Okay, I could have written: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. 🙂

Pneuma is the Greek word for Spirit. Hence, pneumatology. And since pneuma is spirit and ology refers to study of something, we have the Study of the Holy Spirit.  I recently did a mini course on Pneumatology with Amy Gannett.  And so here are my thoughts.

Trinity

The best way to start with understanding the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is within the Trinity.  We know that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.  Three distinct persons, but one God.  The Holy Spirit is known as the “3^rd person of the Trinity”, but it should not be seen as inferior to the 1st and 2nd persons, but rather that all three are co-equal and co-eternal.  In our understanding of the economic trinity, which is what God does, we can say that everything is from the Father (first to be revealed in Scripture), through the Son (second to be revealed in Scripture) and by the Holy Spirit (third to be revealed).   This is a distinction in their roles in creation and redemption.

“It is the Father who sends the Son into the world for our redemption. It is the Son who acquires redemption for us.  It is the Spirit who applies that redemption to us.”  (R.C.Sproul)

All the attributes we know of God, are equally held in each person.  What we say of the Father, we can say about the Son, we can say about the Holy Spirit.   They are all eternal, all immutable, all omniscient, all transcendent, all omnipotent and so on.  However, they don’t all have the same roles within the God head, and that is what separates them economically.   In a nutshell:

Salvation is from the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. 

The Trinity is taught and seen in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation as Three Persons in One God.  If you are a Christian, you know, perhaps without full comprehension, that we serve only One God, yet profess belief in Three Persons. 

Being three persons is what makes God relational – in creation, in redemption.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had a perfect, happy, blessed existence in relationship to one another for all eternity. There was no need for anything else.  A “singular” god, as the false gods of the world, could have no relational capacity.  A Triune God is relational and has immeasurable love. 

When we say the Spirit is a person, we don’t deny that He is Spirit – i.e.: invisible, but we say so by virtue of Him being relational.  Each person of the Trinity has different, distinct work, or roles in salvation.  For example – the Son died on the Cross, not the Father, nor the Holy Spirit.  Everything is from the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit, and they are co-equal and co-eternal as One.

What is the Holy Spirit’s Role?

We can say that the Holy Spirit’s work in both the Old and New Testaments is “bringing God’s presence into proximity with God’s people.”  (Amy Gannett).  The Holy Spirit has a unique role to play in the metanarrative of Scripture.  And it starts in Genesis 1.   As a matter of fact, the Holy Spirit is the FIRST person of the Trinity to be mentioned in the Bible!  (although not revealed as the third person of the Trinity at that time).  Right at the beginning, Genesis 1:2.  What did He do?  Genesis 1:2 says, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”  What is He doing, hovering over the waters?  He is bringing God’s presence into proximity – near to Creation. 

In Eden, Adam and Eve had unlimited “access” to God’s presence.  They were God’s people, in God’s place, under God’s rule and blessing – the Kingdom of God.  Until they sinned and were driven out of God’s presence.  But now the Holy Spirit’s work goes into overdrive because of the substantial divide between God and man.  And all through the Old Testament, His work is to bring God’s presence into proximity with His people.  What does this even mean?  And how does this play out?

Old Testament

In Genesis 12, Abram is called to live in God’s presence, and as we follow Israel’s story from not being a nation to being a nation at the Exodus, we see then that the Spirit leads them in a pillar of cloud and fire – in proximity to God’s people.  Moses gets to be in God’s presence on Mt. Sinai.  However, the people get fed up and want a god they can see, touch, hold, manage.  They reject God’s presence (as the Holy Spirit) in the creation of the golden calf, and in Exodus 33 God tells Moses that He – the Spirit – will not continue to go with the nation through the wilderness.  He was going to send an angel – a poor, poor substitute.   Moses knows this – he knows that if God’s presence isn’t with them, what will distinguish them as a nation among all the other nations?  

Exodus 33:5: “For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people.  If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you,’”

 Verse 14: “The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ “ 

Verse 15: “Then Moses said to Him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’ “

After this, Moses goes back up Mt. Sinai to meet with the Lord in order to redo the two tablets with the 10 commandments ( the first set he destroyed when he saw the golden calf.).  The Lord came down in the cloud, chapter 34: 6

“And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” “  

This is God – the compassionate and merciful God – who forgives and desires to dwell in proximity with His people!  And we know from the rest of the narrative that God’s Presence does indeed go with them.  God’s Presence as the Holy Spirit is what marks them as God’s People.   

Isaiah 63:8 says, “He said, ‘Surely they are my people, children who will be true to me’; and so He became their Saviour.” (the rest of the chapter recounts how God was indeed with them!)  There is a pattern of this all through the Old Testament.

New Testament

What about in the New Testament?  This seems obvious.  The first thing we might recall is Pentecost in Acts 2.  But the Holy Spirit is God’s Presence in Jesus! The Holy Spirit still was at work bringing God’s Presence into proximity with His people, by the Son of God becoming man.  Emmanuel – God with us.  Jesus, the Eternal Son, came in flesh and dwelt among the people.  Kevin DeYoung writes at clearlyreformed.org that Jesus Christ is the Giver of the Holy Spirit. Specifically, he states, “The Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.” (he references Romans 8:9,10; Matthew 12, Hebrews 9, 1 Peter 3:18 and Romans 1:4).

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit filled people selectively for work, prophesy and speaking to the people as God’s mouthpiece. But it was specific.  In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit now fills all believers.

The Work of Redemption

What about the work of redemption?   When we think of our redemption, we often only think of just the Second Person of the Trinity – the Son of God.  But the Triune God is One. And the 3 persons planned our redemption together.  The Father sent the Son, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

The most significant aspect of the Holy Spirit and redemption is that of the Temple curtain being torn in two.   The curtain was very thick, and it was embroidered with cherubs.  Who guarded the way into Eden? Cherubim.   Cherub or cherubim signified no access to God unhindered.   The curtain was a visible reminder for the people that they could not be in God’s presence!  That sin itself cannot be in the presence of God. And only the High Priest, covered in the blood of animals, could go into the Holy of Holies, but once a year on the Day of Atonement.   When the curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, it signified that now God’s people could come into the presence of God again – the reversal of the cherub warriors of Genesis 3.   And as God’s people, we are  now covered in the blood of the One Lamb because Jesus was slain for us, and because of this the Holy Spirit now lives in us.  The presence of God in proximity to His people is not just “among or with”, but IN.  We can say with confidence that we are redeemed because the Spirit of Christ dwells within us.  The Spirit gives in us ALL the work of Christ that he did for us on our behalf.  The Spirit of Christ applies his work to our lives.  * for more on this, you can check my post on Unity with Christ*

Finally, in John 16:7, Jesus promises his disciples that something – the Holy Spirit, or Helper – will be sent to them.   “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. And He will not speak on His own but will speak whatever He hears. And He will declare to you all that is to come.”.  When Jesus told them that he had to “go away”, he said it was to their advantage. Surely, they were incredulous, shocked – what could possibly be important enough for Jesus to leave?  And who could be better than Jesus?  And of course, we know that at Pentecost, Jesus’ promise to them was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Truth – came with power on the disciples.  Again, we see that instead of Jesus with and among them, they receive the Spirit of Christ IN them.  And in us as well.   What a comfort this is! 

Permanency

Another aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work in bringing God’s presence into proximity with His people, is its permanence.  In the Old Testament we read sometimes of how the Spirit of the Lord departed from someone – like King Saul.   But today, as believers, the Holy Spirit is given us to us as a pledge or deposit, an assurance that God will keep all His salvation promises.   

If you rent, you know that landlords require a deposit before you take possession.  Basically, we say that we will uphold our end of the contract/agreement by paying our rent on time, and caring for their property, and if we do not do so, if there’s damage or we fail to pay rent, the landlord will keep our deposit, not returning it to us.  We will forfeit or lose it.  

2 Corinthians 5:5 says, “Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”  God Himself gives us His Holy Spirit as a deposit.  Of what?  Assurance of our salvation!  He will keep His promises – they never fail.  We have the comfort of assurance that Christ’s work on the cross is sufficient for our salvation.   We do not come to the table with good works, or with our own strength and endurance.  We come with NOTHING – except our sin – which is what we need rescuing from!  And so, God gives us ~ we receive ~ the Holy Spirit as guarantee that Christ’s work is for us.  If God didn’t keep His promises, what does He lose or forfeit?  His very self – the Holy Spirit. But this is impossible, for God cannot lie, He cannot err, He cannot be imperfect.  He is eternally, infinitely, immutable.  What lavish love! God gives us Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit – and only because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

What Does the Spirit Do?

So, all well and good.  But what does the Spirit actually do?  What work does He accomplish? Amy Gannett uses 3 simple categories:  sanctification/holiness, fruitfulness, and gifts.  Think about the fact that He is the HOLY Spirit.  It tells us something very specific.

Sanctification

The Holy – set apart – Spirit dwells in each of us as mentioned above. In us sinful yet saved people.  And as can be seen, His role is to make us holy – to sanctify us.  What does that mean? He is working to conform us to the image of God, to form our character to be like His.  He does this by convicting us of our sin, moving us to repentance, and pointing our eyes to look upwards towards Christ.  He enables us to resist sin, to be made holy, even in the “already, not yet” reality we live in.

Fruitfulness

Fruitfulness is in Galatians 5.  Most of us know the fruit of the Spirit by heart – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  He causes us to bear the fruit of righteousness.  Not fruits plural, but fruit – singular.  They are a package deal, not a pick and choose set of communicable attributes.  But just as physical fruit takes time to grow and ripen, so it is with our lives.  We are not instantaneously able to perfectly bear that fruit out in our lives.  It’s quite simply, the work of the Holy Spirit.    We are, at our conversion justified, made positionally righteous and holy before God.  God sees us clothed in the robes of Jesus’ saving work and his righteousness.  And over time, the Holy Spirit empowers us to produce the fruit of righteousness – and the attributes given to us by God.

Gifts

Gifts, another work of the Holy Spirit.  He gives spiritual gifts to all believers. And these gifts are not just for our own benefit or satisfaction.  They are also for the benefit, the upbuilding of the Body of Christ, the Church!  And ultimately for God’s glory. 

Both the Apostle’s Paul and Peter write about spiritual gifts.  In Romans 12 we read that encouragement, giving (generosity), leadership, mercy, prophecy, service, and teaching are given.  1 Corinthians 12 has a longer list:  wisdom, discernment and knowledge, faith, healing, interpretation of languages, prophecy (1 Cor 12: 8-11), Apostles, Prophets, teachers, miracles, healing, helping, tongues. (1 Cor 12: 27-31).    In Ephesians 4: Apostles, Pastors, (preaching), Evangelists (evangelism), Shepherds, Teachers.   And 1 Peter 4: serving and teaching.   (and no, I’m not going to get into cessationism or continuationism.

Modern day examples can include administration and organizational gifts, that of leading music in worship, empathy, to name a few.  

No one, absolutely no one can claim to have no spiritual gift.  The Holy Spirit does not give them to a select few, but to all believers.   And these gifts benefit the Church because they all point to Christ.  That should be the ultimate goal of using the gifts He has given us! 

Conclusion

All of this has a point.  An end goal. The work of the Holy Spirit is bringing God’s people into proximity with God.  It is part of the theme throughout Scripture of the Kingdom of God:  we are God’s people, in God’s place, under God’s rule and blessing.  And the Holy Spirit is the “conduit”. All through the Old and New Testaments, and in the present day, it’s still a partial, proximal presence. We live in an era that is privileged ~ we live in the already and not yet.  We have the whole counsel of God.  The Kingdom is here already (Jesus came to earth), and it is to come! When Jesus Christ our King returns on the clouds of heaven, the Kingdom will come in all its glory and fullness – the consummation!  The Holy Spirit is doing good work now, in the ‘already’, and He will bring it to fullness in the ‘not yet’. We live now with access to God through Jesus by the Holy Spirit.  Then?  Then we will see God face to face – we will be purely holy and able to be in God’s presence,  fully and unhindered.  How should this change us now? We have full and complete confidence now in living for Christ because we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It should cause us to see life with an eternal perspective knowing without a doubt that God will keep all His promises, and that Jesus is coming again!

Grace and Peace!