Welcome to the preaching ministry of Tri-City Baptist Church in Chandler, Arizona. Our desire is that God would be magnified through the preaching of His Word, and that Christians would be challenged, strengthened, and edified in their personal walk with Christ. It's a joy to be able to open God's Word again with you on the topic of the Holy Spirit's Christ-exalting ministry. We began last Sunday night, and I explained at that point that a preacher has two options when approaching a topic found in Scripture. One option would be to exposit a particular passage and walk through what that passage has to say about that topic. And the other approach is to hit a variety of passages from across the scriptures so that we have the perspective from really many different apostles, many different writers, and what they have to contribute. So tonight, I am essentially going to jump into the second half of that. I explained last week that I was doing a approach that was much more textual, working through one particular text, and we worked through John chapter 14 through 16 to get the context for particularly a section of a few verses in chapter 16. Let me give you a summary of the four points from last week's message. If you haven't listened to it, I'm not gonna spend a lot of time reviewing it, but it is available. And what we're gonna cover tonight is going to expand on it, touch on a lot of the same topics, a lot of the same truths, but from a slightly different perspective. So hopefully they work together well in expanding our understanding of what the scriptures say about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Last week we gave special attention to John chapter 16 verses 7 through 15 and in those verses we saw first of all the Holy Spirit is commissioned by Christ to help His disciples. Jesus said, I send you a helper. Jesus was going away, but He was sending a helper. The Spirit is commissioned by Christ as a helper. Of the ministry that the Spirit has, the various ministries that the Spirit has, one of them is to convict the world of the work of Christ. Convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. And I observe that that conviction is in one sense objective. The Spirit witnesses, declares truthfully that we are sinners, that we fall short of God's righteousness, and that we are therefore under judgment. And we can try to distract ourselves from that truth, we can try to ignore that truth, we can try to argue that truth, none of that changes the truth of the matter. But one of the gracious ministries of the Spirit is to also give us the personal conviction that those things apply to us. and thereby to draw us to Christ who is the Savior and the answer to our sin by his righteousness so that we can avoid God's judgment that we deserve. But the Spirit had a particular ministry to believers and to the apostles in particular and that was to declare the truth for Christ. You would think that after three years with Jesus, the apostles would have known it all. except that Jesus says in his last hours that there were many things he still had to teach the disciples and they were not yet prepared to receive them. But after he went away, he would send the helper, the spirit, who would guide them into all truth. You say, what kinds of truths did he reveal to them that they didn't already have? The scriptures contain the account of the truths that the spirit sent by Christ bore witness to. And in fact, the Spirit glorifies Christ by speaking for Christ. Christ said that everything he had he received from the Father, and he gave to the Spirit to give to his apostles so that they could write it down for us. So what I would like to do tonight is expand on that by explaining how the New Testament describes the work of the Holy Spirit. What we're gonna do tonight will include several different points that I'm gonna draw from across the New Testament. And I recognize that, in a sense, it's gonna be content-heavy. I'm gonna give you a lot of principles drawn from texts, and I will give you a lot of scripture. My goal in doing that is to orient us to what the scriptures actually say. When it comes to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, there are a lot of theological issues that we could wade down into. There's a lot of things that we could wrestle with on a very careful and logical basis to demonstrate why certain behaviors or certain teachings or certain things are better or worse applications of the scripture. But in a brief message like tonight, what I want to do is orient us to what the scriptures say so that by understanding the truth, we will be better equipped to recognize the multitude of errors that are present when it comes to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. I'm not gonna give you every passage of the New Testament that talks about the Spirit. This is not gonna be exhaustive, it's gonna be exemplary. These are examples of things that the New Testament has to say. So let's work through these and some of them will be familiar, like the first one. The first thing the New Testament has to say about the Spirit is that the Spirit bears witness of the truth. And if I were to put this in a principle for you, I would argue that a genuine work of the Spirit will highlight truth and doctrine. Jesus said, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you the things to come. Jesus had said that He was going to pray to the Father, and the Father would send the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, but He dwells in you. He will bear witness of the truth. And we made this observation last week that this Holy Spirit witnesses like you and I witness. A genuine work of the Spirit is going to point people to Christ because the Spirit bears witness of the truth. of Christ. First John chapter 5 verse 6 tells us it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth. Jesus said, the Spirit will testify of me. So a principle that we could get out of that when it comes to evaluating different claims of the Spirit's work would be to recognize that the Spirit's ministry is not to exalt himself. The Spirit's ministry is to exalt Christ, the Savior. And Jesus in his ministry points us to the Father, that God may be all in all. So a movement or a teacher that makes it all about the Holy Spirit to the expense of the witness of Christ is probably misguided. A third principle that comes from the fact that the Spirit bears witness of the truth is this, that shared experience, and this would include something like glossolalia, or what is often referred to as speaking in tongues, though different than what Acts describes as speaking in tongues, this unintelligible speech that's distinct from known languages, that kind of a shared experience does not and cannot replace sound doctrine. There is a tendency among people to identify a shared experience as very unifying. You know that. There is probably certain people that you get along well with, not because you have hardly anything in common, but maybe you've visited the same country. or you enjoy the same kind of food, or you enjoy the same kind of sport, or you were there when a particularly moving event happened, you were both present, and there's a camaraderie there because of that shared experience. You feel like there's a unity there. When it comes to the scriptures, though, when it comes to the church, when it comes to the doctrine of our Lord, a shared experience cannot be more fundamental to our unity than our shared belief. When it comes to the present-day expression of spiritual gifts, for example, there are charismatic Baptists and charismatic Catholics and charismatic Methodists and charismatic Mormons. But sharing the experience of speaking in tongues is not the same as sharing the Spirit of Christ. In fact, according to a variety of secular and religious sources, especially linguists who study these things, this experience of glossolalia is present in a variety of cults and false religions, including paganism, shamanism, modern mediums, and niche cults like the Way International and Japan's God Light Association. So sharing an experience doesn't mean we share the spirit of God. And scripture is actually very clear about that. Charismatic Mormons deny that Jesus is God the Son. But Paul says that anyone who denies the Son is anti-Christ. Oneness Pentecostalism denies the Trinity. The oneness there in their name refers to the concept that there's only one person who expresses himself in different modes. We addressed that last week just by looking at the way the New Testament talks about the three persons of the triune God. The scriptures are clear about that doctrine. And so, 1 John 2, John writes, You have an anointing from the Holy One and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son and whoever denies the Son doesn't have the Father either. He continues on in verse 26 of the same chapter. Another reference to the Holy Spirit. Charismatic Catholics and Charismatic Mormons deny that salvation is by grace apart from works. But Paul says of those who would make works a basis for justification, that there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than that which was preached to you, let him be accursed. Now, I'm not saying that all people who are Charismatics are unbelievers. In fact, there are some, there are many Pentecostals and Charismatics who genuinely love and serve the Lord. But shared experience cannot replace sound doctrine. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. The Spirit bears witness of the truth. So if a certain shared experience or a certain spiritual gift is not the test of a genuine work of the Spirit, if that's not the test of truth, then what is? Well, it's one of the gifts that the Spirit has given us, and that is the gift of Scripture. Because the Holy Spirit, the New Testament teaches us, superintended the writing of Scripture. Therefore, a genuine work of the Spirit is going to make much of the Scriptures. Peter writes, no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. Okay, this wasn't made up by individuals. Rather, prophecy has never come by the will of man. But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. So if there's a question, hey, we have this issue, what would the Spirit say about this topic? I think the Spirit would say, hey, you should read my book. I've written instruction for you. Read what the Spirit has to say. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, in a genuine work, is going to work through the Scriptures, not apart from the Scriptures. In fact, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14, when he's dealing with gifts, particularly the gifts of prophecy and tongues in the Corinthian church, he makes the statement that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. I think what he's arguing there is the spirits of these prophets who are speaking in the context of that local church are subject to the prophets who have written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. So you cannot have somebody say, I have this vision, I have this prophecy from the Spirit, and it contradicts something that the Spirit has already said. That would be confusion and God is not the author of confusion. In fact, if you look at scripture, and here I'm gonna dip into an Old Testament passage that I think is very important and sheds light on what Paul says, but a true prophet is always going to be faithful to God's previous revelation. In Deuteronomy chapter 13, Moses warns, God warns through Moses, what if there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he gives you a sign or a wonder? Okay, imagine that. Imagine a prophet comes to you, says, I'm a prophet, and he predicts a sign or a wonder. Okay, what should you do with that prophet? Well, first you might pay attention to see if that sign or wonder actually happens. If it doesn't happen, not a prophet of God, you don't need to listen to him. But what if it does happen? Predicts a sign, a sign or a wonder happens. Maybe a staff thrown on the ground, it becomes a snake, and you pick up that snake by the tail and it turns back into a staff. Or water in the land that's turned to blood. What if there's a sign and they complete the sign? Then what should you do? Well, you listen to his message. What if the sign comes to pass, but he says to you, let's go after other gods, which you haven't known, and let's serve them? Well, then you shouldn't listen to the words of that prophet or the dreamer of dreams. Well, why did his sign come to pass? The passage tells you. The Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You should walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice. You shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because you spoke in order to turn you away from the Lord your God. Can you imagine a prophet coming, a dreamer coming, giving a sign, a wonder that happens? And then sliding in a message to deny the Lord. What should you do? You need to pass the test and follow the Lord and not be swayed by an experience or a sign or a wonder. The rod turned into a snake? Well, Pharaoh's magicians could do that. Water turned to blood? Pharaoh's magicians could do that. The message has to agree with what God has previously revealed. So God might allow a prophet, a false prophet to give a real sign, but the test of a true prophecy is whether it agrees with what God has already revealed. And so Paul says, if anyone thinks himself a prophet or spiritual, this is 1 Corinthians 14 verse 37, if anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, then let him acknowledge that the things that I write to you are the commands of the Lord. A genuine prophet, a spiritual person will submit to apostolic instruction. And so I would raise the question, why would we need a continuing gift of prophecies? If somebody stands up with a word from the Lord, how do you know if it's from God or not? You compare it to what he's written. And if he's written it, why did you need a new revelation? There's a very practical sense in which the completion of Scripture finishes the need for some of those sign gifts that operated in the apostolic age, that were authenticating the messenger with his message, but given this sure word of prophecy, we do well to pay attention to it. Of particular import, though, of the things that the Spirit has revealed in Scripture is the fact that the Spirit teaches us about salvation in Christ. And the Spirit teaches about salvation in Christ. First Peter chapter one, Peter tells us that the salvation that the prophets were speaking of, they actually were inquiring and searching carefully of him who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or what manner of time that the Spirit who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. These are the Old Testament prophets and they're writing things and they're trying to figure out exactly what it is that the Spirit means by the things that he has given them to record. What manner, what time, when these things were gonna happen. These are the things that have now, Peter says, been reported to you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Spirit sent from heaven. So the Spirit inspired these things in the Old Testament scriptures, and then he enabled the prophets, or the apostles in this case, to speak the truth to the New Testament church about the things that they had seen of which the Spirit had prophesied. So the Spirit is teaching about salvation in Christ. So a genuine work of the Spirit is going to emphasize the importance of the gospel. The Spirit is not going to minimize the significance of the gospel in the interest of some superficial unity. He is going to emphasize the truth about Christ. And a genuine work of the Spirit will emphasize the true gospel. Somebody who denies the gospel but claims to be filled with the Spirit is seriously mistaken or is an outright fraud. But the Spirit wants that message to be known. So another ministry of the Spirit is to assist the work of Christ, particularly in expanding the reach of this message about Christ. So a genuine work of the Spirit is going to further the mission that Jesus Christ himself established. The Holy Spirit is called the helper after all, John 14 verse 16. And it's interesting to think about the narrative of the book of Acts in light of this purpose. The book of the Bible, as we have in our English Bibles, is often called the Acts of the Apostles. That's a title that is given to it, and it's an appropriate title. It describes what the narrative is about. It's the things that the apostles are doing. But the opening verses actually tip us off that there's something more going on. Acts was not the first book of the Bible written by Luke. He wrote another book of the Bible and it was Luke, the gospel according to Luke. And in that case, he wrote to a man named Theophilus. So at the beginning of the book of Acts, Luke writes, the former account I made, O Theophilus, of all the things that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day in which he was taken up. Okay, so Luke, the gospel of Luke, is the first installment of what Jesus Christ was doing up until his ascension. In fact, the book of Luke concludes with the ascension. But the book of Acts opens with the account of the ascension and picks up from there. So Luke says, the former account was what Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up. So if Luke is the things that Jesus began to do and teach, then what's Acts? The things that Jesus continued to do and teach from heaven through the apostles. So some have suggested maybe you call it the Acts of the Ascended Christ. But Jesus was going to do those works through someone whom he had commissioned to help the apostles. In fact, we saw that right in verse two. He was taken up after he through the Holy Spirit gave commands to the apostles. And so in Acts chapter one, verse eight, we read Jesus saying, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses to me. So the book of Acts then becomes the Acts of the ascended Christ through the apostles by the Holy Spirit. as the Spirit assists the work that Christ is doing to build His church. And as you go through the book of Acts and watch how it describes the Holy Spirit's aid for the apostles as they witness for Christ, there is a certain evidence of the Spirit that keeps coming up over and over and over. And it's not the gift of tongues. That happens occasionally, but not as frequently as this. For example, Acts 4 31, when they had prayed, the place where they assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts chapter 7 describes Stephen standing before the Sanhedrin, he being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven, saw the glory of God, Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, look, I see heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. The primary evidence of Spirit-filling in the book of Acts is a bold witness for Jesus Christ. Is that any surprise to you if you have followed Jesus' teaching about the purpose for which He commissioned the Spirit to come? You want to see somebody who's filled with the Spirit? They're bold about their witness for Christ. But the ministry of the Spirit goes beyond getting people to hear the good news. There's a ministry of the Spirit that continues on, and one of those things is that the Spirit establishes and assures us of our relationship with Christ. The Spirit establishes that relationship, and the Spirit assures us of that relationship. Let me give you some example passages. Romans chapter eight, Paul says this, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Okay, Paul's been building to that point, so let me say that again to make sure we understand where his starting point is. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But, You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. A genuine work of the Holy Spirit is going to connect spirit indwelling with salvation, not with a second blessing experience. Paul is adamant. You cannot please God if you are in the flesh. What makes the difference between whether you're in the flesh or not in the flesh? It's whether you have the spirit dwelling in you. If you do not have God's spirit, you cannot please God. you are not one of his children. But if you have God's spirit, then you are guaranteed of future resurrection and glorification because of the spirit whom God has made to dwell in you. Galatians chapter four tells us God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who are 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're no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir. of God through Christ. The Spirit exalts Christ in your life by establishing and assuring you of your union with Christ, so that you are an heir, not merely of justification, as wonderful as that is. But an heir of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You are an heir of all that God has promised you and the guarantee of that is that God has given you His Spirit. But that assurance also works in us as we live out the fruit of the Spirit with love towards one another. So a genuine work of the Spirit gives assurance of salvation that comes when we live in genuine love for one another. So 1 John 4, verse 12, no one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he's given us his Spirit. When you live in the Spirit, when you live, shall we say, spiritually, You have the assurance that you are one of God's children. And so it's no wonder that when we grieve the Spirit by living in a way that is antithetical to the Spirit's working that we wonder sometimes whether we're rightly related to God. And it's the Spirit who gives us that assurance when we live in genuine love for one another. The Spirit also A genuine work of the Spirit also brings unity across cultural and ethnic and social boundaries. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, again a spiritual gifts passage, Paul says, So also is Christ, for by one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we've all been made to drink into one spirit. I appreciated Emilio emphasizing this in his summer growth series this morning on critical race theory. How critical race theory is an effort to fragment people by emphasizing their differences and sowing discord among people by establishing this irreconcilable conflict. But in Christ, that conflict is gone. And Paul addresses your social economic status, he addresses your ethnic and national background, and he says, in the Spirit you are baptized into one body. That kind of unity, that kind of establishment comes because of the Spirit. And so it's actually the baptism of the Spirit who defines who is in the body of Christ. I read in a book this week the statement by an author multiple times. He said, the baptism of the Spirit is not automatic. You gotta wait for it and hope God eventually gives it to you. The problem is that Paul addresses the fact that it is by one spirit that we are baptized into one body. It is the baptism of the spirit that defines if you're in the body of Christ or not. In a sense, I would agree, the baptism of the spirit is not automatic. You have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But when you have the salvation of God, he has given you his spirit. It's true in a local church, we accept people on the basis of a profession of faith. But when it comes to the body of Christ, members are defined by possession of the Spirit of Christ because of the regeneration of the Spirit that comes through faith and repentance. It is the baptism of the Spirit who defines who is in the body of Christ. Now, we started in Romans 8 here. Romans 8 goes on to describe another ministry of the Holy Spirit on our behalf. And that is that the Spirit assists our prayers. in the name of Christ. So a genuine work of the Spirit is going to be in and through, and yes, even beyond, our scripturally informed prayers to accomplish God's will. So Paul says in Romans 8, verse 26, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses because we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us. with groanings that cannot be uttered. He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. So the Spirit is an intercessor on your behalf to ask the Father for things that are in keeping with his will. But it's interesting if you run a little bit further in the passage, we read this in verse 34. What is the Holy Spirit doing? He's working together with the Son to intercede on your behalf before the Lord. Now this passage is not teaching us that we ought to pray unintelligible prayers. Okay, the groanings that cannot be uttered are not on our mouths. Those are in the mouth of the Spirit as He takes these things to God. And even then it says that the Spirit is interceding for the saints according to the will of God. That is because there are things in God's will that God hasn't revealed to us that the Spirit undertakes because He knows the mind of God perfectly. He is God. the third person of the triune, God. But we have the scriptures, we know the things that God has revealed to us, and these are the things that should inform our prayers with intelligent, scripturally informed prayers. So Paul can say, in the conclusion of the armor passage in Ephesians chapter six, we should pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit. Or Jude tells us, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. The Spirit works through prayer. So a genuine work of the Spirit is going to be connected with scripturally informed prayers that are seeking the will of God to be done. and he works with God the Son to intercede on our behalf to take those prayers to the throne of grace. So the Spirit places us in the body of Christ and then intercedes on our behalf. But the Spirit then also is going to give the body of Christ what the body needs to succeed. He equips the body of Christ for edification, for building itself up. This actually is one of the major emphases that Paul lays out in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. First Corinthians chapters 12, 13, and 14 are a major section in scripture on spiritual gifts, and one of the things that Paul is trying to emphasize for the Corinthians is that the Holy Spirit equips the body for building others up. So a genuine work of the Spirit is going to build up believers to Christian maturity. There are diversities of gifts, he says, but the same Spirit. And the manifestation of that spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. The same spirit works all these gifts, distributing to each one individually as he wills. Just like the body is one, but there's lots of body parts, lots of members. But all the members of that body, being many, are still one body. So also is Christ. The unity and the equipping of the Spirit. And a genuine work of the Spirit will enable believers to persevere in using their gifts. Pastor Scott and I were talking after last Sunday, and he drew my attention to this passage in 2 Timothy chapter one, where Paul tells Timothy, right after he reminds him to stir up the gift of God which is in him, he then says, hold fast to the pattern of sound words which you have heard, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus, and that good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. So fellow believer, a genuine work of the Spirit will look like using your unique gifts for the good of the church, for edifying one another. A spirit-filled work will edify, will mature, will build up those who are established in the faith. In conclusion then, let me give you two summary ministries of the Spirit. I know I'm hitting a lot of different things, a lot of different passages, but I think it resonates. We're familiar with these things. Let me give you two general summary ministries of the Spirit. That is that the Spirit undertakes for salvation and for sanctification. The Spirit is involved in salvation and sanctification. Let me expand on that just a little bit. First of all, the Holy Spirit transforms blind rebels into seeing saints. Titus chapter three tells us that when the kindness and love of God appeared, The love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he, that is the Father, poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. John chapter three, Jesus said, that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. So do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. the Spirit brings new birth, regeneration. It's the theological term for that, new birth. You must be born again. And a genuine work of the Spirit in that process is going to make the Scriptures clear. When Moses is read, a veil lies on their hearts, Paul said, of the Jews. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. we describe the work of the Holy Spirit to take the word of God and to apply it to our hearts in a clear way as the ministry of illumination. And illumination, as a work of the Spirit, doesn't primarily relate to the sense of the text, but to the significance of the text. So you might read a passage like, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Okay, that's understandable. I'm not saying this sacrilegiously, I'm saying this truthfully. It doesn't take the Holy Spirit for you to understand what all have sinned means. The Spirit can speak clearly. He has clearly communicated his truth. If you read that like you would read any other book, the meaning is very clear. What the Spirit does, though, is he changes all have sinned to I have sinned. How many times have you said to somebody, well, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God? They say, oh yeah, of course, we all fall short. But I think God's gonna overlook that. Well, you fall short of the glory of God. Sure, I'm not God, you're not God, we've all fallen short of God's glory, but I think I'm gonna be okay. It takes the Holy Spirit to apply the significance of that text to your hearts. That's the work of illumination, as the Spirit takes the Word of God and applies it. The Spirit is not, in other words, a shortcut to good hermeneutics. The study of Bible. If you want to know how to study the Bible, Pastor Jeff is doing a summer growth series starting next month on how to study the Bible. There is an important discipline in coming to Scripture and allowing God to speak. But the Spirit then is taking the application of that to our lives. So the Spirit is involved in transforming us from blind rebels to seeing saints. But then he also transforms wicked sinners into Christ-like saints. A genuine work of the Spirit changes us as we meditate on Christ as revealed in the Bible. The very next verse in 2 Corinthians 3 says this, but we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit saves you and then He sanctifies you. He changes you as you meditate upon Christ as revealed in Scripture. And so a genuine work of the Holy Spirit is going to display itself in a practical life change that's distinct from the corrupt culture. In Jude, Jude warns us, you beloved, remember the words that were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus, how they told you that there would be mockers in the last days, who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. They are sensual persons who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. He is called the Holy Spirit, after all. You, brethren, have been called to liberty, Paul says in Galatians chapter 5, only do not use your liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. I say this, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. These two are contrary, the one toward the other. so that you do not do the things that you wish, but if you're led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. Now, the works of the flesh are evident, and you read through the list of the works of the flesh, and it sounds like our culture. And no wonder, because they don't have God's Spirit. Without the spirit, a life comes out looking like adultery and fornication and uncleanness and lewdness and idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelies, and stuff like that. Of which, Paul said, I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, those who practice such things won't inherit the kingdom of God. Why not? Because they don't have God's Spirit. They're not united with Christ. They're not born again. But what's the fruit of the Spirit? A life that has God's Spirit working in it, transforming it from the inside out, comes out looking like love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires, so if we live in the Spirit, let's walk in the Spirit. So given all of that then, let me give you five tests that you could use when you're evaluating a claim that something is from the Spirit of God. The Scripture gives us guides for testing claims. First of all, does the teaching or the teacher exalt the true Christ by pointing people to Him and affirming the truth about Him? The Spirit is called the Spirit of Christ. Not because he's another mode of the second person of the Godhead, but because Jesus has commissioned him to bear witness to himself. Secondly, does the movement oppose worldliness? Paul says, we have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God. The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God because they're foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. But if we have the Spirit, then we can discern spiritual things. So does the movement oppose worldliness? Worldly philosophies? Worldly values? Worldly pursuits? as well as the kinds of behaviors that are conformed to those worldly values and pursuits and goals. So the Holy Spirit is going to influence people towards holiness and spiritual living. Giftedness, remember, doesn't equal spirituality. Giftedness is not the same as spirituality. In fact, that's where 1 Corinthians 13 is given to us. As Paul is describing the gifted Corinthians and then says, But if I have the greatest of gifts and have not love, I am nothing. In addition to that, a movement that builds itself by catering to worldly people's insatiable desire for wealth, or for health, or for comfort, or for sinful pleasure, that is not from the Spirit of God. Number three, does the movement point people to the Bible? Okay, the Holy Spirit is not offended if you say, where's the Scripture for that? Show me in the Scriptures where that is what God has said. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and the Bible is the Holy Spirit's book. He inspired it, he empowers it. So querying the text doesn't bypass the Spirit. It honors the Spirit. Aren't you glad for a pastor who studies the scripture before he comes to the pulpit, rather than just hoping the Spirit fills his mouth with something that's worth hearing? Because then you have confidence that you're actually hearing from God, and not just from his imagination, as wonderful as his imagination may be. Number four, does the movement elevate the truth? The spirit of truth does not contradict himself. The Spirit speaks the truth. It is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth. And finally, does that teaching or teacher produce love for God and love for others? The fruit of the Spirit is, first of all, love. Somebody who claims the presence or the gifting of the Spirit but who displays arrogance or selfishness or bitterness or anger or abuse or manipulation or sensuality is not walking in the Spirit and might not actually have the Spirit. The external demonstration of spiritual gifts can be counterfeited, but the regeneration and heart transformation of the Holy Spirit is the defining mark of somebody who has the Spirit of God. So what should we do with the New Testament teaching about the Holy Spirit? We should rejoice in the gift of God's spirit for your eternal benefit. God has given you his spirit, he is the seal, the down payment of all that God has promised you in Christ. He intercedes for you, he fills you, he gifts you. Who knows what in eternity the ministry of the spirit will mean to you and I as we are glorified in the presence of God himself. Number two, submit to the Spirit's instruction for you in the scriptures. How many times do we say, Lord, what do you want me to do? What's God's will? If we just open up the Holy Spirit's book, we would find what God's will was for us. And then number three, allow the Spirit to work through you by actively witnessing and actively serving. The ministry of the Spirit in your heart is not merely for your own benefit. It is to equip you as a member of the body and a witness to a dying world that there is a Christ and he is glorious and he is worthy of all of our devotion. The Holy Spirit exalts Christ. To you, to I.