Skip to main content

Brief Reflections on our Statement of Faith: #4 The Holy Spirit

Article 4. – The Holy Spirit.

We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, omnipresent from all eternity, took up His abode in the world in a special sense on the day of Pentecost. He dwells in every believer, and by His baptism unites all believers into the body of Christ. As the Indwelling One, He is the source of power for all acceptable service and worship (John 14:16-17; 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:22; 1 Thessalonians 2:7).
We believe that the Holy Spirit is involved in various ministries. He restrains evil; convicts the world; regenerates, indwells, and anoints all who are saved, sealing believers unto the day of redemption. We also believe that the Holy Spirit will teach, guide, and enable those believers who are yielded to Him and walking in obedience to the Word (John 3:6; 16:7-16; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 John 2:20-27).
We believe that divine enabling gifts for service are bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon all who are saved. These gifts are given to every believer for the building up of the body of Christ (Romans 8:23; 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13:13; Ephesians 4:4-16; Hebrews 2:3-4; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

We are told several remarkable things about the Holy Spirit in the Bible, especially the pages of the New Testament. Perhaps the most striking is in John 16:7, where Jesus tells his followers that is better to have the Holy Spirit inside of them than to have Jesus walking beside them. 

Jesus goes on in that same passage to spell out a few of the Holy Spirit's ministries on earth. "He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement." Elsewhere, in passages such as Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, we are told that this same Holy Spirit equips God's people for service. 

There is a lot of confusion, even among Christians, over how we are to understand the work of the Holy Spirit and his role in the world today. But what seems evident from Scripture is that he is primarily working in and through those who trust in Jesus to help everyone see Jesus more clearly. And the way he does this is by enabling Christians to live and act in a way that is increasingly more Christlike. 

 So as we consider the presence and work of the Holy Spirit today, let's focus primarily on what he is focused on: magnifying Christ. This should lead us to feel gratitude that Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to enable and motivate all true worship and service. 

Popular posts from this blog

Sermon: Jesus and Judgement, John 7:53-8:11

Jesus and Judgement? John 7:53-8:11 Remsen Bible Fellowship, 08/25/19 Intro:  Do you know what it’s like to feel desperate? Like you’re in dire need of someone to rescue you from your situation? Perhaps it’s a situation for which you are responsible: you’ve made a big mistake at work; or at home you’ve overspent your budget and an unexpected bill hits; perhaps you’ve lied to a friend and now they’ve found out. Desperate situations come in all shapes and sizes, sometimes of our own making, sometimes not. We are going to meet a woman in our passage this morning who is in a very desperate situation. A woman needing rescue.  Read: John 7:53-8:11 1: Difficulties and Approach  Before we dive into the text itself, we need to address the oddity of what we find in our Bibles here. If you’re looking at a bible in your lap or on your phone, you’ll see that these verses are either placed in brackets, or even relegated to a footnote. Then there is bracketed explanat...
Read more

Unity and Glory; John 17:20-26

Unity and Glory John 17:20-26, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 05/24/2020 Introduction, v20 For the past two weeks, in v6-19 , we heard Jesus praying for his disciples. The argument I made in those sermons, though, was that those prayers didn’t merely apply to the original 11, but that they had implications for us in the 21st century. But today, I don’t have to make that argument. Jesus does. Look at verse 20, I do not ask for these [the 11] only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Do you believe in Jesus this morning? Do you believe that he came from the Father, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death for you, and rose again promising life to all who trust in him? If you believe this message, preached by the apostles and recorded in the Scriptures, if you believe in this Jesus, then listen up. Because we’re about to read his prayer for you.  Read the text.  I think it’s useful to note at the outset this simple fact: Jesus is praying for us. Las...
Read more

Love is the Root and the Fruit John 15:9-17

Love is the Root and the Fruit John 15:9-17 Remsen Bible Fellowship, 02/16/20 Introduction: Do you know how it feels to be loved? To feel like someone is totally for you, would give their all for you?  What does that sort of love do to you? How does it change you? Think in the context of a child, spouse, parent, or friend. A Context of Love: v9, 13 Remember that we are in the upper room. John 13:1 Jesus has just given the illustration of vine/branches: now he’s unpacking that. As Jesus moves toward laying a heavy emphasis on obedience, he wants us to remember the setting in which that obedience lies: his full and perfect love. V9 How long has the Father loved the Son? John 17:24 Jesus wants that same love to be in us ( 17:26 ), and for those chosen by Christ you have been loved since before the foundation of the world. Eph 1:3-6, esp v4 How does Jesus demonstrate, ultimately, that too the max love? The cross. V13 Commands of Love: v9, 10, ...
Read more