Acts, don’t we? When the Apostles were brought before the Sandedrin, the Holy Spirit gave them courage so that they were able to stand up to their accusers. And he gave them wisdom to know how to answer them. And he gave them the boldness they needed, and the right words, to convince men and women of their guilt and of their need of the Saviour.

And from his throne in heaven the Lord Jesus continues to send preachers into all the world; and he equips them with his Spirit to preach his word with boldness to convict sinners of their guilt and to convince them to turn to the Saviour and to trust in him alone for salvation. And even in our own personal conversations with those who do not believe, we have the Holy Spirit to help us to answer their questions and to convince them of their guilt and to point them to Christ the Saviour.

People sometimes say the Holy Spirit is like a spotlight, because just as a spotlight doesn’t draw attention to itself, but it focuses its light on some other object, so the Holy Spirit doesn’t draw attention to himself. On the contrary, he enables us to point people to the Saviour. He helps us say to people: Christ is the one you’re to look to. He’s the one you’re to trust. Look to him and be saved.

And the Holy Spirit not only convicts sinners of their guilt, but he enables them to hate their sin and to turn from it. And he enables them to embrace Jesus Christ by faith as he is held out to them in the gospel. And by trusting in Christ, that are pardoned and accepted and adopted into God’s family forever.

And the Holy Spirit is the one who renews us in God’s image. He sanctifies us. That is, he makes us more and more holy by making us more and more willing and able to do God’s will here on earth. He helps us to fight against the desires of our sinful flesh; and he displays his fruit in our lives: love and joy and peace; and patience and kindness and goodness; and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. And so, he renews us so that more and more we become what we ought to be, but because of sin we have failed to be.

And he helps us to pray. And when we don’t know how to pray, he helps us in our weakness by interceding for us and asking the Father in heaven for what we need. And since he’s the Spirit of Adoption, he enables us to call God ‘Father’. And so, he persuades us deep down inside our hearts that we are God’s children and God is our Father and we can trust in him for all the help we need.