Common Confession Article II.C God the Holy Spirit John 14:15-21, 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:5-15; Select Passages I. Introduction a. Opener i. Daddy s Lightning Ball b. Comments. These two illustrations represent two extreme and I might add harmful ideas related to the Holy Spirit. c. ILLUSTRATION Dongsun Cho By failing to recognize the Holy Spirit s humble role many have developed unbiblical beliefs regarding the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit There are two problematic, if not heretical, perspectives that can be found in some churches: 1) unbiblical obsession with the Holy Spirit as a divine power and 2) fear of any discussion of the Holy Spirit. Biblical Christians should avoid both. It is imperative for Christians to know, believe, and practice the biblical teachings of the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit. d. Transition statement. So what do we believe about the Holy Spirit? What does the Bible teach? e. Main Point of the Texts/Sermon God the Holy Spirit working through His Word draws people to salvation in Christ and then empowers them for growth in holiness and faithful obedient service in His kingdom. f. Main Point of the Sermon As children of God born of the Spirit we are to walk in Him, proclaiming the good news of the gospel, pursuing growth in holiness and obediently and faithfully serving in His kingdom. g. Purpose i. That you would honor the Holy Spirit for who He really is ii. That you would rely on the Holy Spirit according to His work on your behalf iii. That you would obey the Holy Spirit according to His word and by the power He gives h. Comments.
i. READ ARTICLE j. PRAY k. Transition statement. I want to answer three questions this morning regarding the Holy Spirit and the relationships He shares within the Godhead, with the world and with us. II. QUESTION #1 HOW DOES HE RELATE TO THE GODHEAD? a. Explanation i. He is God. 1. Text a. Acts 5:3-4 Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit You have not lied to men but to God. 2. Attributes a. Eternal b. Creator c. Sovereign ruler d. Unchanging e. All-powerful f. All-knowing g. Everywhere-present h. All-loving (all good) i. All-wise ii. He is a person. 1. He thinks. a. Romans 8:27 the mind of the Spirit. 2. He feels. a. Romans 15:30 the love of the Spirit 3. He acts. a. I Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 4. He relates. iii. He relates to the Father and the Son 1. Intimately a. To the Father I Corinthians 2:11 for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit
of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. b. To the Son John 14:17, 23 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 2. Functionally He proceeds from the Father and the Son a. Acts 2:33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. b. ILLUSTRATION Elmer Towns The word proceedeth means in the process or continually proceedeth. Hence, the title Eternal Procession is used to show that the Holy Spirit is eternally coming from the Father, not just at one time in history. iv. He exalts Christ 1. John 16:14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. b. Transition statement. How does God relate to the Godhead? He is God which is to say that He is a person, the third person of the Trinity, God the Spirit, co-equal and co-eternally with God the Father and God the Son, in perfect harmonious loving relationship to them, eternally proceeding from them to exalt Christ. Question #2 How does He relate to mankind, particularly to the believer? III.QUESTION #2 HOW DOES HE RELATE TO MANKIND? a. Explanation i. He saves us 1. He convinces a. Of sin because they do not believe in Jesus b. Of righteousness that righteousness is found only in Christ i. Christ has displayed the perfect righteousness of God ii. Christ has fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law.
iii. Christ has suffered the penalty for our violation of God s Law. iv. The Holy Spirit convinces men that this is true. He bears witness in the hearts of those being saved to the righteous requirement of the Law and Christ s imputed righteousness to all who believe. c. Of judgment The ruler of this world, Satan, who has deceived men concerning Christ, has been judged. The Holy Spirit will convince men of Christ s true authority. He reigns as King and Judge. He has reconciled the world to God through his life, death and resurrection. And He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 2. He regenerates a. Ezekiel 36:25-27 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from y our flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to walk in my ordinances. 3. He calls a. For Salvation John 6:44, 63-65 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father. b. Through us II Corinthians 5:20 c. By the preaching/proclamation of the gospel Romans 10:14-15 4. He baptizes at the moment of regeneration. a. Acts 10:47 Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit. 5. He seals a. Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you
believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory. 6. He indwells a. I Co. 3:16 Don t you yourselves know that you are God s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 7. He sanctifies ii. He changes us for our good and His glory 1. He sanctifies a. He enlightens b. He convicts 2. He gifts I Corinthians 12:3-11, 13 3. He comforts paraclete, the Comforter iii. He mobilizes us for service 1. He empowers the believer AND the church a. From on high Acts 1:8 You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you b. in worship Revelation 1:10 filled with the Spirit on the Lord s day c. For evangelism Acts 1:8 You will be my witnesses d. For service Acts 13:2 While they were fasting and ministering to the Lord IV. APPLICATION a. If the Holy Spirit is God, then He deserves to be worshipped rightly, according to the clear teaching of Scripture. i. He is a person with whom we relate, not a force to be manipulated. 1. Acts 8 ii. He is God to be worshipped and obeyed, not a means to an end. iii. He is the indwelling Spirit of God who leads and guides us to walk in Him, not a power that possesses us beyond our control. iv. He is the third person of the trinity whose aim is to exalt Christ rather than Himself. The Spirit of God working in you will exalt the Son! 1. I John 4:13-15 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
b. If the Holy Spirit has accomplished all the Scriptures say that He has accomplished on our behalf, then we must rely on Him. i. For salvation he chooses, he calls, he regenerates, he baptizes, he seals, he indwells, he sanctifies, he delivers ii. For security he seals & he delivers iii. For service he sanctifies and he empowers c. If the Holy Spirit has commanded through His Word that we obey and He has empowered us to do so, then we must obey. i. Do not 1. lie to him 2. quench Him (prophetic utterances) a. I Thess. 5:19-22 Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. 3. grieve Him a. Ephesians 4:25-32 ii. Be filled with Him 1. Eph. 5:18 iii. Obey Him. V. SUMMATION AND RESPONSE a. As Baptists, we need not be afraid of the Holy Spirit. Just because others have abused Him and misrepresented Him and blasphemed Him and mocked Him does not mean that we should ignore Him. He is God, and He deserves our worship and our obedience. He is for us, so we should rely on Him as we obey Him and seek to faithfully walk in Him, mortifying sin, pursuing holiness, fulfilling the mission of God to seek and to save lost people from every nation, tribe, tongue and people group. b. Let us pray.