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Father we praise you this morning For all that you have blessed us with For all that you have given us for this opportunity we have to Study your word to gather together To be reminded of your goodness to us.
Lord we would pray that this morning would be a time of Blessing for us a time of Re-invigoration for us a time of just reflecting upon Everything that you have done through your word through your son through your spirit in Christ's name.
We pray amen. Well. Have a few odds and ends here. I thought about doing a quiz, but I really kind of ran out of quiz time but Pradeep is not here as you'll find out later. Pradeep is actually was scheduled to be here to teach Sunday school, but is actually in West Hartford because Ted Bigelow Pastor of Grace Church Hartford had a heart attack on Thursday night, so Things shuffle around and Pradeep is down there teaching today, and we're thankful for that.
How many of you are familiar with Wikipedia. All You netheads. You you know what Wikipedia is. Wikipedia is an interesting thing because it is a free Encyclopedia available to everyone on the internet.
The problem with Wikipedia is what? Anybody can adjust it. In fact I've suggested we make a few corrections to pastor Mike's Entry, but I won't get into that right now. But I looked up in the we're gonna be talking about the Holy Spirit this morning and You know as a complete coincidence, I'll also be talking about the Holy Spirit this morning during the sermon.
It is a coincidence sure anyway. Wikipedia says in the belief of many non trinitarian religions. Which would include Christ Adelphians Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Holy Spirit is God's Spirit small s or Active force and not an actual person.
Ug is right these beliefs may be drawn from passages, and then they enlist the passages. But here's one. Let's turn to Luke 1 35. Yeah. Well I mean there are many and we're going to talk about some a few wrong views here before we get to the right view Luke 1 35 fact.
I've entitled this morning. Pardon me for turning my back on you. This is a public no-no in public speaking and I never supposed to do this, but I just stepped on my shoelace. Pardon me why? Because I figure if I don't retie it I'll step on it again, and then it'll just be worse because I'll fall down which is the cardinal rule of.
Yeah, no, I'll fall backwards. Yeah, and then you guys go whoa. It's pneumatology 202. Luke 135 Benny Hinn has come the angel answered and said to her The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you and For that reason the Holy Child should be called the Son of God now you read that and You know we think okay, the Holy Spirit is going to work in Mary the power of God will work in Mary and therefore The sinless Son of God will be born.
You know is there a little bit of mystery there sure and when they're ever there's any kind of Mystery involved that's where the cults plunge in and explain things perfectly and make a total abomination out of it.
Here the phrase Holy Spirit is taken by this is Wikipedia again. It's taken by non-trinitarians to be synonymous parallelism. Who can explain that for us synonymous parallelism because I sure can't explain that.
Nobody. Well, okay, I will explain it. It just means exactly the same thing in other words. They're gonna say this is one idea, and if I say that something else is synonymously parallel with it another idea.
Then I'm equating the two. Synonymous parallelism okay, so this is what they're saying. Here the phrase Holy Spirit in Luke 135 the Holy Spirit is The same as the power of the Most High so he's not a person.
According to these people he is the power of God. Does that make sense? I'm not saying is it right, but doesn't make sense sort of kind of that's how they take things and As we will see later on there are a lot of problems with this, but I want to give you another one.
This is from Theopedia. How many of you are familiar with Theopedia? See you not only have to be a net head you have to be you know theological scholar. Thank you. It's a it's a pretty good site, it's not complete enough.
But that's because I don't think they just let any goofball get on there, and you know like Wikipedia Theopedia says one of the two most distinguishing beliefs and practices within oneness Pentecostal and Brother Bruce mentioned oneness he mentioned TD Jake's which is he is the most famous oneness Pentecostal Leader and one of the top-selling Christian authors Christian authors.
Oneness Pentecostal ism. One of the two most distinguishing beliefs of oneness Pentecostal ism is something called modalism the other distinguishing belief by the way is Oneness Pentecostal ism. I'm sure you've all been there is.
They have they baptize they or they baptize they baptize in the name of Jesus only Jesus only Modalism who can explain modalism. Dallas. Okay, the three persons of the Holy Spirit will appear sometimes as the father sometimes as a son sometimes those spirit depending on the need and That's really close the only change.
I would make to that is they don't really we would say persons. They wouldn't say persons so Oneness Pentecostals deny the Trinity and that's why when I say TD Jake's You know Christian author Christian and quotes is because generally speaking, you know to the world.
What is a Christian a Christian is anybody who says? I'm a Christian, you know, we have people running for president who belong to You know religions that are inherently not Christian they don't believe that Jesus died for all their sins they don't believe that.
They believe they have to work their way to heaven they don't believe in the Trinity and yet they say they're Christians. TD Jake says he's a Christian. So people say okay, you're a Christian, but one this Pentecostals deny the Trinity.
Believing instead that monotheistic God in other words one God manifests himself in the offices or roles exactly what Dallas was saying of the members of the Trinity. And this is one of their statements statement of oneness belief God is absolutely one with no distinction of persons.
None, and in order to save sinful humanity God provided and this is by the way a statement from the United Pentecostal Church International which you know most of us know as the UPCI. Anyway in order to save sinful humanity God provided a sinless man as a sacrifice of atonement Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Now what's wrong with that? Right. That's exactly right because he was was Jesus sinless. Yes, was he a man? Yes. So what's missing exactly what Peggy said, you know that he was God also. You know could a sinless.
Well a could just a man be sinless. No. And if a man could be sinless What would the advantage of that be to us? None. He'd save himself and this is you know, this is exactly This is a Mormon thing actually.
Since I can speak to that with some authority Jesus According to Mormonism existed just like all of us did in a pre-existence. This would be somewhere about Genesis negative 14 and We all exist as spirit beings Jesus being the firstborn of the spirit beings.
Which you know when you start pulling things out of Colossians 1 and other places you can come to that erroneous conclusion if you don't really know what you're talking about and. And That that's the essence of that but anyway, they then Mormonism says that Jesus stepped forward and said I'll go and live a perfect life and I will die a sacrificial death and on that basis people can be brought back to neutral with you and You know that they can seek forgiveness and so that is in essence Mormonism, but Anyway moving on with oneness Pentecostal ism says here God provided a sinless man as a sacrifice of atonement and Then in beginning the Son and in relating to humanity God is the father in other words God takes on the mode or the I don't you want to call him the person but just kind of Plays the role of the father.
But in working to transform and empower human lives God is the Holy Spirit. So thus for our salvation God has revealed himself as father in parental unit relationship to humanity in his son in human flesh and as the Holy Spirit in spiritual action and They have various proof texts for that.
So we know that's not right, we know that's not historically correct. And so now I want to talk about who the Holy Spirit actually is that he is not a force. That he is not a mode of God, but that he is in fact the third person of the Trinity, you know.
And this is something I'm going to mention in the sermon and maybe perhaps Lord willing with a little more depth, but it is Important to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in our salvation. And it's important to kind of wrestle with the whole idea of the Trinity period.
I think. You know, we tend to think that things run like this father son Spirit. You know that the father is super important Jesus. Maybe really even is very close to importance and then the Holy Spirit the Bible doesn't present things that way.
You know, it's kind of like what do we say? Husband Wife. Depends on who you're listening to. I listen this I listen to some women's group and they say hey, that's what Christians say husband wife. Truth is what they're both equal.
They have different roles and in the Trinity. They're all three equal. They have different roles. But the Holy Spirit is not a force. He is a person. How do we know that because he takes action in Luke 135, which we just looked at.
What's the action that he takes? I'm sorry He comes upon Mary. He is involved in again, you know little shrouded mystery, how does a Virgin conceive a child. Well the Holy Spirit the power of God comes upon that egg and Fertilizes it in a way so that it's not tainted by sin.
Sin comes from Adam. She obviously doesn't have that, you know was Mary sinless by the way. Just checking. Okay. She needed a Savior. She tells us that. But he takes action the Holy Spirit does he also works he does things.
Let's look at 1st Peter 1 1 and 2 Passage we should be remotely familiar with. I'm remotely familiar with it. First Peter 1 1 and 2 Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered through Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
By the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. What is the Holy Spirit doing here? Sanctifying. He's doing a sanctifying work setting apart the Saints of God so again, we see that.
This isn't a force. This is the third person of the Trinity actually Doing something the Holy Spirit also suffers grief. We won't go to Ephesians 430 instead I thought it'd be interesting to go to the Old Testament and look at Isaiah 63 10.
Isaiah 63 10 but they rebelled and aggrieved his Holy Spirit. Therefore he turned himself to become their enemy and he fought against them. Okay, interesting, I I mean it's really it is Intriguing to find references to the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament because we tend to think of Holy Spirit as You know some kind of New Testament phenomenon and that is far from the case.
But he suffers grief. He also Makes decisions. He makes decisions. Can a force make a decision? Can a force suffer grief? No first Corinthians 1211. I'm gonna go ahead and read that so we can move on first Corinthians 1211 talking about Spiritual gifts but one and the same spirit talking about the Holy Spirit works all these things Distributing to each one meaning every believer Individually just as he wills and that word wills means desires just as he wants to a Force doesn't have desires a force doesn't have a decision-making process.
What else is the Holy Spirit do? He teaches he comforts he guides he encourages us. Let's look at John 14 26. John 14 26. And some of this is going to be like You know, I'm going to be some doing some scripture scripture audibilizing John 14 26 X 931, you know all that kind of stuff.
It's football season. So, you know, why not? John 14 26, but the helper and Here's a synonymous parallelism for you, but the helper gee who would the helper be the Holy Spirit? Whom the Father will send in my name.
He will teach you all things Bringing to your remembrance all that I said to you now, what does it mean? That he's going to well, first of all, who's he talking to? He's talking to the disciples. And so when we read this, what does it really tell us about the disciples and about their future activity?
Why is it? I well, I mean, I guess what I'm what I'm wondering about is when we think about scripture. What does this tell us about scripture anything? The importance of scripture, okay, what's that Steve?
That's right. So when we think about you, you know again, we we I know Pradeep's Teaching about the Gospels right now in IBS and when we think about you read scholars and what they say about Especially the Gospels how they relied upon one another how they copied from one another how you know.
There are these conflicts and everything like that. I'm just like well, okay. All I know is that Jesus said That the Holy Spirit was going to bring to their remembrance all that he said to them All and everything so that when they wrote the scripture, what were they doing?
They were recalling those things that Jesus told them by the power of the Holy Spirit in that same way I mean we could look at 1st Corinthians 2 14. Which you don't have to turn there. But basically the idea is that how do we understand what the Bible says now?
How do we do it by the power of the Holy Spirit? So the Holy Spirit was active in Helping the disciples to remember the Apostles later on to remember what they should write what Jesus taught them and He's active now and helping us to understand what they wrote.
He also comforts Acts 9 31. Acts 9 31 says so the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace. I like that Being built up and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
It continued to increase The comfort of the Holy Spirit and that's you know, what what I've been Talking about from first Peter when we have that That sense of salvation when we understand rightly what God has done.
We have peace. That's what Peter wished for his Audiences he was writing them was peace grace and peace. So he gives us comfort. He also guides us. Let's look at or I'll read first John 2 27 as for you the anointing now I once had a woman asked me and I think it was my first fundamentals of the faith class when I was teaching.
You know, I and I basically knew she was coming from a charismatic background. She said what's the anointing? So I I was like. Because it's it's just a scary thing if you I used to watch a lot more TVN than I do now when you hear.
You know, oh that song was anointed that suit is anointed. I you know, everything is anointed. You know, the set is anointed. I don't even know, you know, so she's like, well, what is the anointing? The anointing is the work of the Spirit.
But the anointing which you receive from him abides in you and you have no need for anyone to teach you. This is John talking to believers. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and it's true and is not a lie.
Just as it has taught you you abide in him. MacArthur says here God's Holy Spirit guards and guides the true believer into the truth. It's just the same thought as in 1st Corinthians 2 14. See Romans 8 16 because he also encourages us.
How does the Holy Spirit encourage us? Romans 8 16 would tell us that the Holy Spirit is our internal witness. The Spirit talking about the Holy Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God and I love this verse.
You know, you want to know if you're a Christian there are two ways to know and I've said this on many occasions there. There is the external Witness in other words, we can examine ourselves. We can see our own lives.
We can determine whether or not we're in the faith by our desires by our actions. What we want to do what we do do and Then there's the internal witness where we just know that we know that we know and how is that because the Spirit the Holy Spirit Testifies to our spirit that we are children of God.
There's a subjective Sense that we have that we belong to him. So that's what some of the activities that he does. It's also important to note that He is fully God and I won't even read the whole thing, but He's fully God comes that becomes clear in Acts 5 the story of Ananias and Sapphira.
And what does Peter say to Ananias? You have lied not to men, but to God and using synonymous parallelism. I'm going to flog that today. Using synonymous parallelism. What does he tell him that the Holy Spirit is?
God. What does it mean to commit blasphemy? What is blasphemy? I mean, I started looking it up. You know different places and you know, some people were saying blasphemy against Peter and I thought this blasphemy against Peter.
What is it what is it what sense does that make blasphemy defined in the dictionary is The act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. I Think that's an okay definition. But Jesus gave a much better definition.
Let's look at Matthew 12. Matthew 12, please turn there because I'm going to read a bit of a passage. Not a bit of a passage but a passage. Matthew 12 verses 22 through 32. Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute Was brought to Jesus and He healed him so that the mute man spoke and saw in other words what was wrong with him was no longer wrong with him.
All the crowds were amazed and were saying this man Jesus Cannot be the son of David Kenny. But when the Pharisees heard this in other words, could he be the fulfillment of prophecy? When the Pharisees heard this they said Hold on in ease up this man Casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.
The Pharisees said no. No, he's not the son of David. He can only do this cast out these demons which they were saying. And rightfully so that this man was demon-possessed. He was blind and mute but they were saying that he can only do that because he was acting on the power of the ruler of demons and Knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them any kingdom divided against itself.
I'll thank you. Knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste in any city or house divided itself against itself. Will not stand if Satan casts out Satan. He is divided against himself.
How then will his kingdom stand? Same Analogy. If I cast or if I buy Beelzebul cast out demons. That's what they're saying. By whom do your cat your sons cast them out. For this reason they will be your judges.
But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God. Then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strongman's house and carry off his property? Unless he first binds the strongman and then he will plunder his house.
He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I say to you any sin and Blasphemy shall be forgiven people but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven him either in this age or in the age to come. So, how does Jesus define blasphemy?
Okay, he says it's the unforgivable sin. What else does he say about it? It's directed against the Holy Spirit, which means that if it's speaking against God it is it's equating God with the Holy Spirit.
Whoever speaks against God the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven in. And what he was really saying is it was Jesus was casting out these demons. By what? By the power of Satan. No. By the power of the Holy Spirit.
So what he's saying is you guys are saying you have seen the works of the Holy Spirit and you are attributing those works to Satan. That is a blasphemy that cannot be forgiven. Not in this age or the age to come so can somebody commit the you know blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
I talked about this months ago about the stupid thing online that they're encouraging. Especially young people to go online and take the blasphemy challenge where you can say I renounce the Holy Spirit and you know that's supposed to Send you to Hell and these people are quite proud of that.
The problem with that is The way Jesus has defined it for us here blasphemy against the Spirit would be seeing the work of God and attributing it to Satan so I suppose if the Lord were to come down here and perform some kind of miracle and I were to say That was by the power of Satan then that would be the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
But I don't believe we can do that Bruce. Did you have something? Okay, well good point then. All right number four the Holy Spirit. I Have been doing a great job of telling you about the outline but the Holy Spirit performs acts only God can perform.
Acts only God can perform. I mentioned the virgin birth who else could do that. Who else could? Ensure that Jesus would be born sinless. No one else could do that. He also anointed Jesus at the beginning of Jesus ministry, let's look at mark 1 verses 10 to 12.
Immediately, this is well starting verse 9 in those days. Jesus came from Nazareth and Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water He saw the heavens opening and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him and a voice came out of the heavens.
You are my beloved son in you. I am well, please now, you know, I read that whole passage and to me that just Would give motorless all kinds of problems because here you have The father being the voice out of the heavens, right?
You are my beloved son. You have the Spirit like a dove descending upon him and the son Being baptized. So how does that work for three modes when all modes are there, you know, I'm sure they have some spiffy explanation of that and like I said, I think most cults do if you can Make a shambles out of the clear verses.
Imagine what you can do with other ones. So he's right there at the beginning of Jesus ministry and that is in essence the kind of symbol That the Spirit was upon him and that he was going to be Doing the works of the father that really inaugurated his ministry.
The Holy Spirit was also involved in the resurrection of Christ. No. It had to be a power of God of God to do that. Let's look at Romans 8 11. But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also Give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you.
Interesting because what does that say there too will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit. So he's involved in regeneration. We would know that from other places as well. The baptizing of the Holy Spirit who else would do the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit.
I want to move on because I want to make sure where are we here time-wise? I want to make sure we get to the the final few points here indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You know true or false. The Holy Spirit comes and goes in the lives of believers.
Anybody want to give me a true before the cross? Yeah, somebody gave me a true Bernard. Okay in the Old Testament. Yeah in terms of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, you know, the Spirit doesn't leave now when I think of my first assignment at seminary Ephesians 518, which was a Travesty and a sham and a mockery but Ephesians 518 not the verse my assignment Says be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Why would it say be filled with the Holy Spirit? You have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So why would there be a command there in Ephesians 518 to Lewis? That's right. That's right. Lewis said for purposes of the table that that that the Holy Spirit has come in a whole new way and that happened.
Began on the day of Pentecost and in the lives of believers. We are called to yield to him to be filled with him in the sense that we obey we don't go our own way. But we yield to the Spirit. We are obedient to the Spirit.
We seek to obey God. We seek to obey Christ. We seek to obey the Trinity. Jesus or the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts. Talked about that. He was also present in creation. Genesis 1 2 is hovering over the waters.
Job 26 13 and 33. 4 give us Some other indications that the Spirit was involved in creation. Holy Spirit is also involved in salvation and regeneration. John 3 Jesus says it himself, you know when he's talking about you must be born again.
He talks about the Spirit comes and goes where he wills and that he works as he wills. Let's look at Titus 3 5. Okay, I'm gonna read 4 as well. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared he saved us not on the basis of deeds.
Which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy. By the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit again. It's not One person of the Trinity doing all the work the Trinity works together and here we see how the Spirit is involved in the regeneration of us.
Regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. He causes us to be born again. He intercedes on our behalf. We looked at Romans 8 26 and 27. We would understand that even when we don't know what to say.
We don't know how to pray that the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. He's involved in Scripture. We could look at Acts 4 25. Psalm 2 verses 1 and 2. 2nd Peter 1 20 and 21 also involved in our sanctification as I said in 1st Peter 1.
Galatians 3 3. 2nd Thessalonians 2 13. I want to get to point number 5 here. Which was the Holy Spirit has all the attributes of God. The Holy Spirit has all the attributes of God just as Lewis said, but I think I think it's so key for us to understand again, we tend to think of there being some kind of rank structure and a I Just don't know how to say it because they do function differently for example.
And again, I'll say some of this a little bit later on. You know who sent the Son to Earth. The Father. Okay, who sent the Spirit to the earth? The Father and the Son. Okay. So, you know does that mean the Spirit is less.
No he has all the power all. The knowledge. He has all the attributes of God. Let's look at Romans 15 19. Yes. Okay, I'm gonna read that later on this morning, but I think It's Christ talking at Isaiah 48 16 and he Pre-existent Christ talking in case those of you are wondering.
Well, how could Jesus be talking in Isaiah? 48 pre-existent Christ speaking and he says that Talking about the Father has sent me and his spirit I think it says but we'll talk about that later. Omnipotence.
Romans 5 or 15 19 as I turn to Romans 16 never do that 15 19 in the power of signs and wonders in the power of the Spirit so that from Jerusalem and round as far as a lyric um, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ so we see that Paul was able By the power of the Spirit to do what I?
Mean he did this on many occasions. He was able to preach and he did so in the power of signs and wonders. I Mean the Spirit is Powerfully as all the power of the Godhead. There's nothing That he can't do.
Omniscience. Which means what you know omnipotence means he's all-powerful. Omniscience means that he knows everything. I think the easiest one to see that is 1st Corinthians 2 verses 10 and 11 just a few pages over.
For to us God revealed them Through the Spirit for the Spirit searches all things even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him. Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
What more knowledge could there be than knowing the thoughts of God? Omni-presence which just means that the Holy Spirit is what? Everywhere. Let's look at Isaiah, or I'm sorry Psalm 139 we could look at Isaiah 139.
But that would just take a very long time, so I don't want to turn there. Psalm 139 7 to 10 where can I go from your spirits? What's the answer to that? No where or where can I flee from your presence.
If I ascend to heaven you are there if I make my bed in Sheol. Which is where? Hell. Old Testament style. Behold you are there if I take the wings of the dawn. If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea.
Even there your hand will lead me and your right hand will lay hold of me. Listen you know we might be able to think that we can flee for the presence of God we can't. We might think that the Holy Spirit isn't everywhere because we might not feel him sometimes we none might not feel Filled with the Holy Spirit and getting back to Ephesians 518.
What does it mean if we don't feel? Filled that's you have to say that carefully if we don't feel Filled with the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? We have a problem. The problem isn't with the Holy Spirit.
He hasn't run out of power. The problem is with us. We have set some obstruction between us and the Holy Spirit, and what would that obstruction be? Sin. So what Paul says? Well, and basically what does he say in Ephesians 518 who has that memorized?
Do not be. Yeah, filled with wine drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. Which would right away tell us what that being drunk with wine is not a good thing. It's a sin. Why would we not want to be drunk with wine I?
Mean think think about the just that contrast there. What does it mean to be drunk with wine if you're drunk what happens? You lose control you have no control. What are the fruits of the Spirit? Self-control.
So when Paul says don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. What's he really saying? Don't be out of control. Don't be drunk and out of control and doing all that like the Ephesians are given to do the not the Ephesian Believers, but the Ephesian unbelievers, but instead be filled with the Spirit be self-controlled.
Be obedient to God the Holy Spirit is also worthy of divine honor you know when we see That the oneness Pentecostals only want to baptize in the name of Jesus. You know what what comes to our minds right away the Great Commission Matthew 28 Verses 19 and 20 something that we hear every time a missionary comes here for some reason I don't know exactly why that is.
It's like they all have one text. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we baptize we baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Why? That's no reason number one because we're commanded to. I mean it's black and white right. What's the other one? What would be the other not? Entirely there, but implied reason that we would baptize in them in the name of the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit.
Right because we believe in the Trinity we want to honor all three persons of the Trinity. When you say you know and this this is something maybe a lot of you didn't stumble with but I sure did because when I came To Christ as I said I came I mean Eventually if I trace it back I came out of a Mormon background.
I went from Mormonism to you know psychologized paganism to Christianity, but In Mormonism they would baptize the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit. But it had or Holy Ghost. But it had an entirely different meaning.
The reason we would do that is because we want to honor all three of them. And you must believe in the Trinity. And I did not and it was a stumbling block for me because when I first understood who Jesus was I still didn't get the Trinity.
Because I'd spent my whole life not believing in it. But the Holy Spirit is worthy of divine honor. Let's look at Romans 9. I mean if it's blasphemy. To attribute the thing of the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan then certainly he's worthy of all honor.
Listen to Paul in Romans 9. I am telling the truth in Christ. I am NOT lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit. That I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. What does he mean when he says my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit?
Now if you have the MacArthur study notes, you can just quickly scan down there and see what it says. What does it mean? Nobody's read those notes yet? Okay, only when the conscience or this conscience is controlled by the Spirit can it be trusted.
Listen. We can think that what we're doing is right, but what do we know from the Bible? Jeremiah 17 9 says the heart is that desperately wicked deceitful. It's when we're filled with the Spirit when we're being led by the Spirit when our conscience and The Spirit are the same thing we we are so spirit controlled spirit filled that our conscience is clear not because we're deceiving ourselves.
But because the Spirit's really in control. He is worthy of divine honor because we obey God when we obey the Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit we obey God. Well 2nd Corinthians one more Scripture.
2nd Corinthians 13 14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Why would Paul close a letter like that? Why would he do that if he wasn't equating a Holy Spirit with God if he saw the Holy Spirit as a force.
What do you see a you know? What do you say the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? The love of God and the fellowship of the Holy of that force be with you all. What is that? Yeah. Not even gonna do my Darth Vader thing right now.
Listen, it is important. It is important to rightly understand who the Holy Spirit is. To have an appreciation for who he is. We don't Sing songs about the Holy Spirit. We don't do a lot of things with the Holy Spirit.
But that's because of his role and his role is not a lesser role. It is a different role. He points to Christ. He points to the Father. He Inspires the Word of God. He controls us as we yield ourselves to him.
The Holy Spirit Indwells us. The Holy Spirit has a special role to play. He is fully and Holy God as all the attributes of God Performs actions only God can perform. And When we come across people like Jehovah Witnesses like oneness Pentecostals like Mormons anybody who wants to call themselves a Christian and They have a faulty idea of who the Holy Spirit is.
We need to correct them on one at least one thing. They at least need to understand that they can't be a Christian and have that view of the Holy Spirit. Let's pray Father. Thank you again for this time in your Word.
Thank you for this reminder of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. Of his equality with you of his Holiness of his attributes. And father we just praise you for him. Praise you for his work. Praise you for your son's work in our lives father.
Would you bless our coming time of fellowship? Worship of you this morning in Christ name. We pray amen.