"What is the church supposed to be doing?"

This week we are looking at the seventh statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This seventh statement addresses what we believe as a church about the church. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “What is the church? Who can be a part of the church? And what is the church supposed to be doing?"

Wednesday we looked at a section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Ephesians, where we discovered the timeless truth that what we believe about the church really matters because the church is the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world and to advance His kingdom mission in the world. You see, what we believe about the church matters because of the reality that even though God does not need us to do anything, God chooses to use us and invites us as followers of Jesus to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world and to advance His kingdom mission in the world.

We also discovered that how the church, which is made up of individuals throughout the world throughout history who have been rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God as a result of responding to what God has done through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and leader, reveals itself in the world is through local gatherings that meet in communities throughout the world.

 You see, the global church, which refers to all followers of Jesus who are a part of the church throughout the world, makes itself known in local communities throughout the world through smaller gatherings of followers of Jesus in the community which are known as the local church. However, for the local church to be the vehicle that God uses to reveal and reflect Jesus to the local communities that they gather in, those who are partners in the kingdom mission that God has given the church must be followers of Jesus. That is what is meant by the phrase “whose membership should be composed only of believers.”

While everyone can attend a local church, not everyone can partner and participate in every aspect and activity that makes up the kingdom mission that God has given the local church. Now a natural question that can arise at this point is “Well Dave that sounds great, but what exactly is the church supposed to be doing?” That is a great question. And in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Acts, we discover the answer to that question. So let’s discover that answer together, beginning in Acts 2:42:

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Luke, who is the writer of this letter, brings us into this section of the book of Acts by revealing for us several timeless practices that these early followers of Jesus embraced as part of this new movement called the church. First, we see that these early followers of Jesus intentionally gathered together corporately. The early followers of Jesus began to gather together in the temple courts to meet together in community.

Luke tells us that these followers of Jesus gathered together in community to participate in three major activities. First, they gathered together devoting themselves to the apostles teaching. In other words, they gathered together to hear the Apostles share the message and teachings of Jesus. They gathered together in large groups in order to hear a preacher preach. Preaching has always been preeminent and prominent in the lives of followers of Jesus.

 Second, these early followers of Jesus gathered together in community for the breaking of bread. The breaking of bread here refers to the Lord’s Supper, or communion. Third, Luke tells us that they gathered together for times of corporate prayer. And in the same way today, as part of God’s community called the church, we are called to gather together corporately in community with one another to experience and encounter God through the preaching of His word, through the celebration of communion and through times of group and corporate prayer.

God grows, equips, and empowers His followers to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world through preaching, communion, and prayer as we gather together in community with one another as His followers. Luke then reveals for us several additional practices that these early followers of Jesus embraced in community together as part of this new movement called the church in Acts 2:44-45:

  And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Luke continues by stating that these followers of Jesus were gathered together in community and were selling their property and possession and were sharing with them all as they had a need. What Luke is revealing for us here is that the church recognized the needs of the poor and marginalized in their midst and took the necessary steps to minister to those needs.

The early church recognized that everything that they had was a gift from God and they chose to respond to that gift by investing their time, talents, and treasure towards meeting the needs of others and advancing God’s kingdom mission. And in the same way, as followers of Jesus we are to invest our time, our talents, and our treasure that God has so generously given us into His kingdom mission by ministering to the needs of those around us.

And this investment is not simply to be focused inward toward other followers of Jesus. We are to invest our time, talent, and treasure outward in a way that engages and invests in the lives of those who are in the community, but not a part of the community called the church. Luke then gives us an additional glimpse into the life of the early church in Acts 2:46:

  Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

Here we see Luke reveal for us the reality that these early followers of Jesus not only to gathered together corporately once a week in a community that was marked by genuine and authentic unity. These early followers of Jesus also scattered throughout their community to experience community with one another. Notice what Luke says in verse 46. The church was day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house.

The church is to gather and scatter. The church is to gather for large corporate times and is also to scatter into smaller groups within the community. And as these early followers of Jesus scattered into their communities, they continued to connect with one another in the areas of influence that they had throughout the community. These early followers of Jesus were doing life together in community with one another.

This is why we believe so strongly in community groups here at City Bible Church. Community groups afford the opportunity for followers of Jesus to scatter into the community and develop intentional environments where people can grow in their relationship with God while developing encouraging relationships that foster accountability and spiritual growth in the community. And we are called by God to scatter into our communities so that we can be in a position to invest and invite people to be a part of what God is doing.

Luke then explains that these early followers of Jesus were praising God. These early followers of Jesus were responding to who God was, what He had done, and what He had promised to do by worshipping the Lord. And in the same way today, we are to respond to God’s transformational activity in our lives through Jesus Christ by living in a way that, whether we are gathered together corporately in community, or scattered into the community, is worthy of God as an act of worship to God that is pleasing to God.

You see, worship, simply put, is a response. Worship is a lifestyle lived in response to who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do. But not only were they praising God; Luke tells us that these early followers of Jesus were having favor with all the people. These early followers of Jesus were respected by all the people; by believers and nonbelievers; by religious and irreligious; by seekers and skeptics. Regardless of whether they bought into the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel, this new movement called the church was respected by all the people.

And the respect that these early followers of Jesus had earned by being the good news in the lives of those who were far from God resulted in the opportunity for these early followers of Jesus to share the good news and be the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus and His message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel so that they would have the opportunity to experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for. We see this reality revealed for us in verse 47:

  And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Luke records for us that the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved.  As these early followers of Jesus gathered together in community to hear the word of God, to pray for one another and to proclaim the message of the gospel through the celebration of communion; as these early followers of Jesus invested their talents and treasure serving God by serving others in community with one another; as these early followers of Jesus scattered throughout the community into smaller groups that invested their time living life together in supportive and encouraging relationships that fostered spiritual growth and accountability, God’s transformational intervention and activity was impossible to ignore.

Hearts were captured, lives were changed and transformed, and the number of people who became followers of Jesus grew. And, in the same way today, when we gather together in genuine and authentic community to worship the Lord and listen to the message and teachings of Jesus; when we scatter into smaller groups throughout the week to grow in our relationship with God while developing encouraging relationships that foster accountability and spiritual growth in the community; when we serve the Lord by serving others through the exercise of our spiritual gifts in ministry; when we invest and invite others to explore the claims of Christ and the message of gospel through evangelism; we are the church.

You see the church is not somewhere we go; the church is something we are. And what we believe about the church really matters because the church is the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world and to advance His kingdom mission in the world.    

So here is a question to consider: How do you view the church? Do you view the church as somewhere you go? Do you view the church as a place that provides you spiritual goods and services to consume? Do you only go to church because of that the church can do for you? Or do you view the church as something you are?

Do you view the church as a place to partner together with others followers of Jesus to invest your time, talents, and treasure for the good of others? Do you view the church as an opportunity to be a part of a community of followers of Jesus that are making a difference in the community for the advancement of God’s kingdom in the community?

Because, as we have discovered this morning, what we believe about the church matters because the church is the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world and to advance His kingdom mission in the world.

What we believe about the church really matters because the church is the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world and to advance His kingdom mission in the world...

This week we are looking at the seventh statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This seventh statement addresses what we believe as a church about the church. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “What is the church? Who can be a part of the church? And what is the church supposed to be doing?" So let’s look at this seventh statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

This week we are going to cover the first half of this statement. Yesterday we talked about the reality that we believe that the church is made up of individuals who have been declared not guilty and have been rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separates them from God as a result of responding to what God has done to rescue them from their selfishness and rebellion through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and leader. While everyone is invited to attend church so that they can hear the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel and explore faith, not everyone is a part of the church. To be a part of the church, one must have a personal relationship with Jesus as a result of believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

And as a result of being rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and leader, as followers of Jesus we are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, which is the next phrase in the statement that we are looking at this morning.

Now that led us to the next little phrase in this sentence, which is “of which He is the head”. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are a part of the body of Christ, the church, and Jesus is the head of the body of Christ, the church. But what exactly does that mean? In a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Ephesians, we see the Apostle Paul provide to us the answer to this question? So let’s look at this section of this letter and discover the answer together, beginning in Ephesians 1:15:

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might  which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

In this section of this letter to the members of the church at Ephesus, we see the Apostle Paul pray for the members of the church at Ephesus church to be filled with the knowledge of God in spiritual wisdom and revelation. So Paul here is praying that the Holy Spirit would give the members of the church of Ephesus that capacity to understand and live in light of who God really is. Paul is praying that the Holy Spirit would make fully known to the members of the church of Ephesus who God is.

In addition, as part of that prayer, Paul prayed that the members of the church at Ephesus would be able to wrap their minds around God’s inexhaustible power as seen in His Son Jesus Christ whom He raised from the dead and who is seated with Him in the Heavenlies. Today, we will look at what the Apostle Paul says next in verses 22-23:

And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

It is in these two verses that we see Paul answer the question “What is the church?” In the second half of verse 22 Paul reiterates the reality that God gave Jesus Christ as head over all things. But this morning, did you notice who God gave Jesus to: God gave Jesus, who is head over all things, to the church. In other words, God gave His son Jesus, who is large and in charge over all of the creation, to the church.

Now when Paul states that God brought Jesus to a position of being large and in charge over His church, it is important to understand that Jesus is not simply the CEO of an organization. Instead, Paul explains that the church is His body. You see, the church is not an organization. The church is an organism. The church is Jesus body, of which He is the head. The church is not mine. It is not the Elder’s, or the Deacon’s, or even yours as the congregation. The church is Jesus’. He does not sit on top of a board. As the head of His body, we are a part of Him.

You see, when we recognize who Jesus is and respond to what He has done to rescue us from our selfishness and rebellion by placing our confident trust in Jesus as our Lord and Leader, we become part of His body. And as part of His body we are a called out community of believers that is placed in a distinctive environment to be distinctively different. It is not by happenstance that we are here at this time, at this place. We were placed here by Jesus, as part of His body.

Now a question that could arise here is “Well, Dave, why would Jesus place us here?” Paul provides the answer to that question in the last half of verse 23 when he states that the church is the fullness of Him who fills all in all. But what does that mean? Now this phrase does not mean that we fill out Jesus, as though Jesus was lacking something that we needed to give Him. Instead, the meaning of this statement is much deeper, something mystical.

You see, the church is not somewhere we go, the church is something that we are. What the Apostle Paul is conveying here is that the church is the vehicle that Jesus uses to reveal Himself to the world. When we become followers of Jesus, we are united in Christ by the Holy Spirit and become part of His body. And as part our identity as a follower of Jesus, we experience God as we come together as the called out community called the church. And Jesus, by His Spirit, uses the church, which is His body, as a vehicle to reveal Himself to the world.

To try to wrap our minds around what Paul is saying here, let’s look at it from another perspective. When we read the gospels, we see what Jesus did in His body. We see God enter into humanity to take on flesh. We see Jesus filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit at His baptism to accomplish the kingdom mission that He was give to reveal and explain God to the world, die for our sins, and be raised from the dead.

When we come to the Book of Acts, we see what Jesus did in His body, the church. We see what followers of Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit did to accomplish the kingdom mission that they were given. And in the same way, Jesus is still at work in His body, which is the vehicle that He uses to reveal Himself here in Bullhead City and throughout the world as we live our day to day lives as followers of Jesus.

Now this leads us back to the question that will run throughout this series, which is “Dave does what we believe about the church 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 church really matters because the church is the vehicle that God uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world and to advance His kingdom mission in the world. You see, what we believe about the church matters because of the reality that even though God does not need us to do anything, God chooses to use us and invites us as followers of Jesus to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus to the world and to advance His kingdom mission in the world.

Now this reality leads us to the next sentence in the statement we are looking at, which is “The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers.” In other words, how the church, which is made up of individuals throughout the world throughout history who have been rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God as a result of responding to what God has done through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and leader, reveals itself in the world is through local gatherings that meet in communities throughout the world.

You see, the global church, which refers to all followers of Jesus who are a part of the church throughout the world, makes itself known in local communities throughout the world through smaller gatherings of followers of Jesus in the community which are known as the local church.

However, for the local church to be the vehicle that God uses to reveal and reflect Jesus to the local communities that they gather in, those who are partners in the kingdom mission that God has given the church must be followers of Jesus. That is what is meant by the phrase “whose membership should be composed only of believers.” While everyone can attend a local church, not everyone can partner and participate in every aspect and activity that makes up the kingdom mission that God has given the local church.

Now a natural question that can arise at this point is “Well Dave that sounds great, but what exactly is the church supposed to be doing?” That is a great question. And in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Acts, we discover the answer to that question. We will look at that answer on Friday...

"The True Church?"

At the church where I serve, we have been spending our time together looking at what we believe as a church as it is contained in the doctrinal statement of our church. This week I would like for us to spend our time together by looking at the seventh statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This seventh statement addresses what we believe as a church about the church. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “What is the church? Who can be a part of the church? And what is the church supposed to be doing?" So let’s look at this seventh statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

This week we are going to spend our time together covering the first half of this statement. We will spend the final two weeks of this series addressing the second half of this statement, which refers to the Lord’s Supper, or communion and baptism. As we have talked about throughout this series, to fully understand what is being communicated in this statement, we first need to understand what all the church mumbo jumbo talk words in this statement mean. So, as we have done throughout this series, I would like for us to break down this statement into parts so that we can come to a better understanding of what is being said here.

First, let’s take a minute and unpack the phrase “We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone.” When this statement uses the phrase “true church” this phrase refers to the reality that just because a person attends church, that does not mean that they are a part of the church. And just because a person does not attend a church, that does not means that they are not a part of the church.

Another way that this concept is talked about is referred to as the visible vs. the invisible church. The visible church is comprised of all who claim the name “Christian” and who gather together for worship and participation in the Lord's Supper, or communion, and Baptism.  The visible church contains both believers and non-believers; that is, there are people in the visible church who are not really involved in a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus as a result of being rescued by Jesus from the selfishness and rebellion that separates them from God.

By contrast, the invisible Church is comprised of those who actually have been rescued by Jesus and have a relationship with Jesus. You see, while we can visibly see everyone who is in church on a Sunday, it is invisible to us who actually has a relationship with Jesus and who does not have a relationship with Jesus. That is what is being referred to by the phrase “the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone.”

Now the word justified is a big fancy 50 cent theological word that simply means to be declared not guilty. How we are declared not guilty of having a problem with God as a result of our selfishness and rebellion against God is by God’s grace, which is the next phrase in this sentence. “God’s grace” refers to God’s transformational intervention and activity in the world to pursue and rescue fallen humanity throughout history through Jesus life, death, and resurrection.

And how we experience God’s grace in our lives is through faith in Christ alone. When we talk about faith, faith refers to placing one’s confident trust in the nature and character of God and His activity in the world that results in one believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

So, putting all these church mumbo talk words together, we believe that the church is made up of individuals who have been declared not guilty and have been rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separates them from God as a result of responding to what God has done to rescue them from their selfishness and rebellion through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and leader.

While everyone is invited to attend church so that they can hear the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel and explore faith, not everyone is a part of the church. To be a part of the church, one must have a personal relationship with Jesus as a result of believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. And as a result of being rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and leader, as followers of Jesus we are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, which is the next phrase in the statement that we are looking at this morning.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “What does that even mean?” As we discovered last week, one of the activities of the Holy Spirit in the lives of followers of Jesus is that the Holy Spirit unites us in Christ and to one another to form the body of Christ the church. This means, that, on a mystical level, when God sees His followers, He see them “in Christ”.

As we talked about a few weeks ago the phrase “in Christ” refers to the reality that when God the Father looks at us as followers of Jesus, He does not simply see us. Instead, He sees us in Christ. Right now, in a mystical and spiritual way, God the Father sees you, in Christ, in Heaven. As followers of Jesus we are part of the church, which is the body of Christ here on earth. But even now, we are mystically and spiritually a part of the body of Christ in Heaven.

Now that leads us to the next little phrase in this sentence, which is “of which He is the head”. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are a part of the body of Christ, the church, and Jesus is the head of the body of Christ, the church. But what exactly does that mean? In a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Ephesians, we see the Apostle Paul provide to us the answer to this question? So let’s look at this section of this letter and discover the answer together, beginning in Ephesians 1:15:

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might  which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

In this section of this letter to the members of the church at Ephesus, we see the Apostle Paul pray for the members of the church at Ephesus church to be filled with the knowledge of God in spiritual wisdom and revelation. So Paul here is praying that the Holy Spirit would give the members of the church of Ephesus that capacity to understand and live in light of who God really is. Paul is praying that the Holy Spirit would make fully known to the members of the church of Ephesus who God is.

In addition, as part of that prayer, Paul prayed that the members of the church at Ephesus would be able to wrap their minds around God’s inexhaustible power as seen in His Son Jesus Christ whom He raised from the dead and who is seated with Him in the Heavenlies.

Tomorrow, we will see the Apostle Paul reveal the answer to the question….

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.

The Role of the Holy Spirit in our Rescue...

This week we are looking at the sixth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church, which addresses what we believe as a church about the Holy Spirit. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “What is the Holy Spirit? And what does the Holy Spirit do?"

Yesterday, we looked at the reality that the Holy Spirit is a person; the Holy Spirit is not a force; the Holy Spirit is not an “it”. Instead the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. In addition, the Holy Spirit, as part of the Trinity, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, in everything that the Holy Spirit does, He does in order to make much of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is consistently at work to influence the opinion of others in a way that enhances Jesus reputation in the eyes of others.

In a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of John, began to explain to His closest followers the Holy Spirit’s function and activity here on earth. First, Jesus stated that the Holy Spirit, upon His arrival, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit will act like a prosecuting attorney to bring about the world’s conviction of selfishness and rebellion.

The Holy Spirit, like a great prosecuting attorney, will provide the evidence that will result in a guilty verdict for those who oppose God and reject the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. The Holy Spirit reveals the selfishness and rebellion of those in humanity who reject God and the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit reveals that God is right and those who oppose God are wrong. And the Holy Spirit reveals that the just God wins and Satan loses.

We see Jesus transition from explaining the role that the Holy Spirit would play in the lives of those who oppose God to explaining the role that the Holy Spirit would play in the lives of those who follow Jesus 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.

To understand what Jesus is communicating here, we first need to understand how the Holy Spirit engages followers of Jesus. The Bible teaches us that God captures and transforms a person’s heart through the power and activity of the Holy Spirit, so that we would receive and respond to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

Now the big 50 cent theological term for the Holy Spirit's activity in our rescue from selfishness and rebellion is the word regeneration. This is what is referred to in the next phrase of the doctrinal statement, which says “He regenerates sinners."  Regeneration simply means that God gives us a new heart.

As the prophet Ezekiel promised, 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. This is what is referred to in the next phrase of the doctrinal statement, which says “and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God."   

When we talk about being baptized into union with Christ, this refers to the reality that the Holy Spirit also unites us in Christ and to one another to form the body of Christ the church. This means, that, on a mystical level, when God sees His followers, He see them “in Christ”. As we talked about last week, the phrase “in Christ” refers to the reality that when God the Father looks at us as followers of Jesus, He does not simply see us. Instead, He sees us in Christ.

Right now, in a mystical and spiritual way, God the Father sees you, in Christ, in Heaven. As followers of Jesus we are part of the church, which is the body of Christ here on earth. But even now, we are mystically and spiritually a part of the body of Christ in Heaven. 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.

The Holy Spirit’s activity in our adoption into the family of God describes how our old lives prior to Jesus are fading away in the rearview mirror of our lives. We now have a new life that provides us a new hope and a new future with God as a result of our relationship with Jesus.

Now a question that could arise here involves an issue surrounding the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And that question would be "Is there a difference between being baptized by the Holy Spirit and being filled by the Holy Spirit? And if there is a difference, what is the difference? And when does the baptism of the Holy Spirit occur?"

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.

You see, we do not get more of the Holy Spirit after the Holy Spirit initially takes up residence in our lives as followers of Jesus. When we talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit, we are talking about being controlled, influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out our day to day lives as followers of Jesus in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus.

While we have as much of the Holy Spirit as we will ever need, we can choose to live our lives in the power of our old nature apart from Jesus. 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.

Friday, we will look at several questions that are asked regarding the Holy Spirit and His activity…

"What is the Holy Spirit?"

At the church where I serve, we have been spending our time together looking at what we believe as a church as it is contained in the doctrinal statement of our church. This week, I would like for us to look at the sixth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This sixth statement addresses what we believe as a church about the Holy Spirit. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “What is the Holy Spirit? And what does the Holy Spirit do?" So let’s look at this sixth statement of our doctrinal statement together:

           

We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

 

Now as we have talked about throughout this series, to fully understand what is being communicated in this statement, we first need to understand what all the church mumbo jumbo talk words in this statement mean. So, as we have done throughout this series, I would like for us to break down this statement into parts so that we can come to a better understanding of what is being said here.

First, let’s take a minute and unpack the phrase "We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ." When we say that we believe the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, we are saying the Holy Spirit is a person. This morning, the Holy Spirit is a person; the Holy Spirit as we will see, is a He. The Holy Spirit is not a force; the Holy Spirit is not an “it”.

Instead the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. As we talked about when we launched into this series, God exists in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons. This phrase is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the doctrine of the Trinity. Simply put, the doctrine of the Trinity is the belief that God the Father is God, Jesus Christ is God and the Holy Spirit is God.

God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are each eternal in being, which means that they have always existed.  God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are identical in nature, which means that they possess the same character qualities. God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are equal in power and glory, which means that they are worthy of honor and worship as God. God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are having precisely the same attributes and perfections, which means that they are all equally perfect.

In addition, the Holy Spirit, as part of the Trinity, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, in everything that the Holy Spirit does, He does in order to make much of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is consistently at work to influence the opinion of others in a way that enhances Jesus reputation in the eyes of others.

Now a natural question that arises here is "Well Dave, how exactly does the Holy Spirit work to influence the opinions of others in order to enhance Jesus reputation in the eyes of others?" That is a great question, and there are several ways in which the Holy Spirit's activity in the world makes much of Jesus. And in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of John, we see Jesus reveal exactly how the Holy Spirit influences the opinion of others in a way that enhances Jesus reputation in the eyes of others.

In this section of the gospel of John that we are going to look at this morning, Jesus had just told His closest followers that He was leaving them and that everyone that was opposed to Jesus was going to hate them. Jesus also explained to His followers that the reason that He was telling them this was to keep them from stumbling.

Jesus was letting them know, in advance, that they were going to become outcasts and that people would think that persecuting and killing them would result in them receiving spiritual brownie points from God. Now, with the context in which Jesus words will take place in mind, let’s jump into this conversation that Jesus was having with His disciples, beginning in John 16:5:

"But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart."But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

Now imagine yourself as one of the disciples: what would you be thinking? I don’t know about you, but here is what I would be thinking at this point: “Jesus, I have a question: How is it to our advantage that You are going away? And who is this Helper anyways? And what is He going to help us with?”

The word Helper, in the language that this letter was originally written in, was a legal term that referred to one who appears on behalf of another. This word conveys the sense of one that provides legal counsel, which is why some of your Bibles refer to the Helper as the Counselor. Jesus is explaining to the disciples that His departure from them would result in Him sending someone else to them. Jesus here is revealing the reality that after His departure from the earth, He would send this Helper, this Counselor to earth.

And this Helper, this counselor, would be the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. And as Jesus continues His conversation with the disciples, we see Him reveal exactly how the Holy Spirit would influence the opinion of others in a way that enhances Jesus reputation in the eyes of others, beginning in verse 8:

"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

Here we see Jesus begin to explain to His closest followers the Holy Spirit’s function and activity here on earth. First, Jesus states that the Holy Spirit, upon His arrival, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. This is what is referred to in the next phrase of the doctrinal statement, which says “He convicts the world of its guilt."

Now, when Jesus refers to the world here, He is referring to everything in the world system that is hostile to God and that sets itself up in opposition to God and the kingdom of God. Jesus point here is that as the Helper, the Holy Spirit will act like a prosecuting attorney to bring about the world’s conviction of selfishness and rebellion.

You see, there is a difference between conviction and conversion. Jesus here is revealing for us the reality that one of the roles that the Holy Spirit performs is to reveal to those in the world who reject God and the word of God the evidence of their guilt before God. And that evidence, according to Jesus, concerns sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Now a clear and simple definition of sin is that sin refers to acts of commission and omission that are committed against God and others that flow from our selfish rebellion against God and the word of God. Jesus here is revealing the reality that the Holy Spirit provides the evidence that those who oppose God are guilty of selfishness and rebellion because they did not believe that Jesus was who He said He was. Instead of placing their confident trust in Jesus, they selfishly rebelled against Jesus. Instead of loving God and others, they instead chose to love themselves over God and others.

When the Bible uses the word righteousness, a clear and simple definition of righteousness is that righteousness is the quality or state of being right. Deep huh. Instead of recognizing that God is right, they believed that they were right. Jesus point here is that the Holy Spirit provides the evidence that those who oppose God are guilty because God is right and they are wrong. And that evidence, Jesus explains is in the fact that He is going to the Father and that they will no longer see Him. Jesus is revealing for us the reality that the resurrection of Jesus provides the evidence that Jesus was who He said He was and that God was right and those who reject Jesus are wrong.

When Jesus uses the word judgment here, this word refers to the activity of Jesus as the just judge. Jesus point is that the Holy Spirit provides the evidence that those who oppose God are guilty because the ruler of this world has been judged. The ruler of this world is Satan, who is the leader of the cosmic rebellion against God and the word of God.  Jesus life, death, and resurrection would provide the evidence that Satan has been defeated and that justice has ruled and reigned.

And the Holy Spirit, like a great prosecuting attorney, will provide the evidence that will result in a guilty verdict for those who oppose God and reject the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. The Holy Spirit reveals the selfishness and rebellion of those in humanity who reject God and the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit reveals that God is right and those who oppose God are wrong. And the Holy Spirit reveals that the just God wins and Satan loses.

Tomorrow, we will see Jesus transition from explaining the role that the Holy Spirit would play in the lives of those who oppose God to explaining the role that the Holy Spirit would play in the lives of those who follow Jesus…