THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT

THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT

John 14:15-27; John 16:5-15

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

April 6, 2008

In another time and in another church, a boy of twelve sat as patiently as he could in a Confirmation Class. Along with the other students, he was required to do certain memory work, including putting the Apostles’ Creed to memory. With personal effort and trial runs of testing by his mother, he learned to recite the Creed from memory.

But even though he could recite the Apostles’ Creed from memory with precision before the Elders, this boy of twelve did not necessarily understand the full meaning of what he was confessing to be true. For example, in confessing, “I believe in the Holy Ghost,” he wasn’t quite sure what that meant – who was … or is … the Holy Ghost or Spirit? Thankfully for him, the Elders didn’t question him on this – to his great relief - and he was passed on into the membership of the church.

The experience I had in those days is perhaps not dissimilar to our Confirmation Class that is meeting these days leading up to Pentecost Sunday, as they make their way through the Apostles’ Creed and other material in seeking to understand the substance of the Christian Faith and how it personally applies to them. I hope and I pray that the content will be opened up to them not only by their teachers, but especially by the Holy Spirit, so that they will not wait another ten years as I did before becoming a devoted follower of Christ.

But the subject of the Holy Spirit is not an enigma or mystery for twelve year olds alone. The person and work of the Holy Spirit can be vague or obscure for adults who have been in the church as members for years. In fact, from R.C. Sproul’s book, The Mystery of the Holy Spirit, we read the following:

Christians for centuries have talked about the Trinity and the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. The church’s prayers and rituals are laced with references to the Spirit. Yet for many it is just a name that has little meaning. Many believers comprehend God the Father and God the Son, while God the Spirit is little understood. And some believers emphasize particular gifts of the Spirit, leading others to wonder if their own spiritual lives are missing something. [i]

For the next few weeks, we are going to take a closer look at the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. One reason for this is my hope that we will allow Scripture to define for us the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, rather than our own personal experience. For evangelical Christians, John Stott writes, “All our traditions, all our opinions and all our experiences must therefore be submitted to the independent and objective test of biblical truth.” [ii]

Another reason for taking a closer look at the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit is that of our own personal and corporate need. As Christians, we face temptations, trials and challenges that we simply cannot handle all on our own. We need the presence and assistance of God the Holy Spirit as we take this journey in life.

In addition, as John Stott also says, “Wherever one looks in the church today, there is an evident need for a deeper work of the Holy Spirit.” [iii] The Church in the Western part of the world is diminishing in its strength and influence while secularism increases. One need only look at older denominations like our own in this country to know this is true. But even in places in Africa where the spiritual birthrate is higher than the population birthrate, churches are torn asunder by false teachings, rivalries, unbridled emotions and hurtful divisions.

So, a fresh, biblical look at the Holy Spirit is needed today, not for the sake of an enlightened mind alone, but for the sake of the spiritual renewal of God’s people and of His Church.

THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT

The Old Testament teaches us that as part of the Godhead, the Trinity, the Holy Spirit has always existed and thus was present in creation.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.[iv]

We see the Holy Spirit’s activity also in the lives of many individuals in the Old Testament, such as craftsmen, Moses, Joshua, elders, judges, kings and prophets. But it was those same prophets who also prophesied of a time when the Holy Spirit would no longer indwell a select few, but rather indwell all the people of God. This would happen in the time of the coming of the Messiah and Christ, they said.

Years later – even centuries later – our Lord Jesus sat with His disciples in an Upper Room in Jerusalem. On that evening before His crucifixion the following day, He shared with them the Passover Meal and instituted the Lord’s Supper. But in chapters 13 – 17 of John’s Gospel, we find that Jesus taught His disciples many things, including the good news of the promised Holy Spirit.

All the talk of Jesus’ soon coming departure made the disciples feel as if they were soon to become orphans, devoid of Jesus’ love, compassion, knowledge and strength. In so many ways, He had been for them a Helper and Counselor, a Provider, and Encourager. The mere thought of being bereft of His presence was enough to bring them almost to the brink of absolute despair.

But then – at that precise moment – the Master shared with them good news:

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. [v]

John Calvin helps us in pointing to the meaning of Jesus’ words:

I was given to you by the Father to be a Counselor, but only for a time; now, having discharged my office, I will pray to Him to give you another Counselor, who will not be with you for a short time but will remain with you always.[vi]

Jesus promised them – not an influence or an impersonal power of some sort, for note that He used personal pronouns and descriptions of a ministry that are highly personalized; no, He promised them a Person just like Him, one who would be that Counselor, Comforter, Helper, and Advocate that He had been. As they had seen the Spirit living with them in Jesus and in His ministry, they would soon have the Holy Spirit living and abiding in them. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit would never be taken away from them as Jesus soon would be.

The Holy Spirit, He said, would be to them the Spirit of truth, teaching them many things and bringing to their remembrance all that Jesus had done and had taught – the fruit of which includes the “inspired” writing of the New Testament.

In addition, the Holy Spirit would be active in convicting people of sin, righteousness and judgment, and the Holy Spirit would glorify Jesus in pointing people to Jesus as the Savior all humanity so desperately needs.

So, in all these teachings given in the Upper Room, we find the details of the Promise of the Spirit in agreement with all the prophecies and predictions found in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit – the Advocate, Helper, Comforter and Counselor – is promised to the disciples then, and to all disciples now.

WE ARE NOT ORPHANS

We will look next week in more detail as to when and how the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us as Christians, but for now, let’s celebrate the fact that the Holy Spirit is present in our lives. While Jesus could only be present in the flesh for a time while on earth, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within each of us and for all our lives through.

For this reason, we must never see ourselves as alone, as orphans, as those who are abandoned to the trials and temptations, the challenges and difficulties of life. As Christians, trusting in God’s mercy and grace given in Jesus Christ, we are never alone.

In his book on the Holy Spirit, Follow the Wind, author Steve Brown reminds us to recognize this amazing, comforting truth. Allow me to quote him at length:

Do you see it? When there is discouragement, the Holy Spirit gives us fortitude. When we can’t go on, the Holy Spirit gives us the ‘gasoline’ to go on. When we are afraid, the Holy Spirit comes alongside and gives us courage. When we fear death, He reminds us of heaven. When we have lost those we love, we remember home. When we don’t have the words to speak before God or people, He provides the words and gives an adequate translation. When we have reached the end of our rope, the Holy Spirit ties a knot and gives us the grace to hang on until Christ comes.

Do you remember the time you thought you couldn’t go on but you did? That was Him. Do you recall when the one you loved so much died, and you wanted to die and, in fact, prayed for your own death? Then you didn’t die, and to your surprise, the sun did shine again and the world didn’t look so bleak? That was Him.

Do you remember when you went through the divorce, when you were failing so badly that you were ready to give up, when you were so sick you wanted to just let go and go to heaven, when your child was in rebellion, or your parents had rejected you? Then, for some unexplainable reason, you found enough to get out of bed the next morning, and not only that, as you walked you found that you were going to be fine. That was Him.

He is always there, working in and through fallen human beings in a fallen world, encouraging, empowering, loving, comforting in the circumstances, and sometimes even changing the circumstances.[vii]

Dear friends, if you are a follower of Christ, trusting and living in the realm of God’s grace, you are not alone. You are never alone. You will never be alone. For such is the Promise of the Spirit … and of the tender mercy of our God!