Overview of Santification and Pneumatology - Christian Growth Week 1 Lecture Notes

Xenos Christian Fellowship
Christian Growth

Week 1 – Overview of Sanctification and Pneumatology, Part 1

Overview

· Three Phases of Salvation

· What does Spiritual maturity look like?

· Loving Others

· Sound Doctrine

· Transformed Character

· The Identity of the Holy Spirit

· Contrasting the Holy Spirit's Work in Old and New Covenant

Introduction

Instructors: Go over the syllabus and course requirements. Remind people that they should be in a home group, since a home group provides a setting for using what they will learn in class. If they aren’t in a home group, they should look you up at break

For every-other-week students: In the spring of 2006, we measured student completion rates in weekly and every-other-weekly sections of Christian Growth. Students in the weekly track successfully completed the class 72% of the time. The completion rate in the every-other week track was just 50%! This is probably because the class is stretched out over 18, making it easier to lose motivation.

If you lack self-discipline or have done poorly in other classes, we strongly encourage you to take the weekly format of this course. If you do choose to attend the weekly version of Christian Growth, you can finish out your first class here tonight and attend the week 2 lecture of the weekly section next week.

The goal of this course

This course will help you cooperate with God as he transforms your character and empowers you to love others as he has loved you. Christians call this process “spiritual growth. The Bible uses the term “sanctification” to describe the gradual change that God brings about in the life of a Christian. This process results in us becoming more like Christ.

Definition of sanctification: A gradual process of spiritual growth in the life of a Christian that results in us becoming more like Christ.

The word “sanctification” simply means to set aside someone or something for a particular purpose. For example, God set apart Aaron and his descendants as priests to serve God in the temple:

(1 Chronicles 23:13) “Aaron was set apart (sanctified), he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.”

In a similar way, God wants to set us apart and transform our lives so that we can be useful in his service:

(2 Tim. 2:20-21) “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

This passage teaches that there is a direct relationship between becoming more Christ-like (sanctification) and becoming more effective in his service

Why do we think it is worth spending 9 weeks on sanctification?

· This is the most relevant issue for us.

Our sins are paid for and one day we will be with God in heaven. But sanctification is an ongoing process; it is where we are as Christians.

Many Christians view their conversion as the "end all" to their Christian lives. They can relate how they came to Christ, but not what has happened since then.

· It is a very complicated subject with many different views.

Christians differ in their perspectives on many areas related to sanctification:

· What role do we play in our growth? What role does God play?

· How does the Holy Spirit work to effect change in the life of a Christian?

· To what extent should I expect to have a powerful “experiences” with God? What role do these experiences play in my growth process?

· How should I approach God’s law?

· What can habits can I cultivate that will enhance my spiritual growth?

Whether you realize it or not, you already have a perspective on these issues. Your perspective will dramatically affect the whole tone of your Christian life and the life of the church.

Since this is the case, we should consciously examine the biblical material on this subject and choose a biblically consistent approach. That's what we want to do over the next 9/18 weeks.

· Because of the above two, Satan will attack here.

Once we become Christians, Satan knows that he has lost the first battle (our conversion). But he still seeks to distort and confuse our understanding of sanctification. As a result, many Christians become confused and lose their way. Christ’s witness in the world is also hurt when Christians pursue spiritual practices that are not taught in the Bible.

· Because we cannot effectively reach the lost or help other Christian without ongoing sanctification.

Before we begin the study of sanctification, let’s step back and get the broad picture of how sanctification relates to our salvation.

3 Phases of Salvation

“Salvation” means rescue or deliverance.

e.g. Kids in Cambodia being saved from working in a brothel.

Like many words, the word “salvation” has different meanings depending how it is used.

e.g. One word, “draw,” can mean different things depending on how it is used: “draw a picture,” “draw a conclusion, “draw a wagon.”

Salvation has a range of meanings. It can refer to:

· A past event: Being saved from the PENALTY of sin when God forgave us.

· A present process: Being saved from the POWER of sin as we mature spiritually.

· A future hope: Being saved from the PRESENCE of sin when we are with God in heaven.

These three “phases” of salvation are summarized in Philippians 1:6:

(Phil 1:6) For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

This passage implies that salvation is given to us in three distinct stages: "he who began a good work in you” (past event) “will perfect it” (present process) “until the day of Christ Jesus" (future hope).

The three biblical terms that are most often used to describe these three stages are justification, sanctification, and glorification. Consider the following distinctions between these stages:

Justification	Sanctification	Glorification
(Gal 2:16) Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.	Rom 6:22) But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.	(Phil 3:21) Who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Legal righteousness imputed; deliverance from sin's PENALTY.	Personal righteousness imparted; deliverance from sin's POWER.	Moral perfection & resurrected bodies; deliverance from sin's PRESENCE.
Establishes our POSITION. “Position” refers to how God views us as Christians (loved, forgiven, adopted as his child, etc.). Our position is stable because God’s view of us never changes (John 5:24).	Transforms our CONDITION. Our condition reflects the reality of our day-to-day lives. Some days we are closer to God than others, but over time, it is normal for Christians to become more like Christ.	Matches CONDITION with POSITION.
One act of faith.	Many acts of faith.	No act of faith.
Once-for-all-time.	Progressive, dynamic, never-ending in this life ("spiritual growth").	Once-for-all-time.

Note: The word “sanctification” also has a range of meaning. It does not always refer to spiritual growth. Sometimes, the author of Hebrews uses sanctification to refer to justification (see Hebrews 10:10,14; 12:14). Paul uses the noun form of sanctification (saints) to refer to people (see 1 Cor. 1:2). Notice that saints are not an elite class of super-mature Christians, but simply people who have been justified.

How can readers determine the exact meaning of a biblical word? The meaning is determined by the immediate context (the verses and paragraphs before and after the word under study) and author's normal usage of the word.

What is the Goal of Spiritual Maturity?

The ultimate goal of spiritual maturity is to glorify God.

(Philippians 1:9) “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Naturally we must turn to God (not our impressions and traditions) to define what brings glory to Him. Scripture tells us that we bring glory to God when who we are and what we do draws the attention of others in a positive way towards him. When we co-operate with God and allow him to change us, others see the change and glorify God as a result. (Gal. 1:24.)

Scripture also gives us a clear picture of what kind of transformation that will bring glory to him. This kind of transformation that God wants to bring about in our character is what we call spiritual maturity. God wants to transform (to sanctify) us in many ways but we can summarize what spiritual maturity looks like in three key areas. It is essential that we know where we are headed in this area because without a clear picture it is so easy to get off track and pursue behavior that instead of bringing glory to God ends us tarnishing his reputation.

Three Aspects of Spiritual Maturity

In John 15, Jesus talks to his disciples about spiritual growth and emphasizes making progress in three areas:

· loving others

· sound doctrine

· transformed character

Each area is discussed in the context of having a close relationship with Jesus. If we aren’t connected with him (a.k.a. “abiding” in Christ), transformation in these three areas will never occur.

These three areas of maturity are emphasized throughout the New Testament: Paul mentions each one repeatedly in his letters, John elaborates on them in 1 John, and so does Jesus in his letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3.¹ We will use John 15:7-14 as our base text.

(John 15:7-14) "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. 11These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. 12This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

1. Loving Others

(John 15:12) "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I loved you."

In our culture, spirituality is not so much about loving others, but about learning to love self. It is often characterized by the themes of self-improvement, self progress, self healing.

Biblical spirituality is different. Its primary focus is learning to love others as God has loved us. (1 Cor. 13:1-3; 1 John 4:20,21). It is the central ethic in the Bible (Matt 22;37-40; 1 Tim 1:5; 1 Peter 4:8).

Definition: Biblical love is a commitment to give of one's self in every area for the good of the other (Phil. 2:3,4).

We can think of practicing biblical love along two axes: HOW we love & WHOM we love:

HOW we love:

· Sacrificial (putting other’s needs first) rather than conditional.

· Disciplining rather than mushy sentimentalism or compromise of Biblical principles just to "keep the peace."

· Forgiving rather than resenting or reserving the right to retaliate.

· Emotional rather than defining love solely in functional terms.

The father's actions in the parable of the Lost Son illustrate these aspects of love (Luke 15).

WHOM we love:

· Love people you know already. (1 Thes. 3:12)

· Love people who you don’t know, people who aren’t like you and even your enemies (Matt. 5:46; Luke 10:25-37; Matt. 28:19). We may have to break old habits in this area, since most of us used to pick our friends based on natural affinity

· Seek depth and breath

Depth: Building deeper relationships with people we already know.

Breadth: Extending ourselves beyond the scope of our existing relationships. This includes evangelism, follow-up, hospitality, serving the poor, missions, etc.. (as we get older, this gets more difficult, circle of friends, etc. gets tighter)

What happens to those who neglect this area?

· "Dead Sea" Christians: All inflow through Bible study, etc.—but no outflow in active love. They become stagnant spiritually.

· Compromised Christians: Unless they find meaning and purpose in serving others, most Christians will be seduced by the world system. For pre-career aged people this may be pursuing hedonism, for adults out of school it may be materialism.

Any spirituality that does not evidence itself in biblical love toward other people is deficient or false (see 1 Cor. 13:1-3). A self-centered spirituality, no matter how knowledgeable, moral or experiential, is a contradiction in terms!

This is a "Y in the road" for most Christians in our affluent culture. Is your Christianity only for you or is it primarily for others? Will you pursue God's purposes in the world while living out your career, etc., or will your career, pursuit of money, and hobbies exclude your "usefulness to the Master for every good work" (2 Tim. 2:20,21).

Christians who fail to understand that following Christ is primarily about loving others will plateau and eventually regress in their maturity. Aside from becoming a Christian and getting involved with a community of believers, no other decision will affect our growth process more than our willingness to shift our focus off of self and onto loving other people.

What happens to those who focus only on loving others?

§ Shallow activism: You will provide only shallow, superficial love. Unless your acts of love are being directed by biblical discernment you can't really help others grow spiritually. The truth sets people free (John 8:31,32).

§ Moral failure: Those who ignore their own moral transformation by their preoccupation with serving others may wind up disqualifying themselves.

Illustration: Love is like a flowing river. The water signifies the love, but it must be contained by the banks of truth and moral behavior. Otherwise it is diffused and shallow.

How does God help us to develop in this area?

· He provides us with models to imitate: We can follow the example of people in the Body of Christ who have a loving lifestyle.

· He gives us opportunities to serve others: The Holy Spirit will prompt you to serve the people around you. A home group is a great place to find ways to serve and love others. This is why we require students in this course to be in a home group. Another way we serve is by caring for people who don’t know Christ and sharing the Gospel with them.

· He blesses us when we choose to love others: Jesus repeatedly taught and modeled this to the disciples (John 13:17; Acts 20:35).

· He gradually shows us our unique role/gifts: Our gifts become apparent as we begin to serve others, which is very motivating because we see the true purpose for our lives.

· He exposes our weak areas: Some people rub us the wrong way or we just don't feel a natural affinity for them. What are we going to do? We can either ask God, "What do you want me to learn about myself in my attempts to love this person?" OR we can seek to avoid the person. (Examples: outreach for introverts; close friendships for extroverts; confrontation for a fearful person; compassion for aggressive people; emotional and personal intimacy for impersonal functioners).

2. Sound doctrine

(John 15: 7) "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.

Definition: A growing understanding of God's perspective on the world and every area of our lives as revealed in his Word.

God wants Christians to grow in their understanding of the biblical worldview, God's perspective on reality as taught in scripture, and especially the doctrine of grace. There can be no true spirituality which is not rooted in and constantly fed by objective, biblical truth. To the extent that your view of spirituality denigrates this, it is deficient.

Why do we need sound doctrine?

(Isaiah 55:8,9) "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Do you doubt your perspective? When you are certain you see something “right,” what does this passage imply about what you are thinking?

Be careful to avoid the FALSE dichotomy between "head knowledge" (intellectual understanding) and "heart knowledge" (experiential apprehension). God does want us to have an experience with him, but it needs to be informed by his truth. Therefore it's never heart knowledge instead of head knowledge, but experience flowing from acting on what we know is true (head knowledge).

What happens to those who neglect this area?

· We will be conformed to the world: The Bible teaches that Satan has authored the values that drive the world we live in (1 John 2:15,16; 5:19). As a result, there is little or nothing in the world system around us that encourages people to maintain a biblical world view.

e.g. There are no billboards reminding us that all we are and own belongs to God and therefore we should give generously to his work.

e.g. Secular radio does not encourage us to "consider others more important than ourselves."

The constant influence of our culture will direct us away from God's perspective without deep and growing knowledge of the major doctrines of the Bible and their application.

· We will become prime candidates for spiritual deception: Many of Paul's letters (e.g., Colossians) are written to counter deception—what does Paul emphasize? Doctrine!

· We will increasingly view the Bible as “old hat”: Christians should always be growing, not only in their understanding of scripture, but in their ability to explain it to others.

· It doesn’t matter how many verses you have memorized or teachings you’ve sat under. Everyone needs to regularly be reminded of the truth.

(2 Peter 1:12)Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.

There’s nothing worse than being in a Bible study full of Christians who have lost their sense of wonder and curiosity about the Word. Why should someone join a Bible study if the participants aren’t interested in the subject? Regardless of how much Bible we know, we all prayerfully strive to better understand the message of the Bible and how to apply it to our lives.

May we always have the attitude that David conveys in Psalm 119:19:

(Psalms 119:18)Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from your law.

When God’s word becomes "old hat," something is PROFOUNDLY wrong. Billy Graham and Oswald Sanders both have said, “If I had it to do over again, I would have spent more time studying the Bible as a younger Christian.”

What happens to those who focus only on this area?

(J. I. Packer) “You know the sort of person I mean—one who is always reading, always exploring questions of truth, poking half the time into esoteric aspects of typology, unfulfilled prophecy, the millennium, the symbolic chapters of Revelation, and the problems of Bible harmony. He or she is not much concerned about experience, not very active in obedience and service of others, and not distinguished for a radically changed life. But the head is always busy with theological questions, and is full to overflowing with doctrine. In an anti-intellectual age like ours, such love of truth, and such devotion to the task of determining it, are rare and precious; and as we saw earlier, interest in the truth about God is natural to all the born-again. But is that interest, in and of itself, a token of good spiritual health? . . . No, it is not!”²

· They often aren’t interested in serving others or sharing their faith.

· They will be proud (1 Cor. 8:1) and prone to deception unless they also pursue moral transformation and service as directed by the Bible.

· They may become filled with doubt. This is a natural result of not seeing God working in their and other peoples' lives through ministry

How does God help us to develop in this area?

· The Holy Spirit helps us by illuminating our minds to understand the meaning, significance and personal application of biblical truth (2 Tim. 2:7 - EXAMPLES; Eph. 3:14-21).

· God will show us our need for growth in this area by sending us people we don't know how to help because we don't know the Word.

· He also works in our lives to give us opportunities to apply the truth we're learning. Sometimes we learn something from our own study or a teaching, and then get a real-life opportunity to put it into practice (STUDENTS IN THIS CLASS), and sometimes vice-versa.

· He provides us with teachers to help us make sense of the Bible and learn how to study it for ourselves. Are we taking advantage of these opportunities?

3. Transformed character

(John 15:10) “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.”

Definition: This is the deep-seated change in our character, behavior, values and attitudes that God works to gradually effect.

Because God is a moral Being, true spirituality has moral content. Any view of spirituality that does not emphasize this is deficient at best, and heretical at worst.

Contemporary spirituality does not evaluate behavior on the basis of an objective moral standard. Instead, introducing a moral component to spirituality is seen as Victorian and repressive.

God wants to eliminate and replace. Negatively, he exposes sinful areas he wants to eliminate. Positively, he wants to cultivate character qualities like self-discipline, courage, patience, kindness, etc. (Gal. 5; 1 Cor. 13).

What happens to those who neglect this area?

· It will be very difficult to build deep relationships (marriage; discipleship) unless you allow God to sanctify you in-depth in this area.

· You will tend to be intolerant of others' sins.

· Moral disqualification: Someone may say, “Since I'm involved in ministry, it doesn't really matter whether I allow God to sanctify my anger problem with my spouse." But Paul says our usefulness in service is connected to our character (2 Timothy 2:20,21). God may pass us over for ministry opportunities that we are functionally suited for because we won't cooperate with him in moral transformation.

What happens to those who focus only on this area?

· You will become a self-centered, judgmental, superficial moralist. A commitment to love (above) is what exposes need for moral transformation. Therefore, ironically, although claiming to focus on moral transformation, unless you are ALSO investing in biblical love relationships you won't experience in-depth moral transformation.

· You will also tend to set up a system of rules that aren't moral (biblical) and treat them as important as biblical imperatives. (Mark 7:6-8,13)

· This can lead to despair. If we are honest about our moral shortcomings when focusing on them, AND don't have a clear understanding of the grace of Christ and how it applies to that sin, we will despair.

How does God help us to develop in this area?

o God personally prioritizes what he wants to work on at this time, and leads us accordingly. This frees us from the impossible and overwhelming chore of trying to change ourselves on our own timetable. (Ps. 139:23,24)

o God motivates us to turn away from destructive sinful attitudes by providing positive experiences and convinces us that his ways are better than our old ways. We also see that our sinful ways are destructive to ourselves and others.

o God provides positive and negative models of our needed character change. God brings people and situations into our lives that expose the areas he wants to work on (SPOUSES; ROOMMATES; BOSSES; etc.; Rom. 5:3-5; Jam. 1:2-4). He also supplies us with models who give us hope that we can be changed, and who supply us with practical steps to progress.

Are you able to take God's correction in moral areas?

(Psalm 32:8) "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him."

If we reserve the right to reject God's moral correction we "pull the plug" on our spiritual vitality. Unrepentant sin is a prevalent reason for spiritual depression.

Sanctification Summary

While the categories above are helpful, they don’t fully capture everything that happens during the process of spiritual growth. God is at work in you to thoroughly change every part of your life.

(Eph 4:14,15) As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; (15) but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ . . .

As you have listened to God's description of spiritual maturity, he has undoubtedly shone his light on some areas in which he wants to develop in you. What is your response going to be? Some of you will feel guilty, others will feel impotent to change, others will be gung-ho.

Don't rationalize your weaknesses, or judge those who are imbalanced in ways different from you. The purpose of this course is to teach you how to cooperate with God in those areas he is addressing in your life. This will result in your growing into the kind of balanced and mature Christian worker he desires you to be.

If you ask God to grow you into full-orbed maturity, you can trust that he will reveal both areas of imbalance/deficiency and opportunities to grow in those areas,

You can also trust he will give you the resources you need to become a mature Christian worker. The primary way he empowers us to change is by giving us the Holy Spirit.

Pneumatology, Part 1

Introduction

Pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit.

The identity and role of the Holy Spirit needs clarification for many Christians. Most denominations have seriously neglected instruction on the Holy Spirit, so that many Christians have virtually no understanding of him. This ignorance has in turn made many vulnerable to unbalanced or unbiblical ideas about the Holy Spirit. There are two dangers that we want to avoid:

Neglect: Without adequate focus on the Spirit, churches become moralistic and deistic. In the late 1800's, there was a near absence of teaching on the Holy Spirit. For example, in Robert Dapney's 900 page work, Lectures in Theology, published in 1878, only 4 pages are devoted to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Overemphasis: With excessive focus on the Spirit, churches become subjective, sensual, and narcissistic. In 1902 the Azuza street revival and the Pentecostal movement that followed brought a needed correction to the lack of teaching on the Holy Spirit but in some areas went too far (e.g. tongues must be spoken to evidence true regeneration).

It’s easy to fall into extremes either way. If you are uncomfortable asking God to experience all the Spirit provides OR if you're irritated when your experiences are challenged with scripture, you may be out of balance and out of step with God in this area.

This lesson surveys the biblical content concerning the identity and role of the Holy Spirit and seeks a balanced approach.

Identity of the Holy Spirit

1. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force or a part of God.

Many people view the Holy Spirit as a force/power source that can be tapped into. Against this, the Bible emphasizes the personhood of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is a person, not a force or a part of God.

· He has the elements of personality:

· Intelligence

(1 Cor. 2:l0,11) For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. (11) For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

· Emotion

(Eph. 4:30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

· Will

(1 Cor. l2:11) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

· He is grouped with other known persons.

(Matt. 28:19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

See also 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2; Acts 2:33,38; Gal. 4:6; 2 Cor. 1:21,22.

· The use of the personal pronoun "he" (as opposed to "it") indicates personhood (Jn. l6:l3,l4).

(John 16:13,14) “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. 14 He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.”

2. The Holy Spirit is fully God.

· He possesses divine attributes

o omniscience

(1 Cor. 2:11,l2) For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. (12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God.

o omnipresence

(Ps. l39:7) Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?

o He is equated with God

(2 Cor. 3:l7) Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

(Acts 5:3,4) But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4) "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God."

Contrasting the Holy Spirit's Work in Old and New Covenant

Generally speaking, the Holy Spirit is much more active among God’s people in the New Covenant than he was in the Old Covenant

	Old Testament	New Testament
Pages in New American Standard version of Bible (NASB)	1334	396
Number of references to Holy Spirit	78*	235
	5.8%	59.3%

* many Old Testament passages mention the Spirit in reference to His work in the future in the New Covenant.

There are three major areas of contrast between the Old Covenant and New Covenant work of the Holy Spirit:

1. The Holy Spirit was with rather than in God's people.

Evidently, God's presence in the Holy of Holies foreshadowed his purpose to indwell the hearts of his people. This was made possible by the death of Christ. He did not indwell God's people in the same sense that he does in the New Covenant (Ezek. 36:27). Note also the contrast between "is with you" and "will be in you" in Jn. l4:l7. Instead, he "came upon" them, or empowered them to carry out God's strategic purposes.

(Ezek. 36:27) And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

(John 14:17) . . . that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. . . .

The Holy Spirit did, at times, "came upon" or "fill" judges and kings to give them charismatic leadership (Judges l4:6; 1 Sam. 16:l3), upon prophets to enable them to communicate God's Word (2 Pet. l:2l; Micah 3:8), and upon those who built the Tabernacle (Ex. 3l:3) to construct it skillfully.

2. His involvement was selective, not universal.

Evidently, not all Old Covenant believers received the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Rather, this was reserved for those in leadership positions (see second paragraph under point 1 above). In the New Covenant, all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and receive his other ministries (1 Cor. l2:l3*; Rom. 8:9).

(Joel 2:28) 'And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

(1 Cor. 12:13) For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

(Rom. 8:9) However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

3. His involvement was temporary, not permanent.

Unlike the New Covenant, in which believers are permanently indwelt (Jn.14:l6), Old Covenant figures could (and did) lose the presence of the Holy Spirit (Ps. 5l:ll; Judges l6:14; l6:20; 1 Sam. l6:l4).

(1 Sam. 16:14) Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.

(Psa. 51:11) Do not cast me away from Thy presence, And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.

(John 14:16) "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

Summary:

OLD COVENANT	NEW COVENANT
*With*	in
*selectively given*	*universally given*
*Temporary*	*permanent*

Why the difference?

The redemptive work of Christ made it possible for the Holy Spirit to become more actively involved among God's people (Jn. 7:37-39).

(John 7:37-39) Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Jesus' glorification included his death (See John 12:23), resurrection, and ascension (the Spirit was not given until Jesus ascended). See also Phil. 2:8-11.

God used to fill the Temple with his presence. But now God's people are the literal dwelling place of God as the Holy Spirit lives in each believer. (Eph. 2:21,22; 1 Peter 2:4,5; 1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Cor. 6:19)

The Holy Spirit's Work in Christ

1. The Holy Spirit was active in the virgin conception of Christ (Luke 1:35; Matthew l:20).

2. He presumably indwelt Jesus throughout his whole life.

· Jesus normally ministered by the power of the Holy Spirit rather than by exercising his own divine attributes (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38).

· The Holy Spirit also empowered Jesus to live a sinless life, which qualified him to be our sacrificial substitute (Heb. 9:l4).

Note: The Holy Spirit "came upon" Jesus (Mt. 3:l6) to identify him as God's Messiah (Jn. l:33).

For more on this, see the week on Christology in Christian Ministry 1.

3. The Holy Spirit was also active in Jesus' resurrection (Romans l:4).

Conclusion

Our goal in this course is to help you pursue your sanctification. But the growth process is both challenging and costly. Fortunately, God has given us the resources we need to change and grow, and he promises great reward as we continue to pursue him and his purpose for our lives.

(2 Peter 1:3-4)seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Vs. 3,4: God has supplied everything we need to progress toward maturity (Phil. 1:6*).

(2 Peter 1:5-7) Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Vs. 5-7: Can you find the 3 aspects of spiritual maturity?

(2 Peter 1:8-11)For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or shortsighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Vs. 8-11: What tremendous benefits! Useful and fruitful in God's service; guaranteed to not live a wasted or shattered life; and a rich welcome and reward at the BEMA.

It is impossible to experience God working through your relationship with Him, without understanding who His Spirit is and how he works. Next week we will look at specific ways the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

Memory Verses

Phil. 1:6* – speaks of three stages of salvation, and emphasizes God's faithfulness in each of these stages

Jn. 15:7-12** – speaks of all three aspects of spiritual maturity

Assignment

Read John chapters 14-16 and make 5 observations about who the Holy Spirit is or how He works in our lives today.

1 See John's emphasis in 1 John on doctrinal fidelity (2:24; 4:1-3;14,15), moral obedience (1:5-2:6) and loving others (2:7-11; 4:7-21). John purposefully defines spirituality in these terms in order to combat a Gnostic emphasis on subjective experience. Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus likewise urge them to emphasize doctrinal understanding (1 Tim. 1:3,4; 3:2,9; 4:6,13,15; 6:3,20; 2 Tim. 1:13,14; 2:8,15,24; 3:14-4:4; Titus 1:9,13,14; 2:1,2,7), moral character (1 Tim. 2:2; 3:2-12; 4:12; 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:3-6,19-22; 3:16; Titus 1:6-8; 2:2-10; 3:1,2), and love manifested practically through good deeds (1 Tim. 1:5; 2:10,15; 3:4,12; 4:12; 5:10; 6:11,18; 2 Tim. 1:7; 2:22,24,25; 3:10; Titus 2:2,4,14; 3:8,14). Jesus' primary concerns for the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3 reveals the same three foci: pure doctrine (2:2,6,13-15,20,24; 3:8), moral purity (2:14,20-22), and love (2:4,5,19). References to these three emphases from the other epistles are too numerous to mention.

2 J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness (Vine Books, 1992) p. 168.