The Holy Spirit at Work in The World
John 16:7-11 (Audio Only)
Message #2
Last week we started our series on the Holy Spirit. The message last week was “The Baptism of The Holy Spirit,” and it was a great kick-off to this series. I encourage you to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. God says you need it.
My real prayer is that we, as a Body, would just saturate ourselves, immerse ourselves in the Person of the Holy Spirit that we would become more and more acquainted and fall more and more in love with him. Ask, and it will be given. Knock, and it will be opened. Seek, and you will find. That’s what we’re doing.
To begin to understand the depth of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, today, we have to go back, back, back to Genesis. Genesis is a great place to start to see the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. So, we’re going way back to see where the Holy Spirit is really first specifically referred to as God and as evident in working in the world.
Genesis 1:2 (NKJV)
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Now, don’t get in your mind there, the Spirit as a “force” or an “essence.” He is a Person. But there is his involvement in the creation of the world. Now, who thinks Genesis 1, verse 2, is the first place in the Bible that the Holy Spirit is mentioned? You always think I am setting you up – you’re right. It’s not the first place. The Holy Spirit is mentioned prior to verse 2.
Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning God (Elohim – God in plural form) created the heavens and the earth.
Elohim is the plural form of the name of God. The Trinity. The fourth word of the Bible is the first place we find reference to the Holy Spirit. God (plural), the Trinity, created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;…
The Holy Spirit is all over the first chapter in the Bible.
Guys, the Holy Spirit is specifically mentioned by name eighty times in the Old Testament. Very, very important to understand that. One of our favorite chapters in the Bible, Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:7-8 (NKJV)
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
We see the Holy Spirit throughout the Old Testament at work in the world. This is the PARA relationship – the with relationship that we discussed last week. The Holy Spirit with us, at work in the world.
Why do we talk about him more in the New Testament? Because his relationship with us increases in the New Testament. It increases from PARA or with to EN – that is because of salvation, we’ve become the temple of the Holy Spirit, and he is now in us. And it increases to EPI – to upon – the baptism experience. The overflowing, overwhelming immersion to bring about a permanent change – the EPI or upon experience. And so, the relationship with the Holy Spirit is increased in the New Testament, but the Person of the Holy Spirit and the subject, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, is not a New Testament doctrine. It is a God doctrine. It is a Bible doctrine.
So, as we do look at the New Testament, we see a prominence of the Holy Spirit, not ultimate prominence because that belongs to Jesus Christ himself. But we see the prominence of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, especially in his personality. In his character. In his specific work in the Godhead. This is what we see more and more in the New Testament.
Guys, the Holy Spirit is a WHO; he’s not a WHAT. He is not an “essence.” He’s not a “force.” He is the power for us to live the Christian life, but he is God; he is the Person of God equally distinct as the Father and as the Son. In the New Testament, he is always called EKEINOS in the Greek. “HE.” It’s a personal pronoun with a masculine gender. EKEINOS. He. Always. Always a personal pronoun is used for the Holy Spirit because he is the Person of God.
In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 10, the Holy Spirit has intelligence that teaches us. In fact, 1 Corinthians tells us we can’t learn about God – the things of God must be revealed to us – and that is the work of the Holy Spirit. (More on that next week.) This week we look at the Holy Spirit at work in the world; next week, we look at the Holy Spirit at work in us, personally – in our personal lives. In 1 Corinthians 12 (we’ll spend quite a bit of time there), verse 11, the Holy Spirit has a specific will for our lives. It is God’s will.
In Romans 15, verse 30, the Holy Spirit has the emotion of love. He, the Person of God named the Holy Spirit, loves us. And in Ephesians 4, that same Person, the Holy Spirit, is grieved, feels sorrow. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and he is God. He can be grieved, he can be lied to, and he can be blasphemed. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, we’ll talk about that in just a minute.
He’s equally God, and he IS God living in us. When we say that Jesus lives in our heart, theologically, we really mean the Holy Spirit. So, we say, yes, Jesus lives in your heart, but his name is the Holy Spirit because Jesus is in the throne room at the right hand of God where he ever lives to make intercession for us, Hebrews says. So, the Holy Spirit is the Person of God living in us.
Now, you can turn to John 16, a great overview of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.
John 16:7-8 (NKJV)
7 Nevertheless (Jesus speaking) 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 depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
The word convict here is an excellent word; it’s a legal term. The picture of this word is like a prosecuting attorney cross-examining a witness. The word literally means “to bring to light” or “to expose” “to convince of something” as an attorney would expose or bring to light the truth out of a witness.
And remember when I told you last week, when the Holy Spirit wants to make something clear, he just writes it down so we can read it, and it’s perfectly clear. And so, Jesus continues this thought in the next three verses to tell us exactly what he means.
John 16:9 (NKJV)
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
He will convict the world of sin… because they do not believe in me.
Guys, ultimately, the only sin that the world will be convicted of is the sin of unbelief. That is called, in Matthew, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Why is that? Because we are calling the Holy Spirit a liar because the Holy Spirit (Romans 1 says) has put into our hearts all that we need to know in order to know God. And so, he also, because of his love for us, gives us a choice to call him a liar. And so, if we call God a liar by refusing to believe in him, that is the only sin that will send us to hell, that will send us to eternal death. All other sins are forgiven, but the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (calling him a liar when he has convinced you, convicted you of the truth) is an unforgivable sin.
John 3:18 (NKJV)
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Guys, we are all condemned by nature, the sin nature. The sin that will condemn us, ultimately, is that sin of unbelief.
So, first, the Holy Spirit exposes the world of the sin of unbelief in Jesus.
John 16:10 (NKJV)
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
The righteousness that the world will be convicted of by the Holy Spirit is the righteousness that brought Jesus Christ to heaven, that caused Jesus Christ to ascend to heaven. And so, there, the Holy Spirit says that’s the righteousness required by God. This is your example (if you will). This is your “bar.” All you have to do is meet the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and you, also, can ascend into heaven.
That leaves us with two very simple choices. Either we become as righteous as Christ in our own effort, or we “put on” Christ’s righteousness. We are clothed in his righteousness because it is the Holy Spirit that exposes, convinces, convicts us that we must have the righteousness of Christ to enter heaven. And if we don’t, we won’t. And so, Jesus explains that is the righteousness the Holy Spirit exposes to the world, convinces the world of.
John 16:11 (NKJV)
11 of judgment,…
We might have read it in verse 8 and thought, “Oh yeah. The judgment of the world.” But Jesus wants to clear it up, and so he clears it up so we can read it.
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Jesus is talking about the judgment of the ruler of this world. That is, of course, the devil. Where did that judgment of the ruler of this world occur? It occurred, finished, at the Cross. It is at the Cross. It is the work of the Cross that the Holy Spirit convicts, convinces the world of that, that is where judgment came upon the ruler of this world. It was at the Cross that the devil was dealt his judgment. His rule and his authority over this world were destroyed at the Cross for those who would receive the benefit of Christ’s sacrifice there.
Colossians 2:15 (NKJV)
15 Having disarmed (speaking of Christ) principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
The judgment that the Holy Spirit convinces us of is the judgment of the ruler of this world. That his rule, his authority is broken over us because Jesus Christ brought that judgment at the Cross upon the ruler of this world. We no longer have to serve the prince of the power of the air, the prince of this world. Unfortunately, we can still choose to serve him. But we no longer have to serve him by nature because Jesus Christ judged that requirement. So now, we are free to be free from the rule and the bondage of the ruler of this world. That is a very, very, very exciting thing that the Holy Spirit convinces us of, exposes us of.
So, the Holy Spirit exposes or convicts us of sin, unbelief in Christ, of righteousness, the same righteousness that took Jesus to heaven, and of judgment, not our judgment because our judgment has been paid. But the judgment of the ruler of this world, releasing us from his rule and his bondage.
That is the overview of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. What else does he do? Well, also his commission (if you will), his responsibility is to restrain evil in this world. Chuck Smith calls it “keeping the lid on.” He says the Holy Spirit is required; part of his responsibility is keeping the lid on evil in this world.
2 Thessalonians 2:7 (NKJV)
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
Now, that’s a little bit of a controversial verse, and I love to use controversial verses. The context of 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 is the rapture of the Church. That’s the context that is being taught. And so, people say, “Wait a minute. The Holy Spirit isn’t taken from the earth for two reasons. First, Psalm 139 says he’s everywhere, so how can he not be somewhere? The second reason is, people are saved during the Tribulation. And they can’t be saved without the Holy Spirit convincing them of sin, righteousness, and judgment.”
So, what’s being taken out of the world? Us. It is the Church. But it says EKEINOS. He, capital “H.” The Holy Spirit is taken out because here is the truth. The Holy Spirit keeps the lid on evil in this world through the Church. We are the instrument of the Holy Spirit’s work in spiritual warfare to keep a lid on evil. And when the church is taken out, caught up, the Holy Spirit will still be with this earth, and people will still be saved, but we as a restraining influence, empowered by the Holy Spirit, are going to be gone. And then the man of lawlessness is going to have free reign on this earth. You don’t want to be here.
Let’s look at these great verses about the restraining of evil through the Church, spiritual warfare.
2 Corinthians 10:3 (NKJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
There’s not even a question as to whether we are in a war or not. That is an absolute, implied, assured fact. We are in a war.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV)
3 …we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Guys, the Body of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, it is the Church that is restraining evil in the spiritual battle. See, just as Jesus Christ, when he came to earth, he had to have a body to do the work that he came to earth to do. Well, when the Holy Spirit came to earth, guess what? He had to have a body, too. Us. We are the Body of Christ. We are the ones that the Holy Spirit works through.
So, we’ve seen, so far, number one, that the Holy Spirit has been at work in the world since creation. He has no time, just like Jesus and the Father. Number two, he convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. And number three, he restrains evil in the world through spiritual warfare fought by the Body. Us.
So, finally. And possibly the biggest role of the Holy Spirit at work in the world is that he is the Church’s DUNAMIS power. He is the dynamite, dynamic power—the divine power for the Church.
The Holy Spirit created the Church. That may sound a little odd to you. But the Church is a result of the Holy Spirit coming. There was no Church prior to Pentecost, guys. It didn’t exist. Jesus Christ was here, himself, with the Disciples. And when he left, he said, “Do not start the Church. Whatever you do, don’t go start a church. Go sit in a room all by yourselves, and don’t do anything until the DUNAMIS power is clothed on you – until you are endued with power from on high. When the Holy Spirit comes, he’ll start the Church. You don’t have to worry about it. You just go sit and pray over here in a room. The Holy Spirit will take care of everything else.” And he has. And he still is, if we’ll let him, the Church’s DUNAMIS power, Divine Helper.
Three areas that the Holy Spirit works in the Church.
1). Directing
2). Protecting
3). Equipping
Guys, without the Holy Spirit, the Church is a social club. Am I right? And far too often, the Church becomes a social club. Why? Because there is no Holy Spirit work. The Holy Spirit isn’t directing, protecting, equipping.
In Acts Chapter 2, the church is begun. Then, in Acts Chapter 10, the Holy Spirit directs the Church with a vision to Peter when he is in Joppa to go up north to Caesarea by the sea to Cornelius’ house and preach to the gentiles. And the gentile church is birthed. So, the point is, the Holy Spirit uses a vision in Acts Chapter 10 to direct the Church.
But if you turn to Acts Chapter 13, I’ll show you the more often used approach by the Holy Spirit. And as we read these three verses, I want you to know that the absolute method of directing for Calvary Chapel Nuevo is in these three verses. This is exactly how the Lord directs this ministry.
Acts 13:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
This may be one of the most critical texts in Acts to describe the directing of the Church by the Holy Spirit. And it is exactly how the Holy Spirit leads this church. What do we see here? The leaders are gathered together, prophets and teachers. Now we don’t use this term prophet that much because it has some cultural connections that make people get concerned. But there are prophets in the Church. There must be. (We’ll get into the gifts in a few weeks.)
Those prophets and teachers were gathered together, ministering to the Lord. What were they doing? They were probably worshiping and praying. So, what happened? The Holy Spirit speaks and gives them direction about Saul and Barnabas while they are ministering to the Lord. How did that happen? How did the Holy Spirit speak? Through one of the prophets – a word of prophecy. One of the prophets spoke during a time of worship and prayer, ministering to the Lord, and said the Lord would have Saul and Barnabas take off and go start some other churches around the country.
So, what did the leaders of the church do? Did they say, “Oh, sounds good? See you later.”? No. It says they prayed and fasted. They tested the prophets. They tested the prophets with prayer and fasting in verse 3. Then they laid hands on Saul and Barnabas, and then they sent them out to start other churches. It’s the exact same way here, and God help us when it changes. No committee of learned and educated men will ever replace the Holy Spirit, not in a Spirit-led church.
In Acts Chapter 16, the Spirit prevents Paul and Barnabas from going into an area of Asia to minister. And then in Galatians, we find out that the way the Holy Spirit did this is he made Paul so sick he couldn’t move. And so, now we’ve seen some ways the Holy Spirit leads or directs the Church. In Acts 10, the Holy Spirit leads the church with a vision to Peter. In Acts Chapter 13, he leads the Church, like most often, through his gifts to the leaders, which is what we will get into in a few weeks. But then, thirdly, he also leads the Church by making one of the leaders so sick he can’t move. All three ways the Holy Spirit is leading the Church and all three ways the Holy Spirit leads this Church. (And please pray that he always will.)
So that’s number one, directing.
Number two is protecting. The Holy Spirit protects the Church. We see this throughout Acts. In Acts Chapter 5, we see a very dramatic display of this protecting of the Church by the Holy Spirit. All in all, I think it’s probably good that the Holy Spirit doesn’t work in this dramatic fashion to protect the Church. However, I do believe that the Holy Spirit, if we will let him, still protects the Church in similar ways, but maybe without quite as drastic of a result.
Acts 5:1-6 (NKJV)
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. (In Acts Chapter 4, everybody was selling everything they had and bringing the proceeds to the Apostles who were distributing it back among the Church.)
2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Now, because of Chapter 4, we know that he was implying, “This is everything. This is all I have from selling this thing.”)
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
4 While it remained, was it not your own? (Peter is saying, “Hey, we didn’t ask for our land.) And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? (Again, he is saying, “You know we didn’t ask you for your money. We didn’t ask you to bring this here.) Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Lie to the Holy Spirit, lie to God. Deity, Trinity teaching there.)
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.
6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
So, then his wife comes in. Peter questions her. She also lies, and she also dies. So, pretty dramatic response. What was the sin that the Holy Spirit dropped Ananias and Sapphira dead for? Was it because they didn’t give enough money? No. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. What was it for? Lying.
The sin is hypocrisy. Chuck Smith calls it “the curse of the Church.” It is the sin within the Church, maybe the greatest of all sins. It is acting one way when really your heart is different. It’s the sin of hypocrisy. The Holy Spirit dropped these two dead. So, it’s probably good that the Holy Spirit has softened his approach on this sin in the Church.
The point is, God still reveals hypocrisy. He still reveals sin inside the Church. He still reveals corruption in the Church. The Holy Spirit can handle it. So many times, people have come to me, “Yeah, that person shouldn’t be doing this, and shouldn’t be doing that.” And what I’ve learned is I always say to them, “You know, the Holy Spirit can handle it. Let him take care of it.” The Holy Spirit can reveal sin in the Church. Hypocrisy, corruption, other sins. He does it all the time. He does it to keep the Church vibrant and alive. He’s protecting the Church. Not the spiritual warfare part; he’s protecting the Church from itself, so the cancer doesn’t grow in the Church so that the Church remains pure.
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit equips the Church. He directs the Church. He protects the Church. And he equips the Church.
The Holy Spirit wants us to grow in our understanding of God. He wants us to grow in our revelation of God. He wants us to understand more the great work that specifically, we – as the Body of Christ – have been called to. The Holy Spirit is at work to equip the Church.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (NKJV)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
God works in the bad stuff. The Holy Spirit is at work in the Church. …may grow up in all things In all things. In all circumstances, in all events, in all crises, in all trials. In all difficulties. In all things that the Church may grow up (mature) into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
We imply that means the “good joints.” But it doesn’t say that. It says every joint. Good and bad. …every part does it share… Again, we imply that it is all the “good” parts. Well, guess what? It doesn’t say that. It says all the parts. All the parts of the Body. The ones that are easy to take, the ones that are difficult to take. The ones that are encouraging, the ones that are frustrating. The ones that build us up, the ones that break us down. The Holy Spirit uses the Body, every part doing its share.
Guys, the Holy Spirit needs a Body to do his work on earth. We are it. And so, if the Holy Spirit wants to edify you, strengthen you, comfort t you, support you, he’s going to use that person next to you to do it. AND if the Holy Spirit wants to correct you, challenge you, exhort you, chastise you, break you, he’s going to use that person next to you to do it.
It’s how he works. We are his hands and his feet. The worst thing we can do is think everybody that’s on our side is part of the Body, and everyone that’s not on our side is not part of the Body. That is totally unscriptural. God uses the Body, every part, every joint, working together to build the Body up. Good and bad, the Holy Spirit is at work in the Body to mature you. To edify you, to exhort you. To grind you. To break you. To restore you. To reconcile you. Every part of the Body, the Holy Spirit is at work in for your good, for your edifying, your building up, your exhorting.
If we will allow him to, he will use the Body, that is where he works, to edify us, to equip us for the ministry. It’s the bad stuff that equips us. It’s the conflict that equips us, that prepares us. The Holy Spirit is working in the conflicts in the Body to build up the Body, mature it, to strengthen it. He has a great purpose for it. That’s a good thing to know; until it is you, then you don’t want to hear it. It’s tougher to hear when it’s about yourself. It’s really true.
So, we know that the Holy Spirit has been at work in the world since the very beginning of creation. We know that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. We know that the Holy Spirit restrains evil through the Body of Christ; through spiritual warfare, enacting of spiritual warfare restrains evil. And we know, most of all, that the Holy Spirit is the Church’s divine power, the DUNAMIS power, to direct us, to protect us, and to equip us for his good work, for the work of his ministry, for his good purposes, for his good plans. And you are the fortunate beneficiary of being used by the Holy Spirit, for better or worse, to equip, to edify, to build up the Body.
The most tragic thing that Calvary Chapel Nuevo or any other church could do is move away from the DUNAMIS power of the Holy Spirit in directing, protecting, and equipping. Any other process, no matter how touted, no matter how respected, will lead to disaster in the Body of Christ. We have one choice – and one choice only – and that is to absolutely, totally, exclusively, and wholly, desperately depend on the Holy Spirit to direct us, to protect us, to guide us, to equip us, to make us what he wants us to be so that we can do the work that he’s called us to do. And we just get the joy of being part of it; that is all of the responsibility we get, just to be part of what the Holy Spirit is doing.
Let me close with a quote from Chuck Smith’s book, Living Water. Pastor Chuck says this. We need a Church that will return the Holy Spirit to his rightful place as Director of Activities. A Church where the Holy Spirit roots out hypocrisy and corruption. A Church where the Holy Spirit edifies, comforts, and exhorts his people. In short, we need a Church where the Holy Spirit is in charge.
Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV)
6 … ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.
My real prayer is that we, as a Body, would just saturate ourselves, immerse ourselves in the Person of the Holy Spirit that we would become more and more acquainted and fall more and more in love with him. Ask, and it will be given. Knock, and it will be opened. Seek, and you will find. That’s what we’re doing.
To begin to understand the depth of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, today, we have to go back, back, back to Genesis. Genesis is a great place to start to see the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. So, we’re going way back to see where the Holy Spirit is really first specifically referred to as God and as evident in working in the world.
Genesis 1:2 (NKJV)
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Now, don’t get in your mind there, the Spirit as a “force” or an “essence.” He is a Person. But there is his involvement in the creation of the world. Now, who thinks Genesis 1, verse 2, is the first place in the Bible that the Holy Spirit is mentioned? You always think I am setting you up – you’re right. It’s not the first place. The Holy Spirit is mentioned prior to verse 2.
Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning God (Elohim – God in plural form) created the heavens and the earth.
Elohim is the plural form of the name of God. The Trinity. The fourth word of the Bible is the first place we find reference to the Holy Spirit. God (plural), the Trinity, created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;…
The Holy Spirit is all over the first chapter in the Bible.
Guys, the Holy Spirit is specifically mentioned by name eighty times in the Old Testament. Very, very important to understand that. One of our favorite chapters in the Bible, Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:7-8 (NKJV)
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
We see the Holy Spirit throughout the Old Testament at work in the world. This is the PARA relationship – the with relationship that we discussed last week. The Holy Spirit with us, at work in the world.
Why do we talk about him more in the New Testament? Because his relationship with us increases in the New Testament. It increases from PARA or with to EN – that is because of salvation, we’ve become the temple of the Holy Spirit, and he is now in us. And it increases to EPI – to upon – the baptism experience. The overflowing, overwhelming immersion to bring about a permanent change – the EPI or upon experience. And so, the relationship with the Holy Spirit is increased in the New Testament, but the Person of the Holy Spirit and the subject, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, is not a New Testament doctrine. It is a God doctrine. It is a Bible doctrine.
So, as we do look at the New Testament, we see a prominence of the Holy Spirit, not ultimate prominence because that belongs to Jesus Christ himself. But we see the prominence of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, especially in his personality. In his character. In his specific work in the Godhead. This is what we see more and more in the New Testament.
Guys, the Holy Spirit is a WHO; he’s not a WHAT. He is not an “essence.” He’s not a “force.” He is the power for us to live the Christian life, but he is God; he is the Person of God equally distinct as the Father and as the Son. In the New Testament, he is always called EKEINOS in the Greek. “HE.” It’s a personal pronoun with a masculine gender. EKEINOS. He. Always. Always a personal pronoun is used for the Holy Spirit because he is the Person of God.
In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 10, the Holy Spirit has intelligence that teaches us. In fact, 1 Corinthians tells us we can’t learn about God – the things of God must be revealed to us – and that is the work of the Holy Spirit. (More on that next week.) This week we look at the Holy Spirit at work in the world; next week, we look at the Holy Spirit at work in us, personally – in our personal lives. In 1 Corinthians 12 (we’ll spend quite a bit of time there), verse 11, the Holy Spirit has a specific will for our lives. It is God’s will.
In Romans 15, verse 30, the Holy Spirit has the emotion of love. He, the Person of God named the Holy Spirit, loves us. And in Ephesians 4, that same Person, the Holy Spirit, is grieved, feels sorrow. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and he is God. He can be grieved, he can be lied to, and he can be blasphemed. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, we’ll talk about that in just a minute.
He’s equally God, and he IS God living in us. When we say that Jesus lives in our heart, theologically, we really mean the Holy Spirit. So, we say, yes, Jesus lives in your heart, but his name is the Holy Spirit because Jesus is in the throne room at the right hand of God where he ever lives to make intercession for us, Hebrews says. So, the Holy Spirit is the Person of God living in us.
Now, you can turn to John 16, a great overview of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.
John 16:7-8 (NKJV)
7 Nevertheless (Jesus speaking) 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 depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
The word convict here is an excellent word; it’s a legal term. The picture of this word is like a prosecuting attorney cross-examining a witness. The word literally means “to bring to light” or “to expose” “to convince of something” as an attorney would expose or bring to light the truth out of a witness.
And remember when I told you last week, when the Holy Spirit wants to make something clear, he just writes it down so we can read it, and it’s perfectly clear. And so, Jesus continues this thought in the next three verses to tell us exactly what he means.
John 16:9 (NKJV)
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
He will convict the world of sin… because they do not believe in me.
Guys, ultimately, the only sin that the world will be convicted of is the sin of unbelief. That is called, in Matthew, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Why is that? Because we are calling the Holy Spirit a liar because the Holy Spirit (Romans 1 says) has put into our hearts all that we need to know in order to know God. And so, he also, because of his love for us, gives us a choice to call him a liar. And so, if we call God a liar by refusing to believe in him, that is the only sin that will send us to hell, that will send us to eternal death. All other sins are forgiven, but the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (calling him a liar when he has convinced you, convicted you of the truth) is an unforgivable sin.
John 3:18 (NKJV)
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Guys, we are all condemned by nature, the sin nature. The sin that will condemn us, ultimately, is that sin of unbelief.
So, first, the Holy Spirit exposes the world of the sin of unbelief in Jesus.
John 16:10 (NKJV)
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
The righteousness that the world will be convicted of by the Holy Spirit is the righteousness that brought Jesus Christ to heaven, that caused Jesus Christ to ascend to heaven. And so, there, the Holy Spirit says that’s the righteousness required by God. This is your example (if you will). This is your “bar.” All you have to do is meet the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and you, also, can ascend into heaven.
That leaves us with two very simple choices. Either we become as righteous as Christ in our own effort, or we “put on” Christ’s righteousness. We are clothed in his righteousness because it is the Holy Spirit that exposes, convinces, convicts us that we must have the righteousness of Christ to enter heaven. And if we don’t, we won’t. And so, Jesus explains that is the righteousness the Holy Spirit exposes to the world, convinces the world of.
John 16:11 (NKJV)
11 of judgment,…
We might have read it in verse 8 and thought, “Oh yeah. The judgment of the world.” But Jesus wants to clear it up, and so he clears it up so we can read it.
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Jesus is talking about the judgment of the ruler of this world. That is, of course, the devil. Where did that judgment of the ruler of this world occur? It occurred, finished, at the Cross. It is at the Cross. It is the work of the Cross that the Holy Spirit convicts, convinces the world of that, that is where judgment came upon the ruler of this world. It was at the Cross that the devil was dealt his judgment. His rule and his authority over this world were destroyed at the Cross for those who would receive the benefit of Christ’s sacrifice there.
Colossians 2:15 (NKJV)
15 Having disarmed (speaking of Christ) principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
The judgment that the Holy Spirit convinces us of is the judgment of the ruler of this world. That his rule, his authority is broken over us because Jesus Christ brought that judgment at the Cross upon the ruler of this world. We no longer have to serve the prince of the power of the air, the prince of this world. Unfortunately, we can still choose to serve him. But we no longer have to serve him by nature because Jesus Christ judged that requirement. So now, we are free to be free from the rule and the bondage of the ruler of this world. That is a very, very, very exciting thing that the Holy Spirit convinces us of, exposes us of.
So, the Holy Spirit exposes or convicts us of sin, unbelief in Christ, of righteousness, the same righteousness that took Jesus to heaven, and of judgment, not our judgment because our judgment has been paid. But the judgment of the ruler of this world, releasing us from his rule and his bondage.
That is the overview of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. What else does he do? Well, also his commission (if you will), his responsibility is to restrain evil in this world. Chuck Smith calls it “keeping the lid on.” He says the Holy Spirit is required; part of his responsibility is keeping the lid on evil in this world.
2 Thessalonians 2:7 (NKJV)
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
Now, that’s a little bit of a controversial verse, and I love to use controversial verses. The context of 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 is the rapture of the Church. That’s the context that is being taught. And so, people say, “Wait a minute. The Holy Spirit isn’t taken from the earth for two reasons. First, Psalm 139 says he’s everywhere, so how can he not be somewhere? The second reason is, people are saved during the Tribulation. And they can’t be saved without the Holy Spirit convincing them of sin, righteousness, and judgment.”
So, what’s being taken out of the world? Us. It is the Church. But it says EKEINOS. He, capital “H.” The Holy Spirit is taken out because here is the truth. The Holy Spirit keeps the lid on evil in this world through the Church. We are the instrument of the Holy Spirit’s work in spiritual warfare to keep a lid on evil. And when the church is taken out, caught up, the Holy Spirit will still be with this earth, and people will still be saved, but we as a restraining influence, empowered by the Holy Spirit, are going to be gone. And then the man of lawlessness is going to have free reign on this earth. You don’t want to be here.
Let’s look at these great verses about the restraining of evil through the Church, spiritual warfare.
2 Corinthians 10:3 (NKJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
There’s not even a question as to whether we are in a war or not. That is an absolute, implied, assured fact. We are in a war.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV)
3 …we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Guys, the Body of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, it is the Church that is restraining evil in the spiritual battle. See, just as Jesus Christ, when he came to earth, he had to have a body to do the work that he came to earth to do. Well, when the Holy Spirit came to earth, guess what? He had to have a body, too. Us. We are the Body of Christ. We are the ones that the Holy Spirit works through.
So, we’ve seen, so far, number one, that the Holy Spirit has been at work in the world since creation. He has no time, just like Jesus and the Father. Number two, he convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. And number three, he restrains evil in the world through spiritual warfare fought by the Body. Us.
So, finally. And possibly the biggest role of the Holy Spirit at work in the world is that he is the Church’s DUNAMIS power. He is the dynamite, dynamic power—the divine power for the Church.
The Holy Spirit created the Church. That may sound a little odd to you. But the Church is a result of the Holy Spirit coming. There was no Church prior to Pentecost, guys. It didn’t exist. Jesus Christ was here, himself, with the Disciples. And when he left, he said, “Do not start the Church. Whatever you do, don’t go start a church. Go sit in a room all by yourselves, and don’t do anything until the DUNAMIS power is clothed on you – until you are endued with power from on high. When the Holy Spirit comes, he’ll start the Church. You don’t have to worry about it. You just go sit and pray over here in a room. The Holy Spirit will take care of everything else.” And he has. And he still is, if we’ll let him, the Church’s DUNAMIS power, Divine Helper.
Three areas that the Holy Spirit works in the Church.
1). Directing
2). Protecting
3). Equipping
Guys, without the Holy Spirit, the Church is a social club. Am I right? And far too often, the Church becomes a social club. Why? Because there is no Holy Spirit work. The Holy Spirit isn’t directing, protecting, equipping.
In Acts Chapter 2, the church is begun. Then, in Acts Chapter 10, the Holy Spirit directs the Church with a vision to Peter when he is in Joppa to go up north to Caesarea by the sea to Cornelius’ house and preach to the gentiles. And the gentile church is birthed. So, the point is, the Holy Spirit uses a vision in Acts Chapter 10 to direct the Church.
But if you turn to Acts Chapter 13, I’ll show you the more often used approach by the Holy Spirit. And as we read these three verses, I want you to know that the absolute method of directing for Calvary Chapel Nuevo is in these three verses. This is exactly how the Lord directs this ministry.
Acts 13:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
This may be one of the most critical texts in Acts to describe the directing of the Church by the Holy Spirit. And it is exactly how the Holy Spirit leads this church. What do we see here? The leaders are gathered together, prophets and teachers. Now we don’t use this term prophet that much because it has some cultural connections that make people get concerned. But there are prophets in the Church. There must be. (We’ll get into the gifts in a few weeks.)
Those prophets and teachers were gathered together, ministering to the Lord. What were they doing? They were probably worshiping and praying. So, what happened? The Holy Spirit speaks and gives them direction about Saul and Barnabas while they are ministering to the Lord. How did that happen? How did the Holy Spirit speak? Through one of the prophets – a word of prophecy. One of the prophets spoke during a time of worship and prayer, ministering to the Lord, and said the Lord would have Saul and Barnabas take off and go start some other churches around the country.
So, what did the leaders of the church do? Did they say, “Oh, sounds good? See you later.”? No. It says they prayed and fasted. They tested the prophets. They tested the prophets with prayer and fasting in verse 3. Then they laid hands on Saul and Barnabas, and then they sent them out to start other churches. It’s the exact same way here, and God help us when it changes. No committee of learned and educated men will ever replace the Holy Spirit, not in a Spirit-led church.
In Acts Chapter 16, the Spirit prevents Paul and Barnabas from going into an area of Asia to minister. And then in Galatians, we find out that the way the Holy Spirit did this is he made Paul so sick he couldn’t move. And so, now we’ve seen some ways the Holy Spirit leads or directs the Church. In Acts 10, the Holy Spirit leads the church with a vision to Peter. In Acts Chapter 13, he leads the Church, like most often, through his gifts to the leaders, which is what we will get into in a few weeks. But then, thirdly, he also leads the Church by making one of the leaders so sick he can’t move. All three ways the Holy Spirit is leading the Church and all three ways the Holy Spirit leads this Church. (And please pray that he always will.)
So that’s number one, directing.
Number two is protecting. The Holy Spirit protects the Church. We see this throughout Acts. In Acts Chapter 5, we see a very dramatic display of this protecting of the Church by the Holy Spirit. All in all, I think it’s probably good that the Holy Spirit doesn’t work in this dramatic fashion to protect the Church. However, I do believe that the Holy Spirit, if we will let him, still protects the Church in similar ways, but maybe without quite as drastic of a result.
Acts 5:1-6 (NKJV)
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. (In Acts Chapter 4, everybody was selling everything they had and bringing the proceeds to the Apostles who were distributing it back among the Church.)
2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Now, because of Chapter 4, we know that he was implying, “This is everything. This is all I have from selling this thing.”)
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
4 While it remained, was it not your own? (Peter is saying, “Hey, we didn’t ask for our land.) And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? (Again, he is saying, “You know we didn’t ask you for your money. We didn’t ask you to bring this here.) Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Lie to the Holy Spirit, lie to God. Deity, Trinity teaching there.)
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.
6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
So, then his wife comes in. Peter questions her. She also lies, and she also dies. So, pretty dramatic response. What was the sin that the Holy Spirit dropped Ananias and Sapphira dead for? Was it because they didn’t give enough money? No. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. What was it for? Lying.
The sin is hypocrisy. Chuck Smith calls it “the curse of the Church.” It is the sin within the Church, maybe the greatest of all sins. It is acting one way when really your heart is different. It’s the sin of hypocrisy. The Holy Spirit dropped these two dead. So, it’s probably good that the Holy Spirit has softened his approach on this sin in the Church.
The point is, God still reveals hypocrisy. He still reveals sin inside the Church. He still reveals corruption in the Church. The Holy Spirit can handle it. So many times, people have come to me, “Yeah, that person shouldn’t be doing this, and shouldn’t be doing that.” And what I’ve learned is I always say to them, “You know, the Holy Spirit can handle it. Let him take care of it.” The Holy Spirit can reveal sin in the Church. Hypocrisy, corruption, other sins. He does it all the time. He does it to keep the Church vibrant and alive. He’s protecting the Church. Not the spiritual warfare part; he’s protecting the Church from itself, so the cancer doesn’t grow in the Church so that the Church remains pure.
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit equips the Church. He directs the Church. He protects the Church. And he equips the Church.
The Holy Spirit wants us to grow in our understanding of God. He wants us to grow in our revelation of God. He wants us to understand more the great work that specifically, we – as the Body of Christ – have been called to. The Holy Spirit is at work to equip the Church.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (NKJV)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
God works in the bad stuff. The Holy Spirit is at work in the Church. …may grow up in all things In all things. In all circumstances, in all events, in all crises, in all trials. In all difficulties. In all things that the Church may grow up (mature) into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
We imply that means the “good joints.” But it doesn’t say that. It says every joint. Good and bad. …every part does it share… Again, we imply that it is all the “good” parts. Well, guess what? It doesn’t say that. It says all the parts. All the parts of the Body. The ones that are easy to take, the ones that are difficult to take. The ones that are encouraging, the ones that are frustrating. The ones that build us up, the ones that break us down. The Holy Spirit uses the Body, every part doing its share.
Guys, the Holy Spirit needs a Body to do his work on earth. We are it. And so, if the Holy Spirit wants to edify you, strengthen you, comfort t you, support you, he’s going to use that person next to you to do it. AND if the Holy Spirit wants to correct you, challenge you, exhort you, chastise you, break you, he’s going to use that person next to you to do it.
It’s how he works. We are his hands and his feet. The worst thing we can do is think everybody that’s on our side is part of the Body, and everyone that’s not on our side is not part of the Body. That is totally unscriptural. God uses the Body, every part, every joint, working together to build the Body up. Good and bad, the Holy Spirit is at work in the Body to mature you. To edify you, to exhort you. To grind you. To break you. To restore you. To reconcile you. Every part of the Body, the Holy Spirit is at work in for your good, for your edifying, your building up, your exhorting.
If we will allow him to, he will use the Body, that is where he works, to edify us, to equip us for the ministry. It’s the bad stuff that equips us. It’s the conflict that equips us, that prepares us. The Holy Spirit is working in the conflicts in the Body to build up the Body, mature it, to strengthen it. He has a great purpose for it. That’s a good thing to know; until it is you, then you don’t want to hear it. It’s tougher to hear when it’s about yourself. It’s really true.
So, we know that the Holy Spirit has been at work in the world since the very beginning of creation. We know that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. We know that the Holy Spirit restrains evil through the Body of Christ; through spiritual warfare, enacting of spiritual warfare restrains evil. And we know, most of all, that the Holy Spirit is the Church’s divine power, the DUNAMIS power, to direct us, to protect us, and to equip us for his good work, for the work of his ministry, for his good purposes, for his good plans. And you are the fortunate beneficiary of being used by the Holy Spirit, for better or worse, to equip, to edify, to build up the Body.
The most tragic thing that Calvary Chapel Nuevo or any other church could do is move away from the DUNAMIS power of the Holy Spirit in directing, protecting, and equipping. Any other process, no matter how touted, no matter how respected, will lead to disaster in the Body of Christ. We have one choice – and one choice only – and that is to absolutely, totally, exclusively, and wholly, desperately depend on the Holy Spirit to direct us, to protect us, to guide us, to equip us, to make us what he wants us to be so that we can do the work that he’s called us to do. And we just get the joy of being part of it; that is all of the responsibility we get, just to be part of what the Holy Spirit is doing.
Let me close with a quote from Chuck Smith’s book, Living Water. Pastor Chuck says this. We need a Church that will return the Holy Spirit to his rightful place as Director of Activities. A Church where the Holy Spirit roots out hypocrisy and corruption. A Church where the Holy Spirit edifies, comforts, and exhorts his people. In short, we need a Church where the Holy Spirit is in charge.
Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV)
6 … ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.