What we believe about the Holy Spirit really matters because the Holy Spirit makes much of Jesus by opening our eyes to Jesus and by empowering us to live like Jesus...

This week we have been looking at what we believe as a church about the Holy Spirit. Wednesday, we looked at the role that the Holy Spirit plays in the life of followers of Jesus. We discovered God, though the Holy Spirit removes our heart of stone that resists and rejects the claims of Christ and message of the gospel and gives us a new heart that results in us responding to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

At the moment of regeneration the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our lives, which is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as being baptized by the Holy Spirit. In addition, the Holy Spirit influences the opinion of others in a way that enhances Jesus reputation in the eyes of others by His activity that results in us being adopted as sons and heirs of God. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we become a part of the family God, with the full rights of inheritance of eternal life in relationship with God.

We also looked at the reality that the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at the moment of regeneration, while the filling of the Spirit is a result of a follower of Jesus submitting their life to His control and is related to our obedience to Jesus. Thus a follower of Jesus can receive many “fillings” of the Spirit, but is only “baptized” by the Spirit once.

So instead of thinking of the idea of being "filled with the Holy Spirit" as "how much of the Holy Spirit do you have?", think of the idea of being "filled with the Holy Spirit" as "how much of you does the Holy Spirit have?" As followers of Jesus, we are to live Spirit filled lives, which simply means that we are to live lives that are controlled, influenced, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to reveal and reflect Jesus to others in a way that enhances the reputation of Jesus to others.

Today, I would like to answer several questions that I am often asked when it comes to the role and activity of the Holy Spirit. A potential question that is often asked is "Do you have to speak in tongues in order to prove that you are a Christian? Are people only filled with the Holy Spirit if they speak in tongues?"

 

As a church, we do not believe in a second baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second work of grace that is evidenced by tongues or other sign gift. There is no evidence in the letters that make up the Bible that followers of Jesus are to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit in a way that results in speaking in tongues as a sign of salvation. Speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift, not a sign of salvation.

Now you might be thinking to yourself at this point "Well Dave this all sounds great, but how do I know that the Holy Spirit is active and at work in my life?" That is a great question. And we see Jesus begin to answer that question with what He says in John 16:12:

 "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now."But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Here Jesus explains to His followers that as the Holy Spirit dwells within us, that He will guide you into all truth.  In other words, the Holy Spirit is truth and guides and leads followers of Jesus to the truth. In addition, Jesus explains that the Holy Spirit communicates the truth of God from God to His followers. The Holy Spirit does not communicate a message that is different from God. For example, the Holy Spirit will not tell you to go kill someone. The Holy Spirit proclaims God’s message to God’s people and enables God’s people to understand God’s message.

This is what is referred to in the next phrase of the doctrinal statement, which says “He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service." The word indwells simply means that the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the lives of followers of Jesus. Similarly, the word illuminates means that the Holy Spirit "turns on the light” of understanding when it comes to God, the word of God, and the will of God. The illuminating and leading work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a confirmation that we are indeed children of God.

 In addition, the Holy Spirit equips and empowers followers of Jesus to reveal and reflect Jesus by how we live our day to day lives. The Holy Spirit enables us to live a life that follows Jesus with faithfulness, integrity and obedience. As followers of Jesus, when we live in a way that is controlled, influenced, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, our lives will produce the results, or the fruit of the Holy Spirit's activity in our lives. A Spirit filled, gospel centered life will be marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And it is this fruit of the Spirit that provides the evidence of the Holy Spirit's transformational presence and activity in our lives.

In addition, the Holy Spirit empowers followers of Jesus for Christ like living and service through the giving of spiritual gifts. A spiritual gift is a special God-given inner motivation that enables a believer to meet needs in a way that builds up others spiritually. Of the eighteen different spiritual gifts that are listed in the letters that make up the Bible, only nine of them are currently active.

The other nine spiritual gifts, which are referred to as sign and foundational gifts, were designed by God for special occasions and were either used to deliver new verbal revelation, confirm new verbal revelation, or were temporary as they were foundational in establishing God’s new verbal revelation regarding the church. Since new verbal revelation is not currently being given by God, these gifts are not currently active.

The nine remaining active gifts are to be used in either a speaking or serving capacity to the building up of the body of Christ.  And as these spiritual gifts are used to build up the others spiritually, it is the Holy Spirit's activity that influences the opinion of others in a way that enhances Jesus reputation in the eyes of others.

Now this leads us back to the question that will run throughout this series, which is “Dave does what we believe about the Holy Spirit really matter?” And the answer to that question leads us to a timeless truth about why it really matters. And that timeless truth is this: What we believe about the Holy Spirit really matters because the Holy Spirit makes much of Jesus by opening our eyes to Jesus and by empowering us to live like Jesus.

You see, what we believe about the Holy Spirit really matters because it is the Holy Spirit that opens our eyes to the reality that we are in desperate need of rescue by Jesus. What we believe about the Holy Spirit matters because it is the Holy Spirit that removes our heart of stone that resists and rejects the claims of Christ and message of the gospel and gives us a new heart that results in us responding to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

What we believe about the Holy Spirit matters because it is the Holy Spirit that takes up residence in our lives in a way that unites and connects us to Jesus. What we believe about the Holy Spirit matters because it is the Holy Spirit that empowers us to live in a way that reveals and reflects Christ in our character and our conduct. And what we believe about the Holy Spirit matters because it is the Holy Spirit that provides us spiritual gifts that motivate us to meet the needs of others in a way that builds them up spiritually.

You see, the Christian life is not easy. The Christian life is not difficult. The Christian life is impossible apart from the Holy Spirit’s presence and power. Throughout the accounts of Jesus life that are recorded for us in the Bible, we see that Jesus lived His life here on earth in the power of the Holy Spirit. And here we see Jesus promise that His followers would also experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

So here are some questions to consider: Have you come to the place where the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes to the reality that you are in desperate need of rescue by Jesus? Have you come to the place where you have experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life as a result of placing your confident trust in Jesus by believing trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader? 

 

Or are you still at a place in your life where the Holy Spirit will only be providing the evidence that will result in a guilty verdict as a result of rejecting the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel? If that is you, here is the question: what is keeping you from moving from the place of being opposed to God to being in relationship with God?

If you are a follower of Jesus are you living a life that is controlled, influenced, and empowered by that Holy Spirit that influences the opinion of others in a way that enhances Jesus reputation in the eyes of others, as you reveal and reflect Jesus to others? Are you investing you time and talents by using the spiritual gifts that you have been given by the Holy Spirit in a way that is building up others spiritually?

Because what we believe about the Holy Spirit really matters because the Holy Spirit makes much of Jesus by opening our eyes to Jesus and by empowering us to live like Jesus.