i. Why a Spirit?
[09/03/19]
With Father and Son we are at least considering matters of some familiarity to us. We have known fathers. We have known sons. Even if we have not known our own, we at least have a point of reference in others. But, as I turn to the Spirit, I have a much more difficult task, for the normal course of life does not offer such a starting point for understanding Him. Even so, I would start my task much as I have with Father and Son; seeking to understand, at least in some small way, why the Trinity necessitates the Person of the Spirit. And this may in fact be the first thing we need to settle in our thinking: The Spirit is a Person.
He is not some aspect of God that is more ephemeral, for God is Spirit. And further, we must continue to acknowledge that each Person of God is fully God. The Spirit is not, then, some lesser functionary, nor a lesser function of the Godhead. He is God in full, even as the Father is God in full and the Son is God in full. The question is not whether He is, but rather why. What is it about the Person of the Spirit that makes Him a necessary part of the Trinity? What, we might ask, was left incomplete with the being of the Father and the Son? Or what would it be that was lacking were there no Spirit?
It’s interesting that even the early creeds of the Church seem to come up against a roadblock here. The Apostles’ Creed, for example, has nothing more to say about the Spirit but this, “I believe in the Holy Ghost.” That’s it. He is. Beyond that, they have nothing to say. The Nicene Creed offers a bit more, identifying the Spirit as ‘the Lord and Giver of Life: Who proceeds from the Father and the Son: Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. That at least gives us some idea of His role with man, which we’ll get to, but as concerns the giving of life, that seems more the role of the Son.
Following a lead offered by the web, let me consider Paul’s comment to the Corinthians in regard to the Spirit. “The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 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” (1Co 2:10-11). OK. So at minimum, we do in fact have something within us by which to understand a little about the Spirit’s being in God. Man has his spirit which is in him. Paul seems to be associating this spirit with powers of reason and wisdom, and in fairness, that sense continues to inform his later discussion of those gifts associated with the Spirit. They are gifts primarily associated with understanding, and best applied for edification.
The Spirit, then, is not needed for grandiose display. I don’t suppose we can even suggest that He is needed for the exercise of God’s power, for Father and Son are just as fully God, and just as able to put the power of God to use, for if it is the power of God, it is the power of the Father, the power of the Son, and not the power of the Spirit only. That being said, it does seem there is a clear relationship to be seen between the Spirit and the manifestations of God’s power among man. But that is again a topic for consideration later. It is not, I think, an expression of the necessity of the Spirit to the Godhead.
In fairness, that whole question is a huge difficulty, for if each Person is wholly God in Himself, we cannot posit that something is possible only to one Person and not to the others. It cannot be that the Spirit has in Himself something that Father and Son lack, for Father and Son lack nothing in themselves, being wholly God, and perfect in every respect. It has to be something relational, I should think, much like we saw the need for fellowship satisfied by the Son being present to the Father, and the Father to the Son. But fellowship is satisfied, so we can’t see that as once again the thing that necessitates God having this person of the Spirit.
[09/06/19]
I fear that if I am to answer my query at all I shall have to wander far into the speculative side of understanding. the one key I have found thus far is that man, too, has his spirit within him, and that it is by his spirit that he truly knows and understands his own thoughts. I would not wish to apply this too rigidly to the Godhead, for while we are made in His image, we are not even close to being perfectly like Him. But let us perhaps go this far, that in the Spirit, God is particularly able to love.
There is one other direction I might travel with this thought. Let me posit that the creative center in man is his spirit. Art, however corrupted, remains a spiritual exercise. It is an expression of that which is within, the product of a thoughtful being. It is, if you will, thought put into action. This is to some degree true even of exercises like this study but I think more of activities related to painting, to sculpture, or to music. These are things which, as well as capturing as best they may the beauty of their subject matter, also express something of the artist’s internal world. I might be so bold as to suggest this is particularly the case for music, which has less to it of capturing an image and more, at least in instrumental form, of expressing a mood or a feeling. But, then, that’s the world I’m more familiar with. My wife would certainly insist that her drawings are an effort at expressing her feelings, and I can well imagine that many a painter or sculptor would concur with her on the matter.
This, I think, also fits with those activities in which we see the Spirit most active. If I take all references to the Spirit of God or the Spirit of the LORD to be indications of the Holy Spirit, then I see this quickly, even from the second verse of the Bible. “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Ge 1:2). Here is the precursor to God saying, “Let there be…”. The Spirit was awaiting that decision, in order that He might enact the creative action of that word. God spoke and it was. The Spirit of God, moving, saw to it.
Later, as Moses set about having the tabernacle of God fashioned, God tells him to speak to those skillful persons endowed by Him with the spirit of wisdom (Ex 28:3). This is particularly the case when it comes to Bezalel, whom God informs Moses He has called by name, saying, “I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship” (Ex 31:2-5). There is much to say about this marvelous passage, but my present concern is with the Person of the Spirit, and the purpose of His being, such as we can assign purpose to God.
Here I once again see that the Spirit is at the forefront where wisdom expresses in artistry. Arguably, in His example, we are seeing that wisdom is primarily artistic, but I think that’s probably overstating the case, as lovely as the thought may be.
Then, too, the Spirit of God is intimately involved with the words of the prophets. This might once more drive us nearer to the matter of the Spirit’s relationship to man, but it does once again indicate something of an artistic act. Consider how the words of the prophets are so often delivered in poetic form, not to mention those activities undertaken by certain of the prophets at God’s direction, by which to give visual representation of His message.
I observe, much to my consternation, that this holds even in the case of such evil servants as Balaam. It would be impossible, given the record of him in Scripture, to posit that here was a true man of God, or even one inclined toward being such. His motives were far removed from holiness. And yet, we read, “Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him” (Nu 24:2). He would speak God’s word in spite of himself. He would speak truly in spite of his desire to speak for profit, and deliver the message desired by his client. Balaam would, but God would not. And so, in spite of his desire, Balaam speaks God’s blessings on God’s people.
Might we not say, then, that here is a purpose in the Trinity having this third Person of the Spirit? Here is creativity expressed. Here is power put forth in wisdom to create that which expresses the inner essence of God. Consider Paul’s description. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Ro 1:20). Creation expresses God’s nature, makes His power comprehensible, even undeniable. It is laid out as an artistic demonstration of His inward thought and feeling. Why is the sunrise, such as I have been seeing it out my window these last several mornings, spread out across the seas, such a marvel of beauty? Why are the petals of a flower so marvelously arranged, delicately detailed, even when that flower is practically microscopic in size? Why is the flight of a hawk, the song of a sparrow made so beautiful? The beauty in itself serves no purpose. The sunrise would be no less effective for leaving behind its rich pallet of colors. The hawk, one might think, could function just as well without the intricate patterns upon hits feathers, and the sparrow could as readily communicate without so sweet a song. But God has ordered it as He desires. He has expressed Himself in the beauty of that which He has made. That beauty is so thoroughgoing as to persist in spite of sin’s marring effects, in spite of man’s corruption. Even in corruption, man remains beautiful, and even his ugliest creations may be said to express beauty in some fashion. Again, a point I’m not sure I would wish to push too hard.
Perhaps I can say this: The Spirit is the expression of God, the Artist in God. He takes what He hears from the Father, what is said and done by the Son, and gives it a particular beauty of form and suitability to function. This, I have to say, gives me a new perspective and appreciation for His work and His presence. Why is my temple beautiful, if indeed it is (and God confirms to me that indeed it is a beautiful bit of work)? It is beautiful because it is the workmanship of the Spirit of God, that same Holy Spirit who saw to the fashioning of the tabernacle in the wilderness (and the fashioning of the wilderness for that matter) is seeing to the fashioning of this wilderness temple in me. Glory be to God Almighty, to His Son who saved me, and to His Spirit indwelling, by which I am slowly bursting forth, even as this marvelous sunrise!
ii. Spirit's Relationship to Father and Son
[09/09/19]
Let me be abundantly clear on this point: The Holy Spirit is not some aspect of the Father or the Son, the inward state expressed or some such thing. He is a Person every bit equal and akin to Father and Son. His being is no less being than would be said of Father or Son. This actually makes it more difficult, I think, to try and establish this relationship between Him and the Persons of Father and Son. Once again, human experience doesn’t really offer a clean parallel, not that there’s any great cause for surprise there.
Should we, perhaps, see the Spirit in the mother’s role? No, I think not. Were that the case, surely there would be some minimal mention of it, at least. I have already suggested that the Spirit is He who expresses the creative power and artistry of God, but that doesn’t really get at the question under consideration. Truth is, Scripture really doesn’t say much about the relationships within the Godhead, which again, is hardly surprising. After all, He remains one God, in spite of this multiplicity of Persons. But, what it does say is, if anything, even more confusing. The primary declaration in regard to the Spirit, and this comes more from the confessions, is that He proceeds from Father and Son. But, what does that even mean? This is even worse than sorting out Jesus’ status as the only begotten Son. At least there we have something upon which to hang our hat. Here? Nothing. He proceeds. Wonderful.
Whatever it is we shall make of that term, it no more depicts the Spirit as a created being than the begotten status of Jesus renders Him a part of the created order. I would argue the primary reason for rejecting this is the same for the Spirit as for the Son: He is clearly to be excluded by whom the work of Creation was done. The Son, we are told outright, is He apart from whom nothing was made (Jn 1:3). But the Spirit is also very clearly present and involved there at the dawn of Creation, hovering over the deep (Ge 1:2). Who, after all was the Father speaking to when He said, “Let there be light,” and who, hearing, answered the instruction with action? Was it not this same Spirit? Indeed, properly viewed, the dawn of Creation shows us the Trinity in united and harmonious action. The Father has decreed, the Son speaks the command, and the Spirit creates the desired result. This same interplay is to be seen in the creative work of Salvation. The Father decrees, the Son declares, and the Spirit actuates. But, while this is of utmost import to man, does it speak to us of the relationships within the Godhead?
If so, what does it tell us of those relationships? The Spirit, it seems, operates in a certain subservience to Father and Son, though He is in no way less than either. If there is a subservience here, it is a subservience of choice. I would have to say that this subservience is very clearly present and very much intentional. We see it in all the Spirit’s actions among man. He is not there to draw attention to Himself, but to turn the eyes of man upon the Son, Who is in His turn seeking to glorify the Father by His every word and deed. The Son came to inform, the Spirit to remind. But again, that has more of the Spirit’s relationship to man to it, than His relationship within the Trinity.
He proceeds. He goes forth to action in perfect accord with the assignments given by Father and Son together. Let me stress that. It is not that He proceeds as either Father or Son may direct, but as they direct together. For, every action of the Trinity is an action undertaken in unity of accord. God remains One, and as One, there is no dissention or debate within Him. As I was reading in the 2Corinthians 1 this morning, God does not vacillate. It is Paul’s basis for saying that neither does he vacillate himself. “But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and now. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us – by me and Silvanus and Timothy – was not yes and no, but is yes in Him” (2Co 1:18-19). For God to be faithful, as He is, there can be no yes and no in Him, and what can be said of one Person must hold for all. If the Father has decreed, there has been no debate from Son or Spirit, but all are in perfect agreement, pursuing the dictates of their eternal covenant with Himself. (My how pronouns fail when attempting to discuss the Trinity!)
The Spirit, however, is far more than God’s fixer, to put it in somewhat crass terms. He is co-equal. He loves the Father and the Son, and is likewise loved by Father and Son. He is more than a feeling. He is a co-equal member of the Trinity, who rejoices in that glory which God receives, and who is offended by that infamy which fallen man casts upon God. “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully, and hold fast to that which is good” (1Th 5:16-19). I should think perhaps “Do not squelch the Spirit” might better transmit the message for us in our day. Quenching has the idea of satiation to it, and the point here is anything but that.
I’m not sure that passage quite illustrates my point, but the point remains. Jesus makes mention of it. “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come” (Mt 12:31-32). Here is a passage to give us great pause, and also one with which we need to be exceedingly careful. While this is often put forward as an argument for blithely accepting every prophet at face value, it is not in fact advocating any such behavior. Not every prophet, after all, is a true prophet, and even the true prophets do not act in such fashion as to accept every claimant to speaking for God. Rather, the call is ever and always to test the spirit, test the word spoken, to see if the claimant truly speaks God’s word, or whether he but speaks his own fever dreams. And frankly, the punishment for being found false is rather severe, as punishments go: Stone that one to death for laying false claim to speaking for God. Would that we were so cautious of falsely claiming certain knowledge where we are speculating! And yes, I must point to myself in saying that, for even in this exercise, I have wandered along paths of speculation. I do hope they are clearly marked as such.
But, to my point, observe what Jesus does say. You blaspheme the Son of Man, that’s one thing. This can be forgiven, and I think we would have to say it is because by the Son of Man, Jesus speaks particularly of His incarnation. It really ought to be difficult for us to accept a physical manifestation of invisible God, and the fact that so many balked at the idea and suggested maybe Jesus wasn’t on the up and up was forgivable, and up to a point, almost laudable. But, to blaspheme the Spirit? To claim that this One who seeks to bring about life is working to promote death? To claim that the Spirit of Truth is a liar? That’s a big problem, for it gets to the very character of God. It denies His express essence.
Perhaps this once more begins to give answer to my question. God, I do so appreciate when you offer me the insight that I have been scrambling about looking for! Here in the Person of the Spirit we find the expression of God’s essence. Yes, in the Son of God we have seen the Father, at least those who saw Him live and in person. Surely, that was particularly true for Peter, James and John who saw Him transfigured, and at least partially revealed in His true glory, though I would insist, only partially. But, the Spirit, by His every work, gives manifest evidence of God’s essential being. The created order, in which work the Spirit is intimately involved, expresses God’s essential being, as Paul observes. We’ve looked at that verse from Romans. The created order makes God’s invisible attributes to be understood, and that order is the creative work of the Spirit at the word of the Son expressing the decree of the Father.
So, too, in the work of salvation, the Spirit creates life and faith in the one who is saved, demonstrating powerfully the essential character of God who saves. Neither Father nor Son undertakes this action, though they are assuredly involved, for yet again, the Trinity never acts but as One. But, this does seem to demonstrate an aspect of relationship. The Holy Spirit is the expression of the Trinity, if you please. More so than Father or Son, He is the visible manifestation of the Trinity, albeit He remains invisible in Himself. There are occasional records of His visible manifestation, but it is primarily through the exercise of His power, and in particular, the power of creating and restoring life that He is evident. We see His workmanship in every act of salvation. We see it most powerfully, if at some remove, in the resurrection of the Son. But, every act of salvation is its own resurrection, isn’t it? We see it as well in every act of conception, for it is God who closes the womb, and God who opens it. Apart from His creative act, no seed grows which grows, and where He has decreed no growth, no exertion of science and technology can alter the facts on the ground.
[09/10/19]
As I scan the passages that speak of the Spirit of the Lord or the Spirit of God there is one other aspect of the Spirit’s relationship which shows. Or perhaps it is that same relationship but shown in a different light. What I have in mind is the association of the Spirit with the power of God. When God is making Himself particularly known to an individual, the Spirit of the LORD is upon him or her, whether to speak or to act on His behalf. It is true even of those events that speak to us of the Son. Consider, for example, those words Jesus quoted as He addressed the synagogue in Nazareth early in His ministry. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD” (Isa 61:1-2a). Recall that Jesus, in quoting these declarations, declared them fulfilled in Himself (Lk 4:21).
Now the immediate point of reference is to God’s anointing of the individual; in this case, the Christ. But that anointing is more than simply marking out the individual as an agent of God. It is not only the giving of an assignment, but also the empowering of that individual with power from on high by which to pursue and complete said assignment. In the case of this passage concerning Messiah, it is not saying that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him due to the fact that He is doing these wonderful things. The message is that these wonderful things He is doing serve to give evidence of God’s anointing, for apart from the power of God that is present in the Person of the Spirit of God, these things weren’t getting done.
This is something, I think, that we find more often associated with man, for in fairness God has no need of a particular anointing given that any such anointing is from Him in the first place. Likewise, any power given into the individual’s use by such anointing is given by Him from His own supply. Who, then, would give power to Him in whom all power abides? This, too, Isaiah observes, or more properly, God points out through Isaiah. “Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge, and informed Him of the way of understanding?” (Isa 40:13-14). The clear answer is that nobody did any such thing, for He had no need of it. He is perfect in understanding, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and whatever else we may care to consider. He is perfect in power, and needs no man’s, no being’s grant to exercise same.
It feels like short-changing this third Person to move through consideration of His place in the Trinity so swiftly, and yet I can find no cause to linger longer on the matter. He is God, and He is, in some way, particularly the expression of God’s power and creativity, God’s artistry. And I once more interject the observation that God’s wisdom is so closely tied to artistry – what a beautiful thought! But, as to the Spirit’s place in the Trinity, or really, much of anything specific to His Person, Scripture has surprisingly little to say, and perhaps I should take my cue from that reality and do likewise.
iii. Spirit's Relationship to Man
Coming to the relationship of the Holy Spirit to man, there is more that we can consider, for more is said. Indeed, even considering His relationship to Father and Son has more often than not brought out things concerning His relationship to man. This business of anointing and empowering, for example, is primarily a matter for mankind. I think we might say that to the degree that He has anointed the Son, it is a matter of the Son’s humanity and not so much His divinity. But, over and over again we have mention of the Spirit of the LORD being upon this one or that. It begins, as I believe I have already observed, with that empowering presence upon those craftsmen tasked by God with the construction of His tabernacle. But, it certainly doesn’t stop there.
In fact, it really doesn’t begin there either. It begins in the womb – a matter for consideration when I begin to consider man’s place in light of the Gospel. But, for the moment, consider the observation made in Job. The words I have in mind come from Elihu, so we may consider them rather more reliable than those of Job’s erstwhile friends. “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4). David confirms the point. “For Thou didst form my inward parts. Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13). Indeed he goes further. “I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made! Wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well” (Ps 139:14). Here is that creative work in plain view, made evident in the very fact of our own being.
You wish to understand the Spirit’s relationship to man? Start here. He made you. He fashioned you right there in those first flickering moments of conception. That particular combining of genes in your DNA was by His direction. That particular coupling by which you were conceived succeeded in conception because of His direction. This can, of course, be said of God more generally, but we see it associated particularly with the Spirit of God, by which I think we can say it is associated with the Holy Spirit, that creative and artistic Person of the Trinity. This same truth is particularly in evidence when it comes to the birth of the Son. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God” (Lk 1:35). This is, of course, above and beyond the normal course, and that is the whole point. This birth was above and beyond the normal course. It was a virgin birth, a thing not entirely unheard of in nature, but certainly not known in regard to humankind. Observe as well that the Holy Spirit is again associated with the power of God expressed in this creative act.
This must inform us as regards our coming to faith. This faith, we are told in no uncertain terms, is itself a gift of God’s grace, an expression of the creative power of the Holy Spirit exercised on our inward being. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:8-10). It would be most improper to disregard the clear involvement of the Son in this, for in Him we are created. Yet, it is through faith, a gift of God, and I would argue, a gift given particularly by means of the Spirit. I am trying to be rather careful here, for my point is not that the Spirit was the root of the idea, or the prime mover in deciding that this individual or that should receive faith. Rather He is the agency by Whom faith is given, as He is shown the agency in the giving of all those gifts by which the individual is prepared for the doing of those works prepared for him to do.
He is at work at both ends, then, both in the giving of faith, understanding, life, and power to the believer, and in creating – preparing – those particular works said individual was created, empowered, and given faith to do. This is, then, perhaps the most enticing or engaging aspect of the Spirit’s relationship to man. Certainly, His role in providing gifts and powers to God’s people tends to get the most attention from us. But, here’s news: It’s not the most important thing about His relationship with us. Arguably, it’s the least important.
[09/12/19]
The Holy Spirit, sent by the Father at the behest of the Son, and so proceeding from both, comes to us with a mission and a purpose. He comes to teach, for it is not enough to have faith in some nebulous, vague idea. Faith needs its firm foundation in understanding, and understanding requires teaching. This is, after all, what Jesus was doing in His time with the disciples, but His time was for a season. He knew it would not suffice, and so He sends the Spirit, who remains with us throughout our lives. Of Him, Jesus says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (Jn 14:26).
This gives firm definition to what the Spirit is doing in relationship to us. He comes to teach and to remind. He acts the Holy Tutor, bringing us back to Christ whenever our thoughts incline to stray. He will teach us all things, but as ever, we need to properly assay the scope of all. Clearly, He is not teaching nuclear physics to everybody and anybody who asks. He is not teaching us cures for every earthly disease, much as we might desire the knowledge. But, His teaching has a sort of scope and sequence, to borrow the educational term. Its scope is Christ, and its sequence is such as is necessary to building us up slowly but surely into the image of Christ. He will remind us of milk, where milk is all we can manage, and remind us of the meat when we are able to digest it to our benefit.
But, observe carefully: He does not come to present us with a third testament, nor to add to that which Christ has already revealed. He comes to bring what was already revealed to remembrance as needed. He has come not to establish Himself as a new object for cultic worship, but to turn the worshipers eyes back to Christ. If we look at those places where Jesus particularly addresses the work of the Spirit, we see that it primarily concerns times of spiritual stress. Consider this advice He gives. “And when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit” (Mk 13:11). This is addressed to events that might entail mortal danger, and yet the concern presented is not the risk of physical harm, but the risk of overthinking. I don’t suppose I’m the only one who inclines toward rehearsing conversations at length in my mind, nor am I alone in recognizing the risk that having so long rehearsed it, I may never actually have the conversation, for the mind is satisfied that it’s already been done.
So, there is something of that in Jesus’ advice. Don’t overthink it. But there is an equal and opposite consideration. Don’t underthink it. It is not a call to go unprepared through life, but rather a call to trust God rather than your own wisdom. It has to be said that the Spirit cannot bring to remembrance what we never laid hold of in the first place. Remembering indicates the necessary precursor of something to remember, a thought already established, but filed away. That is to say, relying on the Spirit’s immediate inspiration without availing oneself of time for study of the Scriptures and prayerful communion with God is an abuse of the relationship. No good tutor would long tolerate a student who simply waits for him to provide the answers. The tutor comes to train the student to think for himself, as well as providing him with the wisdom to think rightly.
All of this is not to say that the Spirit might not present us with rather spectacular modes of inspiration in the course of His work in us. I think of Stephen, who even as he was being put to death by those who rejected Christ, was granted a brief vision of the heaven which awaited him. “Being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’” (Ac 7:55-56). But, observe, while this was assuredly a vision perfectly designed to put steel in his backbone for the stoning to come, it was not a new revelation, but a bringing to remembrance of what was already known of Christ. It was a focusing of Stephen’s eyes upon Him who is his salvation. It’s something to observe that Stephen didn’t start shouting about how he felt the Spirit’s presence all over him. He wasn’t excited about the experience of power. He was caught up in the sight of Christ on His throne. There was cause for excitement. There was the point of the Spirit’s teaching.
As our Tutor, the Spirit also has His place in filling those men chosen to record the word of God, the revelation of the Christ in those texts that have come down to us as Scripture. This holds from Genesis right on through to the Revelation. In fairness, I don’t suppose that anything precludes His overseeing other, lesser writings, either those of the early fathers of the Church or even those of more recent heroes of the faith. Yet, it is oversight of a different order. Nobody is likely to assign the writings of Sproul or MacArthur an authority equal with that of Scripture, nor should they. Indeed, any such effort must surely be rejected. The same holds for the pronouncements of the current pope, as well as for any who preceded him and any who may come after. That is not to say that these or other faithful men are devoid of the Spirit’s guidance. If that were so, we must accept that we, too, are devoid of His guidance, and that would leave us ready, willing, and able to swiftly go astray. But, where He guides, He reminds, He reforms our errant thoughts to the revealed teaching of Scripture. He does not add to it, nor does He subtract from it. He does not revise the text to suit some new end or some new age. He points us down the ancient way after which we are advised to inquire.
Thus, Peter could write of the prophets that, “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2Pe 1:21). This is not, of course, to say that every claimant to a prophetic gift or message is to be accepted at face value. Indeed, Peter proceeds immediately to the caution. “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2Pe 2:1). Are these, then, included in his prior statement? If their message is false, do the still speak from God? In the sense that God directs all things, I suppose one could say they do, but in the meaning Peter intends, I think we must say they do not. That is to say, the false message they have on offer may be put to use by God to pursue His good purpose, yet that does not in any way advocate accepting their message. No, such things cannot be seen as advising us to accept every ostensible prophet. Rather, it is a clear admonition to pay heed to the content of their message, and test it against what is clearly known; against the revealed word of Scripture.
[09/13/19]
Another way in which the Spirit relates to man is as man’s Advocate or Helper. The term used is parakletos, indicating a legal aid, a lawyer if you will, or ‘friend of the accused’. We might think of a character witness, which might seem an unwelcome role for all-knowing God to fill on our behalf. But, then, the Spirit knows our character perhaps better than we do ourselves, being privy to the work of God within us, and seeing, as God does, the end even from this vantage point of the beginning. However this may be, He is one who speaks in our favor. It is thus that He is our comforter, as some translations have it. He represents us.
Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever” (Jn 14:16). He identifies another paraklete, one like Himself and indeed equal with Himself. We, then, have an Advocate in heaven, in Jesus Christ our Lord (1Jn 2:1), who intercedes for us, and we have an Advocate here with us, in the Holy Spirit. But, if He is legal Advocate to us, in what capacity does He so serve? We are not, at present, before the judgment seat, are we? But, we are often faced with an accuser in our great enemy, Satan. Here, particularly, I should think it a great benefit to have this legal aid from the Spirit, reminding us and our enemy alike of the full truth of our estate.
Jesus further says of the Spirit, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me” (Jn 15:26). This points us back to that relationship of tutoring and reminding. It points out that the Spirit’s primary activity is not in bringing attention to Himself, but in bearing witness to Christ. “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (Jn 14:26). The idea, then, of being our Advocate here is close-coupled to His relationship to us as Tutor, both teaching and reminding us of what it was that the Son of God taught and did, which in turn consists in that which He heard the Father say and saw the Father do.
iv. Spirit's Role
I must have observed this in considering the Father and the Son, but my choice of subheads here seems rather arbitrary. To speak of the Spirit’s relationship to man seems, in large part, to consist in speaking of His role. It’s not quite the same thing, but the thoughts so intertwine as to be almost inseparable. He is our Tutor, as we have seen. He is our witness, our Advocate, and as I have observed, that runs in both directions. He represents us to our advantage when we are accused before God. He represents God to us when we think to have found cause to judge Him, as if we could ever find such grounds! In both cases, He speaks Truth, for He is, as we saw, the Spirit of truth. He will not misrepresent God to us. He will not misrepresent us to God. He will, however, present the whole picture, and as such, will present us as we are certain to become as God continues His work in us.
As concerns that work, the Spirit is the means by which that work is done in us. It is uniquely the power of the Holy Spirit that we find at work in the creative activities of God. His is the artistic expression of the Father’s will, put into action in the name of the Son. Once more I have to confess to being troubled in assigning any sort of unique capacity to any one Person of the Trinity. As such, let it be stated clearly here that the capacity is equal in each Person. The authority to declare is present in Son and Spirit every bit as much as in the Father. Father and Spirit are as able to authorize and speak forth the will of God as the Son. Father and Son are quite as able to undertake the creative acts that seem particularly to be found the realm of the Spirit. It’s not a question of capacity. It’s a question of agreed upon role as the Trinity pursues His purposes in perfect, harmonious accord.
Let us consider the nuclear family in its ideal state, or as near to it as can be imagined. There is a father, a mother, and a child. In this ideal state we have in view, these three are absolutely in accord one with another as to what ought to be done and how it ought to be done. Let us suppose, for example, that a holiday lies ahead, and the family must pack that which they need to bring with them, and otherwise prepare for the event. All are agreed on the destination, the timing, what all needs to be packed, and what preparations need to be done around the house. But, if those three proceed willy-nilly that agreement will result in chaos and confusion. Perhaps all will have focused on packing the car, and therefore get in each other’s way more often than not. Perhaps, since everybody was focused on packing, nobody thought to stop the mail, or water gets left on somewhere, or whatever the case may be. The point is that harmonious accord in itself is insufficient to produce harmonious result. In such an ideal state, there will still be need for assigned roles, assigned tasks. That each has his or her assignment does not suggest inability to have done some other assignment. There is no superiority or inferiority to be inferred from the orderly pursuit of their common, happy goal.
So, too, the Godhead. The Persons of the Trinity have, by covenanted agreement within the Godhead, each taken upon themselves their assigned task. If there is an appearance of ranking, it is as a matter of convenience and organization, and implies nothing in regard to superiority or inferiority of one Person or another. God is One, after all, and His Oneness expresses in perfect Unity. Yet, that Unity will have its fellowship, for God is perfect within Himself and lacks nothing, not even companionship. Thus, as I speak of the Spirit having this unique role of artistic creativity, it is not that Father and Son lack artistry, nor that Father and Son are unable to create. Far from it! We have seen that the whole Triune Godhead is present at creation. Yet, within the Godhead, we have also seen that each Person pursues His agreed-upon role in that act of creation. And thus it is with every other act of God. He acts as One, His Persons each pursuing the act assigned to Him.
[09/14/19]
Thus, also, we seem to find the Spirit particularly associated with displays of God’s power, and with the delegating from that power to individuals within His kingdom. In that capacity, we learn that the Spirit gives gifts to each individual within the church, for the purpose of building up and equipping the church. Our propensity for making these things matters of pride and privilege do nothing to alter the goodness of His giving. It merely demonstrates the sinfulness of sin.
Even from the very birth of the Church we see this provision of power in the Spirit, and it begins perhaps a bit earlier than is generally considered. It begins with that first visit of the risen Lord with His disciples. There they were, gathered away behind closed doors for fear of the Jewish authorities, and Jesus enters the room in spite of their security measures. He makes plain who He is, and they rejoice. He then says, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” He then breathed on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained” (Jn 20:20-23).
Now, there’s a lot in those few verses, and I don’t intend to go into it at length here, but there in the middle is this initial imbuement, if you will, with the Spirit. Yet, there remained something else to come about in the lives of the apostles before they were truly fit to pursue their mission. As Luke takes up the second half of his history, he notes events surrounding that period in which the resurrected Christ walked still upon the earth. In the opening verses of Acts, he presents the situation, noting first those things he had previously covered in the first writing. These brought Theophilos current to “the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Ac 1:2-3). So, then, even Jesus, and even in His resurrected state, pursues His course in the power of the Holy Spirit, at least that’s how I would translate the meaning of Luke’s words here. “He had by the Holy Spirit given orders.” I suppose it could indicate that He didn’t relay those orders in person, but the setting Luke gives us suggests otherwise. He was present. He was speaking to them personally, concerning the kingdom of God. There’s no reason in that to suppose that the orders He gave them came to them by dreams and visions or some such. No. The Teacher was still with them.
So, Luke proceeds to a particular command. “He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’” (Lk 1:4-5). The apostles, still imperfect in their understanding, took this as maybe meaning He would now reveal Himself as the king He is. Maybe now the kingdom of Israel would be restored, and happy days were truly to be here again, but that wasn’t his point. Rather, he says, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Ac 1:8). That was the purpose of the Spirit’s power, and it still is: To equip the people of God to be witnesses of God to the world. There was the mission of the Church spelled out in the commandment given its founding fathers, the Apostles. It is that same commandment Matthew immortalizes at the close of his gospel. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt 28:19-20). There, again, is the work to be done in the power provided by the Holy Spirit. There is the sole purpose of those gifts He gives to the people of God as He sees will best serve the Church and, more importantly, the Church’s God.
The power of the Spirit is not given into the people of God in order that they may amuse themselves, or in order that they may seek out a comfortable life for themselves. Consider the Apostles, who were most assuredly imbued with the Holy Spirit to a degree unparalleled in any since. Their lives were not lives of ease by any measure, nor even, by worldly standards, lives to be envied. They were lives of hard work and danger, spent in constant travel and travail. Not one of them would come to their end peacefully, but all would, as Jesus had clearly promised, face trial and persecution as they labored for Christ. Yes, John, so far as we know, died of old age, but that is not to say he was free of the persecutions that ended the lives of his compatriots. It only tells us that in his case, those persecutions failed to prove fatal, however much that was likely the intent. But, these men, deeply filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and mightily used of God for the establishing of the Church on His gospel truth, did not use the gifts given them to build mansions, procure delicacies, and hire armed guards to escort them on their enjoyable junkets. They used them for one purpose: To declare the truth of God and uphold that truth against every lie of Satan. They used it to build the Church, the very task which their Lord and Master – our Lord and Master – had assigned into their hands. Can we do any less than to utilize such gifts as the Spirit chooses to give us not for personal comfort, but for that same mission of building His Church?
To that end, return to the outcome Jesus declared to be the end of this infilling. “You shall be My witnesses.” Now, clearly this applied in a unique sense to the Apostles, for they were those who had been with Him throughout His earthly ministry. They had been eyewitnesses to His baptism, to His preaching, to His exemplary life, to His death, and perhaps most critically, to His resurrection. They knew. They knew not because they had been told and convinced by others, but because they had seen Him, heard Him, touched Him and been touched by Him. In this regard, I love the opening John chooses for his first letter to the church. “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life – and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us – what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1Jn 1:1-3). Marvelous! And powerful by the Holy Spirit. We apostles, John avows, are relaying to you what we personally experienced with immediacy. We heard. We saw. We handled. We also were entrusted, though he does not mention that here, with the task of relaying to you what we heard and saw, about Who we handled. Imagine. Here was one who had poked his fingers in the holes in his Savior’s hands. There was going to be no convincing him that he had experienced some ephemeral vision, or suffered some sort of mass hallucination. He knew! And, considering the content of his letters, this was important to establish, for there were then, as there are now, plenty who would come with their pet theories and self-serving messages, claiming to have a revelation from on high. But, they had not heard, had not seen, had not handled. John and the others had.
For what it’s worth, as I happened to be reading it yesterday, this is a claim that Paul also could make, this necessary qualification for apostleship. I do not refer to those occasions where he relates his conversion story, for that might yet leave him open to having seen a vision and not the physical presence of Christ. But, there is this, which is said almost in passing as he makes a larger point. “Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer” (2Co 5:16). His larger point here is a kingdom-oriented purpose, and a firm reminder that matters of this life, while not to be utterly ignored – no ascetic he – are of vanishing significance. Earthly reputation is of no value. What matters is one’s treasure in heaven. But, observe that note along the way: “We have known Christ according to the flesh.” He was indeed eye-witness, if not of the entirety of Christ’s time of ministry, then certainly to the public portion of it, and assuredly of His crucifixion and resurrection. Here, too, the message is clear: This was no phantasm, no vision of the intangible out there on the road to Damascus. He is an eye-witness like the others.
We do not have the benefit of that first-hand experience of a physically manifest Christ. But, we have the great advantage of long centuries of faithful testimony to the power of God made manifest through lives changed, and the Church ever growing. We have the advantage of Paul’s lessons for us. We have in part the same advantage that powered the Apostles in the first days of establishing the Church. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may be glorified with Him” (Ro 8:16-17). Now, this is no call to purposefully seek out martyrdom or persecutions of lesser degree. But, it might serve to be reminded that if we are actively seeking to hide away from such, perhaps we are not yet ready to suffer with Christ. Perhaps we are ashamed of Him, and shall discover that He is ashamed of us. May it never be! But, I cannot discount the danger of it. For I know my own propensity for seeking the place of comfort and ease. That is not the place of witness. That is not the place of the Spirit’s power.
[09/16/19]
Perhaps I can conclude this part of my effort with a return to the creeds. Of the Spirit, the whole of that which the Apostles’ Creed has to say is this: “I believe in the Holy Ghost.” That’s it. We can take that as tacit admission that they really didn’t know much about Him beyond the clear evidence of his being. Alternately, we can take it as recognition of His own demonstrable way of seeking to remain more or less out of the line of sight, in order that our eyes might remain on Jesus.
The Nicene Creed at least offers us a bit more than mere being to believe in. “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.” I observe that the Spirit is not set up as a separate being to worship, but one to be worshiped with the Father and the Son, as we glorify the Trinity. It is intriguing, but I think wholly accurate to set Him forth as the Giver of Life, this creative Artist of the Trinity, although I might have more difficulty giving Him the Lordship of Life, only because that seems to me the Son’s role more than His. But, we have His involvement in the giving of Life to God’s people in that way in which we are peculiarly possessed of true life. Then, too, I see His direct involvement in the promulgation of God’s word to His people. He spoke through the prophets. This has less to do with moving their lips and pushing air across their tongues than with providing the words they were given to speak. For as He gave them the words to speak, we see repeated evidence that God, and we can accept God the Spirit in these cases, also gave them acts they were to do, symbolic acts by which to convey more clearly the message of their words.
This same act of inspiration and revelation to the prophets applied most clearly to their writings; writings that we often find were commanded to be written. In this capacity, the writings of the apostles are likewise included, and we can discern the evidence that they were well aware of the weight their words would carry, and took that weight most seriously. They, too, knew and believed in the Holy Spirit. They found Him no plaything by which to please their egos, but rather as Lord of their actions and their words, so yes, why not Lord of Life? Jesus is Lord of all, but in this life, it is the Holy Spirit we find primarily overseeing and guiding our day to day. He it is who watches the Church that Christ Jesus established, guiding its leadership, guarding its knowledge of that Word He made certain was delivered accurately and in full, and which He has ensured, across long ages, remains accurate and in full, having nothing removed and nothing added, whatever the machinations of man and demon alike.
As to the Athanasian Creed, it seems the effort is so fully focused on proclaiming the full equality of the Persons of the Trinity that there is pretty much nothing said specifically of any one of those Persons beyond that name by which each is known: Father, Son, and Spirit. “But the whole three persons are coeternal and coequal. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped.”
Let us be careful, therefore, of forming too much by way of distinguishing ideas as to the Persons of this United Trinity. While it feels so necessary an act to us in our rational patterns of thought, yet it ever drives us along pathways that risk the development of idolatrous ideas. It is the path that leads to speculation, for where Scripture is all but silent, how dare we to suppose we are fit to make pronouncements?
It seems to me that the Spirit, at least as much as the Son, is subjected to all manner of idolatrous interpretation by us, sometimes willfully, sometimes as it were accidentally. In our day it seems there is no end of folks ready to bend the name of Christ to their argument so as to bolster their pet project. These are, by and large, folks who have no use for Christ, whether it be the Christ of the Bible, or the Christ of their own fabrication. He is not a matter of belief to them, but a handy tool to deploy in argument. He is little more than a concept, if He is even that. Yet, they would propound to know what He would eat were He with us today. They would propound knowledge of His views on climate, on politics, on abortion and euthanasia, on various modern perversities of opinion in regard to sexuality, and on most anything else about which one might opine. None of these have aught to do with Who Jesus Is, and none of these have aught to do with the kingdom of God. They are petty idols thrown up in service to the kingdom of this man or that.
If we are so ready to do this with the Lord Jesus Christ, about whom we have so great a testimony, how much more the Holy Spirit, about whom so little is really and truly revealed? Here is a power set to be molded like clay in the hands of unscrupulous men. Why has God done such a thing? Why has He left Himself so wide open to interpretation here? I can only suggest that it is in order that the sinfulness of sin may be shown in the readiness even of true and devout believers to set before their mind’s eye a Holy Spirit after their own preferences. Here I must accept that I am in no wise immune. I am perfectly capable of refashioning God to suit my views, and it is particularly easy to do so in the matter of the Holy Spirit, given how little is actually said about Him. Perhaps it would be best if I left it as the Apostles Creed left it. I believe in the Holy Ghost. Anything more is almost certainly speculation.
