GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT—What Baptists Believe
#792 GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
What Baptists Believe
Scripture Luke 3:16; Acts 2:33, NIV Orig. 3/6/1983
Rewr. 3/23/1988
Passage:
Luke 3
16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[a] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.
Acts 2
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Purpose: In a message accentuating Baptist Beliefs, here calling attention to the person and work of God the Holy Spirit.
Keywords: God, Sustainer Series, Baptist Beliefs Holy Spirit Trinity
Introduction
Grady Welch, our Director of Stewardship for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, used to tell about a church down in one of our CenLa parishes that discovered oil on its property. I went through that parish last week and saw some of those wells pumping still. The church was just a small one as numbers go. And even thirty years ago, the return would be considerable. A hasty business meeting was called, and the membership closed except to the families of members who might come on profession of faith. They were going to divide the income among themselves, and didn’t want people to join expecting to get in on the spoils.
William Temple long before had written well relative to the church and its relation to community. “The church exists primarily for those who never go near it,” he declared. How sad it becomes when a church exists to pay tribute to itself. It exists to exist.
As God the Son came into the human picture to intercede with God the Father for our salvation, even so, God the Holy Spirit came, following the human Jesus in a renewed display of Spirit presence. His purpose was and is to magnify the work of Jesus in the world. His work inside the church must be mutually directed toward those who are outside the church, and never can be exclusive of them.
Dr. James Stewart wrote, “When a church is not worried about those who never go near it, . . . that church may be flourishing, but it is certainly not Christian.” This message deals with the place allowed the Holy Spirit in our lives.
I. We Must First Acknowledge the Scriptural Declaration of God the Holy Spirit.
I remind you that the Holy Spirit is spoken of as God in the Scriptures. Consider the case of Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5:3,4, “Ananias, . . . you have lied to the Holy Spirit . . . . You have not lied to man but to God.” Wrong done to men. Wrong done to the faith. But chiefly, sin against God.
It is positively asserted also. I Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Hieron is the temple precincts. Naos is the place where God and man come face to face. Before Christ only the designated priest could enter. The believer is where lost people encounter God.
I remind you as well, that the Holy Spirit is given the attributes of God. We know that God is life. Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free.” We know that God is truth. John 16:13, “When he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you to all truth.” We know that God is love. Romans 15:30, “I urge you brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit . . . (pray) for me.”
And I remind you that the Holy Spirit is assigned the works of God. The work of God in creation: Genesis 1:2, “The Spirit of God was brooding upon the face of the waters.” The work of God in undergirding Christ: Matthew 12:28, “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God then the Kingdom of God has come.” The work of God in redemption: John 3:5, “Except a man is born of . . . the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” Titus 3:5, “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. The work of God in renewed faith: Romans 8:11, “He who raised Christ from the dead . . . will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”
II. We Must then Understand that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person of the Godhead.
He is more than just a positive influence. It is true that the word for spirit is the same as for “wind, breath,” and as such is a [gender-neutral] word. But references to the Holy Spirit find this [gender-neutral] word accompanied by a masculine pronoun. John 16:13, “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” As with other references where the Holy Spirit is intended: John 14:26, “The comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, . . . he will teach you all.”
The Holy Spirit is never referred to in Scripture as an “it,” nor must we. He is a person. He has personality. We perceive of mind, will, even emotions. Intelligence—I Corinthians 2:10f, “The Spirit searcheth . . . the deep things of God. The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit.” Will—I Corinthians 12:11, “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing . . . as he will.” Emotions—Romans 15:30, speaks of the “love of the Spirit”; Ephesians 4:30, calls attention to the fact that he can be “grieved.”
III. Finally, We Must Grasp a Personal Relation with the Holy Spirit.
He is a seeking, searching agent for God even in man’s lost estate. Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the . . . renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
Thus, the Holy Spirit is the major influence both before and after conversion.
The Holy Spirit comes into our lives at the time that we receive Christ as Lord. Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” There must be genuine repentance—not guilt for getting caught; not a tear-jerking confession at impressing someone; [but] repentance before God. There should be a covenant of trust that eventuates in baptism. [In] this interwoven tapestry of faith, repentance, remission, trust, baptism, there is the assuring gift of the Holy Spirit.
There are yet other applications of the Holy Spirit’s influence. The above is the “gift” of the Holy Spirit. There are also “gifts” of Holy Spirit: Romans 12:5, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ . . . having then, gifts according to the grace given”; Hebrews 2:4, “distributing the gifts of Holy Spirit." And there is the “fruit” of the Holy Spirit; this is the mellowing of our lives, growing in Bible knowledge and Christ-likeness.
During a time of rowdiness in our convention, an evangelist (James Robinson) wrote to [the] Baptist Message (3/1983) a letter of apology for verbal attacks he had engaged in on those who disagreed with him. “My eyes were distracted to focus more on the cancer in Baptist life than the cure.” “I’ve become more concerned about my own sin than the sin of others.”
The “filling” of the Holy Spirit is an imperative of faith. Ephesians 5;18, “Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be ye filled with the Spirit”: Submission to His authority; few are full—it is complete submission; the Holy Spirit’s work is to magnify Christ—to be full of the Holy Spirit is to be full of desire to praise and honor our Lord.
Conclusion
Dr. F.B. Meyer gives a classic example of the work of the Holy Spirit. The young daughter of a prominent individual had started to take piano lessons. The parents of the little girl fussed over her even though her playing was more painful to non-family members than pleasurable. They would allow her to invade the gathering of their friends to “play" for these guests. Some started looking for excuses to get away early before the little girl started.
On one occasion, an eminent pianist was present. Instead of leaving, as some did, he took a place on the bench by the little girl. He began filling the void of the child’s discordant notes. In fact, it turned into very beautiful music. People who tried to leave were returning.
After a few minutes at the piano, the musician led the little girl around the room to receive the thanks and the praise of the other guests. So said Dr. Meyer, “The Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmities.” (Romans 8:26)
Alternate Conclusion
I read someone account of Will Campbell’s story in Brother to a Dragonfly1, of the Easter chicken. An acquaintance bought a purple chicken for his little girl at Easter. She loved it, for a little while. Then the chick began to feather out. Underneath that purple down, began to appear little pin feathers, and they were not purple, they were red. It was an awful picture, and the little girl no longer found it appealing. So, the chick went out in the chicken yard.
But there it was out of place. Some of the purple still showed. The other chickens knew it was different. It became this man’s parable of the church.
For a while, the other chickens resisted this one. They pecked it, chased it over the yard, generally, made its life miserable. At first the chick didn’t fight back. It was the new kid on the block. But even before all the purple was gone, the chick was bigger and stronger and knew that feed went to those who struggled for it. It just became like all the other chickens.
His point was, “Who needs an Easter chicken?” Or, “Who needs the church?”
But Preacher Campbell tried to point out that it was good because it still laid eggs. “Yeah, Preacher Will. It lays eggs. But they all lay eggs. Who needs an Easter chicken for that? And the Rotary Club serves coffee. And the 4-H Club says prayers. The Red Cross takes up offerings for hurricane victims. Mental Health does counseling, and the Boy Scouts have youth programs.”
The underlying question came clearly through. The parable was contemporary. “What unique thing does the church do?”
Don M. Aycock, Symbols of Salvation2
______________________
Temple: https://williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/about-the-foundation/archbishop-william-temple/
Campbell: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/B/Brother-to-a-Dragonfly
Aycock: https://www.amazon.com/Symbols-salvation-Don-M-Aycock/dp/0805451900
1Campbell, W. (2018). Brother to a Dragonfly. University Press of Mississippi.
2Aycock, D.M. (1982). Symbols of Salvation. Broadman Press.
THE THEOLOGY OF LIGHT
#793 THE THEOLOGY OF LIGHT
Scripture John 8:12-29, NIV Orig. 2/25/1983
Rewr. 4/24/1991
Passage: Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
Dispute Over Who Jesus Is
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.” 27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
Purpose: Continuing the series from the gospel, here describing the language of light depicting Christ as the agent of God.
Keywords: Christ as Light Doctrine Series Beliefs God Trinity
Timeline/Series: Bible Study John
Introduction
Chapter seven introduced the time and place. It was the occasion of the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2,10). Because of the hostilities of the Jews, Jesus had spent the last weeks in Galilee. As the time of the festival approached, more and more of the people began to make their way to Jerusalem. Even His own brothers mocked Him about going on up to the feast to show His “works.”
At the appropriate time, however, He went up also. We are not given His specific itinerary. We do know that the first night of the festival was the setting of a ceremony called “The Illumination of the Temple.” Four great candelabra were prepared, and at dark were lighted.
It was not exactly a Thursday night bonfire before the big game. It was not akin to the lighting of the Christmas lights in Natchitoches. It certainly would not have measured up to the fires set on the Mississippi levee on Christmas Eve down in the Gramercy, Lutcher area of St. James Parish. But it was impressive. Ask the person who has spent time with bandaged eyes what the first glimmer of light was like.
The celebration went on all night. The wisest and holiest of Israel’s men danced before the Lord and sang psalms of joy and praise. Every courtyard in the city became a reflection of that light from the temple.
Perhaps it is now the next day. Jesus has seen this glow from the Mount of Olives (8:1). To the gathering of people who have now come to hear Him He says, “I am the light of the world.”
I. The Light of the World Attests to a Theology of Opportunity. V12 “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jesus is accorded a place never given to any other. He is the unique “Son of God.” John dealt with this very thing earlier. 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son . . . .” “Only begotten” says the King James. “Only one of his kind” says the Greek. Some versions use “unique.”
He is not trying to take from these struggling people the joy of the festival. He points them to a more luminous light. There will be no such ceremony in the temple the next night, or the next. He is simply affirming for them a light that can never burn out. The talon is not expended. The oil is not depleted. The wick is not carbonized.
He gives them the opportunity to bask in the glow of One who has come from God. 19th Century history tells us of Prince Frederick of Prussia. He was a good and capable man in line for the throne. His German doctors found a growth, advised its removal. He would lose his voice. Other doctors advised to the contrary. Frederick did nothing. Within a year he was dead. Kaiser Wilhelm ascended to the throne, far less capable, or intelligent, or experienced. Could WWI have been avoided had Frederick heard?
In the verses that follow, Jesus plainly declares the need of His hearers to heed. Jesus was making His presence felt. “I go my way, . . . ye seek me, and . . . ye die in your sins.” V21. All the time they are looking for a deliverer, a Messiah.
How many people around us are looking for a deliverer, of their own expectations? Jesus was there as the breaking dawn. They were content with such light as may come under the door.
II. The Light of the World Accords a Theology of Oneness. V18 “I am one that bears witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.”
So much that we know of God we learned of Jesus. He is Himself expressly called God. John 1:1 “The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.” The works of God are ascribed to Him. John 1:3 “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” Colossians 1:16 “All things were created by Him, and for Him.”
Jesus receives honors due to God only. Acts 7:59 (Stephen dying) “Lord Jesus, receive my soul.” Philippians 2:10 “That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, and of things in heaven and . . . in earth, and . . . under the earth.”
Jesus claimed equality with God. John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.” In this passage He says so, 8:19, “If ye had known me, ye had known my Father also.”
Jesus has come, not just to Jerusalem’s darkness, but Bernice [Louisiana]’s as well. 8:31f “If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” These are not the words of a misguided zealot, or an over-ambitious prophet. These are the words of God.
Scripture recognizes Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are not perceived separately. This is not tritheism (three Gods). We perceive them distinctly in their roles, but their work is never contradictory. Even after 2,000 years of the attestations of deity, countless people deny. On the wall of a Palatine Palace in Rome: a human figure is fixed on a cross, with the head of an ass. A man kneels in worship. “Alexamenos adore his God.” Mocks believers in Christ.
III. The Light of the World Affirms a Theology of Obligation. V24 “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” Many confirm for us who He is. William Gladstone: “All I write, and all I think, and all I hope, is based upon the divinity of our Lord, the one . . . hope of our poor wayward race.”
Vance Havner: “The world by its wisdom believes that the natural man can be cultivated and refined until he can pass inspection at the judgment bar of God. But the gospel entertains no such hope for the fallen sons of Adam.” S103 p73.
This obligation is directed to all alike. To the first century Jew who nailed Him to a cross. To the 20th Century church member to whom faith is a table game. International chess match may last for weeks. We have so many interests, and our response to Christ is a small part of one of them.
Ballad [by Pete Seeger]:
Where have all the people gone?
Gone to graveyards every one!
When will they ever learn?
When will WE ever learn?
Conclusion
Robert Browning writes of an occasion when Charles Lamb (18th Century English essayist) was hosting a gathering of his contemporaries. They began to discuss their reactions if some of the notable people of history should suddenly join them. Browning writes that Charles Lamb became suddenly quite serious. He asked, “And if Christ entered the room?” He was said to have stuttered he was so moved at the thought, and then continued, “You see, if Shakespeare entered, we should all rise; if He (Jesus Christ) appeared, we must kneel.”
Doubtless, the world will never know the height of Jesus’ power, including the so-called Christian nations, until we are ready to pay Him homage.