The Holy Spirit’s Cleansing and Gifting Work in a Believer’s Life

The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Holy Trinity. He is fully God and He has always existed with God[1]. He is revealed in Scripture in various ways and called a multitude of names throughout the Old and New Testament. He was present in Creation. [2] During the exodus from Egypt[3], the time of the first kings, and most notably during the ministry of the prophets, the Holy Spirit is active. It is in the baptism of Jesus that we see Him descend as a dove[4]. On Pentecost, He came as fire.[5]

The Holy Spirit is the promised gift of our heavenly Father to those who are followers of Jesus, His Son.[6] He is God’s Spirit and invites people to join God in relationship.[7] He is the agent of making our heart’s new and perfect.[8] The indwelling Holy Spirit is proof of our adoption into God’s family.[9] He fills our life and baptizes us into the abundant life of Jesus Christ.[10] He is the Spirit of truth that guides mankind to all truth. He does not speak on His own authority, but only speaks what He hears from the Father. He prepares and declares to us the things that we don’t understand about our own future. He is our advocate[11], God on our behalf. [12] He convicts us of things that do not please God so that we might continue to live in a manner that does please God.[13] The Holy Spirit also gives gifts to every believer to equip them for work in the ever-advancing Kingdom of God.[14]

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[1] Genesis 1:2

[2] Genesis 1:26

[3] The book of Exodus

[4] Matthew 3:13-16

[5] Acts 2

[6] Luke 24:49

[7] Kenneth E. Jones, Theology of Holiness and Love, Reformation Publishers 1989

[8] John 3:3-5

[9] 1 John 4:13

[10] Ephesians 5:18, Acts 1:8

[11] Romans 8:26

[12] John 15:26-16:12

[13] 1 Thessalonians 5:19

[14] 1 Corinthians 12:3-11

 

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The nature and saving mission of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ, the Son and Word of God[1], is eternal in His nature yet earthly in His incarnation[2]. In the Father’s perfect timing, He honored His covenant with mankind and His prophetic promises in the Old Testament of salvation by sending His Son, Jesus, into the world He created[3] to redeem, reconcile, restore, and rescue mankind from the sin that separated them from the Father. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary[4], with his nature being both completely God and completely human. You could say that Jesus is humanity as God intended it to be.[5] He was anointed as the Messiah and affirmed and empowered by the Holy Spirit at His baptism[6]. He introduced God’s kingdom reign on earth[7], overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation[8] while preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, mending the broken-hearted, casting out demons and raising the dead, just as Isaiah had foretold hundreds of years before.[9] By gathering and pouring His life into His disciples, He established a Bride and a Church to be the instrument of His kingdom.[10]

After dying for the sins of the world on the cross, Jesus was raised from the dead after three days, fulfilling the covenant of blessing given to Abraham.[11] In His sinless, perfect life Jesus met the demands of the law and in His atoning death, He bore God’s wrath and judgment for the sins that separated us from God because of His holy nature.[12] Sin could not defeat the Son of Man. After His glorious resurrection from the dead, He ascended into heaven and began His present rule at the right hand of the Father. He is the eternal Messiah‐King, advancing God’s reign throughout every tribe, tongue, and nation until the day of His return when every knee shall bow and every man confess that He is Lord.[13]

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[1] John 1:1-5

[2] John 1:14

[3] Colossians 1:15-23

[4] The Gospel of Luke 2, Galatians 4:4

[5] For a thorough explanation of this concept see Part 5 Chapter 1 of Russell R. Byrum’s, Christian Theology, Gospel Trumpet Company 1925

[6] Matthew 3:13-16

[7] Mark 1:15

[8] Mark 1:12-13

[9] Isaiah 61,

[10]See Chapter 5 “Christ and the Atonement” of F.G. Smith’s, What the Bible Teaches, Warner Press 1945

[11] Romans 4

[12] 1 Peter 1:18-19

[13] Philippians 2:8-11

 

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The essential nature and revealing activity of God

 

Simply put: God[1] wants to be known

The God of the universe is all knowing, all loving, always present, and longs to be at the center of all He has created. He is not hiding nor is He in solitary confinement. God’s nature is very public. His works are always on display[2]. The natural landscapes and atmosphere of the created world point to a God who enjoys His work and sees it as good[3]. God’s work is good because He is supremely good[4]. In His goodness, He made the crown of creation – mankind, who could enjoy all that God is and all that God has made[5]. The fingerprints of God are all over us, made in His image and likeness. However, God is the initiator of our knowledge of God. We did not stumble upon or seek out a relationship with God[6]. It was because of God’s great love that He has chosen to reveal Himself to us[7]. God was the catalyst of creation and the conductor of man’s communion with God. All that we know of reality points to His glorious nature, ability, and intelligent design.

As God reveals Himself fully, we discover that His very nature is relational. He exists in Triune form. Three very distinct persons yet in complete harmony form one God. A theologian once said, “Deny the doctrine of the Trinity and you’ll lose your salvation; try to comprehend it, and you’ll lose your mind.[8]” This glorious mystery is composed of God the Father, God the Son whose name is Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit each bonded together in love for each other and for us. Each person is essential to our faith and vital to our understanding of God as the triune relational creator of life[9].

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[1] . By the term “God” we mean the perfect, intelligent, conscious, moral Being existing from eternity, the Cause of all created things. – F.G. Smith, What the Bible Teaches, Warner Press 1945

[2] Psalm 19:1

[3] A common phrase in the creation account from Genesis Chapter 1, The Holy Bible

[4] Psalms 107:1

[5] Genesis 1:26-31

[6] Romans 3:11

[7] Romans 5:8

[8] Stanley J. Grenz, Created For Community, Baker Books 1996

[9] See Chapter 8 “The Trinitarian God” of Gilbert Stafford’s Theology for Disciples, Warner Press 1996

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