by Garrett Glende

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one of the most confused in modern day Christianity and it is also the focus of this week’s chapter in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. Perhaps for lack of clear instruction, the Holy Spirit is often misunderstood by many Christians today. There are a variety of ideas floating around, some holding much more merit than others, but we must seek to be true students of Scripture so that we might worship God for who He truly is, especially when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Much of this ignorance may come from the fact that He is simply overlooked much of the time. We like to spend so much time focusing on the work of the Father and the Son (and rightly so) that we miss out on the equally important role of the Spirit. This disproportionate attention has caused Francis Chan to write a book titled The Forgotten God, and many others are beginning to see the tremendous importance of the implications of the Spirit’s work. This week, we’ll focus on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as seen through His work of empowerment, purification, and revelation (it is important to note that the Spirit’s work of bestowing gifts to the church, although a vital aspect of His ministry, will not be discussed here, as it is addressed in later chapters).

Possibly the most crucial work of the Spirit in the life of the Christian is His work of regeneration. Prior to conversion, the sinner is left utterly helpless in his sin and has no ability to exercise faith and turn to God due to the absence of spiritual life. Man is physically alive, but spiritually dead until the Spirit intervenes (for more on this, see the article on sin). When the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the sinner and breathes new life into him, we call this the miracle of regeneration. Jesus explains clearly to Nicodemus in John 3 that one cannot see the kingdom of God unless one is born again. Nicodemus is confused by the Jesus’ words and he asks, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb?” Jesus goes on to explain to him that it is the Spirit who works in people to bring them new life and that this work will not be seen, but its evidence will be clear: “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

This is the first act of empowerment by the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. Following regeneration, the Spirit constantly empowers people for ministry, as we see throughout the Old Testament. The prophets were one group of people who were carried along by the Spirit as they declared God’s word to the masses. Micah writes, “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin” (Micah 3:8). The prophet Jeremiah had to have been empowered by the Spirit to endure all the hardship that came during his ministry. He suffered under persecution, but he was compelled by the Spirit to continue preaching faithfully. Additionally, David was anointed by the Spirit for the work that God had set before him (1 Sam 16:13). We see that the Holy Spirit was at work in this way throughout the Old Testament, empowering certain people to fulfill the tasks that they were called to.

The Holy Spirit is also particularly at work in the church, purifying its members so that they might build up the body. In addition to providing us with new life, the Spirit works in us so that we might continue to live lives that are pleasing to God. This process of sanctification mentioned by Paul when he writes to the Corinthians, “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 6:11). The Christian does not only depend on God for salvation, but the day by day growth that comes with it is brought about by the Spirit. The evidence of this work is seen when we exhibit “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness [and] self-control,” the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Interesting side note: the passage reads “fruit of the Spirit,” not “fruits of the Spirit.” There’s only one fruit – think about it. This fruit will be manifested when we no longer live according to the flesh, but rather by the Spirit (Rom. 8:12-13). It is by His power that we are able to defeat sin and overcome the temptations that so often befall us.

Lastly, the Spirit is the one who reveals God’s truth. Peter writes that “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21). It is clear that the Holy Spirit is the person who worked within the authors of the Bible so that what they wrote would not be just man’s opinion, but the very word of God. The Holy Spirit revealed God’s word through David: “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me, his word is on my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2). As we saw earlier, the prophets were used by the Spirit to bring forth God’s word (Neh. 9:30, Zech. 7:12). All of these different instruments were compelled by God so that the truth about Him might be made known. For us, the Spirit reveals God’s word as we read our Bibles. Surely we are able to understand the Scripture to a certain extent, but without the illuminating work of the Spirit in our devotional lives there will be no real spiritual transformation, only head knowledge.

Knowing that the Spirit is the person who empowers us to live God-honoring lives, what then shall we do? Does this not change the way we approach our times reading the Scriptures, praying, and going to church? We are often so unaware of the mighty power of the Spirit that we go about our daily lives with no dependence on Him at all. We think that we’re able to illuminate the Scriptures, kill sin, and bless the body all by ourselves, but this is not the case. We need to be completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to do His work in us so that our lives might be more pleasing to God. It’s a shame that the evidence of grace is all around us, yet we barely ever notice it. This is one thing that I, myself am trying to work on. An increased sensitivity to the activity of the Spirit in the world should be a prayer request for us all. Jesus tells us that the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work is just as obvious as the gusts of the wind. Do we see it? Do we listen?

by Garrett Glende

The final Christological chapter in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology is on the topic of the offices of Christ. As the story of the Old Testament unfolds, we see that God providentially places people in distinct roles to deal with the nation of Israel. Specifically, these offices can be narrowed down to those of prophet, priest, and king. Each of these offices were shadows of Christ’s work to come, as He would perfectly fulfill each role.

Christ as Prophet

The prophet of the Old Testament was, in essence, the spokesperson for God. He was ordained by God to bring His word to the people. The prophet was the one who made known The Lord to the nation and also the one who orated or scribed God’s law. In the New Testament, Jesus exceeded the work of the prophets of old because He was the One whom the prophecies spoke of in the first place and because He was the divine source of revelation. Not only a messenger of truth, Jesus Himself was truth (John 14:6). He was the “Word became flesh” and the one who fully explained the Father (John 1:1, 14, 18). Moreover, instead of reciting the Law to the people, Jesus incites His own authority in the Sermon on the Mount, using the repeated phrases “You have heard that it was said…but I tell you this.” By doing so, Jesus corrects the crowd’s misunderstanding of the Law by providing His own divine interpretation. Of course, Christ was not merely a prophet, although He fulfilled the role of such. The letter of Hebrews goes to great lengths to show that Jesus was much greater than the prophets, as it proclaims Him as the Son of God and perfect high priest.

Christ as Priest

The same book of Hebrews provides us with a wonderful description of the priestly work of Christ on our behalf. Just as the Old Testament priests were the ones who offered prayers to God for the people and made sacrifices in their place, so does Christ function in this office in an even better way. The bull and goat sacrifices of the Old Testament were never sufficient to atone for sin, but Christ fulfills His role as priest by offering Himself up to God as a perfect sacrifice (Heb. 10:4).This pleasing sacrifice was even attested to by the prophet Isaiah when he writes that Christ’s sufferings are the means by which we are healed, have peace with God, and have been counted righteous in His sight (Isaiah 53:5, 11). Not only has Christ paid the price for our sin in full, He has also been raised and now constantly makes intercession for the saints before the Father (Heb. 7:25). The Old Testament priests often prayed to God on behalf of the people, but as a sinful man, his prayers were not always in line with the will of God. Jesus, knowing the Father’s will perfectly, always prays in accordance with it. For this reason, we can be sure that His prayers are answered and God’s plan is carried out. Grudem cites an encouraging word from Berkhof:

“It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers…He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end.”

Christ as King

Just as the Old Testament kings ruled over their people, so Christ rules over His church and all of creation. Although the Jews of the day wanted Jesus to come in as a political ruler and establish His authority on earth to overthrow the Romans, Jesus insisted that His kingdom was not of the world (John 18:36). Even though He was truly the king of all men, He did not seek to establish His kingdom in the way that they anticipated. Instead, He would establish a spiritual kingdom, where He would rule first and foremost over the church. We see this principle clearly in Ephesians 1:20-22 where Paul writes that God has “seated [Jesus] at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.” This reality will come to full fruition upon Christ’s return and reign on earth when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess His lordship.

Application

As Christians, we are able to model these three offices of Christ in our own lives as well. Both Christ’s priestly and kingly offices can be played out in us, but I want to focus on prophecy here. Our daily lives should be filled with it, as we speak forth God’s word to one another and to unbelievers. One of the greatest forms of encouragement comes from the brother or sister who makes the effort to speak truth into other’s lives. Of course, we are inferior to Christ in this role, but we can, in a broad sense, take part in the proclamation of the gospel to the world. This is a particularly challenging point for me, as it’s often slightly awkward when someone tries to bring up something in Scripture, unless we’re in a context where such a discussion would be normative (small group, church, Bible study). But this shouldn’t be the case. It should be exciting and easy for us to share God’s word with one another, yet our conversation is much more likely to center around the daily news or, in my case, how horrible the Giant’s offense is. But the Giant’s lack of punch at the plate pales in value to the Word of God, which carries with it eternal significance (as well as much more encouragement for me). God’s Word has the power to change people’s lives so that they are able to glorify Him better. This should be our goal in every conversation that we have. Since God’s glory is at stake in all that we do, shouldn’t our aim be to proclaim Him every chance we get? By withholding God’s truth from our fellow brothers and sisters, we devalue its power to change, for if we really did believe it to be so great there would be no hesitation to take part in Christ’s office as prophet.