Last Sunday's Sermon

"The Trinity: the Holy Spirit is God"
[Luke 1:35]
February 4, 2007 Second Reformed Church

As I begin this morning's sermon, let me remind you that this is only one sermon in a series on the Doctrine of the Trinity. We are looking at one component of the doctrine this morning, that the Holy Spirit is God.

And let us being to understand this by denying two common errors is the church:

First, the Holy Spirit is not the spirit of Jesus or the spirit of Christ. The Holy Spirit is not Jesus "living in our hearts." Jesus and the Holy Spirit are two separate and distinct Persons.

Second, the Holy Spirit is not our spirit, perfected, holy, glorified, "Christianized," or whatever else one might say. Our spirit, our soul, is distinct and not the same thing as the Person of the Holy Spirit.

No, the Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is One of the Three Persons of the Godhead Who are the One God. We can see in our Scripture this morning that the Holy Spirit is God:

Mary was a virgin when the angel Gabriel visited her and told her that she would bear the Christ, the Savior. And Mary asked how is was possible for her to be with child since she had never known a man, and Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her -- He would cause her to be with Child supernaturally by the Power of the Most High -- that is, God. The Holy Spirit has the Power of God. And He will cause the child to be formed in her, such that He will be born holy and will be the Son of God. The Holy Spirit, Who has the Power of God and will cause the conception and birth of the Son of God, is, therefore, God.

If we look back to the Creation, in Genesis 1:2, we see that the Holy Spirit created all that is -- the Spirit of God created all that is. Now, a word about translations: the translation in our pew says, "a wind from God" blew, which tells us nothing about the Third Person of the Trinity. The key word is ruach, which can be translated "wind" or "spirit." Most other translations rightly translated it "spirit" in this context. "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." The Holy Spirit created the creation, with the Father and the Son.

We have the same parallel in the New Testament, where the word pneuma is used, which can also be translated "wind" or "spirit." "And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:2-4). Here, the translators of our pew Bible translated the word as "spirit," which makes sense. But if they were consistent, they could have translated the text, "and they were filled with a lot of wind and began to speak in other tongues," which makes absolutely no sense. That is the point I am trying to make about translation: there are times when translators translate based on their assumptions, not based on what makes sense contextually. The translators of our pew Bible didn't want the Holy Spirit present at the Creation.

But, in looking at the parallel in the New Testament, we can see that the Holy Spirit is Creator, just as we saw the Father and the Son are Creator. They are the One God Who created everything that is, but they are distinct and separate Persons.

Isaiah prophesied about Judah speaking for God saying, "'Draw near to me and hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be, I have been there.' And now Adonai YHWH has sent me, and his Spirit. Thus says the YHWH, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am YHWH Elohim,'" (Isaiah 48:16-17a). Here we have God the Lord, the Spirit of God, and God the Redeemer.

And Paul writes, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16). Here, the Spirit is identified as the Spirit of God or God, the Spirit. We also see that the Holy Spirit lives in the people of God.

Still, the Holy Spirit is a separate Person from God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is God -- we are told to baptize in the One Name or the Single Name, "of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19b). But we do not forget that at Jesus' Baptism, we saw God the Father speaking from Heaven, God the Son being baptized, and God the Holy Spirit descending like a dove -- all Three Persons of the One God exist distinctly and separately, as seen in His Baptism.

We understand from the Scripture that God the Holy Spirit -- not the Father, not Jesus -- lives in us and remains within us forever. Paul tells us that "[Christ] has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee [of our election]" (II Corinthians 1:22). "So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith" (Galatians 1:22). God the Holy Spirit lives in us and guarantees that we are members of Christ, of the Church, of the people of God.

Understand that there is a real, distinct, divine person living in every Christian. The Holy Spirit does not become part of us, He remains a distinct, separate Person, Who lives in us.

"Well, what does He do in there? Why does God the Holy Spirit live in every Christian?"

For several reasons:

First, God the Holy Spirit lives in us to bring us to sanctification; it is the job of the Holy Spirit to lead us into holiness. Peter wrote that the elect are "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for the sprinkling with his blood;" (I Peter 1:2a-b). God the Holy Spirit lives in us to bring us to perfect obedience to Jesus Christ.

Second, God the Holy Spirit lives in us to "teach [us] all things and bring to [our] remembrance all that [Jesus said]" (John 14:26). God the Holy Spirit causes us to understand and remember the Scripture.

Thirdly, God the Holy Spirit lives in us to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. God works through us to show and prove that the world are sinners, that Jesus ascended to God the Father in Glory, and to show the rule of the Kingdom of God, already on earth, because Satan has lost.

Jesus said, "Nevertheless 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. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).

And Jesus promised that God the Holy Spirit will remain with the Christ forever: "And I will ask the Father, and he will send you another Helper, who will be with you forever" (John 14:16).

Notice the one thing that the Holy Spirit does not do: He does not bring attention to Himself. For this reason, many theologians refer to the Holy Spirit as the "shy" member of the Trinity. The Scripture is clear that the Holy Spirit is equal in divinity to the Father and the Son, and that they exist is Three distinct Persons, but God the Holy Spirit's Work among us is largely to point us to Jesus. The Holy Spirit causes us to believe, understand, and witness to the Salvation of Jesus Christ Alone. Although all Three members of the Trinity are equally the One God, it is the primary work of the Holy Spirit to turn all to Jesus.

As we turn our attention to the table that is set before us, we remember that God the Father sent His Son into the world to be sacrificed for the sins of God’s people. As we receive the elements, Jesus is spiritually with us, and we meet Him, like we have just met Him in the Word, and then, the Holy Spirit applies the Grace of Jesus Christ to us, that we might be strengthened and made ready for the good works that God has set before us that we should do them.

So, let us pray:
Almighty God, One in Three and Three in One, we bow before You in worship and awe. We are amazed at the mystery of Yourself and the Grace that You give to us. We thank You that You brought us to Yourself and use us for Your Glory. We ask that we would remember what You have said in Your Word, and we ask that the Holy Spirit would help us to understand. And now as we come to the table, we pray that Jesus would meet with us and the Holy Spirit would apply His Grace to us. For it is in Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.