The Holy Spirit - Part 2

Good. Well, what a wonderful prayer to start our time. You know, what strikes me from this psalm is when he says,

the Lord will complete what he has done for us. Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever. The Lord will complete what he has done for us.

Isn't that true of what we're looking at in this class, which is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit?

So, welcome back. If you're looking for the class of the Holy Spirit, you found it. You're in the right place.

So, let me just say briefly where we were last week. I know we had a lot of rain and some of us couldn't make it.

So, last week we said that this class is going to be all about pneumatology or the study of the Spirit, the study of the Holy Spirit.

And we said that kind of the classic way to approach the doctrine of the Holy Spirit,

what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit is to look at his person, who he is, and then to look at his work, what he does.

So, we've been, we started last week by looking at the person of the Holy Spirit, who he is.

And we looked in particular at the Old Testament. How does the person of the Holy Spirit come to the fore?

How does the Old Testament begin to reveal who the Holy Spirit is?

And does anyone kind of remember any highlights from last week about the Old Testament and the Holy Spirit?

I know it's early. Anybody want to jump in?

The flood.

There was a, it was, yes, the Holy Spirit. Say more, Jonathan.

It was raining very heavily.

Yeah, it had nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. It was raining super heavily. Yeah, that's right.

Which the flood of rain remind us of the flood of the Holy Spirit that comes down in power in our midst. Yeah.

Well, we said, remember what we talked, we talked about the word ruach, which is that Hebrew word that we translate spirit.

The root of that we talked about was sort of wind or sort of powerful air in motion, right?

Sometimes it can be used for more gentle manifestations of the wind, but often it's a very powerful thing.

So, so this language of ruach or spirit, when I'm talking about God's spirit, right, was God's kind of powerful presence active in his creation.

And we saw how God's powerful presence, God, the Holy Spirit, was at work in creation?

Was at work in redemption in the Old Testament?

Was at work equipping God's people?

But we also saw in the Old Testament that the Old Testament kind of pointed forward to two interlocking things.

One was the Old Testament pointed forward to the Messiah, who would sort of be the person of the spirit par excellence.

He would be completely filled with the spirit and he would usher in the age of the spirit when all of God's people in the Messiah, in the Christ, would be filled with the spirit.

And God wouldn't just sort of intermittently give his spirit to some, but pour out his spirit on all.

We also sort of reflected on the person of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and thought,

it's certainly the Holy Spirit seems to be this personal presence of God at work,

but is the Holy Spirit a sort of distinct divine person?

And then we said that, remember, that the fuller revelation of who God is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit awaited the unfolding of the New Testament

when the Christ came, when Jesus came to show us who God truly is in all of his fullness.

But we also look back at the Old Testament and remember the quote we used from B.B. Warfield,

where he said, you know, the Old Testament's kind of like a richly furnished room, but the lights are dim.

So all of the furniture's there, but the lights haven't come up yet for us to see.

So within the Old Testament, all of the triune God's fullness is there at work,

and yet our eyes haven't quite been enlightened to see it all.

So that was last week.

That was our summary of last week, kind of pushing forward to the New Testament.

Today, we're going to do just that.

We're going to go to the New Testament and look at who God reveals himself to be,

God the Holy Spirit reveals himself to be there.

And remember, we said last week that where our conversation is going is this,

that the Holy Spirit, I'm going to abbreviate,

is a distinct divine person.

And we're using person there in Trinitarian way, right?

That he is one of the persons of the Godhead, along with Father and Son.

So what I want to do is I want to just look at lots of passages in the New Testament this morning

that show us who the Holy Spirit is as a distinct divine person.

So we'll start then by looking at the Holy Spirit as a person, the personhood of the Holy Spirit.

It's very easy when we even, even the language of spirit, right,

sort of makes it feel like the Holy Spirit is less than personal, doesn't it, at times?

The Holy Spirit is kind of like a force or like a gas that like pervades a space, right?

Okay.

But that is not what we see in the New Testament.

The Holy Spirit isn't merely kind of a force or even sort of a personification,

but it's everywhere assumed that the very personhood of the Holy Spirit is assumed.

So the first thing we see, I'll make a little list here.

So we're thinking about the Holy Spirit first as person, right?

The first thing we see is that there are very personal actions ascribed to the Holy Spirit.

So maybe the way we can do this is I'll read some verses.

You don't have to look them up because we'll be flying all over the New Testament.

But let me just read some verses and maybe we can call out like what the Holy Spirit's doing there

that feels kind of personal.

So this is John 14, 26.

Jesus says,

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.

So what's the Holy Spirit doing in this passage?

It's teaching, right?

That seems like a kind of personal activity.

Teaching, yeah.

John 15, 26.

But when the helper comes, remember, we'll get into helper language in a minute.

This is Jesus' way of referring to the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John in John 14 through 16.

But when the helper comes, whom I will send you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

So here the Holy Spirit is bearing witness, right?

How about this?

John 16, 8.

Another passage from the Gospel of John.

And when the helper comes, when the Spirit comes, he will convict the world

concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, right?

I've never had a force convict me of anything, right?

And maybe that's sometimes why we like to think of God maybe as impersonal, right?

Because an impersonal force can't really engage with me at that level, right?

It sort of keeps me safe from conviction.

What's conviction mean?

Anybody want to take a stab at that?

Conviction?

Yeah, Ivor, convict.

Well, conviction is you better deal with the rest.

There's a kind of pressure on us, right?

We're feeling pressure for something.

Yeah, yeah.

I think it's something that by the Spirit leads to the end.

That's right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Conviction, right?

The image is almost of a spotlight coming in and making things clear,

but convincing us in a way that we have to do something, right?

We have to do something about it.

Yeah, which is, you know, the pressure that we feel, as Ivor says, is,

Jeff, as you point out, it's turning, right?

It's repentance, yeah.

But again, these are personal language, right?

Let's keep going.

We'll go a little more quickly.

Acts 2.4.

Acts 2.4 says,

And they were filled with the Holy Spirit,

and they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

What's the Spirit doing here?

He's giving them utterance, right?

He's giving them words to say, right?

Yeah, you know?

It's like when I tell, you know, I tell my kids, like, go tell this to Mom, you know?

I'm giving them utterance.

Just kidding.

I don't do that a lot, do I, Jack?

Yeah.

Acts 8.29.

And the Spirit said to Philip,

Go over and join this chariot.

What's the Spirit doing here?

Guidance.

Giving personal guidance to someone, right?

Yeah, that's good.

Acts 13.2.

And they were worshiping the Lord and fasting.

The Holy Spirit said,

Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them.

Again, giving very clear instruction and guidance here, right?

Speaking.

A very personal thing.

Acts 16.6-7.

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia,

having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

And when they had come up to Mycenae, they attempted to go into Bithynia,

but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them, right?

So here the Spirit's not only guiding, but restraining, right?

Telling them to go somewhere else.

How about this one?

Romans 8.14.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

What's the Spirit doing in this passage?

Leading us, right?

He's leading us.

Good.

Let me jump down.

We'll do another one.

Here's Romans 8.26-27.

We're going to come back to a lot of these verses as we go.

Likewise, Paul says,

The Spirit helps us in our weakness.

For we do not know what to pray for as we ought,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us

with groanings too deep for words.

And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit

because the Spirit intercedes for the saints

according to the will of God.

Pretty clear what the Spirit's doing here, right?

What's he doing here?

Interceding for us, right?

Interceding for us.

He's praying for us.

Yeah.

Good.

Good.

Let's do one more.

This is from Revelation,

kind of the end of the New Testament,

Revelation 2.7.

John writes, he says,

He who has an ear,

let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

And this will happen again and again in Revelation 2.

Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, right?

The Spirit there personally speaking, communicating.

Good.

Okay.

So the Holy Spirit is revealed as a person in the New Testament

through these personal actions that he is doing.

Here's another one.

We see the personhood of the Holy Spirit

through the fact that the Holy Spirit,

he can be lied to.

He can be grieved.

That's a D.

Last week I wrote these in advance.

I should have done that this week.

He can be lied to.

He can be grieved.

He can even be blasphemed.

Right?

Let's look at two of these.

Acts 5.3.

Remember this episode with Ananias and Sapphira, perhaps.

Peter says,

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.

Remember the episode is where Ananias and Sapphira sell a field

and they give part of the money to the church

and then they lie about it and say they gave all of it

because they wanted to seem great in the midst.

They wanted to seem more generous than they were.

Peter says,

You didn't just lie to us.

You lied to the Holy Spirit.

Right?

The point here, though,

is that the Holy Spirit is personal.

He can be lied to

or he can be grieved.

Right?

Ephesians 4.30.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God

by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Holy Spirit can be grieved.

So we start to see then

that the Holy Spirit has

as he's presented in the New Testament.

These kind of what we might call

attributes of personality.

Right?

How would we think about our human personality

by analogy?

Right?

Well,

we have a mind.

Right?

We have emotions.

We have a will.

Right?

These are all things that kind of make us up

as persons.

Right?

Like,

stones don't have emotions.

Right?

Trees don't have a will.

Gases don't have

a mind.

Right?

But the Holy Spirit has all of these.

We just saw how the Holy Spirit has emotions.

He's grieved.

Right?

But how about,

and we also saw how the Holy Spirit has a will.

Right?

He's directing.

He's guiding.

He's speaking.

But also a mind.

Right?

Romans 8.27.

He who searches hearts knows

what is the mind of the Spirit

because the inner spirit

intercedes for the saints

according to the will of God.

Or 1 Corinthians 2.11.

For who knows a person's thought

except the spirit of that person

which is in him?

So also,

no one comprehends the thoughts of God

except the Spirit of God.

The Spirit of God is a knowing,

willing,

feeling,

we might say,

person.

Person.

Okay.

Now,

just to drive home the point

even further,

we see that the Holy Spirit

even at times

is distinguished from

mere power.

Right?

Distinguished from just being

mere power.

I read the Holy Spirit

can be said

our sin

we can learn

our sin

our sin

we do something bad

the Holy Spirit

cry.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

That's a bit of what Paul's getting at

when he talks about

grieving the Holy Spirit.

Right?

Yeah,

that's right.

Yeah.

So we see there are a couple moments

in the New Testament

where the Holy Spirit

is even distinguished

from just mere power.

He's the one who kind of brings it.

Right?

Right?

This is Luke 135

when the angel Gabriel

comes to Mary.

It says,

and the angel answered her,

the Holy Spirit

will come upon you

and the power of the Most High

will overshadow you.

Therefore,

the child will be born,

to be born,

will be called Holy,

the Son of God.

Or a little later

in Luke's Gospel,

Jesus returned

in the power of the Spirit

to Galilee

and a report went out

through all the surrounding country.

Wayne Grudem sort of,

I think he's trying to be funny.

Wayne Grudem's a theologian.

His book of theology

is quite good.

His writing style

is a little dry.

But every once in a while

he has these brilliant moments

where he says,

you know,

look,

if the Holy Spirit

were just a power,

this verse would be redundant

because it would be

Jesus returned

in the power of the power

to Galilee

that a report went out

through all the country.

Right?

No,

but it's the Spirit

and the Spirit has power,

but he's not identified with it.

Okay.

You get the point.

Any questions

about

the personhood

of the Holy Spirit?

I think this is pretty clear

in the New Testament.

Yeah?

So I'm thinking

just to hone in

on one of them,

lying to the Holy Spirit.

Mm-hmm.

I'm wondering about

some of these attributes,

whether they could apply

to other beings,

even non-animate beings.

So, for example,

I'm not a peddleman,

but could I lie to my dog?

Sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm not so sure.

Yeah.

But I'm willing to hear

what pet owners have to say.

Yeah,

the distinction between

animal life

and sort of human life

or then even God's divine life

is a really interesting one,

right?

We sort of see

that there are certain ways

in which animals do

in a material, earthly way.

They think,

they respond,

you know,

I think my dog is sad

when I correct them,

you know,

things like that.

But I think what's different

about animals, right,

is that they're just

in the immediate of the moment,

right?

They're working by instinct,

right?

There isn't what we might call

sort of a higher spiritual

reason or will

or understanding

of the transcendent

in animal creatures, right?

But by analogy, yeah.

So,

I can just follow up.

Yeah.

So,

if we say

the Holy Spirit

is personal,

is a person,

right?

Yeah.

Can we say

all spirits

are persons?

Yeah.

Well,

we're going to keep

developing this,

right?

We're going to keep

developing this

through the rest.

So,

we'll see,

right?

But there is,

like,

what we need to say

is that

when we use

personhood language

of God,

right,

we are speaking

analogously,

right?

We're using an analogy,

right?

Because

God's personhood,

the way God is

a person,

obviously,

like any attribute

of God,

right,

exceeds and transcends

that,

right?

However,

probably a better

way to put it is,

God

is

personhood

in its

infinite

and best degree,

right?

And insofar as

humans are persons

or even animals

kind of share

some sort of

person likeness,

right,

we're receiving it

as a gift from God,

right?

But of course,

in our finitude,

we can never totally

grasp what it means

that the Holy Spirit

or the Father

or the Son

is a person,

right?

It'll always be

limited in our minds.

So,

let's keep going,

though,

for sake of time.

And maybe we can

follow up more afterwards,

Richard,

if you have more

questions about that.

The other thing we

want to see is that

the Holy Spirit

is a distinct person,

right?

Distinct here,

we mean from

the Father

and the Son,

right?

The Bible

never treats

the Holy Spirit

as the same

person

as the Father

and the Son,

but always

distinct,

right?

The Spirit

does different roles

that are distinct

from the Father

and Son.

The Holy Spirit

is sent by the Father.

The Holy Spirit

is sent by the Son.

The Holy Spirit

prays to God the Father.

The Holy Spirit

glorifies the Son,

right?

We always see

that there is

a distinction

between the three.

It's not as if

the person of the Spirit

is just sort of

a way of speaking

about how the Father

goes about His work

or how the Son

goes about His work,

right?

That there is

a distinction

between them,

that the Spirit

is not the Son

and the Spirit

is not the Father

just as the Father

is not the Son.

Where do we see that?

Well, a great passage

where we see that

is at Jesus' baptism,

Right?

Where we see the distinction

between the three persons.

So Luke's account

of Jesus' baptism

goes like this.

Now when all the people

were baptized,

again, by John the Baptist,

when Jesus also

had been baptized

and was praying,

the heavens were open

and the Holy Spirit

descended on Him

in bodily form

like a dove

and a voice

came from heaven.

You are my beloved Son.

With you,

I am well pleased.

So what do we see here?

Right?

There's the Son

and the Spirit

descending on Him.

Right?

And the Father's voice

speaking from heaven.

All distinct

in this moment.

Jesus Himself

taught this

when He talked about

the sending of the Spirit

at Pentecost

when He looked ahead

to that day.

In John 14, 16,

Jesus says,

I will ask the Father,

so there's the distinction

between the Son

and the Father,

and He will give you

another helper

to be with you forever,

referring to the Holy Spirit.

So there,

the Son,

distinct from the Father,

also distinct

from the Holy Spirit.

Right?

Here's another one,

Acts 2, 33.

Being therefore exalted

at the right hand of God

and receiving from the Father

the promise of the Holy Spirit,

this is Peter preaching

at Pentecost,

Jesus has poured out

this that you yourselves

are seeing and hearing.

Right?

So here,

Peter is saying,

the Son

has ascended

to the Father,

and together,

the Son

through the Father,

the Father

through the Son

has sent the Spirit.

Right?

Distinct.

Good.

I think this is pretty clear.

We can usher

a lot of examples

of this in the New Testament

where we see the distinction

between the three,

but I think that's pretty clear.

So the point here,

again,

is that the Holy Spirit

in the New Testament

is not just the sort of,

the way of speaking

about the Son

doing some things

or the way of speaking

about the Father

doing some things,

but he has a distinct,

what we might call

a distinct identity,

a distinct personhood

from the Father

and the Son.

Okay.

Now,

up till this point,

we might be fine.

Right?

Be like,

okay,

well,

the Spirit's

sort of this distinct

!

is his relationship

to the Son

and the Father.

Right?

And this is where

we get into,

oh,

maybe I'll just

spin this around,

actually.

The Holy Spirit

isn't just

a distinct person,

but he's a distinct

divine person.

Right?

So we need to look

at the Holy Spirit's divinity.

Now,

as we come to this,

thinking about the Holy Spirit

as a divine person,

as a member

of the Trinity,

we have to admit

that when we look

at the New Testament,

right,

when we look

at the New Testament,

it's very explicit,

right,

that the Son is God

and the Father is God.

Right?

There's kind of

an explicitness

about that.

It comes right

out of the open.

The Trinitarianism

of the New Testament

is a bit more implicit

at first.

Right?

There's very little doubt

in the New Testament

that Jesus

is the focus

of worship,

that he is God

to come into our midst.

So many times,

Jesus is called

the Lord,

right,

in the New Testament.

Even at times,

called God.

Right?

But the Spirit,

we sort of see

that kind of develop

and emerge

in the New Testament.

It's true,

but it's kind of

not hitting us

right in the face

like the divinity

of Jesus is.

But we do see

it very clearly

as we look

at the New Testament.

So,

let's take a look

at the ways

in which

the New Testament

presents the Holy Spirit

as God.

Right?

So,

one of the ways

that happens

is

we see

the Holy Spirit

kind of working

alongside

Father

and Son.

What we might say

equally.

Right?

He's sort of

equated in his working

with Father and Son

on par with them.

So,

think about this.

The Son

and the Spirit

are often talked about

side by side.

Right?

Listen to this passage

from Acts 9.31.

So,

the church throughout

all Judea

and Galilee

and Samaria

had peace

and was being built up

and walking

in the fear

of the Lord

and the comfort

of the Holy Spirit

and multiplied.

Right?

The Lord

and the Spirit

right alongside

one another

in this work.

Seemingly

no kind of

difference

of honor

or importance

there.

Or,

think about

the way

in which

the Son

and the Spirit

are sort of

seen as working

in tandem

in Romans 8,

9 through 11.

Paul says,

you,

however,

are not in the flesh,

speaking of believers here,

but in the Spirit.

If in fact

the Spirit of God

dwells in you,

anyone who does not

have the Spirit of Christ

does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you,

although the body

is dead because of sin,

the Spirit is life

because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of him

who raised Jesus

from the dead

dwells in you,

he who raised

Jesus Christ

from the dead

will also give life

to your mortal bodies

through his Spirit

who dwells in you.

You see Paul here

sort of bouncing around,

right?

The Spirit is the Spirit

of God.

The Spirit is also

the Spirit of the Son,

right?

Why does Paul talk

about them that way,

right?

Not because,

as we mentioned before,

not because

the Spirit sort of

is the Son,

right?

But because their work

is so united,

right?

So we see that

the Spirit

sort of working

alongside

the Son,

showing his sort

of equality

to the Son

in his divinity.

So here's another one,

Romans 15,

30 says,

I appeal to you brothers

by our Lord Jesus Christ

and by the love

of the Spirit

to strive together

with me

in your prayers

to God

on my behalf.

Right?

How about

1 Corinthians 6, 11?

Paul talking about

how the Corinthians

have been saved,

how they've been

brought into God's people.

He says,

and such were some of you,

you lived a life

apart from God.

But he says,

but you were washed,

you were sanctified,

you were justified

in the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ

and by the Spirit

of our God.

Okay?

So what's the point

I'm trying to show here

is that we start

to see

the Spirit's divinity

as we see

how the Bible

talks about him

working right in tandem

with the Son.

As if there's no

sort of like

difference in their

importance

or their honor

that they should receive.

I think the second thing

we start to see

is not just

the Holy Spirit

working alongside

the Son,

right?

But we start to see

what are sometimes

called triadic passages

in the New Testament.

Where not just

the Holy Spirit's

work with the Son

is incredibly united,

but with all three

members of the Trinity.

The Father,

the Son,

and the Holy Spirit

seems working as one.

Right?

So,

if you look at,

let's look actually

at Ephesians 3.

Turn with me

to Ephesians 3 actually.

Let's look at that

passage together.

Not Ephesians 3.

Ephesians 1, 3

through 14.

Chapter 1,

verse 3.

So,

Paul begins,

he says,

blessed be the God

and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who's blessed us

in Christ

with every spiritual

blessing

in the heavenly places.

even as he,

right,

the Father,

shows us in him,

Christ,

before the foundation

of the world,

that we should be

holy and blameless

before him.

In love,

he,

the Father,

predestined us

for adoption

to himself as sons

through Jesus Christ,

according to the purpose

of his will,

to the praise

of his glorious grace

with which he's blessed

us in the beloved.

So,

who's the kind of

main actor

of verses

3 through 6 here?

who's doing

a lot of the acting

here?

The Father,

right?

The Father's choosing us,

right?

He's predestining us.

Okay,

now,

verse 7.

In him,

we have redemption

through his blood,

the forgiveness

of our trespasses.

Who's the him here?

Pretty obvious.

Christ,

right?

The Son.

In him,

we have redemption

through his blood,

the forgiveness

of our trespasses,

according to the riches

of his grace,

which he lavished upon us

in all wisdom

and insight,

making known to us

the purpose of his will,

the mystery of his will,

excuse me,

according to his purpose,

which he set forth

in Christ

as a plan

for the fullness

of time

to unite all things

in him,

things in heaven

and things on earth.

Okay,

who's the main actor

in this second part?

The Son,

right?

The Son.

The Father has planned,

right?

The Son has accomplished

through his life

and death

and resurrection,

right?

Now,

11 through 14.

In him,

again,

this is Christ,

in him we've obtained

an inheritance,

having been predestined

according to the purpose

of him who works

all things according

to the counsel

of his will,

so that we who were

the first to hope

in Christ might be

to the praise

of his glory.

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,

who is the guarantee

of our inheritance

until we acquire

possession of it

to the praise

of his glory.

So,

as the accomplished

work of Christ

is then declared

to us

and we believe

and we are saved

and we are included

in this great plan

and purpose of the Father

accomplished by the Son,

who is at work?

The Holy Spirit,

right?

The Holy Spirit

is the one

who applies

the accomplished

work of Christ

to believers

and out into

the rest of creation.

So,

you see here that

and what's interesting

in Ephesians

is that this is one

long continuous sentence,

right?

One long continuous sentence

where Paul,

praising God,

speaks on equal terms

of Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit

in the accomplishment

of our redemption,

right?

This is just one,

this is probably one,

this is one of many passages

where we see this,

these triadic

sort of things happening

in the pages

of the New Testament.

Let me just

kind of look through

a couple more of them.

I'll just read these

for you.

Let's see,

how about

2 Thessalonians 2,

13 through 14?

Paul says,

but we ought always

to give thanks

to God for you,

brothers beloved

by the Lord,

because God chose you

as the first fruits

to be saved

through sanctification

by the Spirit,

through sanctification

by the Spirit

and belief in truth.

To this he called you

through our gospel

so that you may obtain

the glory of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

So there you see

God the Father

and God the Holy Spirit

and God the Son

all working in one

to the end

of our salvation.

Here's another one

from Titus 3,

Titus 3:4–7

verses 4 through 7.

But when the goodness

and loving kindness

of God our Savior

appeared,

he saved us,

not because of works

done by us

in righteousness,

but according to

his own mercy

by the washing

of regeneration

and renewal

of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out

on us richly

through Jesus Christ,

our Savior,

so that being justified

by his grace,

we might become heirs

according to the hope

of eternal life.

One last one

from Peter.

First Peter 1 and 2.

Peter starts his first letter

by saying,

to those who are elect

exiles of the dispersion

in Pontus,

Galatia,

Cappadocia,

Asia,

and Bithynia,

according to

the foreknowledge

of God the Father

in the sanctification

of the Spirit

for obedience

to Jesus Christ

and for sprinkling

with his blood.

Right?

Now,

now consider,

right,

what implicitly

are the New Testament

authors saying

about the Holy Spirit

as they put him

on par

with Father

and Son

in the work

of redemption?

Right?

It would be sort of

like this,

like imagine,

so do you all know

that LeBron James

is going to play

for the 76ers

this winter,

right?

Some are shaking

your head now.

Right.

So LeBron James

is going to play

for the 76ers.

We'll see what happens.

But, you know,

if I was like,

hey,

you know,

thanks to LeBron James

and Maxie,

who's their

super fast sport card,

and me,

the fan

in the stance,

we're going to win

the championship

this year.

You're like,

I don't,

that doesn't quite,

I think you're

putting yourself

on a little too

high of a level,

Nick,

right?

Like,

I don't think

you really

have that role

to play

in the working

of the championship.

But without

skipping a beat,

almost every

New Testament

author just says

the Father,

the Son,

and the Spirit

all at par,

right?

The Spirit

is not

the fan

in the stands

cheering it on,

right?

He is God

applying

applying

and bringing

to completion

what the Father

has planned

and the Son

has accomplished.

Yeah.

There you go,

good.

Yes,

I'm winning

you over.

That's right,

that's right.

Yeah.

Good.

All right,

let's keep going

because I want

to leave a little

time for questions

at the end.

Three,

the New Testament

does at times

equate

the Holy Spirit

with the Lord

of the Old Testament.

Oh man,

my hand rang so bad.

Sorry guys.

We talked a little bit

about this word

Lord last time.

The Holy Spirit

is at times

equated,

is a Q,

equated with the Lord

of the Old Testament,

right?

He's also

called

holy

numerous times,

right?

And who is holy

in the Old Testament

but God himself,

right?

God alone

is the Holy One.

Glory,

which is reserved

for the Lord,

right?

The Spirit

is the Spirit

of glory

in the New Testament,

right?

Peter says,

if you're insulted

for the name of Christ,

this is 1 Peter 4.14,

you're blessed

because the Spirit

of glory

and of God

rests on you,

right?

Also,

how is the Spirit

sort of equated

with the Lord?

Well,

the Spirit

is the one

who gives life

and life

is something

that only God

can give,

right?

Life is something

that only the Lord

gives in the Bible

and yet the Spirit

is so many times

called

the Spirit

of life,

the one who gives life.

Look at how this plays out

in the Gospel of John,

for example.

John 5.21 says,

for as the Father

raises the dead

and gives them life,

so also the Son

gives life

to whom he will.

So there we see

that the Son

is being equated

with the Father,

right?

Just like the Father

gives life,

which is something

only God can do,

so the Son

gives life,

which is something

only God can do,

so the Son is God.

Again,

for as the Father

has life in himself,

so he's granted

the Son also

to have life in himself,

so there's the Father

and the Son,

right?

But then listen

to John 6

a little later

in that same chapter,

in the next chapter.

What does Jesus say?

It's the Spirit

who gives life.

The flesh

is no help at all.

The words

that I have spoken

to you

are Spirit

and life.

It's the Spirit

who gives life.

Now,

Romans 8, 2,

for the law

of the Spirit

of life

has set you free

in Jesus Christ

from the law

of sin and death.

Or 2 Corinthians 3, 6,

where Paul says,

God has made us sufficient

to be ministers

of a new covenant,

this new covenant

not of the letter

but of the Spirit,

for the letter kills,

but the Spirit

gives life,

right?

The Spirit

is the life giver.

There are even times

in the New Testament

where the Holy Spirit

is kind of

referred to as God.

These aren't as kind

of explicit

but they happen,

right?

Here's an example

of this

equated with the Lord

of the Old Testament

called God.

So again,

back to the episode

with Ananias

and Sapphira.

Let's read

the rest of that.

So Peter says,

Ananias,

why has the Spirit

filled your heart

to lie to the Holy Spirit

and to keep back

for yourself

part of the proceeds

of the land?

Peter goes on and says,

while it remained unsold,

did it not remain your own?

After it was sold,

was it not at your disposal?

Why is it that you've

contrived this deed

in your heart?

You've not lied to man

but to God.

You see what Peter

does there

almost just naturally,

right?

Ananias says,

yes,

lied to the church.

He's lied to the Holy Spirit

and in lying to the Holy Spirit,

who has he lied to?

To God,

right?

Again,

this isn't something

that would just sort of

stumble out,

right?

If I was like,

Zerion,

you lied to me

and in lying to me,

you lied to God.

Now,

there's a sense

in which that's true,

right?

All falsehood

is an offense

against God

but not me personally,

right?

Like,

I'm not God

being lied to

but according to Peter,

lying to the Holy Spirit

is indeed lying

to God himself,

right?

We won't look at these

in detail

but we could look

through the rest

of the Old,

the rest of the New Testament

and see

where the Holy Spirit

is described

as having the attributes

of God.

Attributes

of God.

the Holy Spirit

is the one

who is presented

as omnipotent.

He's active

in creation,

right?

He's the one

who can cause

even a virgin

to give birth,

right?

To conceive,

right?

The Holy Spirit

is omniscient.

The Spirit

searches everything,

1 Corinthians 2.10 says,

even the depths

of God.

Friends,

if the Holy Spirit

knows

the depths

of God,

what does

he not know?

The only one

who can know

God fully

is God,

right?

The Holy Spirit

is also presented

in the Bible

as omnipresent.

Psalm 138,

where can I go

from your spirit

or where shall I flee

from your presence?

Holy Spirit

doesn't just have

the attributes

of God,

right?

But we saw this

a little bit

in these triadic passages.

He does the works

of God,

right?

He does the works

of God.

He creates

creates in Genesis 1.

He preserves

in Psalm 104.

He does miracles

in Matthew 12.

The Holy Spirit

is the one

who causes sinners

to become alive

in regeneration.

That's John 3,

right?

The Holy Spirit

is the one

who sanctifies us,

who continues

to make us holy

in 2 Thessalonians 2.

And the Holy Spirit

is the one

who will resurrect us,

right?

Now,

I'm skipping over

those pretty quickly

because we're going

to circle back around

in the second half

of this class

when we look at

the work of the Holy Spirit

and talk about

each one of those things,

right?

Lastly,

think about this,

that the Holy Spirit

receives the worship

of God,

right?

Think about this verse

from Matthew 28

that we sort of just

kind of say so easily

in the church

to become so familiar

and so sweet to us.

But think of how profound

it is when Jesus says

in Matthew 28, 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.

Into whose name,

singular,

one name,

are we baptized?

The Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Is there any difference

ontologically,

theologically,

between the Spirit

and the Son

and the Father?

No,

they are all

the one God

such that when we

baptize people

into the new covenant,

into salvation,

right?

We are baptizing them

into the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Or think about

this benediction

that Paul gives

at the end of

2 Corinthians 13, 14.

You've heard this a lot

if you've been at Trinity,

right?

Because we'll say it

at the end of our services.

The grace of the Lord

Jesus Christ

and the love of God,

referring there

to the Father,

the grace of the Lord

Jesus Christ

and the love of God

and the fellowship

of the Holy Spirit

be with you all.

When Paul wants

to bless the churches,

does he bless them

just in the name

of Jesus

or just in the name

of Jesus

and the Father?

No,

the name of the Son

and the Father

and the Spirit.

So,

the Holy Spirit

comes forth

from the pages

of the New Testament

as a distinct,

divine person.

One with the Father

and the Son.

Co-equal with the Father

and the Son.

So,

what does that mean

real briefly?

I think just two quick things

and then we'll just talk

a little bit about questions.

I think the first thing

is the Holy Spirit

deserves

our worship,

our honor,

and our praise.

What does the Nicene Creed

say that summarizes

all these things

for the church,

right?

We believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord,

the life giver,

who proceeds

from the Father

and the Son.

That we'll get at it

a couple hundred years later.

Who proceeds

from the Father

and the Son,

who along with

Father and Son

is what?

Worshipped

and glorified,

right?

We are not

idolaters

when we worship

the Holy Spirit.

We are worshiping God

because the Holy Spirit

is God,

right?

So,

we should worship,

honor,

and praise

the Holy Spirit,

right?

You can even pray

to the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament

has pictures of that,

right?

The second thing

I'll mention

when we think about

the Holy Spirit

as a distinct divine person,

as we see

his equality

with Father and Son

and the unity

of God,

of the triune God,

we have to also say

that the work

of the Holy Spirit,

which is what we'll start

looking at in weeks to come,

the work of the Holy Spirit

must never be separated

from Father and Son,

right?

That what the Holy Spirit

does is bring to completion,

bring to fruition,

what the Father has planned,

what the Son has accomplished,

right?

We mustn't think

that the Spirit's sort of off

doing his own thing,

that he's sort of,

he's gone rogue

in the Godhead,

right?

No, no, no, no, no.

The Spirit is always

the Spirit of the Father

and the Spirit of Christ,

the one God.

And we'll talk a little bit more

about the implications

of that in weeks to come.

Okay.

Um,

one,

any questions about

the person of the Holy Spirit

before we conclude?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yeah.

He's with us.

Always at the end of age.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's interesting to ask

what Jesus intends there

when he says,

I'm with you always,

even at the end of the age.

Does he mean,

I'm with you by the agency

of the Holy Spirit

whom I'm about to send?

Or does he mean,

I'm with you by virtue

of my divine nature

that when I ascend

to the Father,

like,

we often think that,

like,

when Jesus ascended,

he, like,

went away,

right?

It's like,

uh-oh,

Jesus went away.

And he did.

In his human nature,

he did, right?

He's not here

in his human nature,

right?

But the biblical understanding

of heaven and earth,

right,

is that when Jesus ascends

to the Father,

he is now

the ruler of all things,

right?

That heaven and earth

overlap and interlock

in ways that

because Jesus is now

enthroned in heaven,

he and his divine nature

literally is present

to all things.

That he is now,

as Ephesians will say,

he can,

he's,

he can fill all things,

right?

The fullness of him.

The church is the fullness

of him who fills all in all,

right?

So I think,

you know,

is Jesus personally

present to us?

Yes.

Is that personal presence

worked out by the ministry

of the Holy Spirit?

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There's two other passages

where Jesus said,

yeah,

I'll come in and suck with you.

That's right.

So that's a personal connection.

Yeah.

I forgot what the other one is.

Yeah.

Where two or three are gathered,

there I am in the midst,

right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, Giovanni.

I have a question

related to the difference

between the Holy Spirit

and the Old Testament.

Yeah,

sure.

Yeah.

In the Old Testament,

it seems like

all living things

are described

as having the spirit

of God.

Yeah.

As having the one

of God.

Yeah.

But in the New Testament,

it's very clear

that only the believers

receive the Lord.

Right.

So what's the difference

between the spirit

of God

that gives life

to others,

all things,

and the spirit

of God

that is considered

only to the Lord?

Yeah.