Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
Introduction
It would be good to review for a moment the discussion of the book. Paul is concerned about divisions in the church. The Corinth saints have begun to form parties, or at least identify themselves, under the names of church leaders. Chapter 1, verse 17, reveals what is at the heart of these divisions: For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Note that phrase “eloquent wisdom.” This is what the Corinth saints prided themselves in possessing. As Paul described them in 1:5, they were “enriched in [Christ] in all speech and all knowledge. From verse 17 on, Paul discusses this matter of what is true wisdom as opposed to worldly wisdom. The cross of Christ is foolishness to the world, but real power to those being saved. The Corinth believers themselves exemplify God’s wisdom in calling those who seem weak and foolish into his kingdom. In chapter two, Paul notes that his style of ministry seems foolish, and, yet, those with spiritual maturity understand that the gospel of the cross is profound wisdom. It is now, discussing how people are able to be spiritually discerning, that he introduces the work of the Holy Spirit. In this context, he explains how the Holy Spirit illumines the mines of Christians to understand the gospel and Scripture.
Before we move on, it seems wise to consider the Holy Spirit and his work. Paul will make reference to him twenty four times in this letter, seven times in chapter two alone. Who is the Holy Spirit and what does he do?
Who
The Holy Spirit is God; he is the third Person of the Trinity. As our Confession puts it: “In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.”
Is that clear? If it is, you have a sharper mind than most theologians! It is an incomprehensible doctrine, as most doctrines of God are, such as God being without beginning or present everywhere. We have nothing from our own experience to explain it. Why then do we have such a doctrine? Because Scripture pushes us to do so. Scripture makes clear that there is only one God. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. That is a quote from Jesus in Matthew 12:29 quoting Deuteronomy 6:4. Even so, Scripture ascribes to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each attributes that belong to God only. Perhaps these names then merely describe the same divine person as he carries out his different work, like Spiderman and the other superheroes who have secret identities. There are two problems with that idea. One, we presume that neither the Father nor the Son lie when they speak of each other and the Holy Spirit as persons other than themselves. When Jesus says that he is sent by the Father and that he does the Father’s will, he really is speaking of someone different from himself. The other problem are the verses that speak of all three persons together. Jesus’ baptism is a good example. While he is being baptized, the Holy Spirit descends on him and the Father speaks from heaven. What can we do, but discern that the nature of God transcends our mortal capacity for understanding?
Again, the Holy Spirit is God. Blasphemy against him is unforgivable. Blessings are given in his name along with the Father and the Son. The Spirit is so closely tied with God that some, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, mistake him for an impersonal force or merely another way of speaking of God’s inner being. But Paul’s discussion in verses 10b-13 with the Corinthians gives the right balance. He makes the connection between the Spirit and God (think “the Father”) so tight as to seem that they are the one and the same. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (11). We don’t treat our spirits as beings separated from us. But then Paul goes on in verse 13 to speak of the Spirit teaching us. We do not speak of our spirits teaching: “My spirit will now teach you.” The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the divine Trinity.
Work
Why then does he get so little attention? That certainly is the case historically. Consider the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the Holy Ghost.” That’s it. The Father is acknowledged as almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, which, by the way, Genesis 1:2 lets us know that the Holy Spirit had a hand in. The Son, Jesus Christ, gets the most lines.
In the Nicene Creed, he gets a little more attention:
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
who spoke by the prophets…
But those four lines pale to the sixteen that “the only-begotten Son of God” gets. The Westminster Confession devotes a chapter to God the Son; the Holy Spirit gets a line here and there when addressing other doctrines.
Is the Spirit the victim of bad press? Possibly. I think we ought to give credit to the Pentecostal and charismatic movement for reminding us that the Holy Spirit is very much alive and carries out vital work. Our traditional Reformed heritage has never forgotten the Holy Spirit, and our teachers do teach about the role of the Spirit in applying redemption and sanctification. But our teachers are not known for their great treatises and books on the Spirit, and much of what is written today is in reaction to the Pentecostal and charismatic teachings.
I’m sure someone could, and probably has by now, written on why this is the case, but there is one main reason. It has to do with the primary work of the Holy Spirit. What is it? Jesus sums it up in his address to his disciples: He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (John 16:14).
Jesus very much was concerned that both he and the Father receive glory. It is my Father who glorifies me… (8:54) “Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (12:28). This desire for glory particularly comes out in his prayer in John 17. Here are select quotes: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed…. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (1, 4, 5, 24)
The Father and the Son glorify one another. They seek to be glorified. Never do we read in Scripture of the Holy Spirit seeking his own glory nor of the Father or the Son glorifying him. He glorifies them. It is only with them as the one God that the Holy Spirit is glorified and worshipped. It makes sense – because he is God – for us to glorify and worship him. Nevertheless, we are never instructed or encouraged in Scripture to worship him alone apart from the Father and the Son.
James Boice speaks of four areas in which the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son. First, by teaching about Christ in the Scriptures. 1 Peter 1:10-12 speaks of the “Spirit of Christ” inspiring the prophets of the Old Testament to prophesy about Christ. Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would bear witness of him and bring to remembrance what Jesus had taught them (John 15:26; 14:26). They in turn would lay the foundation of the church through their teachings, which we now have in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture, and the theme of his book is the redemption of God that comes through Jesus Christ. Thus, task one is revelation about God the Son.
Second, by drawing people to Christ. Jesus said that unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God…and that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5). It is the Spirit’s work to regenerate us – give us spiritual life – so that we may respond to the gospel. It is the Spirit’s work to illumine our minds so as to discern its wisdom and desire it. As Dr. Boice explains, “The Holy Spirit opens bind eyes so that the unregenerate may see the truth, unfogs their minds so that they may understand what they see, and then gently woos their wills until they come to place their faith in the Savior. Without this work there would not be even a single Christian in the world. By means of it the Holy Spirit saves us and glorifies the Lord Jesus.”
The Spirit does not merely attract us to Jesus. He unites us with him. He forms a union that cannot be broken.
The third way in which the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ is by reproducing Christ’s character in believers. It is the Spirit who sanctifies us by giving us greater victory over our sinful natures, by interceding for us in prayer and teaching us to pray, and by enabling us to discern God’s will and obey it.
The fourth way is by uniting Christ’s followers to his body, the church, so that we might serve our Lord. The Spirit ordains some believers to special service in the church, such as elders, missionaries, and ministers. He gives to everyone spiritual gifts so that all of us may serve the church. We will address these gifts and means of service when we get to chapter twelve.
Understand for now, that it is the Spirit that is the power of the church, extending God’s kingdom on earth through these tasks mentioned. Jesus did not get his church started and then wished the best for his disciples. He sent them another Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to enable them and us to carry on the work that he began. It is the Spirit who now dwells within our hearts, creating that union we each have with Christ. It is the Spirit who now dwells among us uniting us to be one body, one temple for our Lord.
Lessons
How should this knowledge of the person and work of the Holy Spirit affect us? One lesson is that we honor the Spirit best by glorifying Jesus Christ. The New Testament church and writers model this mindset for us. The book of Acts is really the book of the Holy Spirit. We are shown how the Spirit came upon the first believers at Pentecost and then how he works in and through the apostles and believers to extend the church. And yet, though the Spirit is named often (57 times), at no time is it recorded that the apostles and believers directly addressed the Holy Spirit or worshipped him alone. The Holy Spirit baptizes them, fills them, speaks to them and through them, but all for the purpose of serving Christ and drawing attention to him.
We are to understand that though Jesus has now ascended into heaven; though he has now sent the Holy Spirit to carry on the work of his kingdom; though we might identify the age we live as the age of the Holy Spirit, it is still all about Jesus. It is his name we call upon for salvation; he reigns over us as our Lord; he pastors us as our Good Shepherd; we pray to him and in his name. The more focused we are on Jesus, the more pleased is the Holy Spirit. Think of the Holy Spirit as the John the Baptist of the Trinity. His ministry is to testify for the glory of God the Son.
I commended our charismatic brothers and sisters for reminding the church of the importance of the Holy Spirit. I do think, as is typical of humans, that they often go overboard in their focus on him. So much attention is given to living a Spirit-filled life, when the Spirit’s real concern is that we live a Christ-like life. Again, much emphasis is made on living a victorious life in the Spirit. By the power of the Spirit we can overcome ailments, afflictions, and addictions; by the power of the Spirit we can build successful businesses, be as affluent as any worldly person, and only have wonderful families. There is so much emphasis on victory we should be having in the Spirit that we have forgotten what it means to walk humbly with the Lord. We have forgotten the New Testament teaching that our bodies are jars of clay and that we will bear afflictions and ailments while we are in this life. We will continue to sin. Our hope is not that we will conquer all ills through the Spirit, but that Jesus Christ is victorious over sin and death, and has made atonement for our sins.
Knowing the work of the Spirit should give us comfort and security. Do you ever worry about keeping up your end of the bargain with God? Do your sins and failures made you doubt that you will remain faithful to God or that you will remain acceptable to him when the time comes to appear before him? Well, you should worry if you think that God has made a bargain with you for him to do his part and you do yours. God doesn’t trust you to walk along the path of righteousness.
Back in September we looked at the meaning of baptism and discussed what kind of covenant with God we have in Christ. Hear is what I said.
The divine negotiations went this way. The Son says to the Father, “I delight to do your will. Let me fulfill the condition of obedience that your people fail to do. I will also take on the just punishment due them. Thus I will pay off the old contract and we can make a new one. I promise to fulfill all the conditions of the new one. What I ask for in return is the salvation of the people under the contract. Deal?” The Father and the Son shake hands.
Actually, the negotiations went a little further. The Father said to the Son, “This righteousness is not just to be on paper. It is by your righteousness that I will accept these people, but I do expect to see something from them. I want to see real faith and real change in them.” The Father and the Son then looked over the list of the “chosen” and shook their heads grimly. This was not a group to put much hope in! So they called the Holy Spirit over and said they had a job for him to do.
“We have a list of people we need you to do something with.”
“They’re all dead.”
“We know. We need you to breathe life into them.”
“I can handle that. Anything else?”
“We want to make something out of them. We want them to possess strong faith, live productive lives for the kingdom, and make some real progress towards living in righteousness.”
“Well, there’s not much material to work with, you realize. It’s pretty much going to be all me doing the work in them.”
“We know. That is why we are sending you to stay with them. Dwell within their hearts. Unite them together and keep them in union with the Son.”
And so he has done ever since Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has kept his end of the bargain and continues to keep his end.
But also knowing the work of the Spirit should make us expectant or uneasy or both. His job is not to keep us comfortable in this life, but to make us presentable and useful for God. It is his assignment to make us into men and women who love God with everything we’ve got and to love our neighbors (friend or pain-in-the-neck) as ourselves. He has the task of producing fruit in our lives, and we do not start off as plants in healthy condition. Furthermore, once he comes into our lives, he doesn’t leave. And he is a fussy house guest! He wants clean rooms. He wants activity.
The Holy Spirit is with us to stay. Thank God he won’t go away even when we wish he would. Thank God that his Spirit will carry to completion the work begun in us.
