Sanctification: the Process of Perfection - The Holy Spirit: What He Does (pt 1)

In the previous installment of our study on the doctrine of sanctification we began examining the Sanctifier, the Holy Spirit. There is an unfortunate disconnect for the average believer when it comes to understanding the true ministry of the Holy Spirit. These misunderstandings often result in the believer accepting extremes where the Spirit is concerned. Some denominations/congregations/believers have very little involvement with the movement of the Holy Spirit, believing that the Holy Spirit’s “hay day” ended with the Apostles. In contrast, others are so overboard in what they believe that they hyper drive the Holy Ghost into some kind of circus side show act, expecting Him to perform outlandish tricks. In truth, the ministry of the Spirit resides somewhere in the scriptural middle.  I contend that one cannot successfully live for the Lord, or experience the fullness of the sanctification process if one does not have a firm grasp on who the Holy Spirit is, what He does, and how He does it.

The previous blog post dealt with the question: Who is the Holy Spirit? We concluded by saying that the Holy Spirit is the dynastic successor of Jesus Christ. Where Jesus guided, trained, and commissioned the disciples , the Holy Spirit now guides, trains, and empowers the Church. We learned from John 14:16 that the Holy Spirit is the parakletos that Jesus was referring to. He is the “one who is called to another's side to aid him, as an advocate in a court of justice, a helper, a councilor”. Also, we pointed out the word “another” referred to “one of the same kind”.  In summary, the Holy Ghost is the 3^rd person of the Holy Trinity who leads the Church, just as Jesus led the disciples.

Now that we have reviewed WHO HE IS, let’s move forward. Let’s take a look at WHAT HE DOES.

In essence, this question involves uncovering the basics of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I agree that the ministry of the Spirit is multifaceted. However, to build a house, we must start with the foundation. If we were to boil the work of the Spirit down to a simple definition, what would it be? In order to arrive at the lowest common denominator where the ministry of the Spirit is concerned, we can’t include every single thing the Word says concerning the Spirit. We can’t include the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit and the conviction of the Spirit and things of such nature. The truth be told, these are not the basic ministries of the Spirit, they are the EFFECTS or the RESULTS of the Spirit’s ministry in the life of a Christian. The Church tends to maximize the effects of the Spirit, and miss the fundamental purpose behind WHAT HE IS DOING. When we live in the effects, and miss the point, we end up existing in extremes, as was stated earlier. So then, our purpose now is to arrive at a simple and straight forward definition of the basic ministry of the Holy Spirit.

With this in mind, turn in your Bible to the book of Galatians. Paul’s letter to the Galatian church is a detailed examination of the spiritual direction that the church had taken. Paul teaches that Christians must order their lives in such a way that the Holy Spirit’s ministry remains fully active and completely effective. When Paul left the churches of Galatia to continue his ministry elsewhere, they were a thriving, functioning, ministering body of Christ. However, sometime later, Paul received word that these churches had strayed from the true Gospel of Grace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and began following the gospel of a group of false teachers that Paul called Judaizers. The gospel of the Judaizers, which was no gospel at all, was based in the Jewish faith. They taught that a gentile could come to Christ, but they must become a Jew first. In other words, they could come to the cross, but they had to come through the gateway of Judaism.  The Judaizers were attempting to convince the Galatian believers that they needed to obey the Old Testament laws, keep the Old Testament festival days, keep the Old Testament Sabbath, and if they were male, they must be circumcised. After a Gentile became a Jew, then they could continue into Christianity. This line of thinking was in direct opposition to the Gospel of Grace through Faith that Paul had preached to the Galatians.

When Paul realized what was happening he became distraught over the spiritual condition that the Galatian believers had fallen into, and at the same time, he became incensed over the crafty misdirection and false guidance of the Judaizers. In the book of Galatians, Paul is pleading with the Galatians to recall where they came from, and what set them free to begin with. He spends time teaching them about grace and law and re-teaching them about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, which had been halted in a drastic way due to the path the Galatian church had chosen to follow. With this in mind, let us turn our attention to one particular verse that will help us formulate the beginnings of a definition of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 4:19 says:

My little children, for whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

The phrase “my little children” is not one of condescension. Paul is not calling them childish or immature. Instead, this is a term of endearment. It is better translated “my born ones”. Here, Paul is revealing his heart where the believers in Galatia are concerned. When Paul looks at them, it’s as if he is looking at his own children. This parent/child theme is carried over into the next phrase of verse 19… ”for whom I travail in birth again”. Paul is painting the picture that these groups of believers are in effect his own spiritual children that he both birthed and raised in the faith. Most of us have some level of understanding when it comes to the pain and labor of child birth. There is a very obvious reason why this process isn’t called “leisure”…no, it’s called “labor”…and that is an understatement, if you ask me. These are passionate words the great apostle is using. He is in effect saying that he had already gone through the travail of birthing them into the kingdom before, and now he was in agony over the prospect of having to go through this arduous task again. It is important that the emotional and spiritual connection between Paul and his “born ones” be understood, for in the proceeding 6 words of verse 19 Paul will elaborate on why he is so distraught.

I realize that when you read this simple verse, you see no references to the Holy Spirit, or His ministry. On the surface, this is true. However, if you will take the time to digest the following paragraphs, I believe you will find there is more to this verse than meets the eye. So put your thinking cap on….we are about to speak in Greek!!

The words “be formed” are very important and deserve some fleshing out. First of all, the Greek language is much more descriptive than our English. In verse 19, “be formed” is better translated…to give an outward expression of one’s inward character. In other words, to let the thing on the inside be seen on the outside. For our study, I will replace “be formed” with “be expressed outwardly”. So our verse would read…”until Christ be expressed outwardly in you”.

Now, allow me to illustrate this so that it becomes clear. Tiger Woods is arguably the greatest golfer of this generation. Whether you are a golf fan or not, it would be interesting to watch Tiger Woods give an exhibition of his golfing skills. Personally, I would enjoy observing anyone who is considered the best performer in their craft. So, if you and I were allowed a private moment to watch Tiger Woods hit golf balls, the following conversation might take place…

                            ME:      Whoa! Did you see how far that ball flew?

YOU:    Amazing, and he makes it look so easy.

ME:     He can practically make the ball land exactly where he wants too, I’m  jealous!

YOU:   Okay, be quiet, here comes another swing.

ME:     Wow, he has amazing form.

Amazing form…we all know what that means. When we observe an athlete or dancer or performer at the top of their craft, we say they have good form. This is pointing to the idea that all the skill and training and understanding and talent and drive that is bottled up inside them, is expressed outwardly in a precise, articulated motion. What is on the inside is expressed on the outside…good form. Okay, you got it? This is the point Paul is making to the Galatians. Due to their leaving the Gospel of Christ to follow the gospel of the Judaizers, Jesus was no longer being expressed outwardly from them. They were saved; Paul had seen to that when he was leading them in person. They had Jesus on the inside, but he was no longer being expressed on the outside. This fact was grieving the heart of the great apostle, and no doubt the heart of God also.

Now, let’s go deeper into this verse, it’s about to get a bit technical, but I’ll explain so don’t tune this part out…here’s where the Holy Spirit comes into play.

In the Greek language, the word “formed” is written in a grammatical type called the PASSIVE VOICE. When a word is written in the PASSIVE VOICE, we must identify the subject of the verb. Let’s look at our verse again and identify the subject of the verb “formed”

”until Christ be formed in you.”

The verb is formed…so what is the subject of our verb? If you said Christ, you are absolutely right. Christ is the subject of the verb formed.

Okay, when a verb is written in the PASSIVE VOICE, the subject of the verb is identified as PASSIVE or INACTIVE. In other words, THE SUBJECT DOES NOT PERFORM THE ACTION. This means that Christ is the one being expressed outwardly; however, Christ is not the one performing the expressing. Christ is passive, He is not expressing Himself. So, the obvious question that a good Bible student would ask at this point might be…“if Christ is not expressing Himself…then who is expressing Him?”

And the correct answer is?????                 THE HOLY SPIRIT!!!!!

Great! So we have built an expanded translation of Galatians 4:19. Let’s put it all together…

My born ones, concerning whom I am again striving with intense effort like unto child birth, until the Holy Spirit outwardly express Christ in you again.

This is a great revelation that points to a foundational aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Let’s put it bluntly, what is the Holy Spirit’s job? To outwardly express Christ through you!!! When the Holy Spirit is free to perform His work in your life, Jesus Christ will be expressed out of you like a great spot light shooting out of your heart, into a darkened world. However, the inverse is also true. If the Holy Spirit is not given this freedom, Christ cannot be expressed out of you. Evidently, this is what happened to the Galatian church. They had “quenched the Spirit”, they had “frustrated the Spirit”, and to the outside world, Jesus was no longer being seen through them.

I spoke earlier of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul also teaches about in the book of Galatians (5:22-23). Now we can draw a direct line between the true ministry of the Spirit and the results that abound when that ministry is being carried out. If the Spirit is free to work, then the fruit of the Spirit is evident. What is the fruit of the Spirit? It can easily be said that the fruit of the Spirit is the characteristics of Jesus Christ that is being expressed outwardly from the believer. If this is not taking place in a believer’s life, the only alternative is that the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) are manifested through the life of the Christian. This was the case with the Galatian church, and this is the case with all believers that do not allow the Holy Spirit to perform His work. Christ is no longer expressed and the flesh is. When this is taking place, to the on looking world, we no longer look like a child of God…instead we look like a child of the World.

Ok, take a deep breath. That’s a lot of teaching. But through it, we have begun to develop a definition of the true ministry of the Holy Spirit. WHAT DOES HE DO?: the Holy Spirit expresses Christ through you. In the next installment, we are going to continue building this definition. We are going to expand a step further on the question...WHAT DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT DO?

Sanctification: the Process of Perfection - The Holy Spirit; Who He Is

We have come to a crucial segment of our teaching on the process of perfection in the life of a believer, the process of sanctification. At this point we have just begun to get into the mechanics of this important topic, in other words, how it works. If we consider sanctification as an automobile, one might ask about the engine. After all, the engine is the power within the machine. Without it, we may have a structure that looks like a car, but it cannot act like a car. So it is with many modern day Christians. The very word Christian means “little Christ”. This gives the connotation that we should be a replica of the original.

Not only should we look Christ-like on the outside, but we should operate Christ-like on the inside. Many church goers have the appearance of Christian automobiles, they have a religious exterior, but if we were to lift the hood, what would we find? What is powering most Christians today? The more important question would be: Is the engine that powered Christ under the hood of your life...or are you running on a self made knock off?

The last installment of our survey of the doctrine of sanctification ended with a bold statement. The statement was as follows:

In the time between the ascension of Jesus and His return to rapture the church, the activity of God on earth and in the lives of man will only be carried out by the Holy Spirit. He and He alone is the hand of God on earth. Therefore, we must learn WHO He is, WHAT He does, and HOW He does it. Otherwise, we will miss God all together.

If this statement is true, and I believe it is, then we have a divine mandate to seek after a functional understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is the hand of God on earth, then we MUST have His operation in our lives. We cannot ignore the importance of His ministry and we MUST continue to learn how to position our lives in such a way that He can do His all important work.  Moreover, a mere understanding is not enough; we also must be able to live out what we know. Or, more appropriately, allow the Holy Spirit to live out His ministry through us.

Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest made a significant point that alludes to the need for a Christian to seek understanding where the Holy Spirit is concerned.

“…just as Jesus never saves a person until that person recognizes Him a Savior and by an act of his own free will puts his trust in Him, so the Holy Spirit is waiting for the Christian to recognize His ministry, and by an act of his free will trust Him to perform it.”

As I stated in the previous blog post, most Christians have a misplaced understanding of the true ministry of the Holy Spirit. These misunderstandings range from believing the Holy Spirit’s job is to provoke emotional outburst to ignoring Him all together. Both of which are wrong and neither of which result in allowing the Holy Spirit to actually affect the lives of said believer. Meanwhile, the Sanctifier is patiently waiting for the believer to recognize His true ministry and allow Him to perform it.

In the next blog posts, I want to deal with three questions. The answers to these questions will help build a basic understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The questions are as follows: WHO is He? WHAT does He do? And HOW does He do it? In the following few paragraphs, we will approach the first question.

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT

The short and obvious answer….HE IS GOD!

The Holy Spirit is not a lesser part of the God head. He is not the most important part of the God head. He is as equally God as the Father and the Son. He is all powerful, all knowing, and all present. He is limitless and He cannot be diminished. He is bound by only one factor…the laws He has set for Himself. He is truth, He is love, and He is sovereign. As a part of the God head, the Holy Trinity, He has a specific/particular role or personage that He fulfills. This gives the Holy Spirit individuality, but it does not place Him in a pecking order…for HE IS GOD!

Now, most of you have learned nothing by what I’ve just stated…because most any Christian would hear these words, and agree with them. However, most Christians don’t really grasp the concept of the role of the Spirit. So let’s discuss WHO He is from a different angle…let’s talk about Moses and Joshua…let’s talk dynastic succession.

MOSES and JOSHUA

In Deuteronomy chapter 31, a landmark event took place in Israel’s history. Moses, the great leader of the people, the mediator of the old covenant, the law giver, addressed the people. To the utter shock of the Israelites, I’m sure; Moses made an announcement that would change things entirely…He would not be entering the Promise Land.

1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. 2 And he said unto them, I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

This announcement must have been earth shattering to the masses. I imagine it brought both fear and confusion. Moses represented so much to the nation…leadership, provision, council, protection, wisdom. He was the one that sought the very face of God on behalf of the people. He had been used by God to open the doors of Egypt, to part the sea, to provide food and water, to bring the law, to defend against the enemy, and heal them from the poison of the snakes. Now, he was telling them that he would not lead them into the very purpose for which they had stuck out over 40 years before. They would be crossing the Jordon into the Promise Land without him.

Verses 1 and 2 of Deuteronomy 31 were Israel’s worst nightmare come true. Verses 3 and 6 proved once again that in the midst of confusion God always has a plan.

3 The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.

6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

God’s plan for the nation was Joshua. And with Joshua at the helm, the children of Israel would begin a campaign of victory that claimed the land they were predestined to indwell. Moses had a specific purpose and role that he was called to by God. He accomplished and represented more in the Old Testament than perhaps any other person therein. However, it was Joshua’s divine calling to lead the conquest of Canaan. In the 31^st chapter of Deuteronomy, we see the passing of the torch, so to speak, as Moses announced to Israel that He was stepping away, and that God had appointed a new leader. Now the people would look to Joshua as he fulfilled the same responsibilities that Moses had once performed. He would become leader, protector, guide, councilor, general, and judge. This changing of the guard is known as dynastic succession: the replacement of a dynasty’s supreme leader with his/her successor.

 JESUS and the HOLY SPIRIT

Now turn in your Bible to the 13^th chapter of the book of John, and flash forward several hundred years to an upper room as a landmark event is taking place in the lives of 12 men. Jesus, the great leader of the disciples, the mediator of the new covenant, the grace giver, addressed his followers. To the utter shock of the disciples, I’m sure; Jesus made an announcement that would change things entirely…He was going away.

33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you.

36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”

This announcement must have been earth shattering to the disciples. I imagine it brought both fear and confusion. Jesus represented so much to these men…leadership, provision, council, protection, wisdom. He was the one that sought the very face of God on their behalf. He had been used by God to open their hearts to ministry, to calm the sea, to provide spiritual food and water, to fulfill the law, to defend against the enemy, and heal them from the poison of the sin nature. Now, he was telling them that he would not lead them into the very purpose for which they had stuck out over 3 years before. They would be crossing over into the world wide evangelism of the Gospel without Him.

Verses 33 and 36 of John 13 were the disciple’s worst nightmare come true. Verses 16 and 17 of chapter 14 proved once again that in the midst of confusion God always has a plan.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

God’s plan for the disciples was the Holy Spirit. And with the Holy Spirit at the helm, they would begin a campaign of victory that claimed the spiritual land they were predestined to indwell. Jesus had a specific purpose and role that he was called to by God. He accomplished and represented more than any other person in history. However, it was the Holy Spirit’s divine ministry to lead the Church. In the 13^th-16^th chapter of John, we see the passing of the torch, so to speak, as Jesus announced to the disciples that He was stepping away, and that God had appointed a new leader. Now the people would look to the Holy Spirit as He fulfilled the same responsibilities that Jesus had once performed. He would become leader, protector, guide, councilor, general, and judge. This changing of the guard is another example of dynastic succession.

PARAKLETOS

I want to tie this all together by making one more point. I want to give attention to a particular word in John 14:16. Jesus said, “and he (God) shall give you another Comforter.” The word “Comforter” is the Greek word parakletos. It means one who is called to another's side to aid him, as an advocate in a court of justice, a helper, a councilor. Notice the word Comforter is capitalized, giving it the notation of deity. As I said before, the Holy Spirit is God. Jesus is saying that God would send another one to take his place, and the replacement would stand beside them in the same fashion that Jesus had. Also, notice the word “another”. In the Greek this word states that the one coming would be the same kind as the one being replaced. In short, Jesus was leaving, and the Holy Spirit was coming to pick up where He left off, to assume the same position Christ held for the disciples, with one obvious difference. Jesus said in verse 17, “for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Jesus led the disciples while dwelling “with” them, the Holy Spirit leads us while dwelling “in” us.

Now back to the original question: WHO is the Holy Spirit?

Answer: He is the dynastic successor of Jesus Christ. He is our paraclete. As Joshua was the successor of Moses, and the Old Testament paraclete appointed by God to lead the people as they conquered the Promised Land of Canaan. So the Holy Spirit is to you and me. He is the one that will lead us as we conquer the Promised Land of Christian sanctification.