The Holy Spirit - Part 4

Great. Okay. Well, welcome back, friends, to our class on the Holy Spirit.

So, where have we been? For the past three weeks, if you've been with us, we've been considering

! The person of the Holy Spirit, who He is. We looked at the Old Testament, then we looked

at the New Testament, and what we saw in Scripture is that the Holy Spirit is a distinct, divine

person alongside God the Father and God the Son. And then last week, we considered the development

of this biblical teaching, this doctrine in church history. And we saw how the church summed up what

the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit, the person of the Holy Spirit, in the words of the Nicene

Constantinopolitan Creed of 381, which says this, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver

of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and

glorified. Then, the Creed adds this, that the Holy Spirit has spoken through the prophets.

And with that phrase, we turn to the second big theme of our course, which is the work of the Holy

Spirit. We've seen who the Holy Spirit is. Now, we're going to be considering what the Holy Spirit

does. What is his particular work among the persons of the Trinity? Now, a few weeks ago,

when we considered the person of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, we also touched on his work

in the Old Testament. So, we won't spend a lot of time in the remainder of our class specifically

looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Rather, we're going to be considering

especially the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, under the New Covenant. Now that Christ

has come in fulfillment of the Old Testament promises, what now is the Holy Spirit's work

among us? So, that's what we're going to be considering over the next number of weeks,

for as long as this class goes, till probably a little bit before Thanksgiving.

Now, the first thing, then, we have to consider when looking at the Holy Spirit's work in the New

Testament is the Holy Spirit's work in the life of Jesus himself. You know, we often kind of skip over

this. You know, we often skip over a lot about the Holy Spirit. We just want to get, like, tell me

about them spiritual gifts, right? And we're going to get to that. But we have to start here.

It is unmistakable that the life of Jesus during his earthly ministry was a life completely saturated

with the Spirit at every moment. From conception to resurrection, Jesus was the man of the Holy Spirit.

And remember, this is what the Old Testament promised. Consider Isaiah 11, 1 through 2.

In Isaiah 11, verse 1, it says,

Isaiah 11:1

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Now, the stump of Jesse was, of course, the house of David. So, Isaiah here is talking about the Messiah

who's going to come from David's lineage. And what will the Messiah be like?

Verse 2 says,

What's that, Elizabeth?

The seven spirits.

Yes, yes! Yes, that's exactly right. Christ will be the one who has the Spirit in full measure.

In Isaiah, as Elizabeth said, in Isaiah 11, 2, speaks of the Spirit in a sevenfold manner, right?

It's the Spirit of the Lord, of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of might, of knowledge, of the fear of the Lord.

Seven is the Hebrew number of what? Completion, perfection, totality.

The Christ who will come will possess the Spirit in fullness and perfection,

and that's exactly what the New Testament tells us about Jesus.

His conception, life, death, and resurrection are all done in the fullness of God the Holy Spirit.

So, let's look at a couple passages where we see that.

Now, we'll just go through these pretty quickly.

First, consider Jesus' conception, right?

This is Matthew 1, 18 through 21.

Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.

When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together,

she was found to be with a child from the Holy Spirit.

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame,

resolved to divorce her quietly.

But as he considered these things, behold,

an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,

Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife,

for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,

for he will save his people from their sins.

Then, of course, Luke 1, 34 and 35 affirms the same thing,

jumping right into the middle of the narrative of the Annunciation.

And Mary said to the angel,

How will this be, since I am a virgin?

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 to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God.

So, Jesus' conception.

What about Jesus' life?

Well, what about most of the Gospels,

all the Gospels contain a narrative about Jesus' baptism

when his public ministry begins, right?

We'll take some passages from Luke.

Luke 3, 21 through 22.

Now, when all the people were baptized by John the Baptist,

and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,

the heavens were opened,

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, Jesus' public ministry starts,

is kind of inaugurated with the Holy Spirit coming on him in power.

Listen to Luke 4, 14 through 15.

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee

after the Spirit had led him into the wilderness

for the period of testing, right?

Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee,

and a report about him went through all the surrounding country,

and he taught in their synagogues,

being glorified by all.

And he came to Nazareth, where he'd been brought up.

And as was his custom,

he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day,

and he stood up to read.

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.

And he unrolled the scroll

and found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

So our Lord's life was a life full of the Holy Spirit.

What about his death?

Well, listen to what the author of Hebrews has to say.

In Hebrews 9, 13 through 14,

it says,

If the blood of goats and bulls

and the sprinkling of defiled persons

with the ashes of a heifer sanctify

for the purification of the flesh,

how much more will the blood of Christ,

who through the eternal Spirit

offered himself without blemish to God,

purify our conscience from dead works

to serve the living God?

You see, even Christ's journey to his passion,

to the cross,

was something done in the fullness of the Spirit.

It is through the eternal Spirit

that he offers himself up

without blemish to God.

And, of course, his resurrection.

Here's how Paul starts his letter to the Romans.

He says,

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,

called to be an apostle,

set apart for the gospel of God,

which God promised beforehand

through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

concerning his Son,

who was descended from David according to the flesh,

and was declared to be the Son of God in power,

according to the Spirit of holiness,

that is the Holy Spirit,

by his resurrection from the dead,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

So Christ not only laid down his life

through the power and working of the Holy Spirit,

but was raised through the power

and working of the Holy Spirit.

Okay.

So the entire earthly ministry of Jesus

was done in and through the power of the Spirit.

When God the Son took on flesh for us

and for our salvation,

the Holy Spirit was with him every step of the way.

The work of the incarnate Lord,

that the work that he accomplished for us

in his human nature,

was accomplished in and through the Holy Spirit.

Now that tells us something

very central

about the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's new covenant ministry

is what we might say is Christocentric.

It is centered around Jesus.

Jesus is always the focus of the Holy Spirit's work.

So we can never separate

the work of the Spirit

from the work of the Son.

In other words, we might put it this way.

What the Son accomplished

by the power of the Spirit,

the Spirit now applies

to the glory of the Son.

What the Son accomplished

by the power of the Spirit,

the Spirit now applies

to the glory of the Son.

And this is what Jesus himself said about the Spirit

in John 16, 14.

He says quite bluntly,

He will glorify who?

Me.

The Spirit will glorify me

for he will take what is mine

and declare it to you.

Okay.

Now,

when we think about

how the Holy Spirit then

applies the work of the Son to us,

the first question we might ask is,

well, how do we come to know

about Jesus at all?

How do we come to know

and understand

who Jesus is

and what he's done?

How do we know?

After all,

how can we believe in Christ

and be saved

if Christ has not been made known to us?

How can we grow

in our relationship with Christ

if we simply don't know anything about him?

Right?

And that is the question.

That is the question of revelation.

Not the book

at the end of the Bible,

but revelation in the sense of

God making himself known.

Right?

Now,

the next question we might ask is,

once I hear and understand

who Jesus is

and what he's done,

how do I come to truly repent

and believe?

How does someone move

from merely hearing about Jesus

to putting their trust in him,

to being united by faith in him?

Right?

And this is the question

of what we might call regeneration.

And that leads to another question,

doesn't it?

Once someone comes to understand

and trust in Christ,

how do they grow in Christ's likeness?

How do they become

more and more like him?

And that is the question

of sanctification.

And the answer

that the New Testament gives

to each of these

essential,

critical questions,

the answer that

the New Testament gives is

by the working

of the Holy Spirit.

It is the work of God,

the Holy Spirit,

to make Christ known,

to bring us to saving

faith in him,

and to make us

grow more and more

in Christ's likeness.

And this is what

we're going to cover

over the next three weeks

of our class.

I want to spend

the rest of the time today

considering the Holy Spirit's

work of revealing Christ

to us.

And next week,

we'll talk about

regeneration and saving faith.

And then the following week,

John Hinkson,

one of our elders here

at Trinity,

will teach about

the Holy Spirit's

work of sanctification

because he's much more

sanctified than I am

and he'll do a better job

of it.

Then after that,

we won't be done

after that.

After that,

we'll take a few weeks

and we'll discuss

the work of the Holy Spirit

in the church.

Because what we see

in and through all of this

is that the Holy Spirit

works not just personally

but corporately.

The Holy Spirit

applies the work of Christ

not just to individuals

but to a people.

So this is where

we're going in the course.

Okay,

so let's spend

the rest of our time

this morning

considering the Holy Spirit's

work in making Christ known,

in revealing the things

of Christ to us.

And I have five headings

for us this morning

that we see,

I think,

pretty distinctly

and clearly

in the New Testament.

when we think

of the Holy Spirit's

work in making Christ known.

The first thing

I think we want to consider

is Jesus' promise.

Jesus' promise.

That's an O.

Jesus promised,

Jesus himself promised

that the Holy Spirit

would be the one

to make him known.

Now,

in John 14 through 16,

Jesus is preparing,

you'll remember,

his disciples

for his departure.

He will soon be

crucified and raised.

They will see him again

after his resurrection,

but Jesus will soon

ascend to the Father

after his resurrection

to complete

the work of redemption,

to sit at the Father's

right hand.

And how then,

at that point,

how would the world

come to know him

after he completes

redemption

and returns to the Father?

Well,

in John 15,

26,

Jesus says,

when the helper comes,

whom I will send to you

from the Father,

the Spirit of truth

who proceeds from the Father,

he will bear witness

about me.

The Spirit will be the one

who bears witness

to Jesus.

Now, friends,

consider how beautiful

this is.

What we're seeing here

is that the triune God

will not leave unfinished

the great work

of making himself known

to his fallen creation.

What the Father planned

from eternity

and the Son accomplished

in history,

that is not going

to fall short

of completion.

No, God himself,

God the Holy Spirit,

will ensure

that the Son,

who alone makes

the Father known,

will himself be known.

Just as the Father

can only be known

through the Son,

remember John 1, 18,

no one has ever seen God,

but the one and only God

who is at the Father's side

has made him known,

or Matthew 11, 27,

where Jesus says,

no one knows the Father

except the Son,

no one knows the Son

except the Father, right?

No one knows the Father

except he to whom Jesus,

the Son,

will reveal him, right?

Just as the Father

can only be known

through the Son,

so the Son

can only be known

through the Spirit.

So Jesus promises

that the Holy Spirit

will make him known.

But that leads

to a question,

doesn't it?

How?

How?

By what means

will God the Holy Spirit

make Christ known?

What means will he use?

Right?

Will it be clouds

in the sky, right?

No.

This brings us

to our second point.

Two.

The apostles witness

listen to what Jesus

says to the apostles

in that same section

of John's gospel.

This is John 14,

25 through 26.

Jesus says,

these things

I have spoken to you

while I am still with you.

But the helper

of the Holy Spirit

whom the Father

will send in my name,

he will teach you

all things

and bring to your

remembrance

all I have said to you.

So,

first,

the Holy Spirit

will ensure

that the apostles

learn and remember

all that Jesus

taught them.

through the work

of the Holy Spirit,

the apostles

become faithful

in their remembrance

of Jesus.

Okay,

but now listen

to what Jesus says

just a little later

in John 15,

26 through 27.

He says again,

oh,

we read the first verse

but now listen

to the second verse.

First verse goes like this,

remember?

When the helper comes

who I'll send you

from the Father,

the Spirit of truth

who proceeds

from the Father,

he will bear witness

about me.

Next verse.

And you also

will bear witness.

because you have been

with me from the beginning.

So,

who's Jesus talking to here?

He's talking to the apostles,

those who have been

with Jesus

from the beginning

of his ministry.

They will bear witness.

Through the work

of the Holy Spirit,

they will not just remember

but they will proclaim

the things of Jesus

faithfully

for all to hear.

And Jesus himself

promised this earlier

in his ministry

and he promised

that this would happen

even in moments

of great pressure.

Luke 12,

11 through 12 says,

Jesus is speaking

to his apostles,

he says,

when they bring you

before the synagogues

and the rulers

and the authorities,

in other words,

bring you to trial,

don't be anxious

about how you should

defend yourself

or what you should say

for the Holy Spirit

will teach you

in that very hour

what you ought to say.

Remember what Jesus says

when he's sending out

the apostles

and the disciples

on their sort of

preliminary missions?

Whoever listens to you

listens to me.

Right?

On the basis

of what Jesus himself

taught them then,

when we come

to the writings

of the apostles,

we see that they

understood themselves

that their witness

was the work

of the Holy Spirit.

So this isn't

what Jesus taught

but the apostles

themselves understood

their ministry

to be happening,

their proclamation

to be happening

under the power

of the Spirit.

In 1 Peter 1,

1 Peter 1:12

verse 12,

Peter says,

those who preached,

he's speaking to the church,

he's saying,

those who preached

the good news to you

by the Holy Spirit

sent from heaven

have announced to you

things into which

even angels long to look.

Right?

So those apostolic witnesses

!

to the good news

about Jesus,

they were doing it how?

By the Holy Spirit.

Or listen to how Paul

puts it in 1 Thessalonians

1, 4-5.

He says,

we know,

writing to the Thessalonian church,

we know,

brothers loved by God,

that He has chosen you

because our gospel,

our proclamation

of good news

came to you

not only in word

but also in power

and in the Holy Spirit

and with full conviction.

So Paul understood

that his preaching

as an apostle

was done

through the work

of the Holy Spirit.

So,

the Holy Spirit

makes Christ known

through the witness

and proclamation

of the apostles.

According to Jesus,

the Holy Spirit

ensured that they

would remember

all that Jesus

had taught them

about Himself,

about His ministry,

about the meaning

of His death

and resurrection,

about the life

that He now calls us

to live under

His Lordship

as His church.

And according to Jesus,

the Holy Spirit

would empower them

to testify

and proclaim

these things faithfully

so that He might

be known.

But,

doesn't that raise

another question?

In Matthew 28,

Jesus told the disciples

to make disciples

of all nations.

But,

all the nations

wouldn't be evangelized

in the lifetime

of the apostles.

So,

how would the Holy Spirit

ensure

that His testimony

to Jesus

through the apostles

would reach all people?

How would the Holy Spirit

bring it about

that His word

through the apostles

would not be bound

by their limitations

in either place

or in time?

And that brings us

to the third point.

Scripture's inspiration.

I'm going to do

something funny here.

I'm going to put in

in parentheses.

In-spir-

Oh, hold on.

It's writing a different word.

Scripture's inspiration.

The witness of the apostles

didn't remain

a spoken word only.

It soon became

a written word as well.

And through the written word,

the Holy Spirit's work

of making Christ known

through the apostolic testimony

would be extended

and advanced

to the ends of the earth

and to the end of the age.

Okay.

Now,

when it came

to the written word

of Scripture,

Jesus Himself believed

that every word

of the Hebrew Bible,

the Old Testament,

He believed every word

to be the very words of God.

We won't go into detail

about that this morning,

but read the Gospels

and consider for yourself

how Jesus treats

the Old Testament.

He quotes it.

He lives it.

He says it can't be broken.

He makes arguments

against His critics

on the basis

of single words.

For Jesus,

the Bible

is the authoritative

word of God.

And the apostles

believed the same thing,

that the words of Scripture

were the words of God.

Listen to how

the apostle Peter

puts it

in 2 Peter 1,

2 Peter 1:16–21

verses 16-21.

I'm going to read

this whole paragraph

because I think

the whole thing

is important.

Peter writes this.

He says,

He says,

We did not follow

cleverly devised myths

when we made known to you

the power and coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

but we were eyewitnesses

of His majesty.

For,

when Jesus received honor

and glory

from God the Father,

the voice was born

to Him

by the majestic glory,

This is my beloved Son

with whom I am well pleased.

We ourselves heard

this very voice

born from heaven

and we were with Him

on the holy mountain.

And,

we have

the prophetic word

more fully confirmed

to which you will do well

to pay attention

as to a lamp

shining in a dark place

until the day dawns

and the morning star

rises in your hearts.

Knowing this,

first of all,

that no prophecy

of Scripture

comes from

someone's own

interpretation?

For no prophecy

was ever produced

by the will of man,

but men

spoke from God

as they were

carried along

by the Holy Spirit.

Okay,

what is Peter saying here?

First,

he's saying

that he,

as an apostle,

was an eyewitness

of Jesus' majesty,

right?

He recalls

the transfiguration

and says,

we were there,

we saw everything,

we heard everything,

and we made it known to you.

Then,

Peter says in verse 19,

that not just

was Jesus' work

a fulfillment

of the Old Testament prophecy,

but that we ought

to pay close attention

to the Old Testament Scriptures

as if it were

a light in the darkness.

Why?

Because the words

of Scripture

aren't merely

human words.

What are the words

of Scripture?

Well,

Peter says in verse 21,

men spoke from God

as they were carried

along by the Holy Spirit.

Now,

notice two things here.

Notice that the words

of Scripture

are human words,

right?

Men spoke

from God.

What you read,

when you read

the Bible,

right,

you are reading

human words.

Each writer has

their own personality,

their own historical

and cultural context,

their own themes,

their own vocabulary

and style,

but they are not

merely human words.

Peter says they were

carried along

by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit

guided and worked

in and through

their words

to speak the words

He wanted to say.

Without overriding

their reason,

without overriding

their personality,

the Holy Spirit

spoke

and made it such

that what they wrote

was what God

wanted to say.

Now,

Paul also affirms

this view of Scripture

in 2 Timothy 3,

16-17.

He writes,

All Scripture

is breathed out

by God

and profitable

for teaching,

for reproof,

for correction,

for training in righteousness

that the man of God

may be complete,

equipped for every good work.

All Scripture,

Paul says,

is breathed out

by God.

Now,

given the passage

we just read

from Peter,

right,

I think it seems

reasonable to conclude

that the breathing

out of Scripture

is the particular work

of God the Holy Spirit,

right?

Men spoke from God

as they were carried

along by the Spirit.

Now,

we often say

on the basis

of this text

that Scripture

is inspired,

right?

Inspired.

We talk about

the inspiration

of Scripture.

But the word

Paul uses here

is actually

kind of a unique word,

maybe even a word

that Paul himself

coined,

that in Greek

is theopneustos.

Theo,

God,

pneustos.

It's a great

onomatopoeia there.

Breathed out,

right?

That it's literally

God breathed.

The ESV does a good job

of translating that.

All Scripture

is breathed out

by God.

So,

the Holy Spirit

isn't,

as it were,

breathing into Scripture,

right?

It's not technically

correct,

maybe,

to say that

Scripture is inspired.

Maybe it's a little

more accurate

to say

that Scripture

is expired.

But then it sounds

like it's out of date.

So,

we don't,

we don't,

outspired.

There we go,

that's better.

The expiration

of Scripture.

But,

you know,

in English,

like we said,

that doesn't sound

quite right.

So,

we still talk

about the inspiration.

But,

the Holy,

the words

of Scripture

are the words

of the Spirit

of God

breathed out

in human words.

Right?

This is why

the writer of Hebrews

will say that

the word of God,

referring to Scripture,

is living.

It's active.

Now,

one might say,

wait a minute.

2 Peter,

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

2 Timothy,

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

they're talking

about the Old Testament,

right?

Yeah.

Right?

Right?

Did the apostles

think

that their own

writings

were Scripture

in,

outspired

Scripture

in the same

way

as the Old Testament?

Well,

it actually

seems that

they did.

Now,

where do we see that?

We're going

again to Peter.

Consider what Peter

says a little later

in that same book,

in 2 Peter,

2 Peter 3:15–18

chapter 3,

verse 15

through 18.

He says,

and I love

this passage,

actually.

You're going to

appreciate this one.

Our beloved

brother Paul

also wrote

to you

according to

the wisdom

given to him,

as he does

in all his letters

when he speaks

of them

in these matters.

There are

some things

in them

that are

hard to

understand.

Kind of a nice,

feel a little

affirmed in that,

don't we?

Oh,

okay.

Okay.

Some things

in them

are hard

to understand,

which the ignorant

and unstable

twist to their

own destruction

as they do

the other

scriptures.

You,

therefore,

beloved,

knowing this

beforehand,

take care

that you're

not carried

away by the

error of

lawless people

and lose

your own

stability,

but grow

in the grace

and knowledge

of our Lord

and Savior

Jesus Christ.

To him

be the glory

both now

and to the

day of

eternity.

Amen.

Amen.

Question.

How does

Peter categorize

Paul's letters?

What does

he say?

Scripture.

Now,

okay,

Scripture.

The word

literally just

means writings,

right?

But,

of course,

in the context

of Peter's

letter,

as we saw

earlier,

when Peter's

talking about

scripture,

he clearly

seems to

mean divine

scripture.

So,

here is one

apostle looking

at another

apostles of

writings and

saying,

it's

scripture.

Heed it.

Don't get

carried away.

Heed it

and grow in

the grace

and knowledge

of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Consider also

Paul's

kind of

own

self-

understanding.

And I think

this is

exemplary of

the apostles.

Consider his

self-

understanding

in 1 Corinthians

14,

36-38.

In the midst

of correcting

the Corinthian

church,

he writes,

was it from

you that the

word of God

came?

Or are you

the only

ones it

has reached?

If anyone

thinks he

is a prophet

or spiritual,

he should

acknowledge that

the things I

am writing to

you are a

command of

the Lord.

If anyone

does not

recognize this,

he is not

recognized.

Ooh,

spicy words

from Paul,

right?

Come on,

Paul.

Ah,

but clear

words,

are they not?

Paul understood

that he was

writing a command,

not of himself,

but of the Lord.

He understood

that as an

apostle,

he wrote with

the Lord's

own authority,

just as Jesus

promised the

apostles that

they would

understand all

that Jesus said

and they would

bear witness

faithfully so

he sees that

in his writing,

he's exercising

that same work,

right?

But what

about those

books in the

New Testament

that were

not written by

the apostles

themselves,

but were written

by the apostles

sort of close

associates?

What books

are those?

Well,

think about

Mark,

right?

Traditionally,

Mark was a

close associate

of Peter,

but not himself

an apostle.

Or Luke,

right?

Luke was a

close associate

of Paul,

but not himself

an apostle.

Or the unknown

author of Hebrews,

right?

Who?

I mean,

if he wasn't

an apostle

himself,

which it'll

be fun to

get to heaven

one day

and figure

out who

wrote the

book of

Hebrews.

But clearly,

if the author

of Hebrews

wasn't an

apostle himself,

he was clearly

one of the

close associates

of the

apostles.

He mentions

some of the

other kind

of associates

of the

apostles at the

end of his

letter.

How should

we view

those writings?

Well,

it's very

interesting

that in

1 Timothy 5,

17 through

18,

the apostle

Paul writes

this.

He says,

let the

elders who

rule well

be considered

worthy of

double honor,

especially those

who labor in

preaching and

teaching.

For the

scripture says,

you shall not

muzzle an ox

when it treads

out the grain,

and the laborer

deserves his

wages.

Sidebar,

isn't it great

when Paul talks

about leadership

in the church?

He says,

hey,

respect them,

because an ox

deserves his wages,

right?

Exalts and

jumbles at the

same time.

Here we are,

just faithful

oxen treading

out the grain,

right?

Ah,

Paul in

this passage

says,

the scripture

says,

the scripture

says.

Now,

the first

quote,

you shall not

muzzle an ox

when it treads

out the grain,

that's from

Deuteronomy 25,

Deuteronomy 25:4

verse 4.

You can look

that up.

What about

the second

quote?

The laborer

deserves his

wages.

Where does

scripture say

that?

Well,

in Luke

Luke 10:1–7

chapter 10,

verse 1

through 7,

Luke records

Jesus'

instructions to

the 72,

whom he sends

out during

his earthly

ministry.

And when we

pick up that

passage in

verse 4,

Jesus says,

carry no

money bag,

no knapsack,

no sandals,

greet no one

on the road.

Whatever house

you enter,

first say,

peace be to

this house.

And if a

son of peace

is there,

your peace

will rest

upon him.

But if not,

it will return

to you and

remain in

the same

house,

eating and

drinking what

they provide.

For the

laborer

deserves his

wages.

It seems,

it seems that

Paul in 1

Timothy 5.17

is quoting

the Gospel

of Luke.

And into

what category

does Paul put

that writing?

Scripture.

Right alongside

Deuteronomy,

no less,

the Torah.

It's as if I

were to say,

as the

great writers

once wrote,

to be or

not to be,

and with

great power

comes great

responsibility.

Now what

am I doing

when I say

something like

that?

Who am I

putting into

the same

category?

Shakespeare,

right?

Who wrote

with a great

power comes

great responsibility?

Stan Lee.

Yes,

Ivor,

Stan Lee,

the great

poet of our

time,

right?

Right?

Right?

So Paul,

in an almost

mind-boggling

way,

seems to put

Luke's Gospel

and Deuteronomy

in the same

category,

calling them

both

scriptures.

Okay,

so what are

we to make

of all this?

It stands to

reason,

friends,

that the

writings,

not just of

the Old

Testament,

but of the

New Testament

as well,

are the work

of the Holy

Spirit.

In the New

Testament,

we have the

Holy Spirit's

inscripturating

work.

here too,

not just in

the Old

Testament,

but in the

New Testament,

the Holy Spirit

is breathing

out through

the written

testimony of

the apostles,

his own

word,

his own

witness to

the risen

Christ,

just as

Jesus promised

he would.

So consider

then the

great gift

that scripture

is to us.

Because the

Holy Spirit

has inscripturated

his word,

we can now

read it

and declare

it and publish

it and meditate

on it and

proclaim it to

the ends of

the earth,

to the end

of the age.

There will

never be a

time when the

church does

not have the

Holy Spirit's

apostolic witness

to Jesus.

His word will

never leave us.

We will always

have this light

shining, as

Peter says.

We will always

have this light

shining, no matter

how dark it

gets.

right?

And we can

read these

words.

And again, as

Peter says, we

can read these

words until the

day dawns and

the morning star

rises in your

hearts.

Through the

Holy Spirit's

work, the

light shines

into our hearts

through his

work of

scripture, through

the breathing out

of scripture, the

light of God

shines into our

hearts and we

behold Christ,

the morning

star.

God.

Now, that

brings us

straight away to

our fourth

point, which

is the

believer's

illumination.

The

believer's

illumination.

The Spirit has

breathed out

scripture.

It is truly

God's word in

human words.

But how do

we come to

understand it?

The truth is,

friends, scripture

would remain a

puzzle and a

labyrinth to us

without the work

of the Holy

Spirit.

The Holy Spirit

not only does the

speaking, but he

does the work in

us so that we

might understand

what we read.

And this is what

traditionally has

been called the

Holy Spirit's work

of illumination.

And a classic

statement of this

is found in 1

Corinthians 2,

11 through 16.

Now, we had

recourse to this

passage when we

were talking about

the person of

the Spirit.

Now, look at it

again when we

consider the work

of the Spirit.

Let me read

this for us.

Paul writes,

For who knows

a person's

thoughts except

the spirit of

that person

which is in

him?

Makes sense,

right?

So also, no

one comprehends

the thoughts of

God except the

Spirit of God.

Only the Spirit

of God totally

knows God,

right?

Now, we have

received not the

Spirit of the

world, but the

Spirit who is

from God, that

we might

understand the

things freely

given us by

God.

And then Paul

says, we impart

this in words,

not taught by

human wisdom,

but taught by

the Spirit.

Again, affirming

his own self-

understanding as

an apostle of

speaking Spirit

inspired words,

interpreting

spiritual truths

to those who

are spiritual,

right?

Words of the

Spirit to those

indwelt by the

Spirit.

The natural

person, Paul

says, does not

accept the

things of the

Spirit, for

they're folly

to him.

And he's not

able to

understand them

because they're

spiritually discerned,

that is, discerned

through the work

of the Spirit.

The spiritual

person judges

all things,

that is, discerns

all things,

understands,

because the

Spirit's work

in them, but

is himself judged

by no one,

right?

For who has

understood the

mind of the

Lord so as to

instruct him,

but we have

the mind of

Christ.

So what does

this mean?

It means that

when we, friends,

when we take the

Scriptures into

our hands,

it's not

something that

we control.

It is God's

Word.

And that means

God must be the

one who brings

us to understand

it.

Too often,

those of us who

believe in

Scripture's

authority and

inspiration think

that we now can

sit over Scripture,

but we always sit

under it,

right?

our understanding

of it is

completely dependent

on the Spirit.

The God,

the Spirit,

who breathed out

the Scriptures

is God,

the Spirit,

who causes us

to understand

them.

So we have to

approach the

Scriptures with

humility and a

right dependence on

Him for any

understanding that

we receive.

But consider what

good news this is.

It's good news that

the Spirit not only

speaks through the

Apostle's witness,

He not only breathes

out that witness

into the pages of

Scripture,

but His wind

keeps moving into

the minds and

hearts of those

who read the

written Word with

prayerful dependence

on Him and

humility before Him.

The Spirit does

bring understanding

and clarity and

assurance.

He does indeed

cause the morning

star to rise in

our hearts so that

we might see Christ

in His Word.

Isn't that good

news?

Right?

Okay, that brings

us to our last

point.

We're moving a

little quickly here

because of time.

Five, the church's

proclamation.

As the church

prayerfully reads,

studies, meditates

upon, and obeys the

Holy Spirit's and

scripturated words,

as the Holy Spirit

does His work of

illumination so that

we might understand

these words and

understand the things

of Christ and come

to know Him, then

we too are swept up

in this work of

making Christ known.

On the basis of the

Holy Spirit's witness

in the written word,

the church proclaims

Christ.

We don't do so in

pride because we've

somehow solved the

riddle of God and of

Christ for ourselves,

but we do it in

joyful humility and

without any pretension

because God in His

mercy and kindness

has made these things

known to us.

We who were in

darkness have seen a

great light.

God who said,

let light shine out of

darkness, has shown in

our hearts to give the

light of the knowledge

of the glory of God in

the face of Jesus

Christ.

And so the church too

proclaims Christ.

And through the church's

biblical proclamation,

the Spirit makes Christ

known.

Consider Romans, right?

10, 9 through 17.

Paul writes, if you

confess with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord and

believe in your heart

that God raised Him

from the dead, you will

be saved.

For with the heart one

believes and is

justified, and with the

mouth one confesses and

is saved.

For the scripture says

everyone who believes in

Him will not be put to

shame.

But there's no distinction

between Jew and Greek,

for the same Lord is

Lord of all, bestowing

His riches on all who

call on Him.

For everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

Then Paul says this,

how then will they

call on Him in whom

they have not believed?

How are they to

believe in Him of whom

they've never heard?

And how are they to

hear without someone

preaching?

And how are they to

preach unless they are

sent?

As it is written,

how beautiful are the

feet of those who

preach the good news.

That's a quote of

Isaiah.

But they have not all

obeyed the gospel,

for Isaiah says,

Lord who has believed

what he had heard

from us.

And Paul sums up and

says, so faith comes

from hearing and hearing

through the word of

Christ.

You see what Paul is

saying here?

He's saying that the

church is part of this

preaching of the word,

right?

This isn't something,

I don't think Paul is

just describing here

simply the apostolic

work, but the ongoing

work of the church.

The reformers used to

say that the word of

God preached is the

word of God.

Luther used to call

church, like when we

gather for church,

God's mouth house.

Isn't that great?

What if we started

talking about that on

Sunday?

We could post it on

Instagram.

Come to God's mouth

house this Sunday

morning.

What do they mean by

all that?

They meant that when

we preach the biblical

gospel,

when we preach the

Christ of scripture,

when we prayerfully

bind ourselves to the

written word of God

that is living and

active, when we do

that, the same spirit

who bore witness

through the apostles

and who breathed out

the written word

continues to make

Christ known through

our scripture-saturated

words.

Now, of course,

there's a big

distinction between

this and this,

right?

Our words,

our proclamation

carries no authority

in itself.

The preaching of the

church is only

authoritative insofar as

it says,

scripture says.

But when we declare

what scripture says,

the spirit advances his

work of making Christ

known.