The Holiness Of God The Spirit Series

For the past couple of Sunday mornings I have been preaching to you about the holiness of God. When one reads through the Bible you cannot help but see that God is holy. It is a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible. God is holy and He wants His people to be holy. We are instructed to be Holy as He is holy. My purpose in this little series has been that if we are going to be holy as He is, we must know something about His holiness.

We have talked about the Holiness of the Father. The holiness of God the Father is separated from, and high above man. When you read about the holiness of God the Father in the Scriptures it is expressed by Exodus 3:5 where Moses is told: “Draw not nigh hither.” Bro. Kennedy made a good point last Sunday morning when he pointed out to me that the reason why the Father says not to come close is because He tells us this for our own benefit not because He doesn’t want us to. If we were to try to approach God in our sinful condition we would surely die! This is what will happen on the Day of Judgment. Every man will have to give an account to a holy God and those who sins have not been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ will be sentenced to an eternity in hell. Why? Because God is holy and can not tolerate sin.

So, we have seen that the Father’s holiness says, “Draw not neigh,” but in His love and mercy He provided a remedy for our sin so that we could draw neigh to Him. The remedy is found in Jesus Christ His Son. Through Christ’s sacrifice we are able to draw neigh to God. He is our Mediator. This morning I want to notice that through the Holy Spirit that holiness is brought neigh within the hearts of believers in response to faith. I want to talk about the holiness of the Spirit.

We attach the term “Holy” to the designation of the Spirit for good reason. As Daniel Steele pointed out, “…the adjective holy cannot be distinctive of the quality of purity which is not found in equal degree in the Father and the Son. Both are holy. Hence, as it is not descriptive of an attribute peculiar to the Spirit, we infer that it points to the peculiar office of the Spirit, in the redemptive scheme, to make men holy. The Holy Spirit, then, is the scriptural term

for the Sanctifier…”

God the Father gave His Son in a past, completed act (continuing in love.) God the Son poured out His life in a past, completed act (continuing in intercession.) God the Holy Spirit makes salvation real to the believer (a present, never-yet-completed work.)

This morning I would like to look at the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit and examine how the Holy Spirit is important to us.

I. The Holy Spirit in Conviction.

He is the Spirit of Holiness revelation. The Holy Spirit reveals to us the inward presence of sin. In our Scripture reading this morning in verse 8 we are told of the Holy Spirit that, “He will reprove the world of sin.”

In Hebrews 4:12-13 we find that “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do (to whom we must give account - NKJV).

The children shared earlier how they have been learning about the armor of God. Remember that the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. It is the Holy Spirit that makes God’s Word come alive and bring conviction to the hearts of man. It is the Holy Spirit that makes the Word of God effective to search out every deeply hidden motive, desire, and purpose of the heart.

We desperately need this revelation of the Spirit which shows the hideous nature of sin. This is missing in so many places today. I can try my best to preach intellectual messages. I can try to preach messages that are interesting and stimulating, but unless the “sword of the Spirit” brings conviction men and women can sit calmly and listen to message after message. Dale Yocum wrote that “True revival is always marked with an arresting revelation of inward sinfulness, for it is the work of the Spirit.”

How desperately we need the Holy Spirit to come