The Life - Giving Spirit of New Creation — Michael Flowers

Pentecost and the Life-Giving Spirit of New Creation

Well, we have just finished the cycle of 50 days of Eastertide, and now we have run smack dab in the middle of the Holy Spirit, right, the day of Pentecost, where we celebrate the coming of the life giving spirit of new creation.

And it just came to my mind this morning as we were singing, and I just thought I would say this as we began, it comes from one of the epistles of Paul, I believe, in the Second Corinthians somewhere, I believed, therefore, I spoke.

That's what we're doing as Christians, we believe, therefore, we speak, we speak the word of faith. May it be today, Lord, in Jesus name. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis chapter one says and says, now the earth was formless and empty.

Creation, the Spirit, and the Present Evil Age

Darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters, hovering over the water. Talk a little bit about the big story today to put this thing in context while we're here, while we're celebrating this feast.

Because the living word, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the one who spoke creation into existence. The Logos himself, John tells us. Was sent to give himself. Galatians one says was sent by the father to give himself for our sins, to rescue us from this present evil age.

That's why Jesus came to rescue us from this present evil age, not this present evil world. That's not the point here. It's the present evil eon age, not cosmos. What does that mean? He came to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and father, Galatians one for we also read in first Corinthians seven and first John to 17.

This present evil age is passing away. It's passing away, it's wearing out, why? We must ask why Romans 512 tells us this, Paul is ripping off of this idea that we were created for eternal communion with God.

Humanity Created for Communion With God

Holy and gracious father, in your infinite love. You made us for yourself, that's why we were created, we weren't created to be sinners, we were created to be the joy into the light of God. He created us because he loves our fellowship and he wants to give us his divine breath and communion.

The liturgy goes on to say, here's the big story. I would encourage you to maybe memorize this if you don't know how to share the gospel. This is a good way to do it when we've fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death.

You, in your mercy, sent Jesus Christ. You're only an eternal son to become one of us, to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us and to reconcile us to you, the God and father of all. That's it.

Brothers and sisters, let that be on your tongues. This is the gospel of the Lord. Amen. Otherwise, we have better things to do on this sleepy, rainy day than to believe and therefore speak. But I believe it, so I'm going to speak it and I encourage you to do the same.

Sin, Mortality, and Grace

Romans 5, 12, Paul, why is this present evil age passing away? Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin and in this way, death came to all people because all sinned.

The problem is mortality. Death becomes the final enemy to be defeated. What Paul is referring to here in Romans 5, 12 and following. Is this present? Yet passing evil age of mortality, a creation once inspired, you know what the word means inspired, in spirited, that's what that's that's where it comes from.

A creation once inspired has expired like a flat tire. The life of God has gone out. Paul tells the Ephesians that you were dead in your trespasses and sins, but God made you alive in Jesus Christ. He knows how to change our flat tires, but how might this present evil age be passing away now?

Paul continues Romans 5, 20 and following, but where sin increased, grace increased all the more so that just as sin reigned through death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life.

May I suggest that's the Holy Spirit. God is eternal life and God wants to share something with you and he can't give you stuff, he can only give you himself because that's all he has. He's simple existence, God, he doesn't have mansions to give you or big cars to give you.

He has God to give us. Amen. That's what God gives. The promise of the father is God himself. Anglicans can get excited. I just want to tell you that you see these two kingdoms here, sin reigned in death, but the reign of grace through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ and Romans 5, 20, the kingdom of God has extinguished the kingdom of darkness through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We've been served notice eternal life forever. Now, Paul is speaking from a post Pentecost proclamation. This is after Pentecost, Paul's getting all this great stuff. It's a proclamation of new creation.

New Creation in Christ

I just want to propose that what Christianity is all about is new creation. Genesis one fast forwards into John one. One. In the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word was with God. Through Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, we are given a new status now, a new status of being right in here, a new story, a new life has come to inspire, to inspirit us.

The spirit of new creation has been sent by the sun. We heard that this morning in the gospel reading. I will send you another advocate, Paraclete, Paracletus in the Greek. That word Cleitus comes out of the root for call, cry, the one who calls, the one who cries of a father inside of us, the Paracletus, the one who comes alongside and cries and calls and and enables us to worship.

Today, we celebrate the beginning of God's new creation. That's what Pentecost is all about. The beginning of a new creation in Jesus Christ from the father through the son in the spirit. That's the way it works.

It's from the father through the son in the spirit. Paul tells us a new reality, a new reality has come upon us and thank God within us. That's what Pentecost is. Before Paul's Pentecost, he was on the hunt for Christians.

But after his Pentecost, his coming to faith in Jesus Christ, he was on the hunt for everybody that needed to come out from under the reign of sin and death. Second Corinthians 517 and following says, if anyone is in Christ, that's our new status.

Faith, Mystery, and the Renewal of the Believer

I mean, we're truly in Christ. We're truly seated in heavenly places in Christ. That's a little mystical sounding, isn't it? How can I be seated in heavenly places with Christ in Christ? Who cares? We are.

I believe, therefore, I spoke right. I didn't say I understood. Therefore, I spoke. Don't don't wait till you understand all of this before you speak it. That's the foolishness of preaching because you believe it, but you don't understand it.

Even the groaning of the spirit is too deep for words inside of us. It's beyond comprehension. This is our God. I'm not here to tell you how it happens. I'm here to tell you, I believe it does. Well, if anyone is in Christ, therefore, Paul says the new creation has come.

Now, we have to believe that on a daily basis, right in the midst of our crises, in the midst of our like falling short or sleeping through the alarm or whatever it might be, that's, you know, that gets us upset and sort of in the natural realm.

We have to believe, on the other hand, that this crazy, bumbling person is still in Christ through it all. We're in Christ. The old has gone. You believe that you have to tell yourself this because it doesn't feel like it and look like it.

Sometimes the old is gone. The new is here where the new is here. Who would come up with this stuff? I mean, this is counterintuitive. Right, I mean, nobody's just going to sit down and write this and say everybody's going to believe this, the old is gone, the new is here, what on earth are you talking about?

I believe it. Therefore, I speak it. And the more that we believe the new is here, the more renewed we become. All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Reconciliation and the Church’s Ambassadorial Mission

Cilia, eyelash to eyelash, Cilia, eyelash to be reconciled is to be brought into eyelash to eyelash with God. Verse 19, that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ. He's saying the father was reconciling the world out there, all of us in this cosmos to himself in Christ, in Christ.

Not counting our sins against us. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. That's what Peter preached on this day of Pentecost. He preached the message of reconciliation. And Paul comes on board and Silas and all of these people preaching the same gospel.

We are therefore Christ ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us. I believe it. Therefore, I spoke it. God is making his appeal through us as though God were making his appeal through us.

We implore you on Christ's behalf. Come eyelash to eyelash with God. That's the word. Let's tell people God wants to get that close to you, be reconciled to God. Eyelash to eyelash, that's the most intimate relationship known on the face of the earth.

The Righteousness of God and Participation in Divine Nature

Is reconciliation with God happens through the Holy Spirit. God made him who had no sin. To be sin for us. So that in him, we might become. The righteousness of God in Christ. The righteousness of God, we might become.

How does that happen? Peter tells us we've become partakers of the divine nature. It's becoming like Christ. And it's the spirit of Christ within us that is participating in us, and we participate in him to become more like Jesus and proclaim the gospel of Jesus.

That's what this day is about. Restored communion with God, the coming of the Holy Spirit is the beginning of God's new creation work. The old is passed away, the new creation has come. The spirit hovered over the chaotic waters we read today as we began today, the Holy Spirit continues to hover over the world in order to lead us all to faith in Christ and then to breathe into our lungs.

John 20, receive the Holy Spirit to breathe into our lungs, the breath of new creation. As the Nicene Creed, we will say it today, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of is there any other kind of life, really?

There's other forms of life, but those forms of life have been infected by sin and death and they will pass away. That's why this present evil age is passing away, because it's subject to decay. And we've been given that deposit, that guarantee, that down payment, Paul says, infusions the promised Holy Spirit to let us know he's not finished with us yet.

God, who is at work in you both to will and to do. According to his good pleasure is the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ is God in you, Paul says in Philippians. God is in you both the will and to do.

According to his good pleasure, appropriate that wake up and believe that and speak that. It comes on you, but it's through faith and grace that we appropriate this, right? It's through faith and grace.

They fail to believe in the wilderness and their bones wasted away. It's only through faith and grace. The Holy Spirit, the promise of the father, leads the nations to faith in Christ. That's what this day is about.

Repentance, Baptism, and the Gift of the Holy Spirit

It's about all the world being led through the presence of God, hovering over the whole world, leading the nations to faith, to repentance and baptism into Christ in the body of Christ. What do I mean?

On the first day of Pentecost, they asked the question, what shall we do? Peter uses the keys of the kingdom. Jesus said, I'm going to give you the keys. Well, here they are. Here are the keys. He tells them how to enter through the door of the sheepfold.

Here it is. Repent. That is, turn. To the gospel that I just preached, turn to Christ that I just preached out of the Psalms, out of Joel, all these passages that they were all familiar with, but had been sort of blind to this is happening now.

I'll pour out my spirit on all flesh. Today is the day Peter is saying, therefore, how do you respond? Repent, turn and be baptized. Every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, God himself.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord, our God will call. Through repentance and faith in the waters of baptism, God gives us the promise of the Father, God himself.

Baptism as the Church’s Gospel Tradition

And so those two things Peter is pointing out, these are very, very key to the church of the great tradition, to the preaching of the gospel. It's a baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I mean, it's Nicene faith.

We say it every Sunday. I believe in one baptism period. No, for the forgiveness of sins and they're riffing off of Peter. Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. This is the Peter package, the keys to the kingdom.

No wonder it's contested. No wonder that it's deconstructed and torn apart. You can't find your keys. You're not going anywhere. I just lost my keys last week. Right. You ever lost your keys? You're kind of going around in circles looking for the keys.

This is the Peter package. These are the keys to the kingdom. Repent and be baptized. Every one of you, the promises for your children and for all who are far off. Man, this is a family package. This is the family of God coming into Christ together.

Just as the family crossed through the waters of the Red Sea and were baptized in the sea, they didn't leave their babies behind. It was the whole family that went through that baptism that Paul says is a baptism, a baptism for the forgiveness of sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit.

This is sacramental. See, the promise of the father through faith in the redemptive mission of Christ, the spirit is now hovering over the waters of baptism. The spirit is hovering over the waters of baptism, the new Pentecost pouring out his divine life in the forgiveness of sins and forming the most intimate relationship possible, eyelash to eyelash, giving his very own life to dwell within us.

The very anointing, the very presence that came on Jesus at his baptism. We experience nothing less in our baptism. He is the model, he is the way, the truth and the life, the spirit of God came down upon him as he came up out of the waters.

And this is what we believe happens in baptism. That's the power of baptism, and that's why it's commanded repent and be baptized. For the remission of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, that's the package.

And this is what the church has taught for 2000 years, we believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sin. And then number two, OK, it's a baptism not only into Christ for the remission of sins and receiving the Holy Spirit so that we can be in communion with the father and the son and the Holy Spirit.

Baptism into the Body of Christ

But he also baptizes us into the church, the body of Christ. Romans 12, you've been baptized into one body. We've been baptized into a community, a family of believers. That's the good part, isn't it, that we're not isolated and alone, but we've been given a community to walk with and to walk out our faith and to believe and speak.

From the waters of new creation into a community of newly created people, regenerated, newly created, God indwelled people, a new species of humanity, new creation. That's what Pentecost is all about.

Pentecost and the New Community of Believers

And then he describes a new embodied form of life that happened, begins to emerge. What they devoted themselves. This is the result of Pentecost. They devoted themselves to apostolic teaching, to koinonia, the communion, to the koinonia is the word.

And number three, to the breaking of bread, the Eucharist, Jesus instituted it before Pentecost. He says, do this in remembrance of me and the prayers. And so this new form of life is emerging. And these are four, if not five or six different signs, signs and wonders were done by the apostles.

And all the believers were together and had everything in common, selling their possessions and goods they gave to anyone as they had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

They broke bread together in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. It sounds like friendship, doesn't it? Friendship is emerging, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

His regeneration forms a body of believers in the deepest, most intimate form of relationship possible. We become the body of Christ. A dwelling place for God's very own life, the spirit of Jesus Christ.

Our corporate worship today, our friendships, our witness in the world, and yes, even today's first parish meeting is made possible by the communion of the Holy Spirit. We're all here because that Paracletus, that one who calls, we heard that inaudible voice calling us to be together as a family.

That's Paracletus, that's Paraclete, the one who calls, the one who cries. We've answered that call together as a body, as a family. It's the Holy Spirit's doing. Therefore, if anyone be in Christ, new creation, come Holy Spirit.