November 28, 2010 - God is Triune: God the Holy Spirit

Here is the audio and notes from yesterday's message.  I have been really blessed in my own personal study on the doctrine of the Trinity and hope to be able to post more on the subject.  This technically ends our series on the doctrine of God (Theology Proper) as we now turn to discuss the Doctrine of Christ (Christology).  Next Sunday we will be discussing the Doctrine of the Lordship of Christ.

Audio 
Notes






For more:
DeYoung on the Trinity  
MacArthur on the Comfort of the Spirit 
The Nicene Creed 
September 12, 2010 - God is Creator 
September 19, 2010 - God is Provident 
October 10, 2010 - God is Sovereign  
October 24, 2010 - God is Immutable
October 31, 2010 - God is Holy 
November 7, 2010 - God is Jealous
November 13, 2010 -  God is Love 
November 20, 2010 - God is Triune:  God the Father

MacArthur on the Comfort of the Spirit

This Sunday we will be talking about the Third Person of the Trinity -- the Holly Spirit. As of right now, we will be studying John 14 and even chapters 15-16 of John's Gospel. The best and brief explanation of the wonderful promises of the Spirit come from John MacArthur's comments on the John 14 passage at his website. Here is some of what he has written:

The promise of the Holy Spirit is the culmination of all that Jesus said to comfort those eleven troubled men. In that hour of turmoil, they feared being left alone. However Jesus assured them that they would not be left to fend for themselves; they would have a supernatural Helper. The Greek word translated ‘Helper’ (parakletos) literally means ‘one who is called alongside.’ The King James Version translates it ‘Comforter,’ which is one of its meanings.

The Greek word translated "another" may provide a helpful clue in understanding Jesus' meaning in John 14. There are two Greek words frequently translated ‘another’: heteros and allos. Sometimes the biblical authors used those words interchangeably, but sometimes they used heteros to speak of another of a different kind and allos to speak of another of the same kind (e.g. the ‘different’ [heteros] gospel vs. ‘another’ [allos] gospel in Galatians 1:6-7).

Allos is the word Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit: ‘another [allos] Helper.’ That could be His way of saying, ‘I am sending you One of exactly the same essence as Me.’ He wasn't sending just any helper, but One exactly like Himself with the same compassion, the same attributes of deity, and the same love for them.

Jesus had been the disciples' helper for three years. He had helped them, comforted them, and walked alongside them. Now they would have another Helper – One exactly like Jesus – to minister to them as He had.

This is simply fascinating. When the disciples need comfort most, what Jesus offers is the Spirit of Comfort. What is most interesting is the language Jesus uses. What they really want is for Jesus to stay, and so what promises the disciples is that He isn't going anywhere. Sure He is about to die only to raised from the dead and would eventually ascend, but as chapters 15 and 16 tell us, unless Jesus ascend into heaven, the Spirit would not come down who is of the same essence of Jesus. Jesus offers the comfort of Himself as seen in the presence of the Spirit. And we have this Spirit in all of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ, repented of our sin, believing that He alone can save us. We have this Paracleet, this great Comforter. What a wonderful promise!!


Grace to You (John MacArthur) - The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

What is the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?

A few weeks ago on a Wednesday night the question was raised about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit which Jesus says is unforgivable.  Here is how Pastor and author of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington answered the question.





HT:  Mars Hill Church Blog

This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Spirit

Perhaps the Person most neglected in the Trinity is God the Holy Spirit.  There are many reasons for this, and time prohibits much depth here.  One should note, however, the hesitancy of many Christians, including Southern Baptist, on saying much about the Spirit is partially due to the continued rise of the Charismatic movement.  Pentecostals like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, and Todd Bentley have given Christianity a bad name and unbiblical practices like uninterpretted and ecstatic tongues, being slain in the Spirit, and holy laughter are so prevalent by those who abuse the doctrine of the Holy Spirit have led many Christians to the other extreme of ignoring Him.

Let us then offer a brief, yet biblical understanding of the third member of the Divine Trinity.  The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 says:

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. [1]

The BF&M 2000 is right to begin by pointing out the full deity of the Spirit.  Just as God the Father and God the Son are fully Divine, separate yet unified, so too the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and Son yet separate from the Father and the Son.  Those who deny this doctrine are walking on dangerous heresy.

Perhaps what the Spirit is most known for is His work in inspiring Scripture.  The Spirit, via the will of God, has granted us a text that points us to Christ which utilizes the personalities of various writers throughout a vast time of human history (from the days of Moses to the Apostle John) to reveal the will and words of God.  But that is not all that the Spirit has done or continues to do. 

Perhaps most central to the Spirit’s work is His work in salvation.  Only the Spirit can soften the hard hearts of men leading them to the cross and repentance.  Only the Spirit can regenerate the believer to be more like Christ.  And only the Spirit is present within the believer offering guidance and assurance.  The Son saves, the Spirit sanctifies.  In the realm of salvation, perhaps we can sum up the work of the Trinity as follows: The Father initiates.  The Son propitiates.  The Spirit regenerates.

The Holy Spirit is central to all that we are.  Each member of the Trinity was involved in Creation (including our creation) and each member of the Trinity has worked to bring about our salvation.  But it is the Spirit, under the authority of the Father and the work of Christ, that guides us towards holiness.  Therefore, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), to produce the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), pray in the Spirit (Jude 20), be poor in the Spirit (Matthew 5:3), be in the Spirit (Romans 8:9), serve in the Spirit (Romans 12:11), be joyful in the Spirit (Romans 14:17), love by the Spirit (Romans 15:30), and be unified in the Spirit.

In all of this the Spirit is pointing us to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.  In an act of humility and submission, the Spirit submits to the will of the Father pointing us to the Son.  The Spirit seeks the glory of the Father through the praise of His creation.  The Spirit is always pointing us to Christ and the Father.  Let us, then, look to Christ, guided by the Spirit, being conformed to the image of Christ in our daily lives.  The Spirit is not someone that leads us into utter nonsense so commonly portrayed on TV, but is a working Person of the Trinity actively involved in our lives pointing us to our Savior.  God is Spirit (John 4:24) and let us worship Him, as Jesus said, in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).


[1]  The BF&M 2000 offers the following references:  Gen 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Ps 51:11; 139:7ff.; Is 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Rom 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Cor 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thess 5:19; 1 Tim 3:16; 4:1; 2 Tim 1:14; 3:16; Heb 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev 1:10; 22:17.


For more:
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Introduction
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Scripture
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God
This is Who We Are  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Father
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Son 


*  Regarding the above picture.  The Holy Spirit is often portrayed in the image of a dove.  This is common even in Scripture.  When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit descended like a dove (see Matthew 4).

May 17, 2009 - Walk In the Spirit

Notes can be downloaded here.