Growing In Holiness (Philippians 3:12-16)

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me" (Phil. 3:12).

One of the greatest jewels in the Christian’s crown is that he is set apart as a child of God. This means that he is holy, just like the nation of Israel was holy in that it was set apart from other nations. But wherein does this holiness consist? In one sense it is simply an objective proclamation of God, but in another it is an inward principle, a more subjective change wrought by the Holy Spirit after regeneration and justification in Christ. This change is a process called sanctification, and it is a work done by the Spirit. But unlike regeneration, the individual is involved in the process. By the power of the Spirit, we are being conformed to the image of Christ. We manifest fruit of the Spirit through obedience to the law of Christ while, through the Spirit, we are being purified of remaining sin.

Much of the confusion concerning our role in redemption has to do with the relationship between regeneration and sanctification. At regeneration, we are brought to life, our souls are quickened by the Spirit, enabling us to repent of our former life of sin and to put our faith in Christ. But this does not mean that our sin nature has been eradicated. There are still remnants of the “old man” that need to be dealt with. Hence, we have the frustrating battle of the Christian life. How many of us have longed for sin to be completely wiped out of our souls? How many times have you moaned in the midst of the battle? If you are a growing Christian, the answer is probably “all the time.” Like Paul, we wish to be free from the “body of death.” You are being freed—it is just happening slowly. Day by day, you are being inwardly renewed by the Spirit. As you deal with sin, the battle ebbs and flows, but you are always marching onward. To sustain you during this sanctifying process, look to Christ’s promises: “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

As we struggle with sin, we possess this hope. The battle that we wage today will be won tomorrow because the Victor reigns and the Spirit empowers us to overcome even our greatest enemies. Do not be discouraged and above all do not be lax in your obligation to obey God’s laws and be conformed to Christ. Let this be your goal: to be holy as He is holy.

Read Romans 7:13–25. What depiction of the Christian life does Paul give? Should you be concerned about your salvation if you are not really bothered by your sin? Read Romans 8. Reflect on the thoughts of Paul—do you identify with the tensions and joys he experienced?

The Power of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:7)

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Gen. 2:7).

The activity of the Spirit bursts onto the scene from the very dawn of history. The Scriptures tell us that the Spirit of God hovered over the darkness, over the chaos that would be fashioned into this universe we now call home. The drama of human history began by the power of the Spirit in the creation of life.

This is a fact that has been denied by today’s secular educational system. Because so many Christians are educated in government schools, we must be on our guard against the lies of the world. Evolution as a theory has been replaced, ever so blatantly, by evolution as a fact. From preschool to college, the theory that the universe exploded into being without cause or design is propagated in nearly every subject. God as creator, as the sovereign, personal Being who made everything according to its own kind has been left totally out of the picture. Creation is considered contrary to science and therefore unaccepted in scientific discourse.

But creation is the truth. The Spirit of God created life. He set the stars in the heavens, established the boundaries of the sea, raised the dry land, and inhabited it with animals of all kinds. God breathed His life-giving Spirit into man and fashioned him in His own image. Job 26:13 says, “By His Spirit He adorned the heavens,” and Psalm 104 says, “You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth.”

God, the first cause of all things, created the universe by the power of His will. He gave life through His Spirit and endowed man with his intellectual, moral, spiritual, and emotional qualities. He alone is the source of all life, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Without the Holy Spirit, all is dead and devoid of meaning, but in Him we have life and a foundation for existence. Let us not deny Him His due by espousing such philosophical and “scientific” atrocities as evolution. This man-centered theory robs God of His glory—glory that He shares with no one. Like the saints of old, let us not be ashamed of the Word. In the face of scoffing and scorn, let us hold fast to the revealed Word. Rest on its truth, not on the changing notions of human intelligence.

Read Genesis 1. How is this account of creation irreconcilable with the theory of evolution? If you are unclear on evolutionary theory, look it up in an encyclopedia and compare what you read to our text. Darwin’s theory claims to be scientifically formed, but fails empirical testing. How is it, therefore, “religious” in nature?

Who Is the Holy Spirit? (Psalm 139:7-12)

"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?" (Ps. 139:7).

From Genesis on, we see the Holy Spirit as active. He endows men with gifts of service, anoints for particular tasks, sustains creation and creates new life. But who is this mysterious figure? First, He is divine. Just as the Father and the Son are one in substance, so the Spirit is one with them. He is not subordinate to the others in an ontological sense—He is pure, holy, and divine. This fact has received little challenge throughout history.

His distinctiveness as a person, however, has been hotly debated. But the Scriptures maintain that He is His own distinct person. He is said to possess personal attributes of intelligence, an individual will, and the power to act. He, as a person, can be grieved, dishonored, loved, and sinned against. Passages such as John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:10, 12, and 1 Corinthians 12:11 support such statements. The Holy Spirit is not an emanation from God without distinct personality of His own. Quite the contrary. Like the Son and the Father, He exists as His own person within the Godhead.

The nature, therefore, of the Spirit is divine and personal. But what about His function? We learn from Scripture that He is the breath of life. In redemption, He applies the work accomplished by the Son and ordained by the Father. In this capacity, the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. He is directed by them to accomplish His tasks. This does not make the Spirit inferior any more than the Son, who is obedient to the Father, is inferior. Herman Bavinck writes, “The Holy Spirit sustains the same relation to Christ as does Christ to the Father. Just as the Son has nothing and does nothing and speaks nothing of Himself, but receives everything from the Father; in the same manner the Holy Spirit takes everything from Christ. As the Son declares and glorifies the Father, so the Holy Spirit declares and glorifies the Son.”

We must remember, therefore, that the Spirit does nothing contrary to the Word. This holds significant implications as we implement the teaching of Christ in our lives. We can never say the Spirit wants us to do something contrary to what Christ has revealed in His written Word. To say this would be to divide that which is indivisible.

With New Age religion rampant today, a lot of people talk about a “force” that guides them. Some even refer to that force as the Holy Spirit. Why is it important to remember that the Holy Spirit is a person, not just a force of energy? Meditate on the truth that a personal being directs your life, not an impersonal force.

The Spirit’s Outpouring (Acts 2:1-39)

"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." (Acts 2:3–4).

In John 7, Jesus refers to the fulfillment of prophecy when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the church at Pentecost. Because this activity of the Spirit is often misunderstood, I will try to clarify it in today’s lesson. Then, for the next week, we will deviate from our study of John to take a closer look at the Holy Spirit, who He is and what His role is in redemption.

Regarding Pentecost, it must first be clearly stated that the work of the Spirit at that time was not identical to His work in regeneration. There is a significant difference between new birth and the baptism of the Holy Spirit that we see in Acts. We will address regeneration later this week, but for now we will focus on the “baptism of the Spirit.” When we talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to which Jesus was referring in John 7, we must not neglect its full redemptive connotations; but, in this case, reference to the Holy Spirit had to do with the fulfillment of particular prophecies. Once Jesus rose again, the Spirit came upon the church to empower people for the ministry. Only a few people had this power in the Old Testament. Moses is one example, and he prayed that the Spirit would be poured out on all the people for service. This happened at Pentecost, first for the Jews, then the Samaritans, God-fearers (Gentile converts to Judaism, i.e. Cornelius), and Gentiles. Once this occurred, Pentecost was complete.

The unique nature of this event in redemptive history cannot be underestimated. The prophecy from Joel 2 was not fulfilled until Jesus rose again. But once Christ’s work on the cross was finished, the Spirit could come upon the general church. But the event of a believer being filled with the Holy Spirit, yet lacking its fullness, no longer exists. If it did, we would still be waiting for Pentecost to occur in the cases of some individuals. But Pentecost has happened and has been completed. This is why you do not hear any more mention of this profound occurrence in Paul’s writings. Today, as was the case with everyone at Pentecost, all Christians have been filled with the Spirit and equipped to fulfill the church’s mission. Those who are regenerate are baptized with the Spirit. If you do not have the Spirit, then you do not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9).

Read Acts 1:4–8. Why did Jesus send the Holy Spirit (v. 8)? Read Acts 2:1–13. Who received the baptism here? Read Acts 8:14–17; 10:44–48; 19:1–7. Who received the baptism in these passages? How do these passages fulfill Joel 2:28–29? Does it appear these experiences should be replicated today?

The Wells of Salvation (John 7:37-39)

“He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

The day that Jesus made this glorious proclamation of salvation, the temple was busy with activity. On each of the seven feast-days, a priest would fill a golden pitcher with water from the pool. He would then return with a procession to the temple and pour the water along the base of the altar of burnt offering. Trumpets would sound and the multitudes would rejoice as they were reminded of the blessings bestowed on their forefathers in the wilderness, particularly God’s provision of water from the rock. This ceremony pointed to the spiritual bounties of the Messianic age. The people, therefore, were preoccupied with passages such as Isaiah 12:3, “with joy shall you draw water from the wells of salvation,” and Isaiah 44:3, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.”

In the midst of this celebration, Jesus, as if no longer able to contain Himself and His Good News, cried out that He was the fulfillment of the prophecy, that He was the water they needed to drink; and in particular, that the Spirit would come upon them in power, giving them life welling up and overflowing to others. The coming of the Spirit, to which Isaiah 44:3 and this passage in John refer, occurred at Pentecost. But we must not misunderstand Jesus as saying that the Spirit was not active before Pentecost. He was, but something new occurred at Pentecost. The Spirit came upon the church in a way that He never had before. After the Resurrection, the Spirit came upon God’s people with power, filling them with new life. We see this principle manifested in the life of the individual believers. Sin must be dealt with first before he can be filled with the Spirit—repentance comes before service. Similarly, Christ had to conquer death before the Spirit would equip His people to serve.

The proclamation of Christ on that day in Jerusalem was profoundly significant. The fulfillment of prophecy was standing before them. Yet many could not see it because of their hardened hearts. Jesus offered an invitation of life and many refused to accept it. May you do otherwise. Draw from the wells of salvation and rejoice in the Spirit today and every day.

Pray specifically for someone today who does not know Christ, that they will find life in Him soon. Pray that God will enable you to participate in that event.