Concluding Exhortations and Commandments (4)

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Dr. Lars Larson

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And we have a series of 18,
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I believe it is, exhortations and commands provided for us in this section.
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Some of them are very tersely stated, and yet they're very profound. They have far -reaching implications and application, which is true with verse 19.
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It's a short, it's briefly stated, command, but it has extreme importance for us, and we need to understand it.
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And so I realize that we couldn't just deal with this rather superficially. And so here we have the 12th directive in this list the
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Lord has given to us, and it is the simple command, Do not quench the
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Spirit. Or as in the King James, Quench not the Spirit. We want to consider this command by first addressing the object of the command, that being the
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Spirit. Quench not the Spirit. And then secondly, we'll understand what is the verbal content of that command, what's meant,
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Do not quench the Spirit. What does this mean? And how do we apply this to our lives?
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And so we'll conclude with several practical words of instruction in keeping this commandment.
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Quench not the Spirit. Are you faithful in this? I hope we are. And so,
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Do not quench the Spirit. And of course, what the Apostle meant by this was the
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Holy Spirit. I thought it would be good for us, due to the mention of the Holy Spirit in our text, that we take some time to give special attention to this
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Third Person of the Blessed Holy Trinity. I don't know that we do so enough.
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And so it would be good for us to give our direct attention to Him. Who is the
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Holy Spirit? He is, of course, I would hope we'd all confess, without hesitation, the
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Third Person of the Holy Trinity. This has been held, of course, and proclaimed today, ever since the early days of the
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Christian era. The ancient Apostles' Creed, dating to the 4th century AD, states the matter,
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I believe in God the Father, Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only
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Son, our Lord, who did the Holy Spirit conceive. I believe in the
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Holy Spirit. A Trinitarian statement. The Holy Spirit is, of course, of one substance, or essence, power, and eternity, with God the
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Father and God the Son. And so there is but one God, whose essence is undivided. Three persons, one essence.
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All three persons of the Holy Trinity are infinite, without beginning. Therefore, but one
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God, who is not to be divided in nature and being. We don't believe in three gods. Triism, but monotheism.
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One God, three persons. The Holy Spirit, therefore, should be the object of our faith and worship.
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We should render to Him that which we owe and offer to our God, for the Holy Spirit is
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God. In the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is normally mentioned in the third place, when all three persons of the
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Trinity are mentioned. And so, of course, usually it's God the Father first, the Son second, the
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Holy Spirit third. Although that order is different in some places, particularly in Peter's epistle, interestingly.
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Our Lord Jesus first spoke of the Holy Spirit, in terms that set forth our Christian understanding of the
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Holy Spirit as the third person of the blessed Holy Trinity. And so the words of our Lord are recorded in this way.
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Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the
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Holy Spirit, against the Spirit, will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the
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Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
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Now, blasphemy is a crime that can only be committed against God. You can't blaspheme me,
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I can't blaspheme you. Only God can be blasphemed. And so the Lord Jesus speaks of blasphemy against the
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Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is God. We really don't have time to talk about that sin.
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It seems to have been rather unique during the ministry of our Lord Jesus. Those who opposed
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Him knew perfectly well that God was accomplishing miracles through the
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Lord Jesus, but they were attributing that work to the devil, and they were blaspheming the
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Holy Spirit. We might consider the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.
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Christians, of course, who are informed by the New Testament revelation may see the person of the Holy Spirit in the
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Old Testament everywhere. The Holy Spirit is mentioned throughout both
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Testaments. It begins in the second verse of Genesis 1, right at the beginning of the
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Bible. 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
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Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Yet even though the
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Spirit of God is mentioned here and in many other places in the Old Testament, the Jews did not view the
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Holy Spirit as a distinct person of the Holy Trinity. It really came to light in the
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New Testament record. Although it's everywhere in the Old Testament, it wasn't understood as such. It's really the informed
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New Testament reader that understands that of the Old Testament. The Jews view the use of the term the
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Holy Spirit as referring to the power of Yahweh, which is really the true
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Jewish word that is commonly translated as Jehovah. The Holy Spirit is understood by the
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Jews to be a force, not a person. Actually, the words
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Holy Spirit are used only three times in the Old Testament. Once in Psalm 51, verse 11, in which
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King David prayed, Do not cast me away from your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
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And then twice in Isaiah 63, verses 10 and 11. But they rebelled and grieved his
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Holy Spirit, so he turned himself against them as an enemy, and he fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old,
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Moses and his people, saying, Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who put his
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Holy Spirit within them? Those are the only three occasions in the Old Testament where the expression
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Holy Spirit is found. Now, of course, the word
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Spirit is found hundreds of times. And we would argue that in many places where only the word
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Spirit is used, it's a reference to the Holy Spirit. But the expression Holy Spirit is just used on those three occasions.
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But again, the Jews never regarded the Holy Spirit as a distinct person. Here are the comments of one
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Jewish source. The Holy Spirit in Judaism generally refers to the divine aspect of prophecy and wisdom.
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It also refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of the
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Most High God over the universe and over its creatures in given contexts. In Judaism, God is one.
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The idea of God as a duality or trinity among Gentiles may be shatoof, or not purely monotheistic, is what they mean by that.
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They don't believe we're monotheistic. The term ruach ha -kadesh is the
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Hebrew for Holy Spirit. And by the way, there it literally is ruach, the
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Hebrew word for Spirit, same word as wind or breath. And then the second word ha -kadesh, the first two letters, ha, is the definite article, ha.
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And then kadesh, meaning holy. And so literally it's Spirit the
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Holy. And so this expression, Holy Spirit, is found frequently in Jewish literature,
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Talmudic and Midrashic literature. Sometimes it signifies prophetic inspiration, while in others it's used as a hypostatization or a metonym for God, a word which is used in the place of God, meaning
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God. The rabbinic Holy Spirit has a certain degree of personification, but it remains a quality belonging to God, one of His attributes, and not, as in mainstream
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Christianity, representative of any metaphysical divisions in the
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Godhead. And so, you know, Judaism denies, of course, the
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Holy Trinity. And so in Judaism, the references to the Spirit of God, the
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Holy Spirit of, and there you have the consonants of the Hebrew word Yahweh, abound. However, it has rejected any idea of the
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Eternal God as being either dual or triune. The Jewish understanding of God and their failure and refusal to acknowledge or recognize the
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Holy Spirit as a person should influence how Christians regard the Jewish religion. There are efforts among Christians today to have fellowship, and I put that in quotations, fellowship with Jews over the common belief in the
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God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I saw this in Sacramento back in the early 80s, where a group of Jewish people and Christians met at the
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Bethel Temple, the big assembly of God there in Sacramento, and they walked about a quarter of a mile to the
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Jewish synagogue, and they held a joint worship service to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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And I believe that's so contrary to Scripture, to the will of God. And so we need to remember that they're not,
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Jewish religion is not Trinitarian, and the Lord Jesus Himself declared, if you fail to honor the
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Son, you do not honor the Father. They do not honor God through their religion.
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And that's not in any way denigrating them. We're talking about issues of truth, spiritual truth here, as set forth in the
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Scriptures. A Trinitarian understanding of the Godhead is essential for any true fellowship between people of faith.
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If there's not an agreement on who Jesus Christ is, if there's not an agreement on who the Trinity is, there is no basis, no common ground, between us.
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Thankfully we live in a free society, we're free to believe whatever we want, and we're happy for that freedom, and we want that freedom for everyone.
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They can believe what they want, but that does not require us to value what other people believe, or give it credibility.
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People are free to believe what they want to believe, and we insist on freedom to believe that they're believing wrongly.
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That's viewed as very intolerant in these days, but that's the way it is.
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We're to give equal regard to each of the persons of the Holy Trinity, including the Holy Spirit. Hear the words of Thomas Watson from his book,
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A Body of Divinity. Put that book on the top ten list of Christian books, as far as I'm concerned.
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If there be one God subsisting in three persons, then let us give equal reverence to all the persons in the
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Trinity. There is not more or less in the Trinity. The Father is not more God than the Son and the
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Holy Ghost. There is an order in the Godhead, but no degrees. One person is not a majority or supereminence above another, therefore we must give equal worship to all the persons, that all men should honor the
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Son, even as they honor the Father. Adore unity in Trinity. And then he wrote with respect to obedience to God.
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Again, it's Trinitarian. Obey all the persons in the Blessed Trinity, for all of them are
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God. Obey God the Father, Christ himself. As man, obey God the
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Father. And much more must we. Obey God the Son. Kiss the
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Son, lest he be angry. Kiss him with a kiss of obedience. Christ's commands are not grievous.
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Whatever he commands is for our interest and benefit. Oh, then kiss the Son. Why do the elders throw down their crowns at the feet of Christ and fall down before the
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Lamb? But to testify their subjection and to profess their readiness to serve and obey him.
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And then here it is. Obey God the Holy Spirit. Our souls are breathed into us by the glorious Spirit.
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The Spirit of God has made me, wrote Job. Our souls are adorned in the Blessed Spirit.
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Every grace is a divine spark lighted in the soul by the Holy Ghost. Nay more, the
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Spirit of God sanctified Christ's human nature. He united it with the divine, fitted the man
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Christ to be our mediator. Well then, does this third person in the Trinity, the Holy Ghost, deserve to be obeyed?
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For he is God, and this tribute of homage and obedience is due to him from us.
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Amen. Thomas Watson. Now let's consider the following conclusions that we may draw from Scripture regarding the
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Holy Spirit. First, the Holy Spirit is a person and is amply testified in Scripture.
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By the way, if you don't think this is relevant, my good friend Warren Oshelow brought a friend down to our men's group about two months ago, and Warren told me afterwards, this man is really troubled about the
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Trinity. He doesn't believe it. He listens to our radio program regularly, and he knew the Bible in many ways, but he didn't believe in the
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Holy Spirit as a person. And here, this is how I would answer him. And so some, like the
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Jehovah's Witnesses, believe the Holy Spirit to be merely the force or power of God, just like the Jews. But there are attributes of personhood attributed to the
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Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, and I listed them in the verses. We won't cite the verses, but the
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Holy Spirit speaks. The Holy Spirit reveals. The Holy Spirit guides into all truth.
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He teaches. The Holy Spirit provides comfort. He counsels, helps, loves the believer.
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The Holy Spirit encourages others. The Holy Spirit warns people. The Holy Spirit appoints people to spiritual office.
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The Holy Spirit may be grieved. He may be lied to. He may be resisted. And again,
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He may even be blasphemed. Other personal qualities are ascribed to the
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Holy Spirit. He has understanding or wisdom. He exercises His will and His power.
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And so we see these attributes and qualities of the Holy Spirit in numerous places. Clearly, the
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Bible sets forth the Holy Spirit as a person. On occasion, when the
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Holy Spirit was speaking, He used personal pronouns to describe Himself, thereby showing His personhood.
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While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, the Spirit speaks, Behold, three men are seeking you.
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Arise therefore, go down, go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. Only a person could speak in that fashion.
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And so the Holy Spirit uses the first person singular pronoun to describe Himself. Only a person can do that.
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And then in Acts 13, we read of the Holy Spirit calling and separating Christians for missionary work.
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As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to me
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Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them. And so again, we see the personhood, the personality, by the use of that first person singular pronoun,
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I. That the Holy Spirit is God is also amply clear from Scripture. Not only is
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He a person, but He is God. And there are a number of ways we can show the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
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You see a whole list there. I'm not going to read all of them. But the Old Testament identified
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Him as the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Yahweh, Spirit of the Lord God, God's Good Spirit, God's Holy Spirit, Yahweh's Holy Spirit, repeatedly.
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And then when we turn to the New Testament, we see a number of appellations, names, attributes of the
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Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Living God, Seven -Souled Spirit of God, all the way down,
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Spirit of Grace, Spirit of Glory in God. All these descriptions and titles so associate the
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Holy Spirit with God are the attributes of God that one would conclude they are strong evidence of the deity of the
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Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is said alongside God the Father and God the
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Son in a manner that shows His separateness from them as a person, but His equality with them in the one essence of the
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Godhead. And so He indeed is God. And so we have in Jesus is baptism.
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I referenced Matthew 3 there. We're going to run through these because of the time. 1 Corinthians 12.
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There's a Trinitarian expression where the Spirit, the
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Lord Jesus, God the Father, working together, giving spiritual gifts to Christians.
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2 Corinthians 3 .14, we have this doxology. The grace of the
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Lord Jesus, the love of God, that would be the Father, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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There's an equality there, isn't there? All three persons in the same expression. There's equality there.
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And yet there's distinction there. Ephesians 2 .18, for through Him, Jesus would both have access by one
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Spirit to the Father. There you have the Trinity. Ephesians 4 .4
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-6, there's one body, one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, that would be
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Jesus, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in you all.
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And so you have these Trinitarian expressions where all persons of the Godhead are mentioned in a number of different places.
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Perhaps one of the clearest expressions of the deity of the Lord Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, is in the great commission that the
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Lord gave, who therefore made disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name. And that's very precise.
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He didn't say in the names, plurality, but in the name of. One essence, one entity, three persons, in the name of God the
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Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is eternal. That's an attribute that can only be said of God.
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Secondly, the Holy Spirit is omnipresent. He's everywhere. Only God can be everywhere. The Holy Spirit is omnipotent.
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Only God can be all -powerful. The Holy Spirit is omniscient.
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That is all -knowing. The scriptures teach that. And lastly, we see the Holy Spirit is sovereign, as well, in His authority.
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All of these attributes, His eternal nature, omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, sovereignty, are those that only can belong to God.
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The Holy Spirit is God. Perhaps one of the clearest statements that we have, however, is found in the book of Acts, when
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Peter directly identified the Holy Spirit as God when he confronted Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, for lying to the
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Holy Spirit. He declared to them, Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the
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Holy Spirit? You have not lied to men, but to God. The Holy Spirit is
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God. So Peter declared Satan had filled his heart to lie to the
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Holy Spirit. Aside from these Biblical descriptions of the Holy Spirit being a divine person, the third person of the
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Blessed Holy Trinity, we might consider this fact, that throughout the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Spirit has said to do works that can only be attributed to God.
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They are divine works. They are works only God can do. So we read, for example, the
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Holy Spirit creates, regenerates, resurrects, exercises divine authority in Christ's Church.
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He was the one who effected Mary's virginal conception. He inspired the Scriptures. He convicts the world of sin.
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He invites men to come to Christ. He comes upon and indwells believers. He does works of righteousness.
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He induces believers in their perceptions of who Jesus is. He produces holy fruit in the believer.
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These are works of God that only God can do. The Holy Spirit is God. And this is clearly a foundational tenet of the
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Christian faith. You cannot be a Christian unless you embrace the teaching of the
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Trinity as set forth in the Scriptures. Well, now let's consider the verbal aspect of this command.
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Do not quench the Spirit. What is meant by this?
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What was the Apostle conveyed? Now, a casual consideration, a superficial consideration of this command may lead to a wrong conclusion.
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Some are minions. Those who don't want to advocate the sovereignty of God, but rather the sovereignty of the free will of man, take this verse to argue for their twisted understanding of the will of man.
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They say this verse supports their view that man's free will is able to thwart the purposes of God.
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See, man can quench the Spirit. Man is able to quench the Spirit.
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Although the Holy Spirit desires to bless people, they can prevent him from doing so. But this is a wrong conclusion of what this verse teaches or suggests.
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The Holy Spirit is God, and therefore everything that is said in the Scriptures regarding God is true of the
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Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's power is unabated. His purposes cannot be thwarted.
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Daniel 4, verse 34, we often cite with regard to the sovereignty of God, uncontested power, authority.
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His dominion is an everlasting dominion. This is true of the Holy Spirit. His kingdom is from generation to generation.
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All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
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No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, What have you done? Absolute sovereignty, that's true of God, and the
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Holy Spirit is God. And so when we're commanded to not quench the Spirit, it does not imply that we can overcome the will of the
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Spirit, that we have the ability to frustrate God's ability. That's not what's being taught.
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We might further say that when we're commanded do not quench the Spirit, it's not that we can quench the
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Spirit Himself. That's not possible. Rather, it speaks of our ability to forfeit the grace that the
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Holy Spirit gives to His people. The word quench suggests the idea of extinguishing a fire.
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The Greek word is used elsewhere as putting out a fire. Positively, it is said of our ability to withstand the devil, thankfully.
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Paul wrote, Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you are able to quench there's the word all the fiery darts there's the fire flaming arrows of the wicked one.
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The same idea to quench is used negatively with respect to the Lord Jesus. He does not quench the smoking flax.
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The smoking flax He will not quench. And so the idea of quench has to do with diminishing or putting out a fire.
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And so in our text, which reads, Do not quench the Spirit, it prohibits us from putting out the fire that the
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Holy Spirit imparts to people. That's what it's talking about. The influence of the Holy Spirit in a person's life.
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It's characterized by fire. This morning in Sunday school as we were talking about things it came to my mind
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I should have put it in here. Remember the two disciples on the road to Emmaus? As they were reflecting, Did not our hearts burn within us?
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That's the fire of the Holy Spirit. When we were talking with the Lord, talking from the scriptures on the way, did not our hearts burn within us?
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That's the kind of fire that you can quench. Don't do it. Rather, we want to see that fire inflamed in us, don't we?
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The ministry of the Holy Spirit is frequently associated with fire. At the onset of the ministry of the
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Lord Jesus, John the Baptist said of Him, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals
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I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Some say, well, that's a fire of judgment, but perhaps not.
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Maybe it's talking about the work of the Holy Spirit in people's lives. When the risen and enthroned
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King Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, you recall what happened. The Holy Spirit came upon the 120.
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They were gathered. They were all with one accord. A rushing, mighty wind filled the whole house.
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Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, again an emblem of the
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Holy Spirit upon them. Fire is associated with the work of the Holy Spirit.
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They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, began to speak with other tongues, in other words, other languages, as the
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Spirit gave them ability, utterance. So fire is a metaphor sometimes of the gifts of grace that the
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Holy Spirit gives to people. With fire there is light and heat.
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And the Holy Spirit ignites the light of knowledge of the Lord's wills and ways. There is knowledge that comes from this light, this fire, that the
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Holy Spirit gives. The Holy Spirit inflames the devotion, there is the heat, and commitment of His people.
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Did not our hearts burn within us? John Gill, 17th century
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Baptist, Reformed Baptist, 18th century, expressed well the meaning of do not quench the Spirit.
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I always liked John Gill. He had his hyper -Calvinistic tendencies. He pastored the same church
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Charles Spurgeon did 100 years later. He taught himself Hebrew as a young man, going to the bookstore and reading
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Hebrew books on the shelf. And he became a Hebrew scholar, an expert in Jewish religion, self -taught.
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He wrote this, By which is meant, in other words, do not quench the Spirit, By which is meant, not the person of the
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Spirit, see, that's what we were saying earlier. You can't quench the person of the Spirit. He's sovereign. He's God.
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But either the graces of the Spirit, which may be compared to light, and fire, and heat, to which the allusion is in the text, he said the text is talking about quenching the fire of the
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Spirit, such as faith, which is the light of the soul, a seeing of the sun, an evidence of things not seen, and love, which gives a vehement flame, there's the heat, which many waters cannot quench, and zeal, which is the boiling up of love, the fervency of it, and spiritual knowledge, which is also light, and of an increasing nature, and are all graces of the
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Spirit. And though these cannot be totally extinguished, and utterly put out and lost, yet they may be greatly damped, the light of faith may become dim, and the flame of love be abated, and that wax cold, the heat of zeal may pass into lukewarmness, and an indifference of spirit, and the light of knowledge seem to decline instead of increasing, and all through indulging some sin or sins, by keeping ill company, by neglecting the ordinances of God, prayer, preaching, other institutions of the gospel, wherefore such an exhortation is necessary to quicken saints, stir them up to the use of those means, whereby those graces are cherished, and preserved in their lively exercise, though rather the gifts of the
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Spirit are intended." So, quenching off the spirit is to don't behave, or act, or think in a manner that will cause the blessings and the graces of the
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Spirit that He imparts to diminish within your soul. Matthew Henry wrote,
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As fire is put out by withdrawing fuel, so we quench the spirit. If we do not stir up our spirits and all that is within, to comply with the motions of the
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Good Spirit. As fire is quenched by pouring water, or putting a great quantity of dirt upon it, so we must be careful not to quench the
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Holy Spirit by indulging carnal lusts and affections, or minding only earthly things. And you'll quench the spirit if that's the way you go through life day by day.
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You're not going to have the influences and effects of the Spirit working in you, like we've just described.
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Clarity of understanding. Deepness of faith. Heartfelt devotion.
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Those will be abated in your life if you quench the spirit.
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Quench not the spirit, is Paul's command. And then Thomas Boston. I loved it.
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I came across his message on this. He gave a very thorough exposition, and I read all pages, page 429 through 449 in Volume 3 of his works that I have.
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And I wanted to give a summary of this. A couple of weeks ago, I did that of Thomas Manton.
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This is Thomas Boston. Thomas Manton was an Englishman. Thomas Boston was a
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Scotsman. And he was a great man. He didn't have a large library.
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He only had two shelves of books. But apparently, these were so well -read and so well -marked, he knew them thoroughly.
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And I have his complete works. And he wrote on this, this matter of quenching the spirit.
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And I wanted to share this with you, because I found it very enriching. And so, here's a summary.
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To give some distinctions of quenching the spirit, that there is a total and a partial quenching of the spirit.
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A total quenching is when the spirit is quite extinguished, his motions and impressions on the soul quite erased, so there remains not one spark among the ashes.
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Boy, I know people like that. Thus King Saul and other graceless men, in other words, those who don't have saving grace, have quenched the spirit.
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And this ends in giving them up to the lust of their own hearts. My spirit will not always strive with men.
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That's Genesis 6. But there's a partial quenching. And that is when the spirit is weakened, the force and vigor of his motions and impressions abated, and the fire brought to a very spark.
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It's no longer a flame, but just a spark. And thus the godly can be guilty of quenching the spirit.
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So the ungodly can, and the godly can. Christians can, and all Christians can. Secondly, there is a willful and a weak quenching of the spirit.
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The willful quenching is when men resolutely set themselves to put out the holy fire, being resolved not to part with their lusts.
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They go on in opposition to their light, and strangle their uneasy consciences, and murder their convictions that they may sin without control.
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Then he quotes Scripture. You stiff -necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the
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Holy Ghost as your fathers did. They quenched the Holy Spirit. However, in contrast to that, a weak quenching,
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I call that which flows, rather from weakness than wickedness, very good, rather from carelessness than design, in other words, not intentional, it's through neglect.
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And this is called grieving the spirit. Ephesians 6 .30. And then he talks about a quenching of the spirit in ourselves or in others.
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Quench not the spirit. Yes, you're not to allow yourself to quench the spirit with regard to you, but you're also not to quench the spirit with regard to others.
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That's what he's talking about. The spirit may be quenched in ourselves by ourselves, and God sometimes kindles the
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Holy Fire in our hearts, and miserable, we put it out. Because we're miserable, we put it out.
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For though we cannot kindle, we can extinguish it. He emphasizes that the working of the spirit is a sovereign work of grace.
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The Holy Spirit alone can kindle the fire and inflame the fire. You can put it out, but you can't rekindle it.
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Therefore, you better guard it. Though we cannot open the door, we can shut it.
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We may quench the spirit in others, not just yourself, but in others, even as one may put out a fire in another person's house.
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And then he quotes, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for neither do you go in yourselves, neither allow them that are entering to go in.
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And thus ministers can quench the spirit in people, and people in ministers, by discouraging, vexing, and oppressing them in what is good and holy, by which means their knees are enfeebled and their hands weakened in following the
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Lord in the way of duty. And then he addresses how, shows how the spirit is quenched.
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Well, the Holy Fire, the spirit, is quenched first, by doing violence to it, as one puts a foot on the fire to put a fire out, or casts water on it, or, say, blows out a candle.
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So there is a doing, violence to the spirit, and thus the spirit is quenched by sins of commission, especially such as are done with a high hand, in other words, intentional sins.
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You are going to quench the spirit. Second, the fire of the spirit is quenched by the neglecting of it, as when one does not supply fuel to the fire, it will go out, even though no violence is done to it.
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And so the spirit is quenched by neglecting his motions, not cherishing them, not walking in the light while we have it.
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And then he gives reasons why we shouldn't quench the spirit. First, it's holy fire.
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Therefore you ought to have a high regard for it. It should be kept carefully. It's dangerous to meddle with holy fire.
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It's God's. It's fire from heaven. Not the fire of God's anger, but of His Spirit.
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It should be something really regarded as precious and valuable, not to be taken lightly, disregarded or discarded.
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And second, because we can do nothing without it. Without me, Jesus says, you can do nothing.
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So far as the spirit goes away, all true light and heat go with him. And then the soul remains as in a state of death, in darkness, cold and stiff.
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When the wind ceases, how can the ship sail? And third, because once quenched, we cannot rekindle it.
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We have no command over the spirit. We cannot tell where it comes from, where it goes. Jesus telling
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Nicodemus about the work of the spirit. We're at the fire in our own hearths, or fireplaces.
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Though it were extinguished, we might kindle it again. But it's from heaven, and we have no command there. You can put it out, but you can't rekindle it.
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So he says, you know, we ought to be careful in this matter. And four, because the quenching of this fire is the raising of another fire, tending to the consuming of the soul.
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You put out the fire of the Holy Spirit, and the fire of sin is going to inflame. And it's going to damn your soul.
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There is a fire of corruption within us. When the Spirit departed from Saul, he went to the devil.
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And some people never come to a hide in wickedness until the Spirit of the Lord has been at work with them, and they've quenched his motions.
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Some of the most despicable people are former professing Christians. And then he answers the question, how shall
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I know that the Spirit has been at work in my soul, and that any of the Holy Fire has been kindled in my heart, so that I may know what to do?
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How do we know the Holy Spirit has kindled a fire in us? First, the
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Holy Fire has light with it. In other words, knowledge. Is there a new light led into your soul from the
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Word? That is promising. But know that there are different degrees of that light.
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O quench not the Spirit, and prove the golden spot of time, and walk softly, for the light is easily put out.
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The Lord Jesus said, you follow the light that you are given. You walk in the light you are given.
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It will take you to the next step, and you will see light for the next step. The Word of God is a light unto our path.
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We are to follow it. Because the light is moving on, and we don't want to be left behind in darkness.
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Second, the Holy Fire has a burning heat with it. So it has light, it has heat. And this also is in different degrees.
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Some have the satisfaction to see the Holy Fire take hold of their corruptions, as that however masterful at other times.
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Yet that fire brought them down, and made them fall to ashes. In other words, that love for God, that love for holiness, caused them to deal with sin, put it down.
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And some lost that have long held them under, they have got subdued, thankfully. Have you had a measure of sin defeated in your life?
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That's an evidence of this fire of the Holy Spirit, that you're not to quench.
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With some, there may be only an unusual, but weak warmth in the heart after Christ in religion.
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He's talking about different levels, or degrees of fire of the Holy Spirit. They have a desire for Him.
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Truly, this is very little, but everything must have a beginning. Some may find no sense of warmth in their breasts after Him.
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In other words, they don't love the Lord Jesus, truly. There's no real devotion there.
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But there's an uneasiness in their conscience, as by a spark falling from a candle on a person's hand.
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He's saying that this is an evidence of light. There's not much light, but it's an evidence of the work of the
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Holy Spirit in your life. They have a sort of uneasiness with respect to their soul's case, a secret dissatisfaction with their state.
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This is very little, but it may be the beginning of good. It's not enough, but it's something.
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Consider also that however little it be, Satan will think it worth pains to rob you of it. And then he cites the parable of the sower.
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When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
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And finally, consider that the kingdom of God in a soul often has a very small beginning. Hence, it is compared to a grain of mustard seed, which indeed is the least of all seeds.
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There's a good way in which we can scrutinize ourselves and assess ourselves.
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Do we have evidence of this fire of the Holy Spirit within our souls? Is there understanding of our situation, our case, our sin?
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Is there an understanding of righteousness? Is there devotion of true love for the Lord Jesus? Is there a dissatisfaction with sin in our lives?
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This is all evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit, the fire that the
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Holy Spirit causes, spiritual fire to work in our souls. And then he gives an exhortation.
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I shall show how the Spirit may be quenched by you in your souls. And there are many ways to do this, and we should be aware of them all.
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By unwatchfulness. Neglect. Hence the exhortation,
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Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die. Think of a flame that's about ready to go out.
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The holy fire will go out. If it's not watched, a careless disposition of mind will soon make an empty soul.
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Second, by neglect of duties. If a man neglects the means of grace, how can he think his soul will prosper?
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How can you think your soul is going to prosper if you never open the Bible and read it? How can you ever hope your soul will prosper if you never pray?
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If you never make any effort to do something outside of Sunday morning, that's not enough time.
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Two hours on Sunday morning, that is not enough time to sustain you in a healthy Christian life.
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Three, by not complying with the holy motions in his heart. It's dangerous business to sit still when the
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Lord, by a secret working on the soul, may be calling one to rise. Can you just sit there?
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Four, sins against light, do in a special manner, quench the spirit. They waste the conscience, erase good impressions from the heart, defile the soul, provoke the spirit to depart.
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Fifth, fleshly lusts have a special malignant influence this way. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.
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Fleshly lusts will quench the spirit. Inordinate care and love for the world, rather than love for the things of the
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Lord. Seven, backsliding and returning to former sins. If men will go back to the same courses which have before injured their souls, and will play with the serpent that has so often bitten them, what can they expect but that the spirit will be quenched?
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And lastly, the entertaining of anyone lost or idle, of jealousy will do it. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the
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Lord will not hear me. And then he gives an exhortation about how to nourish and cherish this holy fire.
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Rather than quenching, let's brighten this flame. First, be diligent in duties.
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Let no opportunity for communion with God slip. There is the duty of Christian conversation with the brethren, and there is the duty of secret prayer.
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Second, watch your hearts, and labor to keep a tender frame of spirit. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.
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Be universally tender in your walk. One leak in a ship will sink it. One sin indulged will ruin the soul's case.
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Fourth, make religion your business, your main work and design in the world. For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
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Let religion, again, Puritans used the term religion for the Christian life, the
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Christian faith. Let religion be woven into the whole of your conversation in the world. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.
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Sixth, beware of doing anything with a doubting conscience, doubting whether it be lawful or not.
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Seventh, be still pressing forward in religion. Sit not down on any measure attained, but still be laboring for more.
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Never be satisfied with what you know, what you've done.
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Eighth, trade with your talents, improving them for God, however few they be. If a person have but a little fire, yet if it get aired, be blown up, it may make a break fire, a large fire.
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Be careful and tender of good motions. Rough handling of a spark will make it go out, when wise management would make much out of it.
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And last, entertain lively hopes of increasing your stock. When the heart grows hopeless, the hands will hang down and the knees be feeble.
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Those are some good words that he put together. And again, it's so easy just to pass by a little expression, isn't it, in a series of 18 exhortations and commands, quench not the spirit.
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But it has far -reaching implications. May the Lord help us to be obedient to this. Again, out of neglect, the fire goes out.
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Winter time, Mary will start the fire in the fireplace. I love to have it going, but I'm looking there, I get absorbed in my book, and Mary's in the other room doing something, and I look up and the fire has gone out.
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It just happens, doesn't it, in no time. You've got to feed it. And the fire of the
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Holy Spirit, grace in some ways is weak.
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It can be extinguished fairly quickly, can't it? Peter can be very bold.
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They might all deny you, Lord, not I. And minutes later, look what happened to him. And you and I need to be consistent and faithful and be aware of that by which we can quench the spirit directly or by our neglect, have that fire go out.
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May the Lord continue to give us light of understanding, passion and zeal, love, devotion for the
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Lord Jesus. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you, our Father, for your word.
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And we just pray, our God, we pray the Lord Jesus that you give us afresh the
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Holy Spirit and that we would experience this spiritual fire that is described for us, that we would understand you more clearly and fully and do not allow our
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God the warmth, the zeal, the love for you and for your word and the things of Christ to grow faint, certainly not be extinguished.
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But help us, our God, not to quench the spirit, but rather to yield to the spirit that we might enjoy all the wonderful blessings that is secured to us by his work.