OPEN: A missionary named Herbert Jackson who told of being given car that wouldn’t start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them give his car push to get it started. As he traveled around the area, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. Some times he would get other children to help him push it to get it started. He used this ingenious procedure for 2 years.
At the end of that two years, however, he needed to return to the states because of health problems and a new missionary came to replace him.
Of course, the car stayed with the new missionary, and so Jackson began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started. As he did so, the new man began looking under the hood.
“Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.”
He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For 2 years, the only trouble with that car was a loose connection. The power was there all the time.
It’s just that Jackson didn’t realize how to access it.
APPLY: There’s a power source for the church.
There’s a force that electrifies the Christian.
And the Bible tells us that power, that force, that energy is the Spirit of God.
In Romans 15:13 Paul prayed “…that (the Christians there) may overflow with hope by the POWER of the Holy Spirit.
He prayed essentially the same thing for the Christians at Ephesus: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with POWER through his Spirit in your inner being.” Ephesians 3:16
And Paul encouraged Timothy by telling him “…God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of POWER, 2 Timothy 1:7
God has given us His power and His power comes through His Spirit that dwells inside of us.
It’s such a wondrous thing that John marvels:
“…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4
We have received a powerful and life changing gift
The Spirit of God is marvelous power in our lives.
And yet… it’s really kind of surprising how little the Bible tells us about Him.
There are far more passages in Scripture that deal with the Father and the Son. By comparison the teaching about God’s Spirit in the Bible is disappointingly meager.
But Jesus seems to be telling us here in John 14 that it wouldn’t make any difference how much the Bible told us about God’s Spirit – most people wouldn’t understand much about Him anyway.
Look again at John 14:16-17
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
The world can’t accept God’s Spirit
It doesn’t see the Spirit… nor know Him.
This implies to me that God’s Spirit isn’t the easiest thing for mortals to comprehend.
In fact, this idea (that the Spirit IS hard to understand) is best shown in the difficulty that many people have in accepting that God’s Spirit is person. That He is a He.
ILLUS: Back in 2003, World Magazine, reported a study of people who identified themselves as being “Born Again”. They answered questions about what they believed on various subjects.
Now these folks weren’t necessarily Christians (by anybody’s standards) because fully 35% of them didn’t believe Jesus had risen from the dead.
But THEY believed they were born again.
And of these people who thought they belonged to God – a little more than half (52%) thought God’s Spirit was an “It”. (“Unbelieving Born-Agains” 12-6-03)
Many of the people who took part in this survey were probably just common folks that didn’t know much about their Bibles. But even in theological circles (filled with highly educated religious people) there are often many who have trouble accepting that God’s Spirit is a person (He).
Well is He?
Is the Spirit of God a “He”?
Well, yeah. All you have to do is look at our passage today:
John 14:17 tells us... The world cannot accept HIM, because it neither sees HIM nor knows HIM. But you know HIM, for HE lives with you and will be in you.”
Jesus tells us - the Spirit of God that lives inside of each Christian - is a He… not an it.
Now, there are many people who have trouble with that.
They visualize Him as being a variation on “The Force from Star Wars.
They see Him as impersonal and inanimate.
But by contrast, Scripture tells us that God’s Spirit is a living, personal piece of God that lives in us. He has feelings and character We’re told that this Spirit can:
1. Speak to us. 1 Tim. 4:1
2. Teach us. John 14:26
3. Guide us. John 16:13
4. He can be grieved. Eph. 4:30
5. He can be lied to. Acts 5:3
6. He can be resisted. Acts 7:51
God’s Spirit has a mind. He has feelings.
He’s not some remote, distant power… He is God - inside of us.
And what is more, He is of what Christians refer to as being part of the Trinity.
The word “trinity” isn’t found in Scripture… but the concept is.
Trinity comes from the idea of God being a Tri-unity.
One God – three parts.
Colossians 2:9 refers to it as the Godhead.
We know this is true, because the three identities of God show up in several passages:
In Mt 28:19 we’re commanded to “… go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
I Corinthians 12 uses the same breakdown when it says
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” 1Co 12:4-6
And then in II Corinthians 13:14 Paul prays…
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
The Bible teaches the concept of the Trinity.
But there are some people have trouble with that idea.
After all, how can God be ONE (God)… and still have three separate personalities?
It’s a good question.
But like all questions, it starts with an assumption.
The assumption is – God uses the same math as I do.
(you’ll need to use an overhead or blackboard for the following illustration)
They see this equation:
1
1
1
--
????
And they say… well, that’s obvious.
One, plus one, plus one equals 3.
That makes sense, doesn’t it?
Yeah… except – if you’ll notice the equation - there’s something missing.
What’s missing?
The plus sign.
Let’s fill in the missing element here:
1
x 1
x 1
---
????
What happens when you multiply 1 x 1 x 1???
What does it equal? ONE
You see, God doesn’t do math like we do math.
And that’s partly because God doesn’t think like we think
Isaiah 55:9 declares “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
In other words, I don’t have to understand the things of God.
I just need to realize - if the Bible teaches it… that’s just the way it is.
I don’t get to vote on it, I don’t get to change it to fit my personal mindset.
It’s just the way it is.
ILLUS: Now, I can use common physical things in our world to help me visualize the trinity.
For example there’s the phenomena of light.
Scientists tell us that light has three characteristics.
There’s VISIBLE light. Light from the sun and from lamps and flashlights.
Then there’s INVISIBLE light. Infrared.
Then there’s HEAT such as we get from the light generated by light bulbs.
Thus, there are three traits that make up this thing we call light
There’s light we can see, light we can’t see, and light we can feel.
Another favorite illustration of the Trinity can be shown by a common glass of water.
You take part of that water and pour it into an ice cube tray, and what does it become? (ice)
You take another part and pour it in a pan, place it on a stove and turn the heat on high. What does it become? Steam.
Thus, from one glass of water you have a liquid, a solid, and a vapor.
Now there are theologians that quibble that these illustrations are imperfect.
That’s OK…I don’t care what they think.
All I care is that these simple illustrations help me wrap my mind around a concept of the Trinity that I know is taught in Scripture. These illustrations don’t have to be perfect. They just have to be helpful in knowing more about God.
But there’s an even bigger question here for me.
Something deeper and more profound than theology.
And that question is this… why would God place Himself inside us to begin with?
As I was thinking about this question it occurred to me that God had put Himself within His people before… back in the Old Testament.
When God led His people out of Egypt He guided them in a very unique way.
Do you remember how He showed His people where to go?
That’s right - A Pillar of cloud by day, a Pillar of fire by night.
Whenever the pillar moved – the people were to move.
Whenever the pillar stopped – the people stopped.
And when the Tabernacle was built, we’re told “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” Ex 40:34
When the Temple was built, I Kings 8 tells us it happened again.
“… it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place (Temple), that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” 1Kings 8:10-11
When the cloud was present, the people knew God was in their midst. They knew this was not just any ordinary cloud that passed overhead in the sky... this was God come down among them. And the Jews came to refer to this cloud as the Shekinah Glory. (see footnote)
The word Shekinah comes from the Hebrew word that means: “settle”, “inhabit”, or “dwell”.
The Shekinah glory assured His people that God was there.
He had settled amongst them.
He was dwelling with them.
His cloud comforted His people with the knowledge that He was WITH them.
And so – when God wanted to give His Christian children a comforter to be with them, He didn’t send a substitute. He didn’t give them an impersonal presence.
He sent a part of Himself – His Holy Spirit.
And that’s one of the major reason He’s called the COMFORTER. (KJV)
He comforts us because He is God’s promise that He’s always there
ILLUS: Years ago, someone put this idea in the form of a poem.
Perhaps you’ve heard it
"One night I had a dream.
I was walking along the beach with my Lord and across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.
When the last scene of my life shot before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand - and there was only one set footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life.
This bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma:
’Lord, you told me - when I decided to follow you – you would walk and talk with me all the way. But I’m aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don’t understand why, when I needed you most, you’d leave me.’
He whispered, ’My precious child, I love you and will never leave you.
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.’"
That poem tries to help understand the concept that God intended His Spirit to accomplish in our lives. God’s Spirit is there to comfort us. To be with us. To never leave us or forsake. And to carry us along when life gets too harsh for us to handle.
Now, earlier in this sermon I marveled that the Bible didn’t tell us more about God’s Spirit.
I noted that there were far more Scriptures dealing with Jesus than there were of the Spirit and His work within us.
Why would that be?
Well, I’ve often noticed that when God wants to stress one thing more than another in the Bible, He often focuses far more attention on that item.
Thus, God wanted us to pay more attention to His Son, than to His Spirit.
Not that the Spirit is unimportant, but to focus more on Him than on Jesus is to miss the point.
ILLUS: One author observed: “anytime a movement gives more emphasis to the Holy Spirit than it gives to Christ, and is more concerned with Pentecost than it is with Calvary, that movement is unbalanced.” J.J. Turner and Edward P. Myers Doctrine of the Godhead p. 103
Scripture tells us where our focus should be – on Jesus
In John 14:15-17a Jesus said "If you LOVE ME, you will OBEY WHAT I COMMAND. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.”
When we focus on Jesus and what He did for us, then we’ll receive His Spirit.
That’s part of the reason, on Pentecost, Peter told the crowd "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
In our baptism we focus on what Jesus for us.
In baptism, we reenact the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
And when we’ve obeyed Jesus in this, we rise to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
FOOTNOTE
The word "Shekinah" is not found in Scripture. It is derived from several references such as:
* Psalm 132:5 ("Before I find a place for God, mishcanot (dwelling-places) for the Strong One of Israel.")
* Exodus 40:35 - "Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested [shakhan] upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle."
* The word for Tabernacle, mishcan, is a derivative of the same root and is also used in the sense of dwelling-place in the Bible.
* Easton’s Bible Dictionary, published in 1897, says:
Shechinah – a Chaldee word meaning resting-place, not found in Scripture, but used by the later Jews to designate the visible symbol of God’s presence in the Tabernacle, and afterwards in Solomon’s temple. When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, he went before them "in a pillar of a cloud." This was the symbol of his presence with his people. God also spoke to Moses through the ’shekhinah’ out of a burning bush. For references made to it during the wilderness wanderings, see Exodus 14:20; 40:34-38; Leviticus 9:23, 24; Numbers 14:10; 16:19, 42.
