Summer has arrived. Imagine a world suffering with a terrible drought. No rain for hundreds of years. There is not a drop of clean, good water. The land is dried, parched, and full of large cracks. The whole landscape is barren. People are hardly surviving, drinking polluted, dirty water. To get one pot of that dirty water, they have to travel for miles. What a sad, heartbreaking scene!
Spiritually, for thousands of years, driven from Eden’s rivers, the Gentile world suffered a long drought. There was not a drop of living water; all our forefathers drank from the polluted water and traveled far and wide for it. Imagine one day there was a huge shower on that land. Life-giving, reviving water was poured out from heaven. Oh, what a joy to see that sight, to see all of them dancing in the rain! That is exactly what happened in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. That life spring, those rivers of living water, those showers of blessing, rained not just in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, but to the ends of the world. Here we are today, 2000 years later, you and I, instead of drinking old polluted water, are enjoying living water and are refreshed every day. But this glorious event didn’t happen by accident or by chance. It was eternally designed and planned by the Father, purchased by the Son, and poured out by the Holy Spirit.
In our series, “Looking Unto Jesus,” this is our tenth communion sermon. We have seen Jesus pre-creation, in the Old Testament, his birth, life, death, and resurrection. We saw that our redemption story did not end with the resurrection, but redemption’s application begins with the resurrection. Redemption’s application has four aspects: Ascension, Session, Holy Spirit Mission, and Intercession. These are four marvelous but very little understood truths through which Christ applies his saving benefits to his people. We have seen Christ’s Ascension. After Christ ascended, he sat at the right hand of God; it is called Christ’s Session, a glorious, glorious truth. Our Savior didn’t cease from his saving work when he sat down. Instead, he transitioned from an earthly to a heavenly ministry through his session. Today, all that you and I enjoy are the effects of his heavenly ministry.
Today, after his ascension and session, we come to his next act: the Holy Spirit’s Mission. This is the act of Jesus Christ sending the Holy Spirit into this world. Again, let me remind you that each of these topics deserves a detailed study, but I am just giving a high-level overview to prepare and warm our hearts for communion in this series. If you want to read a detailed study, giants like John Owen have written great works on the Holy Spirit, as have Octavius Winslow and A.W. Pink. I am just a kid before them, trying to grasp and teach about the Holy Spirit. So I have my simple four headings: Who is the Holy Spirit? When did he come? How did he come? Why did he come? Who, When, How, Why?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Always remember two things: the Holy Spirit is God, and the Holy Spirit is a person. He is the third person of the Godhead. He possesses all the essential attributes of deity. Though one with God the Father in the Trinity, he is a distinct person; he has a distinct personality. Just this thought has a tremendous practical implication. We must constantly remember that he is God and he is a person. But oh, how we neglect the Holy Spirit, how little we honor, value, and glorify him as God. All our spiritual dryness and fruitlessness can be attributed to that sin. We become like the men Paul met in Ephesus in Acts 19:2, who said, “We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then Paul taught them and baptized them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and that is how the Ephesian church became fruitful and grew.
Instead of honoring him as sovereign God, we insult him by treating him as some impersonal force. We always think of him as an influence or power. We always think about using him as a means to an end, a means to some thrilling ecstasy, a means to make us joyful or feel liquid love. Oh, my brothers, remember, he is God. We don’t use him for spiritual tingles. We bow to him in submission as God. Anything he’s pleased to give me in the way of genuine, valid experience is his business. We cannot control him with clever little formulas or prayers. He is sovereign God; he blows where he wishes; we only plead with him. Oh, what poor understanding we have of the glorious person of the Holy Spirit. I was looking for sermons, and most are about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the fruits, the blessings, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But let me tell you, the Holy Spirit himself is an infinitely valuable gift. So can I plead with you to cultivate a consciousness of his divinity and personality? Remember, he is God with all of God’s attributes. We need to honor him as God. He is a person; he has feelings; he gets grieved as a person. We need to be careful not to grieve him.
When Did He Come?
It was the practice among great monarchs that when they conquered big kingdoms and acquired great spoils, in days of great joy and celebration, they would send gifts and presents to the people. We see David doing this in 2 Samuel. So Christ, when he conquered, ascended, and was crowned above all authority and power, on the inauguration day of his majesty, his great triumph and glory, Christ sent the Holy Spirit as the greatest gift of a triumphant, exalted Lord. Ephesians 4:8 says, “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” The Holy Spirit came when Christ was exalted at the Father’s right hand. That was the heavenly timeline for when the Holy Spirit came.
The earthly timeline for when the Holy Spirit came is recorded in Acts 2. This is a one-time, unique historical event where the Holy Spirit was given, not to be repeated again. There is no such thing as an ongoing waiting meeting for the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-4 records the event. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
The Day of Pentecost has two beautiful historical significances. One, Jews celebrated their Passover in Egypt, and after 50 days, they came to Sinai and received God’s written law on tablets on Pentecost. On that very same day of Pentecost, God sent his Holy Spirit to fulfill the New Covenant promise to write his law not on stone but on the minds and hearts of his people. Secondly, Pentecost is a harvest festival. Fifty days were the appointed time of the Jews’ harvest. The first day was the first fruits of the harvest; in the beginning, they offered a sheaf of the first-fruits of their harvest. Then, on the last, 50th day was the full harvest. They took the harvest, made loaves, and offered two wave loaves as a sign of the harvest being ended. Acts 2:1 says, “Pentecost had fully come,” meaning it was the last, 50th day. How beautifully this is pictured: the Holy Spirit comes after 50 days of Christ’s resurrection. He was the first fruit of the harvest; he rose, ascended, and was seated at the right hand of God as the first fruit. And then, after 50 days, the Holy Spirit comes to raise, ascend, and seat believers as the full harvest at Pentecost.
But one important question: Was there no Holy Spirit in the Old Testament? Yes, he was there. Without his work, none of the Old Testament people would have been saved. He regenerated Old Testament saints; he even indwelt Old Testament saints and sometimes filled them. But the difference is in the degree and measure and the wideness of his influence. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was mostly confined to the nation of Israel, with a few exceptions. Even within Israel, he was only sprinkled in drops; only a few men were filled with the Spirit. In Genesis 41:38, seeing Joseph explain a dream, Pharaoh says, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” There were no showers of blessings, but now it is different, as Peter points out in Acts 2:16-17: “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh.'” Not just a few men who had great knowledge, but “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.” In the New Testament, he is freely poured out in showers and abundance. He is poured out widely throughout the world, even among Gentile nations, which didn’t happen in the Old Testament. It is because of that that you and I are here in church today.
How Did He Come?
Acts 2:2 says, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” He came suddenly and unexpectedly. The Holy Spirit came from heaven, from the heavenly places. Though he is God and a person, he does not have a physical form; he is a spirit. So he comes down from heaven like an invisible wind, without any form. It says “rushing mighty wind,” which may indicate his sovereign, irresistible power when he comes. The Lord said the Spirit is like wind, which blows where it wills. Just as a strong wind may sometimes break rocks, uproot the biggest trees, and blow down buildings, so are the operations of the Holy Spirit. He takes down all before him. He conquered the world, beginning at Jerusalem and spreading itself over all the earth. No will of man, tradition, or nation can stand before his will. When he blows here, the most stubborn sinner here will fall down prostrate and run to Christ. He is power from the Most High. Oh, that this Spirit of the Lord would constantly come into our congregations!
Verse 3 says, “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.” Why fire tongues? Not to meaninglessly blabber like animals. Why did God give us tongues? The tongue is the unique, sole instrument for communicating knowledge from man to man. However much I know the truth in my mind, the tongue is the only channel by which this wisdom and knowledge are communicated. Jesus said when the Holy Spirit comes, he will guide into all truth, so he appeared in the form of tongues. Divided tongues means the apostles were given the ability to speak diverse languages, as we see in the same chapter. They spoke different languages that they had never learned. Now, the Holy Spirit would be poured on Gentiles as well, so they were given the ability to speak Gentile languages. They did not just blabber.
They were not ordinary tongues, tongues of flesh. Ordinary words will not change the world. They were tongues of fire. When the Holy Spirit fills, his unction will make them speak with fiery tongues. There will be fervency and fire in their speech, coming from a deep conviction and authority that will stun the world and convict their consciences. There will be fire in their tongues, and the words that come from those tongues will give life to dead souls. Oh, how much we need to pray in our ministry for fiery tongues. How cold it is sometimes without him.
Why Did He Come?
- As the crowning reward of Christ’s work. All the prophecies of the Old Testament emphasize the coming of the Messiah and his work. But have we realized that there are many prophecies and promises in the Old Testament that emphasize the crowning blessings and fruit of the Messiah’s work? What is the summary outcome or fruit of the Messiah’s work? If you ask, “Why did God send Christ into the world; he lived a perfect life, died, rose again, ascended, and was seated?” What is the purpose of all that? Can I say it is for the Holy Spirit’s mission? For sending the Holy Spirit into believers’ hearts? That is the crowning blessing. The Old Testament, Gospels, and even epistles make this clear.
The Old Testament talks about the Holy Spirit’s mission. Isaiah 32:15 speaks of a time when “the Spirit should be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness should be a fruitful field.” And Zechariah 12:10 prophecies that “in that day I will pour the spirit of grace and supplication.” In the Gospels, John the Baptist saw the final fruit of the Lamb of God: “I baptize with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The Lord himself clearly tells us why he had to die, rise, and ascend. John 16:7 says, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” In the covenant of grace, what is the Father’s promise to the Son when he accomplishes his work? Luke 24:49 says, “And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but wait in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high.” Peter says in Acts, “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has shed forth this, which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). “The Holy Spirit was God’s ascension gift to Christ promised to Christ.” Even the epistles mention it. Galatians 3:4-6 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law.” Why? “That we might receive the adoption as sons; And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!'” The crowning reward of Christ’s redemption is the Holy Spirit’s mission.
- To give witness to Christ’s exaltation. As we come to communion today, how do we know Jesus Christ’s atoning work has been accepted by God? That we are truly forgiven and imputed by Christ’s righteousness? That we are accepted as God’s children? God not only raises Christ from the dead, ascends him, and seats him at the right hand. How do we know he is seated? As a witness to his exaltation and session, he sends the Holy Spirit to give witness not only externally through apostles but internally in your own spirit. That is what Peter says in Acts 2:32-33: “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.” The greatest proof of God’s satisfaction and acceptance of the sacrificial work of Christ on our behalf is the sending of the Holy Spirit. Someone beautifully said the hem of the High Priest had golden bells; the sound of the bells was a sign that their High Priest was alive, interceding on their behalf. So the sound they heard that day and the pouring of the Holy Spirit is evidence that our High Priest is alive; he has completely atoned for our sins; he ever lives to intercede for us. Every experience of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a sound from Heaven that our High Priest is alive, has completely atoned for our sins, and ever lives to intercede for us.
- The Holy Spirit was sent to apply all the blessings Christ purchased for us in our lives. The beauty of the Shorter Catechism is that it talks about the work of Christ on earth and in heaven until question 28. Then, before talking about the blessings of salvation such as effectual calling, justification, adoption, and sanctification, they insert question 29: “How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?” The answer: “We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit.” The link between Christ’s work and our experiencing those blessings is the work of the Holy Spirit.
In redemptive history, the Father planned redemption, Jesus accomplished redemption, and it is the complete work of the Holy Spirit who applies all the redemption blessings into our lives. It is he who takes all the glorious blessings Christ purchased on the cross and makes it an experiential reality. This is the age of the Holy Spirit. All that we experience now comes from the Holy Spirit: Regeneration, the Spirit Convicting, the Spirit Enlightening, the Spirit Comforting, the Spirit Drawing, the Spirit Working Faith, the Spirit Uniting to Christ, the Spirit Indwelling, the Spirit Teaching, the Spirit Cleansing, the Spirit Leading, the Spirit Assuring, the Spirit Witnessing, the Spirit Sealing, the Spirit Assisting, Reminding truth, giving us words to share the gospel, the Spirit Interceding, the Spirit Transforming, the Spirit Preserving, the Spirit Confirming, and the Spirit Making Fruitful. He does all that. If we have to state it in one phrase, the Holy Spirit came to make our bodies the temple of God. God the Holy Spirit indwells us.
Just think, if you just realize and believe that you are being indwelt by God, and by a person, who can do all this, that itself will transform the way you relate to the Holy Spirit. Handley, a preacher from the last century, said, “When I realized I am indwelt by God and a person, it was like a new glorious discovery in my spiritual life. It was as if I got a new almighty contact who has all divine power and resources, and he is always inside me. All my soul ever needed to live a victorious Christian life is inside me through the Holy Spirit. Never shall I forget the benefit and gain to my conscious faith and peace which came to my own soul, when I started in faith appropriately living with that most gracious Personality of that Holy Spirit inside me.”
- To take Christ’s place on earth and to completely compensate for the physical absence of Christ on earth. Christ said, “I will not leave you as orphans; He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). He is called the “Paraclete,” which has many shades of meaning: comforter, helper, and advocate. Because Christ was saying, “All that I was for you, he will be to you spiritually.” Imagine all that Jesus was to them. He was everything to them; he was most precious. The amazing thing is, Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be better than me. “I will give you something better than that, so it is to your advantage that I go away.” He will, in fact, be better in a few ways. Physically, “I was with you, he will be in you.” “I was there for three years, and I have to go now; but he will abide inside you forever.” So don’t worry, “I am leaving; it is better I go, because he will make up for all my physical absence.”
All the rich blessings and inheritance I have purchased for you—my peace I leave you, my joy in fullness, my power, my glory, my love, my grace, my eternal life, and the benefits flowing from my sacrifice, resurrection, ascension, and session—he will make it an experiential reality for you, indwelling you in a way I couldn’t do, so it is better. He is the Spirit of all gifts; he will give you gifts to serve, enlighten you, sanctify you, and make you wise. He will give you boldness and the right words, and make you a powerful witness. He will give you pastors and preachers and plant churches through them. The Holy Spirit is Christ’s greatest legacy and wealth he left for us as believers. What an incredible promise. The Spirit, then, fills the place on earth of our absent Lord who is in Heaven now, with this additional advantage: that during the days of His flesh the Savior’s body confined Him to one location, whereas the Holy Spirit—not having assumed a body as the mode of His incarnation—is equally and everywhere resident in and abiding with every believer.
- The Holy Spirit came to continue the earthly work of Christ, in calling and building his church. “Paraclete,” or “Advocate,” as the representative of another. The Holy Spirit is here to interpret and vindicate Christ and his work. He is here to accomplish His redeeming purpose in the world. He seeks out each one of those for whom Christ died, quickens them into newness of life, convicts them of sin, gives them faith to lay hold of Christ, joins them to Christ and the church, and causes them to grow in grace and become fruitful. He calls and builds the church. He fills the mystical Body of Christ, directing its movements, controlling its members, inspiring its wisdom, and supplying its strength. The Holy Spirit becomes to the believer individually and the church collectively all that Christ would have been had He remained on earth.
Application
Bless God and Christ for this inestimable gift; realize the great need for the fullness of the Holy Spirit; seek his fullness.
1. Bless God for this wonderful gift. Somebody gives a costly gift; we keep looking at it in different ways. The more we grasp the value and appreciate its usefulness, the more we should thank the giver.
Imagine what a wonderful and invaluable gift the Holy Spirit is. It was promised by the Father to Christ in an eternal covenant as a reward for his great work. Christ did all his work of redemption to bestow this gift on us. As soon as he ascended, he sent this as his greatest gift of his exaltation to his people. O my soul, consider this invaluable, princely gift of Christ, purchased with so great a price! Such a gift was never before given. We can say, “God so loved the world, that he gave his Son,” and “Christ so loved the world, that he gave his Spirit.” He gave to whom? He gave this to make you and me, who were dens of every lust, covetousness, jealousy, and lies, to make this filthy bag of flesh a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christ is my inmate! That my soul is the temple, the house and dwelling, of the Spirit of God! Wow!
Before we take part in communion, he said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Stand a while on this! Look unto Jesus. O my soul, behold, he now sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father, looking at us now. Bless Christ for this unspeakable love! He not only lived for me, died for me, rose, ascended, and sat at the Father’s right hand to ever bless me with the PKP ministry, but as the great emperor of heaven and earth, he takes the Father’s promised gift and sends it into your heart and my heart so that we not only positionally have all the salvation blessings he purchased dearly at a great expense, but all that should become an experiential reality by the Holy Spirit in our hearts. What a gift!
He not only took my sins and became sin, took my curse and became a curse, and gave his perfect righteousness, but he gives his greatest gift of heaven, his gift of exaltation to me. What will make you and me realize how great this gift is? Do we realize how valuable this must be? The greatest gift the Father promised in an eternal covenant. The greatest purchase of Christ by his finished work. This is a gift of the greatest love, from the greatest person. Now, what greater gift had Christ in store than to give his own Spirit? The Confession of Faith says, “The Spirit proceeds from him, and is the same essence with himself; the Spirit is the third Person of the true and only Godhead, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and is co-eternal, co-equal, and consubstantial with the Father and the Son in all eternity.” He is the eternal Spirit who was hovering over the earth at creation. He led all the prophets in the Old Testament. He gave wisdom to wise men. He has knowledge of all things. “For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” Such a person to come and dwell inside me forever. Is this not a great gift?
Yes, as great a gift as possibly can be given, a gift without equal. What more can Christ do to get all our love than to give himself and to give his Spirit, the greatest gift of heaven given to me? Come, my soul, and take a look at the glory and bounty of Jesus Christ!
This gift is not given in your hand, so that it can be taken away, but it is permanently and eternally given to your innermost heart. You are sealed by the gift of the Holy Spirit, never to be taken away. Ephesians 1:13 says this gift is the guarantee of our eternal inheritance until we acquire possession of it. It is a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Will I go to heaven to enjoy all my inheritance in Christ? Christ gives an infallible assurance by sealing us with the Holy Spirit. We don’t wait until we reach heaven to enjoy all those blessings. The Holy Spirit is a foretaste of all those blessings. Do we realize why we are blessed with every spiritual blessing? We used the acronym HUSH: Holy Spirit-granted, unchangeable, all-sufficient for life and eternity, and heart-satisfying blessings. It is all granted by the Holy Spirit.
Christ in his bodily presence went away, but Christ, in his Spirit, continues still: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” He is with us, and, what is more, he is in us. Oh, behold that gift!
It was an act of infinite love for Christ to come down into our nature, but it’s even more so that he would come down into our depraved hearts by his Holy Spirit. He dwells in your very soul. As Colossians 1:27 says, “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Christ in you, the hope of glory. We as Gentiles were far from the commonwealth of Israel, distant from the covenant. Oh, how grateful we should be. This was a hidden mystery. The very thought of God indwelling you and me, Gentiles, should make us pause. If a baby were to dwell in someone, think how they would feel. But the very God of the universe dwells in me. How can we grasp this mystery?
If God indwells me, then the very Spirit of God, the communicator of all God’s highest blessings, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, is united to you and dwells in you. He not only comes in person, but he brings along with him all his endless train of blessings: his graces, gifts, fruits, wisdom, and knowledge all flow from this Holy Spirit. If this God dwells in me, I have all things—not notionally, but truly, essentially, and experientially through his Spirit.
Have you not felt the quickenings and stirrings of the Spirit of God, kindling faith, love, and zeal? How many times, during a prevailing temptation, when you were about to yield to Satan, has he come in between you and the temptation and given you grace to help in time of need? Oh, the sweet benefits of the Spirit of God! As he is a holy Spirit, so he makes holy hearts. If there is any holiness in your heart, any good thing, any comfort, any wisdom, any grace, any love, any joy, any peace, it is all his work. Whatever good may be found in me comes only from your Spirit.
He has come to increase all this and to fill you with peace beyond understanding, joy unspeakable and full of glory. He sanctifies me and will one day make me completely like Christ, body and soul. Have you not been given a drop of heaven’s joy as the earnest of your inheritance? The seal of the Spirit is stamped on you. Have you not at times been assured of your salvation?
What will make you realize what a great gift this is? Do we realize how valuable this must be? When will we stop being like swine who do not know the value of pearls? If someone gives me a quintillion or a decillion US dollars, would it be worth more than this?
How grateful we should be for this gift. When God told David that his son would build the temple, he fell prostrate and said, “Lord, who am I, and what is my household, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” When we realize what depraved hearts you and I have, and that we are made the eternal temple of God the Holy Spirit to enjoy all the blessings and the comforts of the Godhead itself, we should be amazed. Oh, what a wonderful, merciful, and gracious God I have!
We as Gentiles, oh how grateful we should be. It is because of this gift that you and I are saved, persevere in the Christian life, and continue to be in the church. It is because of him that two people were baptized yesterday and six are entering church membership today. This gift was not limited like in the Old Testament, where God only spoke in Hebrew. But at Acts, people from many nations said, “How hear we every man in his own language?” (Acts 2:8). It is the Holy Spirit who made the apostles write the scriptures, and it is the Holy Spirit who in his providence translated that Bible into our own languages so we can hear God’s works. It is he who transcribes upon our hearts that which was before only written in our books. It is he who not only reveals truth from without, but also imprints it upon the soul. This witness within us will go with us and accompany us through all our difficulties.
Today we come to communion. Christ is not bodily with us, but you know how we can commune with him. The Holy Spirit brings the believing participant in the Supper into real and actual union with Christ. As we eat and drink at the Supper, the Spirit effects real communion with Jesus himself! It is through the Holy Spirit that we experience the presence of Christ in the Supper. So the first application is, “Oh, blessed be God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing by giving us his Spirit.”
We Need to Realize Our Absolute Necessity for the Fullness of the Holy Spirit
Yes, we have the gift of the indwelling Spirit, but we need to realize the absolute necessity for his fullness. In Ephesians, we see that the Spirit’s presence is not optional. One great reformed preacher from the last century said the greatest need of today’s church is the continual manifestation and presence of the Holy Spirit. Spurgeon said, “One of the most effective ways for a church to experience revival herself is to regularly think and preach much about the Holy Spirit; after all, he is the very breath of the church.” If he leaves, we will have a building and I will get up to preach, but it will all be dead preaching and worship. We will be nothing but a religious club, and we will cease to have a true living Church.
The Holy Spirit is absolutely essential even to live as a Christian family, a Christian husband, wife, or father. Even before Paul gives commands for Christian families—husbands love wives, wives submit, children obey—he knows none of us can do that as natural sinners. He says in Ephesians that only by the Holy Spirit’s power can you live as Christian families. Ephesians 5:18 says, “Be filled with the Spirit.” Then you will love your wives as Christ loved the church, wives will submit to their husbands as to the Lord, and children will obey their parents. It is only by the Holy Spirit’s filling that we can live a life of witness, even in the family. It is only by the Holy Spirit’s power that we can overcome our fleshly lusts; he alone can help with mortification and vivification. Galatians says, “Walk by the Spirit, so you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” And Romans 8:13 says, “If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” He is the enlightening Spirit; without him, Bible reading is fruitless. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. He is the source of revelation, understanding, wisdom, power, love, comfort, joy, peace, and all we need in this age. The Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ.
For witnessing to the outside world, remember I preached a great commission series on the absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit in the work of the gospel. He alone can convict sinners of sin and open their eyes to see the need for Christ. Christ said he will take my things and glorify me. Yes, he uses our preaching of the gospel. One of the great marks of men used by God in the New Testament is that Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, and Paul was full of the Holy Spirit. We need to be such men.
So now for the million-dollar question: “Pastor, how do I experience the fullness and presence of the Holy Spirit?” We have to realize that we cannot control the Holy Spirit; he is God, and he controls us. We shouldn’t insult him by saying, “Do steps one, two, and three, and you can get the Holy Spirit into a box and be filled.” No. That is insulting the Holy Spirit. But scripture reveals two principles as our duty, which can be a means for enjoying his fullness. One is a negative duty, and one is a positive one.
Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 4:30 says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.” What does this mean? In very brief terms, it means to honor him as God and not treat him as a means to an end. Value his indwelling in you as the greatest gift, and don’t treat him as some cheap gift. The more you value him and thank God for him, the more he is not grieved. Secondly, he is a person; he has feelings. James 4:5 says, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously for us.” When we are indwelt by him so intimately, the closest example is that of a husband and wife. They start living together and become sensitive to the slightest nuances of attitude and feeling. To maintain that relationship, you want to avoid what grieves the other person, right? You swallow words, you don’t say everything, and you change some things. In a real interpersonal relationship, you don’t want to mar it by grieving the other person. Is the Holy Spirit that to you? If we keep in mind that he is God and honor him as a person, we will not grieve him.
Pray for the Holy Spirit
Secondly, on the positive side, though we cannot control his sovereign working, we see a clear principle in God’s word that there is a close connection between fervent, persevering prayer and the increased presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
We see this in the experience of our Lord Jesus. The Lord was conceived with the Holy Spirit. Notice Luke 3:21-22: “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.'” He is praying first; then the heavens are opened and the Holy Spirit descends in a bodily form like a dove. He is praying for the Old Testament promises of the Father who would equip him for his work by the Holy Spirit. He himself did not think God would automatically give the Holy Spirit, but he took the promises and fervently prayed, even at his baptism. And God heard and answered his prayer.
Now, what do we see the apostles doing? The apostles had about 120 people with them. What were they doing before they received the Holy Spirit? Acts 1:14 says, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” It was in this climate of eminent prayerfulness that the Holy Spirit came. I already told you that the Pentecost experience was a one-time, unique, non-repeatable historical coming of the Holy Spirit. Just as we do not expect a repetition of the Incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension, we do not expect a repetition of Pentecost. However, there is a continual principle for all believers of all ages who already have the indwelling Holy Spirit: that we will only be filled with the Holy Spirit when we continually and fervently pray for the Holy Spirit.
We see, interestingly, how the same apostles who were filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost were filled again. See Acts, chapter 4. Peter and John had been arrested, arraigned before the Sanhedrin, threatened, and released. And what do they do? Look at verse 23: “And being let go, they came to their own company.” What did they do? They prayed for boldness. What happened? Verse 31 says, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken, wherein they were gathered together, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
So we see in the experience of our Lord and the apostles a connection between prayer and the Holy Spirit’s filling. Now, what about their teaching? How do the Lord and the apostles teach us to be filled with the Holy Spirit? After the Lord taught them to pray in Luke, he teaches them by a parable that they have to be persistent. Then there is a peculiar promise with a specific focus on our prayers in verse 13: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
In Ephesians, chapter 3, verse 14, Paul is very far from Ephesus, but very concerned, and he is earnestly praying for them. For what? Verses 14-16 say, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.”
Philippians 1:19 says, “For I know that this all of these circumstances, even the adverse one, shall turn out to my salvation, that is, to the furtherance of the work of God’s grace in me.” How? Verse 19 says, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Notice the connection between your prayer and the supply of the Spirit, and your supplications.
What does this call for as a church? Clearly, this truth rebukes all our prayerless efforts and Christian life. It calls us to humble ourselves and give ourselves to earnest, persevering prayer for the Holy Spirit. If we want to see a revival in our personal and church lives, there needs to be a revival in our prayer life. I hope this recognition of the Holy Spirit will drive you to pray more.
Others should examine you and see that you have the Spirit working. “Do you not know that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit?” In this, he seems to put it out of question that true Christians know the Spirit of God dwells in them. If we do not know this, we cannot know that we have any part in Christ, because the Holy Spirit is the principal bond of our union. If we do not know this, we cannot know that we are justified. We cannot know that we are the adopted children of God, for it is the Spirit of adoption by which “we cry in our hearts, Abba, Father.” If we do not know this, we cannot know that we are sanctified, for it is the Spirit who is the beginner and perfecter of our sanctification. If we do not know this, we cannot know whether we are in error or truth, or whether our religion is true or false, for it is the Spirit who enlightens and leads us into all truth. If we do not know this, we cannot know our own comforts, for he is the only true comforter. Come then, and let us put ourselves to the trial; let us search whether we have the Spirit of Christ, which we may resolve if we will not deal deceitfully with our own hearts.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 