Turn with me in your Bibles to John's gospel as we work our way through this wonderful gospel account of our Lord's life, ministry, death, resurrection. We're in John chapter 14. Our focus this morning will be verses 16b to 18. I realize that we have slowed down the exposition. As I've mentioned on a few occasions, that when Jesus gathers his disciples there in the upper room, one of the things that he uses to encourage and instruct them is the doctrine of who God is. And God is one in being, three in person. So one in substance or essence, and everlastingly three in person, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So it seemed wise to slow down a bit, specifically this morning, considering the nature of the Holy Spirit in verses 16b to 18. But I'll just read beginning in 14 at verse 12. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also. And greater works than these, he will do because I go to my father. And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the father may be glorified in the son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever. The spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that it's given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. We thank You that it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. And today, as we gather together to consider this one true and living God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Spirit, we pray the Holy Spirit would guide us and illumine our minds and hearts, cause us to receive with thankful hearts the Scriptures, And may it be the case that we would see that all of our dependence upon you, all of our communion is predicated on this fact of who you are and what you've done on behalf of your people. Do forgive us now for all sin and unrighteousness. Cleanse us in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, send the Spirit to guide, to lead, to instruct us. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as I said, we're gonna spend a bit of time on the nature of the Holy Spirit. One of the things that we've seen in John's gospel is that John is concerned about telling us what happens in terms of our salvation. He announces, in fact, that reality in chapter one at verse 29. He quotes John the Baptist who saw Jesus, and John the Baptist said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But before John gets there, in what we call the prologue to John's gospel, In John 1, 1 to 18, he sort of goes behind the scenes and he teaches us something about theology. He teaches us something about God as he is in himself. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God. And that Word became flesh and dwelt among us. So the Word there is the second person of the triune God, the Lord Jesus Christ. So as we come to this passage, we've seen the Spirit referred to and mentioned in John's gospel up until this point, but here specifically we see Him relative or related to the Father and the Son. So as I said, I think it's wise for us to slow down the exposition and consider the nature of the Holy Spirit. Now, if you are a first-time visitor or a long-time attender or even member, There's going to be some technical concepts today, some things that we don't typically think about, so please come back again. It's not always this technical here. I try to keep it not simple stupid, but keep it simple so that we can all get what God's Word says to us. But as I mentioned last week, something's happened within the last, I don't know, 80 to 100 years in the life of the church. There's gotten to be a great deal of ignorance about the doctrine of the Trinity. Now, there's good things happening right now. There's a lot of good guys writing and what we call retrieval of the ancient truth and the biblical truth. But over the last 100 years, I think people would say, yeah, I believe in the Trinity. But to go beyond that and ask the question, how does one God exist eternally in three persons? Well, you're kind of met with a shrug, or, I don't know, I just know that Christian doctrine is that God is a Trinity, and therefore I worship Him, and that's good. But we need to be able to give an account, a biblical account, for why we worship one God in Trinity. Well, in the ancient church, they developed creeds and confessions that functioned sort of like guardrails for the church. I mentioned that illustration last week. Imagine if you live on the top of a mountain, and there's a windy road to get up there, and there's no guardrails on the side of the road. People are going to veer off. People are going to fall off the cliff. And a visitor comes one day and says, why are all these cars in the bottom of the valley there? And you say, well, there used to be guardrails, but for some reason we took them down. Well, what is that reason? I don't know, but we took them down and so all the cars went off the cliff. Well, that's kind of happened with the church and with Christians who don't understand the doctrine of the Trinity. We got rid of the guardrails. In 325, and then again in 381, we have what was called the Nicene Creed. And then in 451 we have what's called the Chalcedonian Creed or Definition. And then in the 17th century we have our own confession of faith called Second London Confession, which was written in 1677 and then published and ratified in 1689. Those are guardrails to keep the Church from flying off the cliff. So if you get rid of the guardrails and then you look down at the bottom of the valley and say, nobody can understand or describe, at least at a basic level, the doctrine of the Trinity. Why is that? Because we got rid of the guardrails. So there is some technical concepts. There are some things that perhaps you don't usually think about, but I just want to encourage you to give me your ear. We'll work through the material. Try not to make it too difficult. And again, that's not because you're dumb. I feel like I'm, you know, the guy that David writes about in Psalm 19 and 119, the law of the Lord makes wise the simple. But with reference to some of these concepts, again, if you've not listened or heard the guardrails, if you haven't heard the strategies that the church has used or the tactics that the church has used to protect the fact that there is one God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it may almost sound Japanese to you. So just give me your ear. We'll work through the material. If you have questions, please ask afterwards. So as we look at our context specifically, we're in the upper room. It's the last discourse of our Lord with his disciples prior to his death and resurrection and ascension on high. As Ferguson says, the world is about to collapse all around these disciples. So what does Jesus do in the upper room? He teaches them a lot about God. The most wonderful truth, the most wonderful doctrine is who God is and what God has done. drowning in a sort of a practical Christianity. Five tips on how to be a better you. Five tips on how to be a better husband. Five tips on how to be a better wife. Again, that's not necessarily bad to be a better husband or a better wife, but we need to understand who God is. Great are the works of the Lord, they are studied by all who delight in them. If we are interested in botany or zoology or a whole host of other things, why aren't we interested in who God is? Especially as the believers, those who have been conquered by sovereign grace. So the Lord Jesus spends His time instructing them concerning Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And in our particular context, beginning in verse 12, He directs their attention to consider their mission. their mission in the world. It's predicated on his mission, coming into the world, living, dying, and rising again. The mission then for the disciples is to go out, to make disciples, to baptize those disciples, and to found local churches so that they can instruct those disciples in the truth. So notice in 1412, most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me, so they're justified by faith alone in Christ, the works that I do, he will do also. and greater works than these he will do because I go to my Father." It's not competition. The Lord Jesus is doing the works from the right hand of the Father through the disciples who go out to preach and teach and make disciples. No competition. Competition Christ involved in this particular word and again, it's because I go to my father He ascended on high he led captivity captivity gave gifts to men He gives the Holy Spirit to equip the church the people of God to go out to testify Concerning God and the gospel of free grace and Jesus says you're gonna do these very things notice then in verse 13 Whatever you ask in my name Not, again, I want to be a cowboy when I grow up, Jesus. I want to be an astronaut. I want to have, you know, millions and millions of dollars. In the context, the asking in His name has to do with the carrying out or the execution of the mission. In other words, they're going to have to go challenge the Roman Empire. They're going to have to challenge the unbelieving Jews. They're going to have to be men of courage, men of faith, men of wisdom, men of tenacity and endurance. Well, in order to do that, they need divine aid. In other words, when Jesus says, here's your work, it's going to be greater works than I have done, even. You're going to outshine me. And again, it's not competition. Jesus does it through them. They're going to need to lean on divine resources. And so that's why he says, whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it, specifically for mission, but as well in a general sense, whatever is consistent with the will of God. You can't pray to God to go out and commit a crime. I want to go rob a bank, God, and I don't want to be caught. And Jesus says, whatever I ask in His name, that you will do. No, that is contrary to the will and the mind of God. We pray consistent with the will and the mind of God, which we see revealed in Holy Scripture. Then notice in verse 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. And again, it's not saying this is the way of salvation. We've already believed on him, justified freely by grace. What's the chief fruit or effect of having been justified by faith? It's love to Christ. When we love Christ, what are we going to do? We're going to keep His commandments. And that is precisely the emphasis here. They have believed on Him, they love Him, keep my commandments, and go make disciples in all the nations, baptize those disciples, and then teach those disciples to observe all that I have commanded you. And again, he emphasizes some divine resources or help given to them to assist them to carry this out. And that's verse 16. Notice, And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." So when we look at the nature of the Holy Spirit here in verses 16b to 17, there's four things that I want to draw out. First, the distinction of persons in the Godhead. The distinction of persons in the Godhead. This is, He will give you another helper. Secondly, the unity of the Godhead. Whenever you discuss the Trinity, you need to make sure you appreciate the one and the three. He's one in one sense, essence or substance, three in another sense, subsistence or person. So we need to look at the distinction of persons in the Godhead, 16b, he will give you another helper. Secondly, the unity of the Godhead, 17a, the spirit of truth, and more on that in a few moments. Thirdly, the ignorance of the Godhead, not that the Godhead is ignorant. but persons are because they're not saved. Verse 17b, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. And then finally, the knowledge of the Godhead, 17c, but you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. We most likely won't get to verse 18, so you will get home for lunch. Anyways, let's look first at what Jesus says here in verse 16. That's probably the longest introduction I've ever done. Hopefully we're all singing off the same page now, and again, there's going to be a few concepts that perhaps you've not heard before, but stick with it, and hopefully it will make some degree of sense. With reference first to the distinction of persons in the Godhead, I want to go a little bit behind the scenes as well. In other words, what John does is he rehearses for us the glory of Jesus Christ in his public ministry. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. How does Jesus Christ do that? Well, first of all, why does John the Baptist say that? Well, John the Baptist is functioning with an old covenant mindset. See, in the Old Testament, what you had was the nation of Israel in covenant with God Most High, Yahweh of Israel, and as the people of God in that covenantal setting, they had a way to approach God. In other words, they were sinners and God was holy. So how do unholy, sinful men get into the presence of a holy God? Well, they do so by what the book of Leviticus teaches. They do so through sacrifice. In other words, through blood atonement. In other words, taking animals, cutting their throats, presenting them to the priest at the tabernacle or the temple, and giving that as a sacrifice to God Most High, to make atonement or to cover or to satisfy for their sinfulness. So when the Baptist sees Jesus and he says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, that makes sense when you think Old Covenant. Because they would bring lambs, they would bring bulls, they would bring pigeons, they would bring animals to that place where they worshiped so that they could be accepted by God. So the Baptist heralds the coming of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. See, the blood of bulls and goats and those lambs and pigeons, they didn't actually take away the sin. They prefigured or pointed forward or served as signposts pointing to the one who would in fact take away those sins. And so John then declares how Jesus does that as the Lamb of God. How does he take away the sin of the world? He does it through his life of obedience. Remember, I already mentioned John 1, 1 and 1, 14. 1, 14 says, the Word became flesh. Why did Jesus assume our humanity? Why did Jesus become flesh? So that He could do what we don't do. So that He could do what we can't do. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the law. Now think about that for just a moment. Have you lived a moment with perfect obedience to the law? Have you had a good five seconds in your life where you loved God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and you've loved your neighbor as yourself? Probably not. Jesus had 33 years of it. Why? Because he's the Word of God who assumes our humanity. So he lives in obedience to that law, something that you and I couldn't do. And he doesn't just do it as an example. Oh, well, if you dig down deep and try really hard like Jesus, you can do this. No, that's not why he lives according to the law. He does it so that when we, by grace, believe on him, we receive his righteousness. It's really amazing. And then Jesus goes to the cross. Why did he go to the cross? Well, if you ask the Pharisees, it was because he was a revolutionary. He forbid paying taxes to Caesar. And he made himself out to be a king. And we can't have any truck with somebody like that. That's not why Jesus went to the cross. Jesus went to the cross in light of that old covenant system. He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He went there for atonement. He went there for sacrifice. He went there as our substitute. The crushing justice of God the Father fell on Him, and as a result now, we are safe because of that. So Christ's life, his death, and then his resurrection are absolutely crucial, and John spends from 128 all the way to John 20, 31, and then into the epilogue in chapter 21 to rehearse that truth. But it's that chapter 1, verses 1 to 18, where, as I said, he goes behind the scenes. He teaches us what is in theology called theologia, or theology, and oikonomia, which is economy. You've got theology, which speaks concerning God in himself. God as if there was no world, God in eternity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We want to know about that, don't we? Well, John gives us a view. But then, economy refers to what God does outside of himself in terms of the created order. Are we gathering this? Are we tracking? That's not so hard. Who God is in himself, and then what God does external to himself in the created order. God made all things. God doesn't get better because of the world. He doesn't get worse because of the world. God is. Whether there's a creation external to him or not, God is. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in eternal glorious bliss. So John peeks behind the curtain of the economy of redemption and gives us something about theology in John 1. We need to take that mindset and bring it to our study of the Holy Spirit here. He is another comforter. He's a paraclete. He's a helper. But How'd he get here? Where'd he come from? Jesus has spoken of him in John 3, he regenerates or causes the new birth. But again, I think it's good for us to ask the question, what's happening here? So in terms of the distinction, we've got theology and economy. Everything internal to God is theology. Those things external to God we'll call economy. Now, when we look at the economy of redemption, guess what we learn? We learn about our salvation, don't we? Isn't that great? We watch Jesus live. We watch Jesus die. We watch Jesus be raised again. We, by grace, believe on Jesus. So we can read John 1, 28 to the end of chapter 21 and say, wow, he saved us from our sins. But guess what else the economy teaches us? It teaches us something about who God is in himself. Now, not exhaustively, not everything, because brethren, we'll never exhaust who God is, right? He's infinite, we're finite. He's creator, we're creature. He's limitless, we are limited. So the confession of faith that we subscribe says that his essence is known or comprehended only by himself. That doesn't mean we don't learn truth from the 31,000 propositions in the Bible, but it means that we will never fully know him. the way he is in himself. But that economy of redemption teaches us something about what is true in God himself. If you want to do it in Latin, it's the ad extra, works of God, that teach us truth about the ad intra, or internal being of God. And John's gospel is conspicuous at this point. In fact, one man makes this observation, the Son's appearance in time is a revelation of the fact that He is Son from all eternity, and so is from the Father, even as the Spirit's economic sending by the Son is a revelation of the fact that He eternally proceeds from both. You've probably heard that language, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father, through whom all things were made. So Jesus is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, eternally begotten, and he is one in being with the Father. And then the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. You say, well, I don't know that I understand all that. Again, brethren, stick with it. You'll never fully understand it. But the question is, does the Bible teach it? Are these guardrails that have been put in place by Nicaea, by Constantine, or rather Chalcedon, and those upheld by our Baptist divines, are they good guardrails? I would suggest absolutely positively they are. So again, look with me at our passage. We have what's called eternal processions. That means the Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Those eternal processions are the ground for the temporal missions of God. In other words, Jesus coming from the Father, like this man says, the Son's appearance in time is a revelation of the fact that He is a Son from all eternity and so is from the Father. Even as the Spirit's economic sending by the Son is a revelation of the fact that He eternally proceeds from both. So the Holy Spirit, when we look at verse 16, is the third person of the Trinity, and he eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. That's theology. In terms of economy, the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father through the Son into the world to save sinners. It's a particular task, a particular mission. In fact, go to Galatians 4, where I think that this is obvious and evident. Galatians chapter 4, we see the Father sends the Son, and the Father and the Son send the Spirit. That is temporal mission. Father sends the Son to live for us, to die for us, to be raised again. The Father and the Son send the Spirit to be a comforter, another helper, a paraclete, in order for our good and benefit. Those things reveal to us what is true of God in Himself. The Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Notice in Galatians 4.4, but when the fullness of the time had come, God, this is God the Father, sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. See what Paul is saying? When you look at these temporal missions, the Father sends the Son, the Son and the Father send the Spirit. These temporal missions, what God does in time, gives us something about who God is in Himself. Father unbegotten, the Son begotten, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. So essentially what we have here is the one God in three persons. Now, in terms of a demonstration from the text, look at verse 16. Jesus, speaking here, says, I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever. There's distinction of person there. Does everybody see that? There's three persons there. Remember, our main point right now is the distinction of persons in the Godhead. He will give you another helper. The Son asks the Father, and the Father sends the Spirit through the Son. This underscores that distinction. There's two problems when it comes to the Trinity. It is forgetting the distinction, and it is ending up in tritheism or all kinds of heresy. And so we need this distinction of persons, or an obliteration of the three persons of the Trinity. John Gill says, this is no inconsiderable proof of a trinity of persons in the Godhead. Here is the Father prayed unto, the Son in human nature praying, and the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, prayed for. You see that distinction? Again, I'm not making this up. You all see it right there. Jesus says, according to His humanity, I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever. Matthew Poole says that term another signifies the personal distinction of the third from the first and second person in the Blessed Trinity. A popular preacher named John Chrysostom made this observation in a sermon. He says, let those be ashamed who have the disease of Sibelius, who hold not the fitting opinion concerning the spirit. Sibelius was a man who didn't see a distinction of persons. He was what modern day persons call modalist. You've probably heard of the Oneness Pentecostal Church. They deny the Trinity, brethren. They're modalists. They say that God was the Father, He became the Son, and now He's the Spirit. That's not what we find in the text. We find a distinction of persons in the one essence of God. So modalism, right alongside a Sabellianism, is heresy. And the church saw it that way, and the church condemned it. And that's why the church wrote creeds and confessions. Not to make up Christian theology, but to highlight and protect Christian theology as it comes to us in the Holy Scriptures. So Sabellianism obliterates the distinction of persons in God. It is modalistic. Now notice the text again. He will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever. The Spirit is another helper just as Christ is a helper. The same word lies behind 1 John 2.1. Jesus is an advocate with the Father. This simply means mediator, intercessor, helper, one who appears on another's behalf. Van Maastricht says, one who takes up the cause for another, and indeed for his benefit. So Jesus commissioning the disciples to go into the world to do these greater works doesn't leave them on their own. He says, I'm going to pray to my father and my father is going to give you another helper and that another helper is going to abide in you and enable you to go out and do the task that Jesus has called you to do. It's a wonderful thing in the context, but again, it explains or exemplifies or declares or reveals to us what is true in God. The Father sends the Son. The Father and the Son send the Spirit. The Father is unbegotten. The Son is begotten by the Father. The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Again, this language of Nicaea isn't made up. It's not just some way to dupe the masses into believing in this sort of three-headed God. No, this reflects what Scripture teaches. One true and living God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is distinction among the persons, and you see that there. Now then notice, secondly, you've got the unity of the Godhead. Verse 17a, he mentions the Spirit. He is another helper that he may abide with you forever. And then in 17a, he says, the Spirit of truth. Now, why do I say this underscores the unity of the Godhead? Well, look back at John 14.6. John 14.6, Jesus said to him, I am the way, notice, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The psalmist refers to God the Father as the Lord God of truth, yet not three truths, one truth, one true and living God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I mentioned guardrails. How do we not go off the street? How do we not fly off the cliff? How do we not end up with all those other cars that know that we're supposed to worship Trinity, but have no clue whatsoever about what that means? Our confession. It says, in this divine and infinite being there are three subsistences, or persons, the Father, the Word, or Son, and the Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having a whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided. Gotta navigate within those guardrails, the guardrails that they fetched out from the 4th century and the Council of Nicaea, and the 5th century from the definition of Chalcedon. We're not operating in a vacuum. We need to lean on the church. We're not as smart as we might think, and the cars in the bottom of the hill evidence that and demonstrate that. We need to lean on those who, by God's grace, were useful in the context of the church to take Scripture as their ultimate authority, their final authority, and then to set forth doctrinal statements that protect that doctrinal authority. And so when it comes to these things, the guardrails will keep us in place. Now, in terms of the spirit as a divine person, again, he's not just an impersonal force there. He will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever, the spirit of truth. He has personal pronouns, male, by the way. As well, there are many things that we know of in scripture that indicate that he is, in fact, a person. I would suggest, and we're going to turn to some passages here, the fact that he is counted with the other persons of our blessed God. Look at 2 Corinthians 13. 2 Corinthians, now just arguing for the divine personhood, or the personhood rather, of the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 13, 14. Because as you might guess, when it comes to the Holy Spirit, there's a couple of problems on either side. One, the error or the heresy of Sibelius to say that God was the Father, He became the Son, and now He's the Spirit, the obliteration of distinction. But there's on the other side, this idea that He's not a person. You ever talk to a Jehovah's Witness? Ever? Do they confess the Trinity? No, they do not. They teach that Jesus is created by God, that Jesus is a little g God, and that the Holy Spirit is not a person. As far as the Jehovah's Witnesses are concerned, which, what a lie. They're not witnesses to Jehovah. They are deniers and heretics with reference to Jehovah. But they say that the Spirit is just an active force. It's an impersonal active force. But again, notice how he's listed or indicated alongside of the Father and the Son. 2 Corinthians 13, 14, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. We already saw Galatians 4, look at Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. And then just backing up a bit in terms of the practical ramifications of this in 2.18 and 20. For through Him, Jesus, we both, Jew and Gentile, have access by one Spirit to the Father. Verse 22. In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. We have these triadic references all over the New Testament. Triadic simply means three. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is mentioned alongside of them, not as an impersonal active force, but as a person. The Spirit is described in personal ways. He is sent from the Father through the Son. And he comes to the people of God to aid them, to assist them, to be that spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father. Consider the fact that he has life in himself, Romans 8.2. He has intellect, 1 Corinthians 2.10. He has will, 1 Corinthians 12.11. He engages in personal operations. He regenerates sinners. He converts them. He sanctifies them. He teaches them. He comforts them. He leads them. He commands them. He can be lied to according to Acts 5, 3, and 4, and as well he can be grieved, Ephesians 4, 30, and he can be sinned against, Matthew 12, 32. That's not an active force, that is the person of the Holy Spirit. One true and living God. In this divine and infinite being, there are three persons. The Father, the Word, or Son, and the Holy Spirit. They each have the whole essence. The essence undivided. It's not partialed out. God, the Father, 33 and a third. The Son, 33 and a third. The Spirit, 33 and a third. That's not biblical. That is wrong thinking. That's bad theology. That's the kind of stuff that guardrails would protect people from crashing into the ground with. As well, the fact that the Holy Spirit is consubstantial. That means He's one in being with the Father and the Son. How do we know that? Well, again, the Bible tells us so. The divine names of the Holy Spirit. We don't have time to go through all these passages. Again, if you want the notes, email me, text me, send a carrier pigeon. I'm happy to send you the notes. It's got the proof text in there. I just don't want to keep you till dinner time. But we see him referred to as Yahweh or Jehovah, the God of Israel. You see that in Isaiah 6 and then in Acts 28. As well, he is referred to as God, Acts 5, 3 and 4. He is called Lord in 2 Corinthians 3, 17. Again, how can that be? Because in this divine and infinite being, there are three persons, the Father, the Word of Son, and the Holy Spirit, each having the whole essence, yet the essence undivided. Whatever is true of the Father, is true of the Son, is true of the Spirit, yet not three gods, one God in three glorious persons. You have the divine attributes of the Holy Spirit. Consider what scripture says concerning him. Eternity, Hebrews 9, 14. Immensity, Psalm 139, 7. Immensity doesn't mean he's big. It means he fills all places. It's kind of connected to omnipresence. God is everywhere. And in Psalm 139, the psalmist says, where can I go to flee from your spirit? If I go down to the depths of hell, I can't evade the spirit of the living God. He's got omniscience, 1 Corinthians 2, 10 and 11. Omnipotence and independent authority, 1 Corinthians 12, 4, 6, 11. And then we see, again, this reality that he is called the spirit of truth. Not three truths, one truth. Jesus is truth. Father is truth. Not three truths, one truth. As well, we see that Jesus, or rather the Spirit, is referred to as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus in Romans chapter 8. Again, he's not impersonal. That's not an act of force. He's the third person of the triune God. We notice as well the divine operations of the Holy Spirit. See, there was a famous theologian named B.B. Warfield, and he had this argument with reference to the doctrine of the Trinity. He says that it was there, or the truth of the Trinity is in the Old Testament. But the light shines in the New Testament, and he uses this analogy of having a room in your house, and you don't have the light on in there. But there's all kinds of furniture in there. Well, when you flip the light on, it doesn't mean the furniture magically appeared. the furniture was there, the light just helped you to see it better. If you wandered through that room when the light was off, you'd bump your leg on the furniture. Most of us do that even when the light is on. We bump into things. You bump into the triune God in the Old Testament a lot. You probably don't always realize it, but you do. Genesis 1, 1 and 2 is a Trinitarian statement. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 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. You say, well, God's there, and the Spirit's there. Where's Jesus? In this divine and infinite being, there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word, or Son. John 1.1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. How does the Father create? Through the Word, from the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. This is a conspicuous pattern, not just in the New Testament, but from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible is Trinitarian to the core. And if you doubt that, turn with me to the psalmist, Psalm 33. Notice how he waxes concerning this passage. Psalm 33, another Trinitarian passage, and there's many in the Old Testament, but notice in Psalm 33, specifically at verse 7, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made. Again, there's that word, the divine word, the second person of the Trinity, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. Well, in the Old Testament, Hebrew, and in the Great New Testament, you have the the word spirit is also breath. It's not accidental that when Jesus is teaching Nicodemus about the the ministry of the Holy Spirit, he can point to the wind. He didn't just make that up. It fit, right? Spirit is wind or breath. And so when he says, you don't know where the wind comes from, you don't know where the wind is going, but you certainly know the effects of the wind as it's having been there. He uses that imagery. Well, the psalmist reflects on that as well. The divine operations of the Holy Spirit. He is creator. Job 33.4, the Spirit of God has made me and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. But then consider in the New Testament the things ascribed to the Spirit, divine operations, miracles, the resurrection from the dead, Matthew 12.28, Romans 8.11. miraculous healings, powers, tongues, prophecy, 1 Corinthians 12. He anoints Christ, our brother red, Isaiah 11. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is to be there for the second person of the Trinity, according to his humanity, to uphold him, to anoint him, to bless him, and to empower him for the task of redemption. As well, regeneration, renewal, conversion, sanctification, strengthening of the people of God. Consider in the New Testament, especially we see divine worship given to all three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Consider that we see the Trinity at the Jordan River in Matthew 6. The Lord Jesus goes into the water. The Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove. It doesn't mean He is a dove. It means that was a theophany, a manifestation of God by a creaturely element. And when that Spirit devolves or descends upon him, you've got the voice of the Father in approbation saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The ancients used to say to Arius, if you want to see the Trinity, go to the river Jordan. And then in Matthew 28, that baptismal formula, baptize them in the name singular, the name singular of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Brethren, the Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong. The Mormons are wrong. Arius was wrong. Sibelius was wrong. There was a whole host of people that drove their cars right into that ditch because they didn't listen to the Bible and they didn't listen to the gifts given by the Christ of the Bible to keep them from flying off the road. There is heresy around us. Today the famous and most common one is to subordinate Jesus. Not in the economy, what the Bible teaches, but in terms of theology. How could it be that one of the persons is less God than the other persons? They're consubstantial, one in being. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How does Jesus say what he says in John 14 to the questioning disciples? If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Why is that? Because the Father is in me, and I am in the Father. That can only be true based on the fact, or demonstrated by the fact, that the triune God is what the Bible teaches. Again, it does us no good to, well, I kind of have a notion of this. You don't have to be John Owen. You don't have to be Spurgeon. You don't have to be, you know, the famous guys in the church, Athanasius and Augustine. You've got to have a rudimentary understanding. You've got to understand, at least at some level, one true and living God who exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In fact, that's Westminster Shorter Catechism. You get those two answers down, and you've probably got a lot better theology than, you know, I don't know, 80% of the population out there. How many persons are there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. It's a beautiful thing, brethren. Say, well, I can't fully understand it, because he's God, and you're not. But the question is, does the Bible reveal this? Yes, it predicates of the Father, Godhood. It predicates of the Son, Godhood. It predicates of the Spirit, Godhood. Yet not three gods, one God. One in substance or essence, and three in person or subsistence. That is not a contradiction. If he's one in one sense, and three in another sense, that's not contradictory. I don't care what the Jehovah's Witnesses say. I don't care what Charles Taze Russell had to say. I don't care that they invoke John Calvin himself on John 10 30 and say, well, he didn't believe in a Trinity of persons. Yes, he did. You're lying. You're just lying. And brethren, as you consider Trinitarian heresy and error, as you consider the fact that many Christians today, again, kudos, I believe in the Trinity. Okay, well, what does that mean? Well, I'm not too sure. What does the devil do, or what is true of the devil in terms of his nature to advance his cause? Well, he's a murderer, right? Look at Planned Parenthood. That demonstrates. Look at the utter disregard for the image of God in man today. Yeah, it's wicked, wretched, abominable humans that are dead in Adam. But what is that owing to? It ultimately is owing to the devil, who's a murderer from the beginning. But what else is unique to the devil? He's a liar. You don't think he's going to invoke so-called do-gooder Christians to deny the Trinity? To deny that which is absolutely crucial and essential for us to know? Brethren, I've said it many times. You could be wrong on the doctrine of the last things. You can be a premillennialist. You can be an amillennialist. You could be a postmillennialist. We'll all sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb. You can't be wrong on who God is. Well, how do you say that? John 8, 24. What does Jesus say? If you do not believe that I am, not that I'm being, that I'm physical, that I have blood flowing through my veins, but he says, if you do not believe that I am, Genesis 3, 14, Moses says, who do I say sent me? Tell them I am who I am sent you. Jesus says that. If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. I don't know a place in Holy Scripture where it says, if you do not affirm amillennialism, you will die in your sins. If you're not a premillennialist, you're going to die in your sins. If you don't use the Trinity Psalter hymnal, you're gonna die in your sins. If you don't go to that particular church on Wellington Avenue, you're gonna die. It doesn't say that, brethren. But if you deny who God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is, you die in your sins. See, that's why I'm trying to take some time. You're not, I am just so noble and wonderful, the most noble of all. That's not it. I just think we need to think clearly on the Trinity. Oh, let's just love Jesus. Which Jesus are you loving? Are you loving God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father through whom all things were made? If so, then welcome, brother. But if it's the Jesus that makes you feel happy, the Jesus that makes you feel good, or the Jesus that sanctions your sin, or the Jesus that's okay with communism, or the Jesus that you invoke for whatever wretched reason you have, You gotta get in your Bible and learn who Jesus really is. Because if you don't believe that he is I am, then you will die in your sins. And again, just so you don't think I'm making that up, toward the end of John chapter eight, he does it again. He says, Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, he was glad. How do you think the Jews responded? You're not yet 50 years old and have you seen Abraham? You don't have that pedigree. You don't have that longevity. You don't go back in time, Jesus. Look at that, John chapter eight, specifically at verse 57. Then the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, there it is, I am. Now, lest you think I'm making this up, look at the Jews' response according to verse 59. Then they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. The Lord God Most High, the true and living God, exists eternally as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. That's the eternal processions in God. When it comes to the economy of redemption, the Son takes on our humanity. The Son is sent by the Father to redeem those under the law. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit so that they might indeed be able to cry, Abba, Father! So what we see in terms of the temporal missions, God saving His people from their sins, reflects or reveals something that is true of God in Himself. And I would suggest that that's exactly what John does in his gospel. He wants you to see the temporal missions. He wants you to see the works of the Spirit and the Son. But he wants you to see behind the scenes as well, that this reflects who God is. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one true and living God. And when we look at the Holy Spirit, we see those things all predicated of Him. The eternal procession, the temporal mission, the Spirit is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, Romans 8, 9, and 11. The Spirit is a gift given by the Father, according to Luke 11, 13. And the Spirit is a gift given by the Son, according to Acts 2, 33. So brethren, when you work your way through scripture and you start to look at it in these sorts of ways, you go, oh yeah. If I were to take a quiz of somebody in another church, and I hope not here, but it may happen here, where does the Bible teach that God is triune? Well, Matthew 28 and 2 Corinthians 13, 14. Good. That's great. But those are two among many, many, many, many, many passages. Do you know the Old Testament? I think it's Isaiah 61. You could grieve the Spirit there. Do you know how many times in the book of Hebrews it speaks of the written revelation of the Old Testament as the Spirit says? The Holy Spirit is a person, a divine person, one in substance, one in being with the Father and with the Son. I think it is summarized well in one of those guardrails called the Nicene Creed. So in 325, they hammer out the creed. They get the Father, they get the Son. And as I mentioned in a theology class one time, what happens after they write these creeds? That's it, it's settled, everybody go home. No, people start asking questions. People start challenging. People start to scratch their melons and say, well, what about the Holy Spirit? So in 381, that's when they put the part in about the Holy Spirit. Does that stop everything? No, because then there's questions. Well, if Jesus is God, then how can he also be man? Well, that's the creed at Chalcedon in 451. See, the theological enterprise is legitimate. Asking questions, seeking answers, doing theology with one another, listening to the ancient church, listening to those gifts that were given by Christ to the church. So I would suggest in Nicaea in 381, they nailed it. When we ask the question, does John's gospel teach this? The absolute positive answer is yes, in the affirmative. Jesus is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father, through whom all things were made. That's the prologue. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. And then in verse three, all things were made by him. Nothing came to pass without him. It is the truth of Holy Scripture, one glorious God, three wondrous persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. We're gonna end here. We'll pick it up next week. As I said, we're slowing it down. If anything has confused you, don't say, well, I'm never going back to that church again. Please give us another kick at the can next week. But in conclusion, one of the ministries of the Spirit when he comes into this world from the Father and the Son is to make much of Jesus. That's what he does. He's another helper that shines the spotlight on Jesus. Why does he do that? Are they in competition? No! He does that because in the realm of redemption, in the economy of salvation, that's his particular task. He comes on the day of Pentecost, not to dazzle people with tongue speaking, but to set forth the Lordship and the glory of Jesus at the right hand of the Father, who has given the Spirit in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. And so if the Spirit wants to make much of Jesus, that's what I want us to end on today. Jesus makes this simple statement in John 14, 12. He says, most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, So what does that mean? Disciples, those who believe on Him, are going to go out and do greater works. Notice that that's how they become disciples. You know the word disciple simply means follower, right? Follower of Jesus. Well, how does one become a follower? Well, according to John 14, 12, it's not through your works. It's not through your efforts. It's not through your labors. It's not through your religion. It's through faith in the son of God. And again, this is a constant emphasis throughout John's gospel. Just a couple of specimen passages. Look at John one in the prologue, specifically at verse 12. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. Notice, to those who believe in His name. John 3, specifically at verse 16, most famous verse probably of the Bible among all people. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Look at John 6, specifically at verse 39. Now think about this. You may be in a sinful state right now. You may have broken relationships right now. You may be in big trouble at work right now. You may be conscious of the fact that you've got big trouble with God. And it might rise up at some point, and I hope it does, and I pray it does, for you to say, what is the will of God for me? I've tried to get better, and I fail miserably. I tried to stop this particular addiction, and I failed miserably. I tried to be a better employee, and I fail miserably. I'm sure at some level that's the will of God for me. at a level a bit further down the scale. Look at verse 40. Here's the will of God for you. If you're not a believer, if you're not a Christian, if you are dead in your sins, this is God's will for you. Verse 40, and this is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. And then one final text in John 20. If we ask the question, John, why'd you write John? John 20, specifically verses 30 and 31. You know, sometimes if you have an assignment to write a paper, you typically put your thesis statement at the beginning. My paper is going to argue that the death penalty is true, that the death penalty is biblical, and the death penalty is the right response to a nation filled with criminals. You set that out at the forefront, and then you argue in terms of the support of that thesis. John puts his thesis at the end. Notice in 20, 30, and 31, which is perfectly legit, by the way. I'm not standing over John saying, well, you should have put it in the front. No, no, you can do that. That's fine. Notice what he says in 20, 30. Truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these, these signs that are written, are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. You may not have got all the distinctions, and the unity, and the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, and the unbegotten, and the begotten, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. I grant that. It's new stuff for a lot of us. We're trying to work our way through it. We're thankful that God has blessed the church with men that help us along that way. The one thing you need to know this morning is that God is a holy God. He's a righteous God. The Bible says that His eye is too pure to look upon any evil. That doesn't mean He doesn't see it. It means He doesn't look approvingly upon any evil. God is holy, holy, holy. The angels, in the presence of God, they've got wings. With two of those wings, they cover their feet. With two of those wings, they fly. And with two of those wings, they cover their face. Why is that? because he's holy, holy, holy. That's their job. Those angels live and exist to stand in the presence of God and say, holy, holy, holy. Not just thrice, but over and over and over again. Antiphonal praise. That God is holy. That God made you to serve Him, to obey Him, to do what He calls you to do. He's given a record of that in what we call the Ten Commandments. Don't be an idolater. That means don't put anything before God. Don't be a blasphemer. That means don't make, you know, God's name a curse in your lips. Observe his day. Be subordinate to the authorities that he has appointed in your life. Don't murder people. Don't commit adultery with people. Don't steal from people. Don't lie to people. Don't covet from people. That's his law. Well, that's what we find in Scripture. We also find that we've got problems, right? We don't do what God says. We fail, we sin, we reject, we resist. We're like that kid that you have to threaten to throw out of the house because he's not getting his act together. So what happens? The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He lives for us, he dies for us, he's raised again for us, such that everyone who believes in him will have everlasting life. This is not go fix yourself. It's not go get better. It's not be a better you. It's believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That's the glorious gospel of free and sovereign grace that all who come to him, he will in no wise cast out. He will receive you. He will bless you. He will give you those benefits of justification by His grace through faith. He will sanctify you through the power of His Holy Spirit, and He will one day glorify you, which means bring you into heaven to reign and rule with Him forever and ever, world without end. Amen. That is what you need. That is who you need. And the way of access is through faith in Him. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the truth revealed in that word that you are one glorious God who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We confess that these things at times are difficult. Help us to keep our noses in the scripture. Help us as well to stay on the road with the good guardrails that you have furnished through your church. And give us grace, Lord God, to value, to supremely prize that Lord Jesus Christ who said that if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. May many today come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. And we pray in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, let us stand and we'll sing 564. 564 in praise to our great and glorious God. ♪ With holy truth and wondrous words ♪ ♪ Sing all glory to God himself ♪ ♪ With holy truth and wondrous words ♪ ♪ Sing all glory to God himself ♪ ♪ Blessed be this world ♪ Grace to you and peace from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to his God and father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Lord, go with us now. Help us to sanctify the day, to call it a delight, and to find joy in fellowship and in the person of our blessed Savior. And we ask this in His most holy name. Amen. Well, please be seated for a brief time of meditation.