The Holy Spirit part 1

Witness protection. Valid but untrue.

We have great faces for radio. We are all witnesses, but we should not be in witness protection.

This is true, well said. Let's call on Rick to open us in prayer. Would you mind? Thanks. Father, we thank you for the opportunity to look into your words and to examine some of the principles here.

Thank you for Jeff's initiative in putting this together and pray that we would get a lot out of it and that your

Holy Spirit would guide our understanding. Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, how's it going brother?

So in the early summer we studied the Trinity and we talked about how the Trinity was revealed and the

Trinity was essentially revealed between the Testaments. So in the Old Testament you had the Trinity revealed but not in bright light.

You had sort of types and shadows and you had inferences toward the Trinity, but you didn't have a full -orbed revelation that God is triune.

We just knew of monotheism, not of Trinitarian monotheism per se. Between the

Testaments something important happens and that is that the Son of God comes into the world and reveals

Himself and makes His Father known by being here in the flesh, by the second person of the Trinity actually coming to earth and taking on human flesh.

And that was the revelation of the Trinity in His virgin birth, especially at His baptism. If you guys recall what happened at His baptism when

Jesus was baptized? Yes, descended and the Father spoke from heaven saying, this is my

Son in whom I'm well pleased. So in that moment you have the full revelation of the Trinity at the baptism of Jesus because you have the

Father speaking, identifying the Son, even in the baptism act as an identification of the

Son, and then the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. So you have this third member of the

Trinity revealed in a small way at that point, just an inference again, not as full -orbed as the

Old Testament had, you know, kind of like the Old Testament revealed Jesus but not in the way that the

New Testament does. In the same way at the baptism of Jesus you have a revelation of the Holy Spirit but not in the full -orbed, full explanation, revelation of who

He is. That comes especially where? In the Gospels. Where?

John 14 to 16 is where Jesus really begins to speak about the coming of another

Helper, another Comforter, and begins to explain this paraclete is coming. And so then of course on the day of Pentecost the

Holy Spirit comes and now He's working, He was always here, but now He's taking on a more full expression of His ministry in more obvious ways starting on the day of Pentecost.

So the Holy Spirit then is a member of the Trinity and we're going to take the emphasis not on the entire

Trinity but zero in on this third member of the Trinity for this course. So to begin with the question is how do we know that the

Holy Spirit is God? Now some of you have already looked ahead at the notes so you might know that or maybe you have a thought that you'd like to share but how do we know that the

Holy Spirit is actually God? Meaning that He is personal, He's not just a force that emanates from God, but that He is

Himself God. Any ideas? That is huge and you hit the first one.

So let's look at look at the first 1 .1. The Trinitarian formulas grant equality to each member in the formula.

So the first one we'll just kind of go around the room. Ralph would you open with Matthew 28 19. Now we are very familiar with this verse right it's a great commission and baptizing is to be done in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit. I have a question for you.

Have you ever imagined substituting a lesser being into that formula? Wouldn't that just just sound so terrible in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of Michael the Archangel? Can you imagine baptizing in that name?

Why would that be so... we repel against that right? We recoil when we hear that idea.

Why? Because there's an implied equivalency.

You get that? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You're baptizing into the name of the

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which implies equivalency. That they're not that they're each person is identical in personhood, but it's all one being.

That there's not if there's not a lesser being involved. You can't baptize into the name of the

Father, the Son, and Paul or the Father, the Son, and Cephas. Right?

And when Paul is talking about how he was glad he didn't baptize anyone, he points out that there's only

Christ that you're baptized into. And so the implication here is exactly what

Emily said. This kind of Trinitarian formula implies that each person is equal, because you can't even imagine substituting a lesser being into that formula.

So Rick, would you read 1st Peter 1 verse 2? You have these Trinitarian formulas.

According to the foreknowledge of God the Father and the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Okay, so we hear there the Trinity is all mentioned in a formula.

So the Father doing a certain work, the Spirit doing another work, and the Son of God doing yet a third ministry, and yet each one is equal in that sentence.

Okay? Another very important text, of course, is Ephesians 1 1 to 14. that we would be holy and blameless before him, in love.

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the

Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, and forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his kind intentions, which he purposed in him.

With a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth in him.

Also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to his purpose, who works all things after the counsel of his will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory.

In him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in him with the

Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God's own purpose, to the praise of his glory."

So I want you to make note of four moments of salvation within this passage, and I want you to see the

Trinitarian nature of this. In the first verse of this, chapter 1 verse 3, the emphasis is upon the

Father, and the work of the Father here is redemption predestined.

Notice that we're learning that redemption has been predestined before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

So the first moment of our salvation actually happens before anything exists.

Redemption is predestined, but the focus here is on which person of the Trinity? The Father, okay?

You see the Father in verse 3. Now jump down to verse 7, we see redemption is through the blood of Jesus.

Here is where redemption is accomplished. Redemption is accomplished on the cross.

That's where the sin of the world is carried away upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ. He stands in as a substitute to bear the wrath of God against sin, and so he accomplishes redemption through his blood.

Notice in the second moment here, where is the emphasis? Upon the

Son. It is the blood of the Son of God, not the blood of the Holy Spirit or the blood of the Father. The blood of the

Son of God accomplishes redemption. Now look at the the third and fourth moments are tied together.

Verses 13 and 14. We've seen the work of the Father, we've seen the work of the Son, and now at verse 13 and 14.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, you were marked in him with the seal, the promised

Holy Spirit. So notice the emphasis here is upon which member of the

Trinity? The Holy Spirit. And what he does is in a moment of time, he applies redemption.

So the third moment is redemption applied. At what exact moment is redemption applied?

You see that in the text? Verse 13. Having believed. So at that moment that you put your faith in Christ, believing upon his name, this predestined redemption, this accomplished redemption through Christ, is now applied to the believer.

So there's a moment of time where even though I've been predestined, even though Christ died for me, I was dead in my sin.

In that moment that I believe, redemption is applied to me. But notice there's a fourth moment, and that's called redemption consummated.

It's still the Holy Spirit, but it's kind of a two -part work that he does. Here in time, in our lives, he accomplishes that redemption.

I'm sorry, he applies that redemption, but he seals us for a future day. Okay? In verse 14, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.

So when Christ comes back, hopefully before we die, or if he tarries and we die, and we go to be with him in heaven, at that moment our body of flesh is no longer, the sin nature is removed from us, and we are glorified to be like Christ, and our redemption is consummated.

It's brought to fulfillment. So the point is, the bigger point now, as we're talking

Trinitarianism, notice that the ministries of each member of the

Trinity is important, and one isn't subjugated to the other. Although there is, there is an economy where the the

Father is preeminent, and the Son is submitting to the will of the Father, and the Holy Spirit then is accomplishing the

Father's will as well, right? So there's an economy, but notice that each one is pictured as active.

You see that? Who saves us? The Father saves us. The Son saves us. The Holy Spirit saves us.

It's a Trinitarian salvation. And so the point is, only God saves, right?

So if it's God who saves, the Holy Spirit is viewed here as being God. So that's

Ephesians 1, 1 to 14. Now, next point. How do we know the Holy Spirit is God? Guys, you might need this.

If you're debating Jehovah's Witness, where the Holy Spirit is not an actual person, or if you're speaking, you know, with a

Muslim who looks at, you know, the Spirit more as just an image of God, or not like an actual separate person from the

Father, you'll need to understand how God speaks about the Holy Spirit. So the second point is that the promise of another

Helper was within the context of Jesus's claim to deity, okay? So from John 14 through 16, you have the upper room discourse, right?

Jesus is teaching, but much of what he says reveals his own deity, and then he says,

I will give you yet another Helper. So John, you're up. Would you read John 14, 16 for us?

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.

Hmm. Another. It's a key word. He's revealing his own, that he is the way, the truth, and the life.

How can we go, and you know, unless you show us the way, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

He's claiming deity for himself, and now he says there's yet another, okay?

And that is the Holy Spirit. Rich, again we see this in John 14, 26.

14, 26. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the

Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Awesome. And then Janer, John 16, 7 to 11. 16, 7 to 11.

Yes. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away.

But if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you.

And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin.

Because they did not believe in me, of righteousness, because I go to my Father. And you see me no more of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

I want you to think about this. They had God in the flesh with them, and yet what does

Jesus say? It's to your advantage that I depart from you. How could that be?

How could it be to their advantage that the Son of God departing from them?

Because he paid the price for sin. He's paid the price, okay. What else though? He's gonna send the

Helper. Right. Who must this Helper be if his ministry can be just as great as Jesus, and it's got to be

God? And these verses say he'll teach you all things, and he'll be with you forever. Who but God can do that?

Right. Yeah, do you see that? Good job, Rich. Yeah, so it says, verse 8, when he comes he will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

He's able to do all of these things that only God can do concerning sin, because they do not believe, concerning righteousness, because I go to the

Father. And you will see me no longer concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Do you see the larger picture of the esteem with which Jesus speaks of the

Spirit? He holds him up as being capable, and being able to do things that only

God can do. And he even says, it's to your advantage that I go to the Father, knowing that God, the third member of the

Trinity, will come to earth. And here's the big point. The Holy Spirit can be everywhere.

Jesus now has united with human flesh in his ministry on earth. There's a sense in which he's still, you know, omniscient, omnipresent.

But he's also united in flesh, and while he is on this earth ministering in the flesh, he's at one particular point in space, at a time.

When he goes to the Father, now the Holy Spirit can come and be in and with all of us everywhere.

So that's the point. The Holy Spirit is being exalted in this passage. And to the degree you can't just say he's, you know, great, or like an angel, he's being exalted as God.

Now here's a clear -cut place. If you were to ask me, where in the Bible, though, does the

Holy Spirit ever get called God? Can you guys think of a spot? It's right there on your notes, if you look ahead.

There is one place whereby the transitive property of equality, he is called God. Let's look at that.

It's Acts chapter 5, verses 3 and 4. Kimberly, would you mind reading that to us? Then Peter said,

Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit, and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the lamb?

Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing?

You have not lied to men, but to God. So, transitive property of equality.

If A equals B, and B equals C, then A equals

C, right? So, if the Holy Spirit, to lie to the Holy Spirit, is to lie to God, then the

Holy Spirit is God, right? Catch that in the text. So, again, just to emphasize this, because this is the only place

I know where you could say that he's literally called God in the text. Why has

Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? So, the person that you're lying to is the

Holy Spirit. Verse 4, while this land remains unsold, it's your own.

After it was sold, it was at your disposal. You have not lied to man, but to God.

When you lied to the Holy Spirit, you lied to God. So, that's probably the clearest place I know where the

Holy Spirit is called God. Notice, also, in creation.

If we go all the way back to the beginning of our Bibles, there's a hint of it here. What is the

Holy Spirit's role in creation? Yeah, that's right.

So, the idea is that he's there, he's present, he's active. I don't know if you guys have more insight as to what he was doing, but he was there and working, in some sense, because he's hovering over the face of the earth.

So, there are those who take this passage in Genesis, and where it talks about the

Spirit of God, and throughout this passage, but that's a reference to the

Spirit. Yeah, I think so. Unless, is there a different view on that too?

Well, it's, it gets interesting because when you get into the New Testament, that Christ was the author of creation.

It gets interesting. Yeah, yeah, and so God, the being God, is the creator, but each member of the

Trinity seems to be active, right, in that. So, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Yeah. All right, and then finally, notice that there doesn't seem to be a lot of teaching on the deity of the

Holy Spirit, does there? I mean, Jesus presents him in John 14 and 16 in ways that you could say, yeah, that clearly looks like the work of God, but it doesn't seem like the

New Testament authors, they certainly don't write a book of the Bible to prove the deity of the Holy Spirit, right?

Why is that? I mean, the book of John seems to go to great length to prove the deity of Christ, doesn't it?

These things are written that you would believe, and believing you would have life in his name, and so, so many of the movements of the text of John are to prove the deity of Christ, right?

You see the I Am statements that trace through, and each one kind of builds on the other, and of course that reference back to, to God being

Yahweh, having a connection to I Am. So, you see the, the text makes a great effort to prove the deity of Christ, but not so much the

Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, why do you think that is? I think the work of the

Holy Spirit is to point to Christ. Oh yeah, I definitely think that's right. The spotlight is on the

Son of God, right? And he came to glorify Jesus, not himself. Okay, good, good.

Well, it was already understood. I think it was already understood that the Holy Spirit was God. Okay. So, there wasn't a need for anyone to explain further the deity of the

Holy Spirit, but there was great need to demonstrate that the divinity of Christ. Right, okay.

Yeah, and here's how I would describe it. In the Old Testament, you have this huge emphasis on monotheism, right?

You have Isaiah 43 .10 and Deuteronomy 6 .4,

the Shema of Israel, right? Which is that there's, the Lord our God is one

Lord, right? One God. He's one. So, you have this as a huge emphasis pressing throughout the

Hebrew Scriptures. Along comes Jesus, claiming to be God and distinguishing himself from the

Father. And here is the great leap of faith. This is what is, this is where it requires the work of the

Holy Spirit for anyone to come to this, to believe that Jesus is God, is to continue to believe in monotheism, but it's a

Trinitarian form of monotheism. To believe that two persons, two distinct persons are

God, but there's only one God. That's a huge leap, right? So, in the notes

I mentioned, two, there's a cognitive dissonance that has to be overcome. Number one, there's only one

God. Deuteronomy 6 .4. Number two, here's this person claiming to be

God and yet praying to his Father and distinguish himself. Number two, there's more than one person who is

God. And here's the point, I think. If you can make that leap of faith, that there can be multiple persons, that Father and Son can be distinct persons and yet one being, there's, it's no greater leap to take a third person.

If you can become a Benetarian, how hard is it to become a Trinitarian, right?

You've already overcome that cognitive dissonance and that's only the work of the Spirit of God. No person by human reasoning comes to Trinitarian theology, but when you place your faith in Jesus Christ, believing him to be

God, it's an easy and natural step to accept his teaching about another counselor, another helper.

Make sense? So, if the text spends all this time proving the deity of Christ, or revealing

I should say, it's not so much it's proving in the sense that it's appealing to our intellect, it's revealing this to our intellect.

It's revealing the Son of God. As the text does that, it's an easy natural step to take his teaching about another helper.

Yeah? Getting back into your evidences for the deity of the Holy Spirit, one major evidence to me was the fact that he impregnated

Mary. And who could impregnate a virgin woman but God himself, but it says the

Holy Spirit came upon her. Sure, yeah. Which proves the deity of the Holy Spirit.

Yeah, I think that's that's one evidence. Excellent, thank you. All right, now, next major point, okay.

No, I was just thinking the other function of the Spirit in the Old Testament was to inspire the authors for the accuracy of text.

Absolutely, yeah. And, you know, it's not necessarily identified through each

Old Testament book. Right. But, I mean, we believe that the Holy Spirit inspired

Moses to record all that he wasn't present for accurately. Right, absolutely.

So, his work in recording Scripture, carrying along the Scripture of all authors is a divine act.

Sure. It's a divine word. Yeah, it comes from God. Yeah. It's a breath of God. Yeah.

Good. Okay, next. Notice that the word holy is in his name.

Now, he's a spirit with many attributes, right? He's a loving spirit. He's a good spirit.

He's a powerful spirit, an all -powerful spirit. But, what adjective is in his name?

Holy. And, I would say that this marks off holiness as the crowning attribute of God.

Having demonstrated that the Holy Spirit is God, holiness is connected with his very name.

And, you'll notice in Scripture that holiness is the most frequently mentioned attribute of God in the

Bible. Did you know that? It's good that you mentioned that. Yeah, because a lot of times people say, well, how can a loving

God have the Israelites, you know, kill all the Canaanites? Well, because holiness is the supreme attribute, not love.

Mmm, that's right. That's right. Now, if God is omnipotent, which he is, imagine omnipotence without holiness.

What would that be? Scary. Terror. Hitler. Yeah. Worse.

Yeah. Just imagine that. We have a God who's not only all -powerful, but he's holy power.

He's holy love. Holy. This attribute of holiness is the very core.

It's at the very heart of who God is. It identifies him. And so, the name Holy Spirit, when

I was younger, I always thought that was kind of a weird name. It was almost like the Holy Spirit. It's like the is in his name, you know, almost.

And I thought, that just doesn't ring right. I understand a father, and I understand a son as persons, but I don't understand the

Holy Spirit. Now, getting away from the difference between spirit and flesh, spirit identifies in aspects of who he is, but this word holy,

I think, identifies something of who he is. So, if we want to have holy lives, if we want to be holy as God is holy, right, we're commanded in 1

Peter 2. What member of the Trinity do you think we have to be concerned with?

The Holy Spirit, right? And all members of the Trinity, because all members are holy, but it's in his very name.

So, pointing that out, the Holy Spirit is holy. Third, the Holy Spirit is spirit.

John 16 verse 7. We all needed to get there too.

John 16 verse 7. This is Jesus speaking. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.

It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.

But if I go, I will send him to you. Okay, we've talked about this already.

Why is it to the advantage of the believer that Jesus returned to the Father? He can be an advocate at the right hand of the

Father. Good. And he sends his Holy Spirit, who now is everywhere, able to be with everyone.

Now, John 14. I got a question on that? Yes. So, the attribute of the

Holy Spirit being everywhere is not an eternal attribute? It is an eternal attribute.

Then how come it had to be initiated by Jesus sending him? Well, it's the activity of the

Spirit is different. So, you have, in the Old Testament, you have the Holy Spirit everywhere. But in the

New Testament, he's taking on a more active ministry that it was there in the Old Testament. So, we'll get to this in the indwelling part of the gifts of the

Spirit, of the ministry of the Spirit. But in the Old Testament, you would have sometimes Saul look like a prophet, right?

The wicked king who ends up being lost, right? The terminology here, if I go,

I will send, implies that there's an absence until it's sent.

Yeah. Not a complete absence. There's a change in ministry, but the person, he's always omnipresent.

But in the Old Testament, where he would come on Saul, and he acts like a prophet, and then he departs, and Saul's trying to pin

David to the wall. That's different, I think, in the New Testament. Yeah, Rich. Until he was sent, we could not be temples of the

Holy Spirit. It was only after he was sent that we could embody the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit could live within us.

That couldn't happen until Jesus' first son became the Messiah. Okay. I think it has to do with the work of salvation.

Yeah. It has to do with the roles that each person in the

Trinity have in the role of salvation.

Right. The Father has a part in salvation.

Jesus comes for the first time 2 ,000 years ago, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't eternal.

Right. He is eternal. It's just the work of salvation for the sake of humanity.

Okay. That changes things. I think a key to it is going to be at Pentecost.

Right. Because the Holy Spirit, omnipresent. Yeah. So, at Pentecost, what happened?

It's like the Holy Spirit was released at that time. He came upon them and filled them. Because, I mean, we have the

Holy Spirit at the baptism of Jesus. Right. He's there, but then later, Jesus has to send him.

Is he sending him or is he sending his ministry? Is he sending him in the manifestation of a comforter?

He's being manifested in a way that he wasn't. He was always there. Yeah. He didn't send him. He was always there.

Yeah. His ministry. But he did send him because that's the language of the text. Right. So, in John, he says,

I will send him. I go, so I send him. I was going to say, the

Spirit has the ability to be everywhere, but he is not everywhere unless God sends him to be everywhere.

Okay. I mean, I think he is everywhere, not just able to be everywhere, because I think without the

Holy Spirit, everything falls apart and isn't, you know, I think he kind of is what makes the world exist.

I mean, he's, the world is contingent upon him, not the other way around.

Meaning, God is an uncaused cause, and he puts the world into being, and if the

Holy Spirit wasn't giving life in there, you know, it's kind of that connection between life and breath.

In the Old Testament, the Ruach, is that how you say it? Ruach. Ruach was, yes, was the breath.

So, it could refer to the physical breathing, but I think it also points to the same word, it is for breath, is as Spirit.

So, the Spirit is kind of like the breath, and he's the only thing that sustains life. If the

Holy Spirit wasn't there, how could we live, you know? In the New Testament, it's Numa, and the same thing, it's the breath of God, but it's also the

Spirit, the person God, and I'm just saying, I think that without the Holy Spirit, life couldn't exist.

To me, it refers back to time. Yes. Twelve believers as a person.

Yes, yeah. It all goes back to the role that the Holy Spirit has in our lives, because he starts the work of regeneration within us.

We become a new person when we receive Jesus, but the work of the Holy Spirit starts to make us holy, to show us and enlighten us when there is sin in our lives, and he just gives us the conviction, we read it before, you know, so that we can be convicted of sin, you know, so that he can give us the empowerment to be able to change things in our lives also.

I think that's right, and back to John's point that there is a distinction. The distinction probably has to do with his ministry, but the language is such that it actually refers to it as sending, almost like, and here's a great way to look at it.

You have all these disciples who are following Jesus. They've seen him resurrected, so they're already apostles who can go witness to the truth, but Jesus says, don't go do it until you have received this gift from on high, until you have the

Holy Spirit, so there's something that's so different between these born -again witnesses of the resurrection before Pentecost and after Pentecost, such that they can't even go out witnessing until that day comes.

There's a new age coming, and Jesus is telling us it's coming, when the

Holy Spirit's going to come upon you, okay? I mean, part of that, this was not new.

The Holy Spirit came upon many people prior to this. It was not a permanent indwelling where he was being sent for that ministry, but the

Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit's, he's there. I agree.

He's there. I agree wholeheartedly. Yeah. A neat note in my Bible says, the

Spirit is the consummate helper. He frees us from trying to live the Christian life in our own power.

The gospel is not to do more and try harder. Rather, it is see

Jesus and surrender to the Spirit. Yeah, that's well said.

All right, so we are going to move into the work, but we already kind of have, because I didn't think we'd have time next week to do all of this, so I thought we'd get started on it a little today.

We have about six minutes left, so let's just do the first, well, you know what? We've already talked about John 16. Let's do the first two, which are points four and five.

There's a back page here, and it's the work of the Holy Spirit, which is the conversation now. We've already moved into discussing this.

Greg, are you up? Yeah. Will you do 2 Thessalonians 2, 6 and 7?

And you know what is restraining him now, so that he may be revealed in his time, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. Okay, this is the context of not to be too concerned because you're worried that the day of the

Lord has either already come or that you missed it in some way, because it's not going to happen until there's this great falling away, there's going to be an apostasy, and then there's going to be an

Antichrist revealed. And when the Antichrist is revealed, that's a sign that the end is about to come, or the rapture might have just happened.

But it says in verse 7, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

So the Antichrist might not be revealed yet. We don't know who this person is, but there's

Antichrist, plural, there's many people who are Antichrist and terrible dictators and rulers, but even an

Antichrist spirit in ordinary unbelievers. There is evil in the world that's at work.

Notice verse 7 goes on, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

I would argue that that refers to the Holy Spirit. Throughout the

Old Testament and the New Testament times, there was evil in the world, but it wasn't manifesting to the fullest extreme.

In fact, even to this day, if the Holy Spirit was not restraining the evil in the hearts of men, we wouldn't make it home today.

As soon as we left this building, or right here in this building, there would be murder, there would be chaos.

The Holy Spirit is constantly ministering in the world to restrain evil.

You know, most of this world thinks that mankind is good, right?

Why do they think that? Because the evil of man that's in the heart of man, the depraved, the totally depraved human heart is restrained.

God would restrain rulers from doing evil things, restrain individuals from doing evil things, right?

And so one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit has always been to restrain evil. Now, when

Christ is just on the brink of returning, he is going to rapture the church out of the world.

Seven years, perhaps, maybe three and a half, some people hold the mid -tribute,

I think seven years before, at the beginning of the tribulation, the church will be raptured out.

And the restrainer will be taken out of the way. See that?

This is referring to the revealing of the Antichrist and these times of lawlessness. The Holy Spirit will be taken out of the way.

Now, does that mean he won't still be present on earth at all? No. There's 144 ,000.

Sure. He'll still have some ministry, but in terms of the working of the Holy Spirit, there will be a major shift that happens.

He's no longer restraining in the way he was. And how do things go for the last seven years of this world?

Is it a pretty picture? You ever read the book of Revelation? It's not a pretty picture.

It's war and famine and disease and killing. It's just everything coming unraveled.

Towards the end of it, God sends an angel with keys to unlock and these really, really, really bad demons come out.

Some believe that those are the Nephilim, the angels who procreated with man.

We don't understand it. And God banned them, sent them away.

So they've been percolating in revenge for a long, long time.

Some people think that's them. It may or may not be. There's different views of that Genesis occurrence.

But there's going to be an unlocking of some gates and some really, really bad. Oh yeah. Yep. Well, so with that, we're going to get into the work of the

Holy Spirit and it gets very personal for us next week because each of these works that we look at are things that he does in us.

He convicts us. He regenerates us, baptizes, empowers, indwells, seals, sanctifies, fills, leads, adopts, assures.

He's praying for us and ultimately he'll glorify us when our redemption is consummated.

So we will look at these ministries of the Holy Spirit next week. It's important because he's working in our lives and we need to yield to his work in our lives and submit to his work.

So let's close in a word of prayer and we'll move on to service. Heavenly Father, we thank you.

Jesus, we thank you for sending the Holy Spirit. We know that the

Holy Spirit has always been in this world, but you have sent the Holy Spirit in a special way and we are blessed because we have the

Holy Spirit. We ask Lord that you would teach us about the

Holy Spirit, God. We need to learn because your word does reveal things and whatever is revealed is for us and for our children forever.

Help us to learn, help us to study, help us to grow. And more importantly, Lord, we pray that we would submit to the

Holy Spirit as Lord and as holy, that you would make us holy through this study, that you would change us from the inside out, continue to renew us day by day.