I Believe in The Holy Spirit

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Exodus 15:1-2
• Hymn — Hast Thou Not Known (#228)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Catechism Reading — Westminster Larger Catechism, Questions 21–23
• Hymn — Give Praise to God (#220)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Joel 2:28-32
• Sermon
• Hymn — Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me (#400)
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Sermon Title: I Believe in the Holy Spirit

Scripture: Joel 2:28-32

I. The Spirit and the Person of Christ

• A. Isaiah 11:1-2 promises a Messiah — the "stump of Jesse" — upon whom the Spirit of the Lord will rest, marking him as a new and greater David.

  1. The title "stump of Jesse" rather than "son of David" signals a new beginning, a David on an entirely different level.
  2. The Spirit is the defining characteristic of this unique Davidic King.

• B. The Spirit's role spans the entirety of Christ's earthly ministry.

  1. Conception — Luke 1:35: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you… the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."
  2. Growth in wisdom — Luke 2:52: Jesus increased in wisdom because the spirit of wisdom rested upon him (Isaiah 11:2).
  3. Mighty works — Mark 3: Christ attributed his power to cast out demons to the Holy Spirit; to ascribe those works to Satan is to blaspheme the Spirit.
  4. The cross — Hebrews 9:14: Christ "through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God," cleansing our consciences.
  5. Resurrection — Romans 8:11 and 1 Peter 3:18 attribute the resurrection to the work of the Spirit.

• C. What qualifies Christ to possess the Spirit without measure is his eternal identity as the Son from whom the Spirit proceeds.

  1. As affirmed in the Nicene Creed, the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
  2. In eternity past, the Father and Son communicate their love through the Spirit; this ontological reality grounds Christ's economic reception of the Spirit.
  3. The dove at the Jordan signifies new creation; the Father's voice heard through the Spirit — "This is my beloved Son" — sustains Christ against Satan's temptation in the wilderness.

II. The Spirit and the Promise of Christ

• A. Joel 2:28-32, quoted by Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2), is fulfilled as the exalted Christ pours out the Spirit from the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33).

• B. The completion of Christ's redemptive work is not the resurrection or even the ascension, but Pentecost — the moment he rains down the Spirit upon his people (Richard Gaffin).

• C. John 16:7 — Christ promises that his departure is necessary so the Helper will come; without Pentecost he would be a king with no citizens and a priest with no one to intercede for.

• D. The Spirit applies all that Christ accomplished in redemption — "redemption accomplished, redemption applied" (John Murray).

  1. John 3: Only those born from above can see the kingdom; the poured-out Spirit grants eyes of faith to see it.
  2. Galatians 4 and Romans 8: The Spirit is the Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry "Abba, Father," so we are no longer orphans (John 14).
  3. The Spirit is the guarantee and down payment of our inheritance — the letter from Christ confirming our citizenship in the heavenly country.

• E. The Spirit functions like floodlights at a stadium: he does not draw attention to himself but illumines the main event — Jesus Christ, in whom all the promises of God find their "Yes and Amen."

  1. John 14:26: The Spirit teaches all things and brings Christ's words to remembrance.
  2. We come to the sacraments not as if nothing is happening, but trusting in the promised Spirit to bring Christ's benefits home to our hearts.

III. The Spirit and the People of Christ

• A. The doctrine of the church appears in the Creed under the rubric of the Holy Spirit — not the Son — signaling that the church is a supernatural, Spirit-gathered community.

  1. The book of Acts has rightly been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit; as the Spirit acts, God keeps adding to the church.
  2. Herman Bavinck's insight: the Old Testament reveals the Father; the Gospels and Acts reveal the Son; the Epistles reveal the Spirit who reveals the Son who reveals the Father.

• B. The gathering of converted sinners in fellowship is itself the powerful demonstration of the Spirit — the "greater works" Christ promised his disciples (John 14:12; John 17).

• C. The Spirit is the bond of the one body.

  1. Ephesians 2:18, 22: Jew and Gentile have access to the Father in one Spirit and are built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
  2. 1 Corinthians 12:7, 13: Gifts are given for the common good; all are baptized in one Spirit into one body.
  3. Ephesians 4:30: Grieving the Spirit is primarily about division within the body, not only personal sin.

• D. The church is a spiritual entity — not a political organization, marketing enterprise, or vehicle for cultural transformation — gathered around Word and Sacrament through the ordinary means of grace.

  1. The canon is closed; we preach from an old book and will never add to it.
  2. Through the illumination of the Spirit, believers discover ever-deeper treasures in God's Word — an excitement accessible only to those who have the Spirit dwelling in them.
  3. It is through illumination, not new revelation, that the people of God are continually enlivened and taught at Christ's feet.