Jesus and the Holy Spirit

 

According to orthodox Christianity, one of the recognized requirements of being a Christian is the belief in the Trinity, namely that the Godhead consists of three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), all fully divine, equal, with unique roles and responsibilities. Throughout Old Testament times, the Scriptures do not often distinguish between the Father and the Son, but the Holy Spirit is uniquely identified as the Spirit of God or Holy Spirit. Unlike the new covenant introduced by Jesus at the Last Supper, in which the Holy Spirit would indwell believers in Jesus, the Old Testament role of the Spirit of God was ”upon” certain leaders and craftsmen. 

The Lord, therefore, said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. “Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit, who is upon you, and will put Him upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you so that you will not bear it all alone.       Numbers 11:16-17

Moses was given the Holy Spirit, and Yahweh instructed him to anoint the seventy leaders with the same Spirit of God to help carry Moses’ burden and fulfill the tasks that would be asked of each. Samuel, the last judge and first prophet, would be equipped with the same Spirit of God (1 Samuel 10:6) so that he might be used to prophesy and be turned into another man. King Saul would lose his anointing as king to David out of disobedience to the Lord in 1 Samuel 16:14: But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. He suffered from this distressing spirit for the rest of his life.

“The Holy Spirit Will Come Upon You”

Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.            Matthew 1:18

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35

The Holy Spirit played a prominent role in the physical life of Jesus, both in His beginning and its completion. The above passages fulfill the prophecy from Isaiah 7:14 that He would be born of a virgin. The New Testament writers would refer to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9, Galatians 4:6, 1 Peter 1:11). According to Peter, For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit (1 Peter 3:18). The believer’s life in the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ; he has been brought to God. 

Baptized With Fire

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist said, "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He refers to Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all who would believe. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the same as the sending of his influences to convert, purify, and guide the soul, the very life of Christ. The believer is empowered by His life as God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). He is the refiner who purifies the believer’s life as the smelter purifies gold and silver.

Rivers of Living Water

Now, on the last day, the great day of the feast [Tabernacles], Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.      John 7:37-39

When Jesus addressed the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, He spoke of this living water in John 4:14: “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." Jesus was teaching His Jewish followers that the Holy Spirit would bring everlasting life. In Leviticus 23:36, the eighth day of the festival is a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work. According to Barnes Notes: 

On the last day of the feast, it was customary to perform a solemn ceremony in this manner: The priest filled a golden vial with water from the fount of Siloam, borne with great solemnity, attended with the clangor of trumpets, through the gate of the temple, and being mixed with wine, was poured on the sacrifice on the altar. What was the origin of this custom is unknown. Some suppose, and not improbably, that it arose from an improper understanding of the passage in Isaiah 12:3: "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." It is certain that Moses commands no such ceremony. It is probable that Jesus stood and cried while they were performing this ceremony, that he might illustrate the nature of his doctrine by this and call off their attention from a rite that was uncommanded and that could not confer eternal life.

The Paraclete

Jesus reserved His most complete teaching about the Holy Spirit to the night before His crucifixion, found in John 14, 15, and 16. In each reference, the Greek word selected to identify Him is parakletos, it refers to an aid or helper. According to the Greek scholar Spiros Zodhiates:

“The Greek writers used a legal advisor, pleader, proxy, or advocate, one who comes forward on behalf of and as the representative of another. Thus, in 1 John 2:1, Christ is termed our substitutionary, intercessory advocate. Christ designates the Holy Spirit as Paraclete (John 14:16) and calls Him állos, another, which means another of equal quality, and not héteros, another of a different quality. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is designated by Jesus Christ as equal with Himself, i.e., God. This new Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, was to witness concerning Jesus Christ (John 14:26; 16:7,14) and to glorify Him. The Holy Spirit is called a Paraclete because He undertakes Christ's office in the world while Christ is not in the world as the God-Man in bodily form. In addition, the Holy Spirit is also called the Paraclete because He acts as Christ's substitute on earth. When Christ in John 14:16 designates Himself as a Paraclete, the same as the Holy Spirit, the word must not be understood as applying to Christ in the same sense as in 1 John 2:1, where it refers to our substitutionary Advocate who pleads our cause with the Father. It should rather be taken as He who pleads God's cause with us. parakaléœ and parákl¢sis, the act or process of comforting or advocating, do not occur at all in the writings of John.”

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.             John 14:16-17

"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.            John 14:25-26 

The Spirit had to come to abide with each believer and reside within and interpret the meanings of Jesus' words and deeds. The Spirit, Jesus said, will teach you all things and remind you of everything He said. These verses address the disciples. The context limits "all things" to the interpretation and significance of His person and work. The Holy Spirit worked in their minds, reminding them of His teaching and giving insight into its meaning. This work applies to every believer in Christ. 

Worldly Challenges

"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify, also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.           John 15:26-27

 In the face of the opposition and hatred of the world, a believer might be tempted to try to escape from the world or be silent about it. Monasticism, extreme separation, and lack of witnessing have been common responses to worldly challenges in the church's history. Jesus encouraged His disciples by the promise of the Spirit's work in the world. The work of Jesus was to promote the Father and not Himself so that the Holy Spirit would witness of Jesus as the Messiah. As the Spirit of truth, He presents God's truth to the world. The Spirit is sent from the Father, just as the Son was sent from the Father. Yet this mysterious work of the Holy Spirit is not done in isolation from the church. The disciples were to bear witness to the facts that they came to know: As the disciples witnessed, the Holy Spirit persuaded, and people were saved. The Holy Spirit is an integral part of the Lord’s work in the current age to connect each believer to Christ's life, teaching, and work. 

But I tell you the truth; it is to your advantage [sumphero – to bring together for the benefit of another] 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. And He, when He comes, will convict [elegchoe – prove or convince one of wrong] the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore, I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.              John 16:7-15

The departure of Jesus was necessary for the disciples. His leaving was profitable and advantageous. Without the completion of His earthly work, there would have been no gospel. Atonement for sin was necessary for Jesus to save His people from their sins. Also, unless He departed, there would have been no glorified Lord to send... the Holy Spirit to apply the atonement. This Helper is the promised Holy Spirit who came into the world in a new and distinctive sense on the day of Pentecost. 

Convict the World

As Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit to the disciples in John 14-16, He defines for them one of the most critical roles of convicting the world. This Greek word for convict is elegchoe, which means to prove or convince one of wrong and thus shame him. Jesus says He must leave so that the Holy Spirit will come to do this great work on behalf of the world. This work is necessary so that just as Jesus came to reveal the light amid darkness, the Holy Spirit would continue to expose darkness through the light of the Gospel.

Experiencing God cannot take place without this holy work of God. The conviction of the world concerning sin (hamartia – an offense in relation to God with emphasis on guilt) is necessary to bring one to faith. In Romans 4:23b, Paul states, “and whatever is not from faith is sin." Once a person recognizes his need for a solution to sin and guilt, Christ's work on Calvary becomes evident. Faith (trust) in the substitutionary work of Jesus provides victory over sin and the door to spiritual life.

In his message at Pentecost, Peter said in Acts 2:36, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” In response to this conviction, verse 37 says that the people were “pierced to the heart,” acknowledging their responsibility and, therefore, asking Peter what they should do about it. Peter responded, “Repent [change the mind, reverse direction], and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” He was telling them that the Law of Moses was no longer the avenue to God but faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.

Romans 6:8-11, "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once and for all, but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The victory over sin is experienced as the believer considers himself dead to sin in identification with Jesus’s death.

Convince the World

Both Jews and Romans tried Jesus, found Him guilty as a criminal, and then sentenced Him to crucifixion. One of the two thieves crucified with Him recognized that Jesus was not a criminal like he was, saying in Luke 23:41, "And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." The centurion observing the crucifixion exclaimed, “Truly, this was the Son of God!" The Holy Spirit is the one who convinces men of the righteousness of Christ. The Apostle Paul, who had a similar experience on the Damascus Road in Acts 9, utilized the description “in Christ” or “in Him” more than 170 times in his letters as defining the relationship of the believer to Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, he states, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Although Jesus was no longer here, His righteousness would be experienced within the spiritual connection to Christ. 

The Jews had a problem with this since they thought they could derive their own righteousness by keeping the Law. Paul exposes the shortcoming of this thinking in Romans 10:2-4, “For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. Paul further explains in Romans 4:4-6 that righteousness cannot be earned but must be a gift, a by-product of faith in God. Isaiah spoke of this righteousness in Isaiah 45:24-25, “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. In the Lord, all the offspring of Israel will be justified and will glory.”

Judgment

The basic meaning of krisis is a legal judgment resulting in punishment; in John’s Gospel, the meaning and intention of judgment shifts to God’s interest in setting things in their proper place. In John 3:17, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” The work of Jesus on the cross was intended to “destroy the works of the devil” [1 John 3:8]. He wishes to put things in their proper order for the rest of us. This responsibility to judge belongs to Jesus alone (James 4:12), and the warning is sent forth throughout the New Testament that one should not become a judge of others. In verse 11, “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.” 

In 1 John 5:19, we are told, “We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” The impact of that power is the continued corruption and disruption of things from their proper place. As a result, the Holy Spirit’s work of conviction is ongoing, and the Lord wishes to rescue His loved ones from the effects of sin in the world. In John 12:31, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” Paul tells us that “the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (Galatians 5:17-18). The discipline of the Lord is necessary to bring the believer not being led by the Holy Spirit.

Baptizing Them 

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.          Matthew 28:19

According to Barnes Notes:

To be baptized "unto" anyone is publicly to receive and adopt him as a religious teacher or lawgiver, to receive his system of religion. Thus, the Jews were baptized "unto Moses" 1 Cor 10:2. That is, they received the system that he taught; they acknowledged him as their lawgiver and teacher. So, Paul asks (1 Cor 1:13), "Were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" - that is, were you devoted to Paul by this rite? Did you bind yourselves to "him" and give yourselves away to "him" or to God? So, to be baptized in the name of the Father, or unto the Father, means publicly, by a significant rite, to receive his system of religion; to bind the soul to obey his laws; to be devoted to him; to receive, as the guide and comforter of the life, his instructions, and to trust to his promises. To be baptized unto the Son, in like manner, is to receive him as the Messiah-our Prophet, Priest, and King—to submit to his laws, and to receive him as a Savior. To be baptized unto the Holy Spirit is to receive him publicly as the Sanctifier, Comforter, and Guide of the soul. The meaning, then, may be thus expressed: Baptizing them unto the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by a solemn profession of the only true religion and by a solemn consecration to the service of the sacred Trinity.             Barnes' Notes