Know the Holy Spirit's Story (2 of ?)

​On Wednesdays we “walk in the Word” through study & application of Biblical doctrine. Rightly understanding Biblical doctrine fuels doxology, delight in Jesus, & gospel centered discipleship. Today we continue our short survey of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology): Knowing the Holy Spirit. See week 1 HERE.
 
The Holy Spirit is a person, not a power (though He is a powerful Person!). And He wants you to know Him personally. How well do you know someone if you do not know their story? How well do you know the Holy Spirit if you do not know His-story?

​In this interview, Dr. Guy Richard states that in his teaching at RTS on the Holy Spirit he begins  by emphasizing the Spirit is a person. “Where do you begin? The Holy Spirit is a person. A “He” who is ascribed personal traits- comfort, grief, groaning, love… God who intimately dwells with His people…” The Holy Spirit is a person who is personal (John 14:26; Romans 8:11, 16, 26) and who is God- fully divine, possessing attributes such as omniscience, omnipotence, and eternal wisdom.

                      The Holy Spirit is God

“God is One and Triune, and Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct and divine. In the unity of the divine nature there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.” (WCF 2.3)

The eternality of God the Holy Spirit is contra to Modalism, a false doctrine teaching that the Holy Spirit is a mask of God in the NT church (as if God appears in different modes in different periods of redemptive history).  But it is an invitation for God's people to know the Holy Spirit through knowing His-story.

              "You Must be Born Again"
Knowing the Holy Spirit begins with being “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:1-15). This is more than being identified as a Christian through your family name or history, this means you know God personally. Nicodemus’s story in John 3:1-14 illustrates what this means. Initially, the religious leader came to Jesus in the darkness of night, seeking understanding (John 3:1-2). Jesus explained the necessity of being born again to enter God’s kingdom. Those born of the Spirit move from darkness into the light, freed from condemnation to live in God’s love (John 3:16-21). Eventually, Nicodemus demonstrated extravagant devotion to Jesus (John 19), showing the Spirit’s work in moving even Pharisees from night to light (as Paul in Philippians 3:4-11).

RC Sproul writes, "The Holy Spirit brings us the application of redemption, enabling us to respond in faith to Christ’s work. Without His regenerating grace, the gospel would fall on deaf ears" (The Mystery of the Holy Spirit). 

The gospel compels us to know God the Holy Spirit through grace alone, and Nicodemus helps us see why we need to know the Holy Spirit’s story.  The OT background for John 3 is Ezekiel 36:25-27 and even the religious leader clearly did not understand who God revealed Himself to be. Do we? A quick survey of Redemptive History helps us see the larger story of the Spirit:

           Redemptive History is His-Story
The Bible reveals the eternal story of the Holy Spirit, His presence and work revealed from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 (not to mention God’s Word itself is written by God’s Spirit! - see "inspiration" in this post on the Necessity of Scripture). Here is a quick outline of Scripture’s revelation of the Spirit’s eternal story:
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• The Holy Spirit has been at work since before the creation of the world, sealing the saints for eternal life (Ephesians 1:13-14) in what we call the Covenant of Redemption.
• In Creation, The Holy Spirit hovered over the waters to bring order (Genesis 1:2) and give life (Psalm 104:30).
• In Redemption, The Holy Spirit guided Israel out of bondage in Egypt and led them through the wilderness (Isaiah 63:7-14). The Holy Spirit was always God’s promise for regeneration (Ezekiel 36:34-36) and renewal (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
• In New Creation, the Holy Spirit filled Mary’s womb to form divine life (Luke 1:35) anointed Jesus for His ministry (Matthew 3:16), resurrected Jesus from the grave (Romans 1:3), regenerates believers, and renews us to make us more like Christ in our sanctification (Romans 8).
• In the indwelling of believers, The Holy Spirit fills Christians individually (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and corporately (Ephesians 2:21-22).
• In eternity future, the Consummation reveals the Holy Spirit’s invitation for believers to partake in the new creation (Revelation 22:17).

The Spirit’s empowering presence is not an impersonal force but God’s powerful-presence among His people (Acts 1:8; 2:1-4). Sinclair Ferguson argues that believers do not require a “personal Pentecost” to experience God’s power, only needing to recognize the Spirit as a divine person. The Spirit is more than electricity; He is a distinct person within the Godhead, inviting us to know Him intimately.

Richly Dwelling
-Do you lean more towards believing the Holy Spirit is a power for personal use or a person to know? How well do you know His story?

​-What does it mean to you that God the Holy Spirit has been alive and working since before creation, will be working after the consummation, and wants to work in your life today? Where, specifically, do you want knowledge of Him and HIs work to transform you to be more like Jesus?

-Take a minute to sit in silence, asking God's Spirit to reveal Himself to you. Then, read Romans 8.