Sunday, March 23, 2014 am
BACK TO BASICS – 11
The Godhead – 4
What is the Work of the Holy Spirit?
As we continue our
study of the Godhead, we have discussed who Jesus is, Jesus as the Son
of God, The Holy Spirit as God (and the Godhead).
Today we want to discuss the work of the Holy Spirit.
Being the Holy Spirit, we are still dealing with a subject that
is much misunderstood and often neglected.
But it is fundamental to our faith that we fully understand Who
God is and how He works today.
a.
He
worked in creation – Gen.
1:2, 1:26-27 – let us make man…
b.
He
was at work in the life of Jesus
– as we noted last week. You
find Him at His birth, baptism, in His temptations, throughout His
preaching and teaching, at the cross and His resurrection.
c.
Holy Spirit and miracles –
He had an integral part in miracles in scripture.
i.
Acts 2:1-4
when the apostles spoke in tongues it was because they were filled with
the Holy Spirit.
ii.
The
purpose of miracles was primarily to confirm the message preached –
Jesus demonstrated His power and teachings with miracles -
In Matthew 9:6 (cf. 9:1-8) Jesus healed a paralytic to
demonstrate that He was the Son of Man with power to forgive sins.
The miracle confirmed His claims.
In John 5:36 (10:25) Jesus clearly said the works bore witness of Him.
On Pentecost as Peter preached he noted,
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus
of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and
signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also
know—” (Acts 2:22)
The apostles and other inspired men similarly confirmed their message
with miracles - Heb. 2:3-4, Mark 16:20, Acts 5:12, “And through
the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the
people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch” and Romans 15:18–19, “For I will not dare to speak of any of those
things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed,
to make the Gentiles obedient—in mighty signs and wonders, by the power
of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to
Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”
See also Ephesians 3:1-5, 2 Cor. 12:11-12, etc.
iii.
1 Cor.
12:1-11 is a passage that links miraculous spiritual gifts to the Holy
Spirit. He distributes them
as He wills.
iv.
Miracles have ceased – the
Holy Spirit is no longer working miraculously.
Because such is not needed.
Some points to consider in this include:
1) 1 Cor. 13:-8-12 which states that miracles would be done away with
“when that which is perfect has come”.
That which is perfect is the word of God (cf. James 1:25, 2 Tim.
3:16,17, 2 Pet. 1:3-4).
2) In addition to this, we find that it was only through the laying
on of the apostle’s hands that one could receive the ability to perform
miracles – Acts 6:5 – (cf. Stephen - Ac. 6:8, Philip – Acts 8:4-8).
Acts 8:18, “And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the
apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,”
Also Acts 19:5-6 finds Paul with this power as well.
SINCE, the apostles have all died and their generation, we no longer can
receive the ability to perform miracles.
d.
He
worked through inspiration
– He was instrumental in revealing God’s word to us.
i.
The word
of God is the work of the Spirit.
Much of what He does for us today is through His word.
Note again Hebrews 2:1-4 where we
find what was confirmed by miracles, signs and wonders was the word of
God.
ii.
Remember
the promise of Jesus to His apostles - John 16:12-13 – He will guide you
into all truth. John 14:26 –
He would bring to their remembrance that which they had been taught.
iii.
The
prophets of old - 2 Pet. 1:19-20, “And so we have the prophetic word
confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark
place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private
interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men
of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
iv.
The
apostles and inspired men of the first century - 1 Pet. 1:10-12, “Of
this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who
prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what
manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when
He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that
would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us
they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you
through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit
sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.”
In 1 Cor. 2:10-13 Paul explains how what He taught (and the others) was
“through His Spirit. IN vs.
13 we read, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s
wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual
things with spiritual.”
In our next lesson we will discuss how the Holy Spirit works today!