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THE PROMISEOF THE SPIRIT

TThe message on the T-shirtsaid, “It’s a Holy Spiritthing—you wouldn’t

understand.” There can be littledoubt that the doctrine of theHoly Spirit has been the seedbedfor an enormous amount ofmisunderstanding during the last35 years, and it’s a subject everyChristian needs to understand.

Clearing away some of thecurrent confusion is our goal aswe look at our Lord’s promise of the Spirit in John 14. Hiswords provide answers to suchquestions as: Who is the HolySpirit? Is the Spirit a person or apower? Why did the Spirit come?What difference does all of thismake to me?

As we turn to Jesus’ words foranswers, it’s my desire that wewill not only understand theperson and ministry of the HolySpirit, but that we will embraceHis presence in our lives.

Bill CrowderManaging Editor: David Sper Cover Photo: Don Fogg / Workbook Co/Op Stock Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by ThomasNelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.© 1996,2002 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

Where Can We Turn? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

The Promise Of The Spirit . . . . . . . . . . 4

The Person Of The Spirit . . . . . . . . . 11

The Presence Of The Spirit . . . . . . . . . 18

The Power Of The Spirit . . . . . . . . . 25

Living In The Spirit . . . . 32

WHERE CAN WE TURN?

AAwell-used bag of golf clubs slouchesat the bottom of the

stairs, just where he left it.She had given it to him forhis 50th birthday. How canshe part with something heenjoyed so much? And whatshould she do with his walletand clothes? And what aboutthe lawnmower? How willshe pay the bills he alwayspaid, or run the business heknew inside and out? Whomcan she turn to now that he’sgone? Will she ever be ableto trust anyone again?

Some of her questions aresimilar to those being askedby the grieving followers of arabbi whom many believed

to be the messiah of Israel.Rabbi Menachem MendelSchneerson was the leader of the Lubavitch movement(a global Jewish revival) for44 years. To many Jewishpeople he was a livingsymbol of hope. The Rebbe, as he wasaffectionately known,became the embodiment ofthe hopes and dreams andaspirations of thousands.

The Rebbe of Brooklyn,New York, died at age 92 in June 1995. At his funeral,some of his followerscelebrated and awaited his resurrection. But hisgrave remained silent. Thedevotion of his disciples wasso deep that the loss of theRebbe left them feelingprofoundly distraught. Onegrieving follower wrote atribute to the teacher whohad given his life meaningand hope. In it he lamented,“I will miss the Rebbe for allof my days, but I shall notfor a moment forget him.

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Will she ever be able to trustanyone again?

And I shall long to bereunited with him with the coming of the Messiah.Until then, I shall look tothe heavens every morning,peering deep into the soul ofthe Creator, and ask, ‘Whereis my Rebbe, and why haveYou taken him away? Weare all so impoverishedwithout him.’”

Thousands of e-mailedand faxed prayers arebrought daily to the Rebbe’sgrave in Brooklyn. Every dayhundreds visit the cemetery.One of the graveside hostssaid of these people, “Theydon’t understand why theycome. They’re looking for

direction, for a way tochannel their spiritualreawakening to service for God.”

The emotions of thewidow and of Rebbe’sfollowers must be similar to the emotions experiencedat the death of Jesus Christ.The disillusioned followers ofthe Teacher from Nazarethhad staked everything onHim. They had left theirprofessions, their families,and their sins to follow Him.They had given up their ownindependence to rely on Himfor every need of their life.He had given them hope,inspiration, and a sense of eternal dignity.

Yes, Jesus died and was buried. But then, like no other spiritual leader whohas ever lived, He rose toassure His disciples thateven though He was leaving,He was not leaving themabandoned and alone.Before leaving, He gavethem a promise.

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“Where is myRebbe, and why

have You taken himaway? We are allso impoverishedwithout him.”

THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT

TTwo vivid images cometo mind when I thinkof promises. One is the

picture of Joe Namath sittingpoolside in Miami prior tothe 1969 Super Bowl and promising (actuallyguaranteeing!) that theupstart New York Jets woulddefeat the mighty BaltimoreColts—a promise he keptseveral days later to theshock of the sporting world.

The other image is of an incident that occurred a few years ago as I sat in ameeting with the presidentof the Baptist Union ofRussia. He said that in thelast few years, hundreds ofChristian leaders had comefrom the West offeringpromises of help (bothspiritual and financial), and that only one percent of those leaders had kepttheir promise.

The simple reality is that

a promise is only as good asthe willingness and ability ofthe one making it. What acomfort to know that whenthe Lord Jesus Christ makesa promise, He not only hasthe willingness to make thepromise but also the eternalintegrity and ability to keepit.

Of the many profoundand significant promises ourLord made during His life onearth, few have more day-to-day potential for impact onus than His promise of theSpirit.

In His final words to the disciples before Hiscrucifixion (Jn. 13–16),


A promise is onlyas good as thewillingness andability of the

one making it.

Jesus made a dramaticannouncement of His soon departure. He wasabout to leave these friendswith whom He had invested 3 years of His life. His words shocked anddisturbed them. But He did not leave them withoutcomfort. In response to theirapprehension, He gave thema promise. He said, in effect,“Although I’m going away,the Holy Spirit is coming tominister to you in Myplace.” It was a promise that unfolded in layers thatbegan with what soundedmore like a threat than apromise!

A SURPRISINGDEPARTURE“I go to My Father” (Jn. 14:12). To thepuzzlement of His disciples,Jesus had earlier spoken ofgoing away (13:33,36). The fact that they could not follow was troubling to them. Later they would

understand what He wassparing them from. For now,His words bewildered them.

Then He said it again(14:1-3). He told them Hewas going to the Father toprepare a place for them. It was becoming clear. Hewas going away. It was thefulfillment of His mission.How His heart must haveached for these dear friends,who were troubled andconfused because they feltHe was abandoning them!

The Big Picture.What Peter and companyfailed to see, of course, wasthe larger picture of the workof Christ. And no wonder.For 3 years they had beentogether. The group hadshared experiences thatwent beyond their ability tofully understand or describe.Much of the significance ofthese events would not beclear to them until after theresurrection. John 12:16 tellsus, “His disciples did notunderstand these things


at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then theyremembered that thesethings were written aboutHim.”

But with miracles still intheir memory and with thethunderous shouts of the“Palm Sunday” crowd stillringing in their ears, all theycould see was the moment.All they could do was stare at the One who, at His greatest moment of recognition, seemeddetermined to walk awayfrom it all.

The Divine Mission.Jesus alone could seebeyond the agony of thenext few hours. He alonecould see why it was soimportant for Him to die and then to return to theright hand of the Father (Mt. 26:64). There are anumber of reasons why the Lord Jesus had to return to the Father: • He had to return to the

Father to be our great

Mediator and Advocate(1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Jn. 2:1).

• He had to return to theFather so that He couldprepare the eternal homeHe has promised us (Jn. 14:2).

• He had to go to theFather so that He mightenter the heavenlysanctuary and be our Great High Priest(Heb. 6:19-20).

• He had to go to theFather to receive theglory due Him as theobedient, victorious Son (Jn. 17:24).

• He had to go to theFather so that He couldgloriously return toestablish the kingdom(Mt. 26:64). When Jesus said He

must go to the Father, it was not just a matter of achange of location—it was a change of operation. Theplan of the Godhead for ourredemption, and for theglory of God, was never


less than the work of Christon the cross—but it waseternally more.

A SERIOUSREQUEST“I will pray the Father . . . ”(Jn. 14:16). The wonderfulpriestly ministry of Christwas promised as He prayedto the Father on behalf ofHis own. This is notsomething to take lightly.Such intercession is whatHe is now doing for us. AsHe prayed for His disciples, He is now praying for allthose who are His.

Christ As OurPriest. The book ofHebrews has often beencalled the “Fifth Gospel”because it describes not only the past earthlyministry of Christ but thepresent heavenly one inwhich He acts as our Priest.The role of a priest in theOld Testament was to serveas the representative of manto God—and that is exactly

what Jesus is doing for Hisown. He perpetuallyrepresents us before theFather in His ongoing workof ministry. The writer ofHebrews said:

He is also able to save tothe uttermost those whocome to God throughHim, since He alwayslives to make intercessionfor them (Heb. 7:25). When Jesus said, “I will

pray the Father” (Jn. 14:16),it was the first hint of thispriestly ministry for us.Although He was implicitlyspeaking of His intercessoryministry as Priest, He wasexplicitly speaking of onerequest in particular—andwhat a request it was! He must go to the Fatherspecifically to request thedispatch of the Holy Spiritinto the lives of believers.

The Holy Spirit’sNew Work. The sendingof the Spirit would mark apowerful juncture in thedealings of God with man.


Although the Holy Spirit had been active throughouthistory (Gen. 1:2; Ex. 31:3; 1 Sam. 19:23; 2 Chron.24:20; Mt. 1:18; 12:28), Hewas about to do a new workin and among all who wouldbe baptized into the body ofChrist.

In the Old Testament,God the Father is portrayedas the member of theGodhead who plans andprovides for His family onearth. In the incarnation,Christ is portrayed as theSon of the Father whocomes to our rescue. Now,the Holy Spirit was about tobecome the One who wouldbring the life of the Godheadto those whom the Sonbrings to the Father.

How Does TheWork Of The Spirit FitInto The Eternal Plan?The day of the Spirit is verysignificant. It shows atransition in the work of theGodhead, as the Triune God continues to unfold

the divine plan. Later, wewill more fully explore thepurposes for the coming ofthe Holy Spirit. For now, it’simportant to recognize thateach member of the Trinity,working together in perfectunion, carries out a distinctrole for the accomplishmentof the eternal plan.

In this eternal plan, God the Father decreed the creation of man, decreedto allow sin (not cause it),and decreed that only by a perfect sacrifice could thepenalty of sin be avoided.

In the eternal plan, Godthe Son is the Creator (Gen.1; Jn. 1:1-3), the source ofHis people’s provision, and ultimately the perfectsacrifice for sin. He becameour Redeemer by becominga man and sacrificially dyingin our place.

In the same eternal plan,it became the role of theSpirit to apply that rescue tothe lives of all who wouldbelieve in the Son. First,


the Spirit would provide thedivine strength that wouldenable the Son to be ourexample and Savior. Then,when the Son returned tothe Father, the Spirit wouldbegin baptizing people of allnations into the body ofChrist on earth. Once Christreturned to the Father, theSpirit would come in Hisplace to bring to completionGod’s wonderful plan for all who would receiveforgiveness and new life in Christ Jesus.

Jesus’ promise of theSpirit is all wrapped up inHis declaration that Hewould “pray the Father.” It is the opening of a newchapter in the dealings ofGod with mankind, in whichthe Holy Spirit is profoundlyat work in people of allnations for the glory of theSon and to the worship ofthe Father.

A POWERFULCONFIDENCE“. . . He will give you . . .” (Jn. 14:16). This is thepromise fulfilled. Noticeagain the relationship in the Godhead. Althoughabsolutely equal to theFather, the Son submits toHim a request for His will tobe done. The same is true ofthe Holy Spirit who, thoughabsolutely equal to theFather, is sent forth by theFather to accomplish theFather’s will. This is thewonder of the Trinity—oneGod manifesting Himself inthree equal Persons whohave varying roles for thepurpose of accomplishingthe eternal plan of God. TheSon makes the request andthe Spirit is dispatched, butit is the Father who gives theSpirit to men and women.

Confidence InRelationship. Notice the confidence of Christ’sstatement, “He will giveyou.” It shows that He


knows the answer will be given. It shows theconfidence of the Son in the eternal plan that is yetunfolding. It shows Hisassurance in the ability ofthe Spirit to care for Hischildren.

Confidence In The Divine Plan. Asconfident as Christ was ofHis impending death (Jn.13:21), He was equallyconfident that the Fatherwho decreed the cross toredeem a people for Himselfwould send the Spirit to carefor those redeemed people.It was confidence in theeternal plan of the Fatherthat enabled the Son to bewilling to entrust those Hehad purchased with His own blood to the care andpresence of the Spirit.

Confidence In TheNeed Of The World.The promise of the Spirit isfor Christ’s sake. It is for thecare of those who are His.And it is for the sake of the

whole world as well. In John16, Jesus made it clear thatwhen the Spirit came, Hewould not only work in thehearts of believers but alsoon the hearts of those whodo not yet know Christ.Jesus described the work of the Spirit in calling menand women to redemptionwhen He said:

When He has come, Hewill convict the world ofsin, and of righteousness,and of judgment: of sin,because they do notbelieve in Me; ofrighteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ofjudgment, because theruler of this world isjudged (Jn. 16:8-11).The Spirit would have a

scope of ministry larger thanjust to those in the family ofGod. The Holy Spirit, grievedby sin, would seek therescue of lost sinners andcause them to be consciousof their need of eternal life.


THE PERSON OF THE SPIRIT

WWe live in a culturethat puts a highvalue on what is

genuine. The largest sellingsoft drink company in theworld refers to its product as“the real thing.” And peopleare continually urged to “getreal” by a sports clothingmanufacturer. We are told to accept no substitutes,beware of cheap imitations,and check the label toassure ourselves that we aregetting the “genuine article.”

This is true even in other parts of the world.When shopping at the hugeoutdoor Moscow flea marketin Ismailova Park, I saw atleast five different kiosksdisplaying what weredescribed as “handmadedolls,” bearing the personallabel of the woman whomade them in her home. At each of these stands, thelabel said “Handmade by

Tatiana.” And each manwho was selling the dollssaid that Tatiana was hisown wife. In fact, one of the kiosks was operated by a woman claiming to be the actual Tatiana!

None of us want to be left with less than wethink we are given. Beingshortchanged is somethingwe fear. I wonder if suchfears could have entered the minds of the discipleswhen Jesus said He wasgoing away and sending asubstitute. I wonder if theywere fearful of getting lessthan what they had withChrist—some kind of a“cheap imitation.”

Genuine Article Or Cheap Imitation? Ifthere were any such fears inthe minds of the Master’smen as they listened to theupper-room discourse, thoseconcerns were addressed by Christ Himself. Even if the disciples could not yetunderstand, their fears would


be answered by the preciseterminology our Lord used todescribe the divine SubstituteHe would send in His place.As Jesus described thePerson of the Holy Spirit, Hiswords made it abundantlyclear that His disciples wouldnot get less of God than theyhad with Him. They wouldreceive a full inner presenceof the Lord Jesus who wouldnot only be with them, butwould be in them.

Our Lord’s choice ofwords as He spoke to thedisciples is most critical.Let’s look at the passage and the significant termsthat tell the story:

I will pray the Father, andHe will give you anotherHelper, that He may abidewith you forever—theSpirit of truth, whom theworld cannot receive,because it neither seesHim nor knows Him; butyou know Him, for Hedwells with you and willbe in you (Jn. 14:16-17).

The significant terms inthese verses deserve carefulconsideration if we are tounderstand the full impactof the Lord’s words.

“ANOTHER” As a rule, some words andparts of speech give greaterweight to the meaning of atext. For that reason, wealmost always focus onnouns and verbs. Verbsrelate the action of astatement, and nouns give and receive that action.So it is interesting whenanother part of speech takesa dominant role in how weunderstand a passage ofScripture. Such is the casehere, where we turn to theadjective another to giveclarity to the text.

When Is “Another”Not Another? The wordanother is found 233 timesin the New Testament, but it is not always the sameGreek word. Along withseveral less significant terms,


there are two primary Greekwords that are translatedanother. One of these wordsis heteros, which means“another of a different kind.”From it, we get words likeheterosexual (relating to adifferent sex), heterogeneous(containing dissimilar parts),and heterodox (describing adifferent doctrinal messagethat is not orthodox).

Heteros is used, forexample, in Acts 13:35 tospeak of “another Psalm”(different from the one justreferred to), and in Acts 17:7 it is used to distinguish“another king” (Christ, as set apart and different fromCaesar). In each instance, it is clearly describing thatwhich is distinctive anddifferent from what it iscompared to.

When Is “Another”Another? In John 14:16,however, heteros is not theword Jesus used to describethe promise of the Spirit. Todescribe the Holy Spirit, our

Lord used the word allos,which means just theopposite of heteros. Allosmeans “another of the samekind.” When Jesus used thisterm, He was making a boldpromise that the ComforterHe would send would be aperfect Substitute. In His co-equal, co-eternal nature, theHoly Spirit would be anotherjust like Jesus Himself.

Allos is the word used in the “one another”statements of the NewTestament that challengeand encourage us tobefriend other believers—those who are just likeourselves in our imperfectflesh and in our relationshipto Christ. The trouble withus is that even though weare like one another insharing the same imperfectflesh, we don’t like to admitit. We often disagree with,disregard, and condemnthose who are just likeourselves. This is not true of the Spirit’s relationship to


the Son and the Father. Themembers of the Trinity arealways in perfect harmonywith one another.

The Holy Spirit is alwaysin step with the desires andaffections that Christ has forus. The Spirit cares for uswith the same love, thesame concern, the samegrace, the same compassion,the same truth, the samejustice, the same holiness,and the same power that the disciples saw in the Lord Jesus Christ’s ministryduring the 3 years Heshared with them.

“COMFORTER”Not all of our understandingof the Spirit comes from theword another. We must alsogive consideration to theword it modifies—Comforter.Another of like kind besidesJesus is wonderful—butanother what? Here ourLord used parakaleo, a verydescriptive word that wouldhave been familiar to the

disciples. It was used in a variety of ways in theculture of the day. Smith’sBible Dictionary tells us that this word was used todescribe a legal assistant,advocate, or one who pleads another’s cause. Thisdescribes the Person andwork of the Holy Spirit, whobecomes our Paraclete andAdvocate with the Father—like Jesus, our Great HighPriest and Mediator.

How ManyComforters Do INeed? When John’sGospel is compared with his New Testament letters, it becomes apparent that hedealt in some detail with theidea of dual Paracletes. Hediscussed the role of theHoly Spirit as our Comforterhere in John 14, and the roleof Christ as our Advocate in1 John 2:1. In that passagehe wrote, “My little children,these things I write to you,so that you may not sin.And if anyone sins, we have


an Advocate with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Why two divineParacletes? Greek scholar and New Testament commentator A. T. Robertson describesthe difference of theirfunction this way: “So theChristian has Christ as hisParaclete with the Father,the Holy Spirit as theFather’s Paraclete with us(Jn. 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 Jn. 2:1).”

What Will TheseComforters Do? Howdoes this work and whatdoes it accomplish? Perhapsit is best to see these twoministries of advocacy assimilar but accomplishingvery different goals.

The Role Of Christ. Asour Advocate, Christ defendsus before the Father to keepus secure. It is a part of Hispromise that “the one whocomes to Me I will by nomeans cast out” (Jn. 6:37).What a rich promise! Christ

Himself serves as ourDefender. He doesn’t defend our works, which are flawed and faulty. Hisdefense of us is based onHis perfect and completedwork.

The Role Of The Spirit. The Holy Spirit asour Comforter works withinus to declare to us theabiding presence of the livingGod in our lives. Romans 8talks extensively about thiswonderful work of the Spirit.Paul wrote, “As many as areled by the Spirit of God,these are sons of God. Foryou did not receive the spiritof bondage again to fear, butyou received the Spirit ofadoption by whom we cryout, ‘Abba, Father.’ TheSpirit Himself bears witnesswith our spirit that we arechildren of God” (vv.14-16).The role of the Spirit as ourComforter, in part, is toassure us of the wonderfulposition that is ours as thechildren of the living God!


“THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH” This final phrase that ourLord used to describe thepromise of the Spirit hassignificant implications allits own. Jesus used it in John14:17 to show another facetof the Spirit’s ministry. At the same time, He gavedefinition to the Holy Spirit’scharacter. Just momentsbefore, Jesus had told Hismen that He alone was theway, the truth, and the life(14:6). Now He tells themspecifically how the Spirit is“another of the exact samekind” by referring to Him as the “Spirit of truth.”

A. T. Robertson has aninteresting note on the title“the Spirit of truth.” He saysthat it is appropriate because“the Holy Spirit is marked byit [truth], gives it, defends it,[and is] in contrast to thespirit of error.”

Integrity. The Spirit ismarked by truth because ofHis divine nature. As God

He has all the attributes of deity, one of which istruth. He does not have the capacity to lie and is therefore absolutelytrustworthy in all He says.

In this truthfulness of theSpirit, it is apparent whythose who want to be in stepwith the Spirit must long tobe people of integrity. Wecannot hope to be under His influence if we areconsciously distorting thetruth in a misguided effort to protect ourselves orsomeone else.

Inspiration. The Spiritgives truth in the sense ofdivine inspiration (2 Pet.1:21). He is the dispenser of all biblical truth. TheWord of God is reliablebecause it came to us underthe guidance of the Spirit of truth.

Invincibility. The Spirit defends the truth byempowering the preachingand teaching of the Word ofGod, which proclaims the


truth and answers thearguments of the worldagainst it. In the ministry ofproclamation, the Word ofGod is not only announcedbut exonerated.

Incompatibility. TheHoly Spirit of truth stands in stark contrast to ourspiritual enemy. Satan, amere created, fallen being, is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44).Satan is in the business ofdeception and subtle trickery(Gen. 3; 2 Cor. 11:3,14). TheHoly Spirit deals in the truth.In fact, this is a large part ofwhat He was sent into theworld to do. As we sawearlier, the Spirit was sent to expose the truth to a lostworld by convicting the worldof sin and righteousness andjudgment (Jn. 16:8)—a hardbut eternally necessary truthabout the world’s condition.

Occasionally in majordramatic plays and musicals,the star of the show (thelead) becomes ill, needs timeaway for another project, or

will be gone for some reason.In those times, a substitutesteps into the lead role (astand-in). When thathappens and the stand-in isannounced, there is generallya groan from the crowd. Thestand-in will do his or herbest, and may actually do abetter job than the star, but it is still a disappointment to the audience.

It should be a greatcomfort to us that Jesus didnot send an inferior stand-inor second-best. Our Saviorsent in His place a co-equal,co-eternal member of theTrinity. He would perfectlyrepresent Christ and theFather in the lives of God’sbeloved children.

There can be no questionabout the divine nature ofthe Holy Spirit, and therecan be no question aboutHis perfect character. He isour Comforter, another of the exact same kind asJesus, who gives andsubstantiates the truth.


THE PRESENCEOF THE SPIRIT

EEbenezer Scrooge is the notorious maincharacter of Charles

Dickens’ classic, “AChristmas Carol.” It is thestory of one man’s struggleto develop a heart forpeople. Behind all the actionand teaching, however, arethe three spirits (the ghostsof Christmas past, present,and future) who maneuverScrooge to his variousdestinations.

It is interesting to notethe character of these spiritsas they come and go, movein and out, appear and thenjust as quickly disappear. Ifwe were truly dependent onsuch flighty characters forwisdom and direction andguidance and instruction,our lives would have thestability of jello.

By contrast, we havefrom Jesus the promise of a Spirit who abides with us

consistently, allowing us to live dependently on Himwith great confidence.Notice how different theHoly Spirit is from Dickens’Christmas spirits.

A PERMANENTHELPER“. . . abide with youforever” (Jn. 14:16). Bythis statement, Jesus assuredus of a New Covenantrelationship to the Spirit.This relationship was bothalike and different from theway the Holy Spirit hadrelated to the people of Godin earlier times.

The Way It Used ToBe. In the Old Testament,the Holy Spirit was active ina variety of ways. He wasactive in creation (Gen. 1:2;Job 33:4), in conviction(Gen. 6:3), in confirmationof the Word of God (2 Chr.24:20), and in caring for thepeople of God (Ps. 51:12).This was all accomplishedby the Spirit as the agent of


the Father, the One who isgiven primary emphasis inthe Old Testament era.

In the Old Testament, theHoly Spirit was involved inempowering people for actsof service, which is similarto His role today. In OldTestament times, any goodor honorable act had to beenergized by the Spirit andgrace of God. Man, in hisfallen nature, has alwaysbeen unable to do anythingthat would please God. Butit is also true that in the OldTestament the Holy Spiritcame upon the Lord’s peopleas they needed Him or asHe sovereignly chose to usethem (as with Samson).

Throughout OldTestament history, the Spiritwould come upon people forseasons of ministry andempower them for acts ofskill, strength, or insight. TheSpirit of God was describedas coming upon them (seethe messengers of Saul in 1 Sam. 19:20 and Gideon in

Jud. 6:34), and then woulddepart (see the 70 elders ofIsrael in Num. 11:25).

Sometimes the Spirit’sdeparture would occurbecause of sin. This wascertainly the concern ofDavid as he mourned thesin he had committed withBathsheba. He prayed, “Donot cast me away from Yourpresence, and do not takeYour Holy Spirit from me”(Ps. 51:11). David’s fearseems to have been that theHoly Spirit might leave himbecause of his sin.

Sometimes the Spirit was said to depart becausethe task for which someonehad been empowered wasaccomplished (Num. 11:25).This was apparently thecase with several of theminor prophets, who wereboldly empowered by theSpirit for very brief propheticministries and then wentback to whatever their lifehad been previously. It mostcertainly was the case with


Amos, a shepherd fromTekoa until he was called tospeak prophetic words fromGod (the book of Amos).

The ministry of the Spiritwas described differently inthe Old Testament than itwas in the New Testament.For this reason Christ’sdisciples, still living in theOld Testament era, would see the Lord’s declaration ofa permanent abiding of theSpirit as a great contrast totheir previous understanding.

The Way It Is InChrist. The promisedpermanent presence of theSpirit in John 14:16 wouldalso be in contrast to theirmere 3-year physicalrelationship with ChristHimself. He did not come todwell permanently on earthin a physical body. He cameto accomplish the plan ofredemption and then returnto the Father’s presence. TheSpirit’s coming would be verydifferent from His ministry inthe Old Testament and

different from Christ’sministry in the Gospels, for His coming to indwellbelievers was promised to be eternal in nature.

A DISTINCTIVEPRESENCE“. . . whom the worldcannot receive” (Jn.14:17). This statementopens up an issue ofenormous significance to the believer, for it sets us incontrast to an unredeemedworld. In 1 Corinthians 2–3,we find the contrast of thenatural man with thespiritual man:

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world,but the Spirit who is fromGod, that we might knowthe things that have beenfreely given to us by God.These things we alsospeak, not in words whichman’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spiritteaches, comparingspiritual things with


spiritual. But the naturalman does not receive thethings of the Spirit of God,for they are foolishness tohim; nor can he knowthem, because they arespiritually discerned. Buthe who is spiritual judgesall things, yet he himself isrightly judged by no one.For “who has known themind of the Lord that hemay instruct Him?” Butwe have the mind ofChrist (1 Cor. 2:12-16).What The Spiritual

Man Has. It couldn’t bemore clear. Children of God are different from theunbelievers. We have thepresence of the Spirit of Godin our lives, an unbeliever(the natural man) does not.We are enabled by the Spiritto know the things given to us by God (v.12), tounderstand spiritual things(v.13), to have spiritualdiscernment (v.15), and to have the mind of Christ(v.16). These rich blessings

are not given to everyonewho is born, only to thosewho are born of faith.

What The NaturalMan Doesn’t Have. Thekey to the contrast is in verse14: “The natural man doesnot receive the things of theSpirit of God, for they arefoolishness to him; nor canhe know them, because theyare spiritually discerned.”The natural man cannotunderstand what it means tolive for the honor of Christbecause he is not of thesame spirit. He can study the Bible as literature, but he cannot see the wonder of God in Christ. He hearsspiritual principles, but hecannot apply them in thelove and faith of Christ.Why? Because he does nothave the Spirit of God.

Jesus said that the worldcannot receive the Spirit. Thisis undeniably revealed in thecontrast of what the Spirit ofGod produces and what thespirit of man (the world)


produces. It is the differencebetween the wisdom that isfrom above and the wisdomthat is of this world. James 3delivers the contrast in clear-cut terms:

Who is wise andunderstanding among you?Let him show by goodconduct that his works aredone in the meekness ofwisdom. But if you havebitter envy and self-seekingin your hearts, do notboast and lie against thetruth. This wisdom doesnot descend from above,but is earthly, sensual,demonic. For where envyand self-seeking exist,confusion and every evilthing are there. But thewisdom that is from above is first pure, thenpeaceable, gentle, willingto yield, full of mercy andgood fruits, withoutpartiality and withouthypocrisy. Now the fruit ofrighteousness is sown inpeace by those who make

peace (vv.13-18).Although the Holy Spirit

is not mentioned explicitly in James 3, it is obvious from1 Corinthians 2–3 (as well asActs 6:3,10 and Eph.1:17)that spiritual wisdom (Jamescalls it “wisdom from above”)is imparted by the Holy Spiritand is very different from the wisdom displayed by thenatural man, who does notreceive the Spirit.

A RESIDENT WITHIN“He dwells with you andwill be in you” (Jn. 14:17). This is the final declarationof the significant way theSpirit’s presence is displayedin our lives. It is not only a matter of an eternalpresence, or even a presencethat displays itself in truespiritual wisdom. It is theamazing reality of the Spiritof the living God taking uppersonal residence in thelives of believers. Two greatrealities flow from thiswonderful truth:


The Indwelling Of The Spirit. Jesusintroduced the subject here,and did so by setting it incontrast to the work of theSpirit in the Old Testament.The contrast is between“dwells with you” and “willbe in you.” This proclaimsthat the promise of the HolySpirit is not coming in somegeneral way to the world,but specifically into the lives of believers. Paulechoed that same theme inRomans 8 in relation to ourunderstanding of the HolySpirit. Notice how clearly hedescribed the indwelling ofthe Spirit in verses 9-11:

You are not in the fleshbut in the Spirit, if indeedthe Spirit of God dwells inyou. Now if anyone doesnot have the Spirit ofChrist, he is not His. Andif Christ is in you, thebody is dead because ofsin, but the Spirit is lifebecause of righteousness.But if the Spirit of Him

who raised Jesus from thedead dwells in you, Hewho raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodiesthrough His Spirit whodwells in you.The Spirit has come to

indwell us as the ultimateevidence that we havereceived eternal life throughthe resurrected Christ. Tonot have the Spirit is to nothave Christ. To know Christis to enjoy the blessing ofthe indwelling Holy Spirit.

The Filling Of TheSpirit. This is very differentfrom the indwelling of theSpirit, but it flows from it.The filling of the Spirit (Eph.5:18) speaks of His controland influence in our lives. Asthe influence of alcohol hascontrol over people for evil,so the Spirit’s presence hasinfluence and control overbelievers for good when wesurrender our will to Him.

If the Spirit were notindwelling us, He could not


continually fill us with Hiscontrolling power. Althoughindwelling is permanent andfilling must be maintainedmoment-by-moment, theyare still connected by thereality of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Point Of HisPresence. What’s theimplication? It is statedboldly by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Do you not know thatyour body is the temple ofthe Holy Spirit who is inyou, whom you have fromGod, and you are not yourown? For you were boughtat a price; therefore glorifyGod in your body and inyour spirit, which areGod’s. The presence of the Holy

Spirit should result in clearlyseen holiness, for we arenow His temple, where Heabides continually—evenforever. It is not just theempowering we need to glorify God, it is our

motivation as well.The Holy Spirit lives

within us. His presence isevidence of the price Christpaid to redeem us from theconsequence of sin andsecure us for all eternity. We are not our own. Wehave been bought with aprice. Now we have theSpirit of God indwelling us.

We must give the Spiritcontrol over our lives forHim to do His work in us,for we desperately needHim. The work that He livesin us to do is the work wecould never do for ourselves.It is divine enablement thatcomes by the will of theFather, to the honor of theSon, by the immediate anddirect empowering of theSpirit. It is work that we canprayerfully ask for, invitingHim daily, hourly, and evenminute by minute to haveHis wonderful way in ourlives.


THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

TThe first winter that my wife Marlene and I were married was

marked by severe blizzards.I can vividly remember oneSunday when we awoke tofind that the electricity hadbeen knocked out by an icestorm. Huddled around abattery-powered radio fornews on that frigid Sunday,we heard a most unusualannouncement. Theannouncer, before giving thelist of church servicescanceled due to the icestorm, said, “The followingchurches will be closed dueto lack of power.” What aninteresting comment! I knewwhat he meant, but I wasstruck by what he said.

The idea of churchesclosing due to lack of powerconjures up some spiritualparallels that directly tie intoJesus’ promise of the Spirit.Just prior to His ascension,

Jesus told His men in Acts1:8, “You shall receivepower when the Holy Spirithas come upon you; andyou shall be witnesses to Mein Jerusalem, and in allJudea and Samaria, and tothe end of the earth.” Hedirectly attached the comingof the Spirit to theempowering of believers.This gives us reason toexamine some importantissues in this concludingsection.

What Is Power? Theword power used by Jesus inActs 1:8 is the Greek worddunamis. It is definedvariously as “strength,power, or ability.”Specifically, it refers to“inherent power, powerresiding in a thing by virtueof its nature, or which aperson or thing exerts andputs forth.” This spiritualpower is not inherent to thebeliever, however. Noticevery carefully that it isinherent to the Person of the


Holy Spirit who resideswithin the believer. Howdoes this power manifestitself in our lives? I wouldsuggest that there are atleast three (though probablymore) clear ways the HolySpirit expresses His power inthe lives of the redeemed.

Power For Life. Howdoes the Spirit express life inus? By causing our lives tobe profoundly different fromthe hopeless world thatsurrounds us. Notice Paul’swords in Romans 15:13,“Now may the God of hopefill you with all joy andpeace in believing, that youmay abound in hope by thepower of the Holy Spirit.”

The power of the HolySpirit provides for us thethings that human effort andhuman religion and humanrighteousness could neverachieve. He is there toempower our living with aglorious sense of joy, peace,and hope that can carry usthrough the trials and

hardships that are theinevitable by-products of lifein a fallen world.

The power we need isfound in a Person who hasbeen sent by the Father tobring fullness to our lives.

In a world that is in madpursuit of happiness, we canhave joy by the power of theHoly Spirit. In a world thatis crying out from the grief ofconstant conflict, we canhave true peace. In a worldthat is filled with emptydespair and a bleak future,we can have a bright hope.Why? Because the power ofthe Holy Spirit can equip usfor life in a way that the


The power we needis found in a Personwho has been sent

by the Father to bring fullness

to our lives.

world cannot grasp. Hispower can enable us toexperience the things thatthe world craves and cannotsecure, but are ours by theSpirit. This is the abundantlife Jesus spoke of—a lifethat is full and rich anddeep and lasting. A life thatis lived by the power of theHoly Spirit. The hymnwriterThomas Chisholm expressedthe joy of this when hewrote:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence

to cheer and to guide;Strength for today

and bright hope fortomorrow—

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!Great is Thy faithfulness!

©Renewal 1951, Hope Publishing Co.

Power For Outreach. This, of course,is specifically what is in view in Acts 1:8. But thepower of the Holy Spirit in

evangelism and missions is not limited to that text.Notice two great statementsby Paul on this subject:

My speech and mypreaching were not withpersuasive words ofhuman wisdom, but indemonstration of the Spiritand of power (1 Cor. 2:4).Our gospel did not cometo you in word only, butalso in power, and in theHoly Spirit and in muchassurance, as you knowwhat kind of men we wereamong you for your sake(1 Th. 1:5).In both of these texts,

Paul was writing to churcheshe had established. Hemade it clear, however, thatit was not by his wisdom orcleverness or ability to craftwords. It was only by theHoly Spirit that they hadbeen brought to saving faith.

In a day of cleverlypackaged, methodicallydominated, and man-centered evangelism, it is


refreshing to be remindedthat only by the power of theSpirit can true evangelism beaccomplished and themission of the church toreach the world with thegospel be performed.

Power For Ministry InThe Church. True ministrywithin the body of Christ isnot achieved by humanbrilliance or skill but by thework of the Holy Spirit. TheSpirit gives special abilities(spiritual gifts) to believers“for the equipping of thesaints for the work ofministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12; cp. 1 Cor. 14:26;1 Th. 5:11).

What Are The“Greater Works” ThatJesus Promised In John 14:12? Notice the words of Christ, “Mostassuredly, I say to you, hewho believes in Me, theworks that I do he will doalso; and greater works thanthese he will do, because I

go to My Father.” Theproblem is that this versehas been used to validate allkinds of activities today bycalling them “greater works.”The question that must becarefully examined is howshould the word greater bedefined? Greater in power?Greater in scope? Greater ineffectiveness? What are“greater works”?

Is it reasonable to thinkthat we will be enabled toaccomplish works of greaterpower or quality than Jesusdid? Think of the nature ofHis miracles—feeding themultitudes, raising the dead,healing the incurable,controlling the forces ofnature by the power of Hisword. Now consider why Hedid these things. John 20:30-31 gives us the motivebehind the miracles.

Truly Jesus did manyother signs in the presenceof His disciples, which arenot written in this book;but these are written that


you may believe that Jesusis the Christ, the Son ofGod, and that believingyou may have life in Hisname. The purpose of the

wondrous things that Jesusdid was to reveal theuniqueness of His Person asthe Son of God. Certainly wedo not seek to accomplishsuch a goal, for we do nothave the right to make sucha claim.

No, we are not to doworks greater in quality orpower, for He alone isChrist. What then are the“greater works”? The bestunderstanding of it, and onecommonly held by manyrespected Bible teachers, isthat the phrase speaks notof the quality of the worksbut of the scope of theworks. Think about it.

Such an expectation[greater works] seemsimpossible in the light ofHis character and power;yet, through the power of

the Spirit whom Jesussent after His ascension,there were more convertsafter the initial sermon ofPeter at Pentecost thanrecorded for Jesus duringHis entire career. Theinfluence of the infantchurch covered theRoman world, whereasJesus during His lifetimenever traveled outside theboundaries of Palestine.Through the disciples Hemultiplied His ministryafter His departure. Thebook of Acts is acontinuous record ofdeeds that followed theprecedent that Jesus hadbegun. As the living LordHe continued in Hischurch what He hadHimself begun. Heexpected that the churchwould become theinstrument by which Hecould manifest Himself toall people (Merrill C.Tenney, Expositor’s BibleCommentary, Zondervan


Publishing House,©1981, Vol.9, pp.145-146). We should be humbled

by the glorious promise thatby the power of the Spirit wecan be used of God toperform His work on abroad scale—even to theends of the earth.

What Are TheImplications? Perhaps theverse that captures theimplications of these truthsis 2 Corinthians 3:18, “Weall, with unveiled face,beholding as in a mirror theglory of the Lord, are beingtransformed into the sameimage from glory to glory,just as by the Spirit of theLord.” It is by the work ofthe Holy Spirit that spiritualtransformation takes place.This involves every area ofour spiritual lives.

Spiritual Growth. It isthe Spirit that matures usinto the image of Christ sothat we can give glory to theLord Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:1-

5). We are called to besubmissive to His control inour lives. That is ourresponsibility. But the HolySpirit is the One whoproduces the image andlikeness of Christ in us.

Spiritual Gifts. We are personally enabled bythe Spirit to perform variouskinds of spiritual ministry(see 1 Cor. 12; Rom. 12;Eph. 4:7-16; 1 Pet. 4:10-11).It is not by our own seekingor determination (1 Cor.12:11). Notice that spiritual gifts are not givenfor personal edification orglory. These gifts are givenfor ministry to the body ofChrist, the church (1 Cor.12:7). They are not to beexercised in pride, but inspiritual humility (Rom.12:3). Spiritual gifts have not been given so that we allfall in step with a commonexperience. Because ofdiversity in the body ofChrist (1 Cor. 12:4-6), itsmany unique and varied


members can contribute tothe building up of the body(Rom. 12:4-8). It is helpfulto be reminded that spiritualgifts are tools to be workedwith, not toys to be played with. They are theinstruments by which weperform our spiritual service,bearing fruit to the glory ofthe Father.

Spiritual Worship. It isby the Spirit that we are ableto give true worship to theliving God (Jn. 4:24). Thisworship, however, is always protected by theauthority and guidelines of the Word of God. This isstated directly in John 4 andreinforced in the guidelinesfor gifts in worship in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.

Jesus called His disciplesto glorify the Father bybearing much fruit (Jn.15:8). At the same time, theLord made it clear: “WithoutMe you can do nothing” (Jn.15:5). How can these twodirectives be resolved when

He had just said that Hewas going away? Jesusresolved them in thepromise of the Holy Spirit.

It is Jesus’ desire that weglorify the Father, so Hegave to His followers theindwelling Holy Spirit tomake it possible. How tragicthat so often we live lifetotally oblivious to thiswonderful Comforter in ourlives! We often ignore Hisenabling by which we giveglory to God in our spiritualgrowth, in our worship, andin our service to Him.

We live in a society thattruly needs to see the gloryof God expressed in aspiritually mature andempowered church. May wesubmit to the ministry of theOne who has come tomagnify God in Christ andsee His great work amongthe people of God. Let’s praywith Paul, “To Him be gloryin the church by Christ Jesusto all generations, foreverand ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:21).


LIVING IN THE SPIRIT

TTo experience Jesus’ promise of the Spirit, two

foundational truths must beacknowledged. The first isthat those who are in Christmust submit to the Spirit ifthey are going to grow inChristlikeness. Galatians 3:3asks, “Are you so foolish?Having begun in the Spirit,are you now being madeperfect by the flesh?” As thework of the Holy Spirit is anecessary part of oursalvation, His work is alsovital to our Christian living.

In this light, will you as abeliever give careful thoughtto the extent to which youconsciously submit to thecontrol of the Spirit andallow Him to guide your life?Will you consider what kindof temple you are providingfor His dwelling place? Willyou acknowledge that He isthe Holy Spirit, and allow

Him to produce godliness inyour life? This is essential toliving the Christian life. Andas we experience thiswonderful reality, we canknow the joy of Christ andintimacy of fellowship withHim.

If you don’t yet knowJesus Christ as your Saviorand Lord, your need isdifferent. You are still inyour sins and apart from theSpirit of God. But you don’tneed to stay there. You canfind hope in the simple butprofound truth that Christdied for your sins and willbring those who believe inHim to the Father.

He is the Savior who gaveHimself in sacrifice for yoursin. And He gave His Spiritfor your comfort andstrength. His cross providesforgiveness, and His Spiritoffers His presence. AcceptChrist by faith as your Savior,and allow the Spirit of God tobegin His wonderful work inyour life today!


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The Promise Of The Spirit - Clover Sitesstorage.cloversites.com/sisterscommunitychurch/documents/Week … · The Rebbe of Brooklyn, New York, died at age 92 in June 1995. At his funeral,