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The Benefits of the Spirit in a fallen world
Shaun Rossi // The Gospel of John
We need all the benefits bought by Christ on the cross to be saved and to enjoy a relationship with the Father. What we need, God has supplied to us by the Holy Spirit!
“1 I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
— John 16:1-15
Sermon OutlineI. Suffering in the Power of the Spirit vv 1-3
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;”
— Isaiah 53:4-10
“14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
— Hebrews 9:14
“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
— Hebrews 12:1-2
II. Salvation by the Work of the Spirt vv 14-15;5-7
“13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
— Ephesians 1:13-14
III. Scripture by the Inspiration of the Spirit vv 13-15
“17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
— John 17:17
“160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”
— Psalm 119:160
“16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
— II Timothy 3:16
“27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”
— 1 John 2:27
“strange” teachings about the Holy Spirit
Since the Pentecostal movement began a little over 100 years ago, there has been a renewed emphasis in evangelical circles on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Obviously, there has been much good that has come with this; but there has also been a lot of confusion and error that has come with it as well. Addressing widespread confusion in error about the Holy Spirit, Pastor John Mac Arthur wrote the following:
“It is a sad twist of irony that those who claim to be most focused on the Holy Spirit are in actuality the ones doing the most to abuse, grieve, insult, misrepresent, quench, and dishonor Him. How do they do it? By attributing to Him words He did not say, deeds He did not do, phenomena He did not produce, and experiences that have nothing to do with Him. They boldly plaster His name on that which is not His work.”
— John MacArthur, from his book "Strange Fire"
He goes on to cite many examples, which you can see on You Tube: “Whole congregations doing the ‘Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey,’ people ‘tokin’ the Ghost’ (pretending to inhale the Holy Spirit and get high, as if He were an invisible reefer), and women writhing on the floor, miming the process of childbirth. Old-fashioned snake handlers look tame by comparison.” He cites several preachers who say that the Holy Spirit told them to punch, kick, and violently assault people in an attempt to heal them. An elderly woman died at a “miracle crusade” when he pushed her over backwards by the preacher.
Because of this widespread confusion about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it is essential that we learn from our Lord, through the Scriptures as He teaches how the Holy Spirit will work in the disciples and, by extension, in the church, today (read the post below for a starting point in this). If you are looking for a single, modern book that lays out a biblical foundation for the person and work of the Holy Spirit, I recommend J. I. Packer's excellent and balanced “Keep in Step with the Spirit”.
cultivating a relationship with the spirit & deepening communion with godDo you know the Spirit? Are you depending on him for communion with God? If you haven’t cultivated a relationship with the Spirit, here are a few ways to begin:
You may need to begin with repentance over your neglect of the Spirit. Confess your sinful self-reliance to the Father and the Spirit, asking the Son for forgiveness, and thanking God for the gift of the Spirit.
Make a point of addressing the Spirit throughout the day in ways that reflect his role in your life (understanding, discernment, decision-making, power to overcome sin, desire for God, faith in the gospel, etc.)
Memorize and meditate on texts that show you who the Spirit is so that you can get to know Him (Numbers 27:18; 1 Samuel 16:13; Exodus 31:3; Joel 2:28-29; Acts; Romans 8; 15; 1 Corinthians 2; 2 Corinthians 3; Gal. 3-6).
Rejoice in the gift of the Spirit as a Person who indwells you with power to believe the gospel, and glorify and enjoy God!
Communion with the Spirit brings us a general happiness and contentment that cannot be found anywhere else. Augustine referred to the Trinity as Lover (Father), Beloved (Son), and Love (Spirit). The love of God is poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). To know the Spirit is to enter into the never-ending fountain of God’s love, where we are loved by the self-replenishing fountain of perfect Love itself. The Spirit guides us into Christ, where we draw near to the Father as his accepted sons and daughters. Jonathan Edwards brings the roles of the three persons of the Trinity together in communion with God well when he writes:
“Partaking of Christ’s holiness and grace, His nature, inclinations, tendencies, love, and desires, comforts and delights, must be to have communion with Christ. Yea, a believer’s communion with the Father and the Son does mainly consist in his partaking of the Holy Ghost, as appears by 2 Cor. 13:14—“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost.”
— Jonathan Edwards
The Spirit brings us into communion with God.
SMALL GROUP STUDYRead John 16:1-15
Text1. The life of Jesus is exemplary not just in what he did but also how he did it. Jesus fought the good fight of faith but he did not fight alone. Jesus did not sever himself from the Trinity in order to accomplish his mission. He remained in communion with the Father and dependent upon the Spirit to carry out his mission. The Spirit empowered and motivated everything Jesus did.
When we consider Jesus, why is it important that we look to him as an example of godly character but also to see his example of dependence upon the Spirit? (Give some examples of how Jesus pursued dependancy upon the Spirit?)
2. What “alternative power supplies” do you depend on other than the Spirit? (Distraction, emotion, duty, intellect?) What are some ways we can ‘keep in step with the Spirit’ (see, Gal 5:25).
3. (Optional) Believers are never commanded to be baptized with the Spirit, but rather to walk in the Spirit and to be filled with the Spirit. Why is this distinction important?
4. (Optional) How does a proper ‘theology of the Spirit’ affect relationships:
In the church? Think of the relationships in your church community - if you were an unbeliever, what would you conclude about who God is?
In the unbelieving world? Think of the relationships in your work, school, community?
5. In the sermon it was said in connection with Jesus referencing the Holy Spirit as “Truth”: The Bible is not a loose collection of spiritual sayings, a theological textbook, or a moral compass. It claims to be God’s personal word of Truth: “All Scripture is breathed out by God...” (2 Timothy 3:16). Scripture is God’s breath, his speech to us. The word for “breath”, both in Hebrew and Greek, is used to refer to the Holy Spirit (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 3:7). God communicates truth to us through his Spirit by his Word. The Holy Spirit has given us the truth in Scripture and He is not giving anymore authoritative revelation since the completion of the canon of Scripture.
Some argue that the Holy Spirit still gives non-authoritative revelation today. Agree/disagree? What are the practical implications of this?
To what extent (if any) does the Spirit guide us through our thoughts, impressions, or feelings? Give biblical support.
6. John reminds us that we need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us understanding and illumination as we study the Scriptures, that makes sense right. In the words of David Dockery, “By God alone can God be known.”
Read 1 John 2:27. What does John share here about how the Spirit teaches and gives understanding of God’s Word? (See, Romans 8:16)
7. Read verses 1-3 and 13-14. As we receive the ministry of the Spirit, we are to join his purpose in glorifying Jesus through our witness in the in the midst of suffering by the power of the Spirit. Tragically, we tend to think of suffering as something we must do on our own strength and avoid it at all costs. Listen to John Piper: “What a tragic waste when people turn away from the Calvary road of love and suffering. All the riches of the glory of God in Christ are on that road. All the sweetest fellowship with Jesus is there. All the treasures of assurance. All the ecstasies of joy. All the clearest sightings of eternity. All the noblest camaraderie. All the humblest affections. All the most tender acts of forgiving kindness. All the deepest discoveries of God‘s Word. All the most earnest prayers. They are all on the Calvary road where Jesus walks with his people. Take up your cross and follow Jesus. On this road, and this road alone, life is Christ and death is gain. Life on every other road is wasted.”
Piper tells us that some of our sweetest moments with Jesus and greatest opportunities to glorify Him come on the road to suffering? Give examples from your own life? How did you experience the Spirit empowering you during that time?
Close in Prayer.
Back to Bulletin
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By United Community ChurchShaun Rossi // The Gospel of John
We need all the benefits bought by Christ on the cross to be saved and to enjoy a relationship with the Father. What we need, God has supplied to us by the Holy Spirit!
“1 I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
— John 16:1-15
Sermon OutlineI. Suffering in the Power of the Spirit vv 1-3
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;”
— Isaiah 53:4-10
“14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
— Hebrews 9:14
“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
— Hebrews 12:1-2
II. Salvation by the Work of the Spirt vv 14-15;5-7
“13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
— Ephesians 1:13-14
III. Scripture by the Inspiration of the Spirit vv 13-15
“17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
— John 17:17
“160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”
— Psalm 119:160
“16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
— II Timothy 3:16
“27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”
— 1 John 2:27
“strange” teachings about the Holy Spirit
Since the Pentecostal movement began a little over 100 years ago, there has been a renewed emphasis in evangelical circles on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Obviously, there has been much good that has come with this; but there has also been a lot of confusion and error that has come with it as well. Addressing widespread confusion in error about the Holy Spirit, Pastor John Mac Arthur wrote the following:
“It is a sad twist of irony that those who claim to be most focused on the Holy Spirit are in actuality the ones doing the most to abuse, grieve, insult, misrepresent, quench, and dishonor Him. How do they do it? By attributing to Him words He did not say, deeds He did not do, phenomena He did not produce, and experiences that have nothing to do with Him. They boldly plaster His name on that which is not His work.”
— John MacArthur, from his book "Strange Fire"
He goes on to cite many examples, which you can see on You Tube: “Whole congregations doing the ‘Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey,’ people ‘tokin’ the Ghost’ (pretending to inhale the Holy Spirit and get high, as if He were an invisible reefer), and women writhing on the floor, miming the process of childbirth. Old-fashioned snake handlers look tame by comparison.” He cites several preachers who say that the Holy Spirit told them to punch, kick, and violently assault people in an attempt to heal them. An elderly woman died at a “miracle crusade” when he pushed her over backwards by the preacher.
Because of this widespread confusion about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it is essential that we learn from our Lord, through the Scriptures as He teaches how the Holy Spirit will work in the disciples and, by extension, in the church, today (read the post below for a starting point in this). If you are looking for a single, modern book that lays out a biblical foundation for the person and work of the Holy Spirit, I recommend J. I. Packer's excellent and balanced “Keep in Step with the Spirit”.
cultivating a relationship with the spirit & deepening communion with godDo you know the Spirit? Are you depending on him for communion with God? If you haven’t cultivated a relationship with the Spirit, here are a few ways to begin:
You may need to begin with repentance over your neglect of the Spirit. Confess your sinful self-reliance to the Father and the Spirit, asking the Son for forgiveness, and thanking God for the gift of the Spirit.
Make a point of addressing the Spirit throughout the day in ways that reflect his role in your life (understanding, discernment, decision-making, power to overcome sin, desire for God, faith in the gospel, etc.)
Memorize and meditate on texts that show you who the Spirit is so that you can get to know Him (Numbers 27:18; 1 Samuel 16:13; Exodus 31:3; Joel 2:28-29; Acts; Romans 8; 15; 1 Corinthians 2; 2 Corinthians 3; Gal. 3-6).
Rejoice in the gift of the Spirit as a Person who indwells you with power to believe the gospel, and glorify and enjoy God!
Communion with the Spirit brings us a general happiness and contentment that cannot be found anywhere else. Augustine referred to the Trinity as Lover (Father), Beloved (Son), and Love (Spirit). The love of God is poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). To know the Spirit is to enter into the never-ending fountain of God’s love, where we are loved by the self-replenishing fountain of perfect Love itself. The Spirit guides us into Christ, where we draw near to the Father as his accepted sons and daughters. Jonathan Edwards brings the roles of the three persons of the Trinity together in communion with God well when he writes:
“Partaking of Christ’s holiness and grace, His nature, inclinations, tendencies, love, and desires, comforts and delights, must be to have communion with Christ. Yea, a believer’s communion with the Father and the Son does mainly consist in his partaking of the Holy Ghost, as appears by 2 Cor. 13:14—“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost.”
— Jonathan Edwards
The Spirit brings us into communion with God.
SMALL GROUP STUDYRead John 16:1-15
Text1. The life of Jesus is exemplary not just in what he did but also how he did it. Jesus fought the good fight of faith but he did not fight alone. Jesus did not sever himself from the Trinity in order to accomplish his mission. He remained in communion with the Father and dependent upon the Spirit to carry out his mission. The Spirit empowered and motivated everything Jesus did.
When we consider Jesus, why is it important that we look to him as an example of godly character but also to see his example of dependence upon the Spirit? (Give some examples of how Jesus pursued dependancy upon the Spirit?)
2. What “alternative power supplies” do you depend on other than the Spirit? (Distraction, emotion, duty, intellect?) What are some ways we can ‘keep in step with the Spirit’ (see, Gal 5:25).
3. (Optional) Believers are never commanded to be baptized with the Spirit, but rather to walk in the Spirit and to be filled with the Spirit. Why is this distinction important?
4. (Optional) How does a proper ‘theology of the Spirit’ affect relationships:
In the church? Think of the relationships in your church community - if you were an unbeliever, what would you conclude about who God is?
In the unbelieving world? Think of the relationships in your work, school, community?
5. In the sermon it was said in connection with Jesus referencing the Holy Spirit as “Truth”: The Bible is not a loose collection of spiritual sayings, a theological textbook, or a moral compass. It claims to be God’s personal word of Truth: “All Scripture is breathed out by God...” (2 Timothy 3:16). Scripture is God’s breath, his speech to us. The word for “breath”, both in Hebrew and Greek, is used to refer to the Holy Spirit (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 3:7). God communicates truth to us through his Spirit by his Word. The Holy Spirit has given us the truth in Scripture and He is not giving anymore authoritative revelation since the completion of the canon of Scripture.
Some argue that the Holy Spirit still gives non-authoritative revelation today. Agree/disagree? What are the practical implications of this?
To what extent (if any) does the Spirit guide us through our thoughts, impressions, or feelings? Give biblical support.
6. John reminds us that we need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us understanding and illumination as we study the Scriptures, that makes sense right. In the words of David Dockery, “By God alone can God be known.”
Read 1 John 2:27. What does John share here about how the Spirit teaches and gives understanding of God’s Word? (See, Romans 8:16)
7. Read verses 1-3 and 13-14. As we receive the ministry of the Spirit, we are to join his purpose in glorifying Jesus through our witness in the in the midst of suffering by the power of the Spirit. Tragically, we tend to think of suffering as something we must do on our own strength and avoid it at all costs. Listen to John Piper: “What a tragic waste when people turn away from the Calvary road of love and suffering. All the riches of the glory of God in Christ are on that road. All the sweetest fellowship with Jesus is there. All the treasures of assurance. All the ecstasies of joy. All the clearest sightings of eternity. All the noblest camaraderie. All the humblest affections. All the most tender acts of forgiving kindness. All the deepest discoveries of God‘s Word. All the most earnest prayers. They are all on the Calvary road where Jesus walks with his people. Take up your cross and follow Jesus. On this road, and this road alone, life is Christ and death is gain. Life on every other road is wasted.”
Piper tells us that some of our sweetest moments with Jesus and greatest opportunities to glorify Him come on the road to suffering? Give examples from your own life? How did you experience the Spirit empowering you during that time?
Close in Prayer.
Back to Bulletin