Sunday Night Bible Study - The Holy Spirit Part 1

Good evening and welcome to Sunday Night Bible Study with Pastor Josiah Shipley of Wynton Baptist Church. Today we start a new series on the Holy Spirit. We're going to spend today talking mostly about the triune nature of God and how the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture.

Then we're going to spend a few weeks on the Holy Spirit's role in salvation. Okay, how he regenerates us, how he seals us for the day of redemption. Then we'll spend probably most of our time in this series on sanctification, on after he's indwelt the believer in the new covenant.

How he teaches, guides, comforts us, gives us spiritual gifts. Yes, we'll talk about the spiritual gifts and all that there in this series. So we'll get a biblical view for what the Holy Spirit does. Okay, we'll not get it from anywhere else.

There's a lot of misconceptions about the Holy Spirit. We don't aim to set that straight. We aim to let the Bible speak for what the Holy Spirit does. So first, let's have a general overview of the triune nature of God.

The Triune Nature of God

Now, we prefer the term triune nature instead of Trinity. Trinity is fine. But Trinity has more of a connotation of three working as one. Whereas triune, tri-une is three in one. And that is a little bit better of an idea of what the triune nature of God looks like.

There is no perfect analogy for this. It is a mystery. My mystery, I don't mean that can't be understood. I mean, it can't be comprehended fully and completely in a human mind. No, I can use the analogy of, alright, I'm Josiah Shipley.

I am a husband, a father, and a brother. One being and three persons. Because that's what the triune God is. It is one being, one essence, and three persons. But that analogy falls short. Note, this coffee cup has been, in that it exists, okay?

But it does not have personhood or personality. When I say God is one being in three persons, don't think of person as human. Think of it as personality, as unique. We are saying that there is one being, one essence, one God, in three persons.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Or we could say the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I could use the analogy of H2O. If I heat H2O up to 222 degrees, or no, 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 100 degrees Celsius, and it kind of rises out of your pot, we call that steam.

If I take that same H2O, and I leave it at room temperature, we're gonna call that liquid water. If I take that and put it in the freezer, and it gets below 32 degrees, and it solidifies, we'd call that ice.

Three different names for the same being, essence, and yet three different personalities, if you will, characteristics. We call them three different things. They serve three different purposes. They have three different roles, but they're all uniquely H2O.

That analogy falls short as well, right? Those are just ways to get us started. Now, the Bible teaches this, even though the word triune or trinity is not in the Bible. For example, John 1 .1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1 goes on to say, all things were created through Him, being Jesus. John 1 .14 tells us we're talking about Jesus. All things were created through Him. Genesis 1 .1 says all things were created through God.

Okay. Psalm 33 says, by the breath of Yahweh's mouth, the whole universe was created. When we say the word God, quit thinking the Father only. I could say that God died for you. The person of the triune God that died for you was Jesus, but it's so correct for me to say God died for you.

I could say God elected you. The person who did that was the Father. I could say God indwells in us. The person who does that is the Holy Spirit. So, they're all uniquely God in their own person, not human person.

Matthew 28, 19, and 20, Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The name, one name, Yahweh, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

One name, three persons, showing that all three of them are the same being. John 4, God is Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. In John 1, it says, in the beginning was the Word. The Word already was in the beginning.

He's before the beginning. Same with the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1, 1, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void and darkness hovered over the earth. Darkness covered the earth and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

The Holy Spirit was already present before God said let there be. So, The triune God is one being in three persons. All right, so with that being said, the Holy Spirit is uniquely God. He is his own personhood, if you will, his own person.

So, I wouldn't necessarily say the Father and Jesus are the same person. I'm gonna say they're the same being. I wouldn't say the Spirit and the Father or Spirit and Jesus are the same person. I'm gonna say they're the same being, different persons.

Knowing that, now we look at, and we could go on and on, the Bible teaches us time and time again. You know, John 14, Jesus says, I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, the Father will send him in my name.

He will teach you all things and remind you of everything I've told you. And we can go on and on. In the book of Acts, it identifies the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus as the same person. That's pretty cool, right?

In Isaiah 63, it says the Holy Spirit was in the midst of the people being led out of the Exodus. Remember that whole pillar of fire by night and cloud by day? Now, and we're gonna get into, the Holy Spirit is the sign, the seal, of the new covenant.

We'll get into that probably next week. But now, let's turn to how the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture. We'll just do a few passages. There are numerous. In fact, in Brother Jeff's last Wednesday Night Bible Study, he had a handout that had multitudes of passages supporting this.

The Holy Spirit as the Author of Scripture

But just to name a few. Second Timothy 316 says all Scripture is breathed out by God, Theodoustos, is breathed out by God, all Scripture. But 1st Peter 120, I'm sorry, 2nd Peter 120, let's read. Knowing, first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man.

But men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, like the wind carries a boat. So men spoke. God didn't just overtake their hand. Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Pretty cool, right? So Peter's saying that no prophecy, including the one he's writing, by the way, no prophecy ever came from one's own interpretation. Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Same book, 2nd Peter chapter 3. This one's one of my favorites. Verse 16. Starting verse 15. Count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved Paul also wrote to you concerning to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters.

Notice none of Paul's letters were directed to Peter. Peter has read some of his letters with an S, because they were always intended to be circulated. When he speaks on these matters, there are some things in them that are hard to understand, with the ignorant and unstable twists and undistruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Peter just called Paul's letters Scripture. Even recognizing that Paul, a brother in Christ, even who he's had disagreements with, Paul is writing Scripture. And they recognize that. Jesus himself recognized that all Scripture was really speaking about him, in Luke 24 44.

The prophets, the law, and the Psalms all speak about me. So, one of my favorites on this is Hebrews chapter 10, when it says, in verse 15, the Holy Spirit bears witness to this when he says, and then he quotes Jeremiah 31.

Well, I'm confused. Did Jeremiah write Jeremiah or the Holy Spirit? Yes. This is why we prefer to say it written. There are 40 writers of the Bible, but one author, and that's the Holy Spirit. Jesus does the same thing when he quotes Psalm 110, and he says, the Holy Spirit testifies this through David.

Or David testifies to this by the Holy Spirit. Even, even Jesus. Jesus recognized that the Holy Spirit was the one carrying David along as he wrote. And there's example, after example, after example, after example, after example, this in the Bible.

Jesus recognized the Holy Spirit was the author of Scripture. Peter recognized the Holy Spirit was the author of Scripture. Paul recognized that the Holy Spirit was the author of Scripture. So on and so forth.

We can go on and on and on, okay? So, the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture. So, is God the author of Scripture? Yes, and the exact person who is that author is the Holy Spirit, okay?

So, not the Father uniquely, not Jesus uniquely, but the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture. Now, at the same time, there are passages where, in Hebrews 10 5, where it attributes a psalm to Jesus saying it.

So, I'm not saying the Father and Son have nothing to do with writing Scripture, but I'm saying the unique authorship of it is given primarily to the Holy Spirit. Just like I'm not saying only the Father, excuse me, only Jesus created it, as we just saw the Holy Spirit was there also, and so was the Father.

It is a mystery, but the roles given to each personhood are not so separate that the other two personhoods have nothing to do with them. I think we've done enough here to prove the point. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture.

This was Jesus' view all the time, okay? And to give you some weight of how much authority we should give the Scripture, in Romans chapter 9, Paul quotes Exodus. In the Exodus, God, Yahweh, is speaking.

And Paul, when he quotes it in Romans 9, doesn't say,. And God said to Pharaoh. Instead, in Romans 9, I think it's verse 17, it says, For the Scripture says to Pharaoh. In other words, he is equating the Scripture saying something to Pharaoh with God saying something to Pharaoh, saying that's the same thing.

That's how much authority the Bible has. That is literally God speaking to us today. Guys, I've never heard God audibly speak in my ears. Maybe you have, but I haven't. He speaks to me through His Word.

So as we study the Holy Spirit, remember, He is part of the triune God, and He is the author of Scripture. Okay, meaning all of this was authored by Him. We have 40 writers, but one author, the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion and Next Week's Topic

All right, very good. That is our video for today. Next week, we'll talk about how the Holy Spirit, what's His role in salvation. All right, as always, don't forget to, you know, what am I supposed to say, subscribe and hit the bell and share and like and all that stuff.

But more importantly, okay, if someone needs to hear this, share it with them, take them to it, but let God's Word speak to you. Not me, God's Word. Don't forget that we have our podcast now. We have our first season done, six or seven episodes.

Go check it out at Point-Taking Christian Podcast on YouTube. Again, Point-Taking Christian Podcast on YouTube. Don't forget our Wild Moments on Thursday night and all that stuff. All right, guys. I love you guys very much.

Y 'all have a great rest of your evening and great week next week and start every day with God somehow, someway. I need to remember to do that as well. A prayer, a song, scripture, reading, something.

Start your day off with that.