On the Spirit of the Promise
On the Spirit of the Promise.
THE HOLY SPIRIT: The eternal life-giving Third Person of the Holy Trinity; the intimate bond of divine love and truth shared by God the Father and God the Son; the dynamic power of God offered to every human being on earth; the supernatural Presence in the Community of God who is personal without being material; the invisible creative force with divine intelligence who truly knows the mind of God from the inside; the Spirit of God who thus has all knowledge and is present everywhere in the universe; the sacred energy streaming forth from the Father and the Son, pouring love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), producing virtuous qualities in us (Galatians 5:22-23), and gradually transforming each believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
God’s eternal Spirit was present at creation, of course, “brooding like a bird over the watery abyss.” (Gen. 1:1, MSG). No surprise there. All three Persons of God existed together eternally before creation began, and they will be intimate spiritual companions forever after the world’s recreation as well. At creation, the Spirit was like a mother bird hatching an egg, bringing beauty and order out of nothingness and chaos, waiting to take us under His wing.
Because the Triune God is united and inseparable, the Father and the Son is everywhere the Spirit us. If the Spirit dwells in us and alongside us, so does the Father and the Son. If the Father and the Son have promised to make a home in us, the Spirit is right there as well, arm-in-arm in their Trinitarian Presence, establishing a dwelling place in us. Since we are welcomed inside the relationship of the Trinity, the Spirit helps make that happen. Since we are adopted into God’s family as His children, we can be sure the Spirit was a part of that process. We can be assured the Spirit will work to sustain us in the Trinitarian circle and fellowship.
St. Paul’s Trinitarian blessing that closes his second letter to the Corinthians contains an interesting observation concerning the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). After praying for them to be blessed in the grace of Jesus Christ and the love of God, Paul completes the blessing by praying that they would experience the “koinonia” of the Holy Spirit. Koinonia is another rich Greek biblical term, meaning communion, participation in, companionship, intimate partnership with, deep fellowship with. We are not only joined into the community of the Trinity through the Spirit, but we are plugged into a profound fellowship with other believers as well. There would be no communion with other people were it not for the source of all communion, the intimate unity of the triune God. We are one with other believers only because of our oneness with the Trinity. Believers are welcomed into the relationship of the Trinity, and through that spiritual source of oneness we have the possibility of intimate fellowship with fellow believers. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, along with the Father and the Son, and thus we are able to live inside the Trinity while the Trinity lives within us and we live within the community of believers. The Holy Spirit, our true Companion, our intimate Friend “who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
“Now you too, in Christ, have heard the message of the truth and the gospel of your salvation, and having put your trust in it you have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Eph. 1:13-14).
Down Payment. (Greek, “arrabon“); a pledge; a guarantee; a promise to complete a transaction. The Holy Spirit was given to each of us as a first installment of God’s promise for our full redemption. The Spirit is God’s earnest payment to us in our hearts, a guarantee that we belong to God and will receive an inheritance of eternal life and salvation. God placed His Spirit within each of us as a good-faith gesture, a security deposit securing our future with Him when His kingdom is fulfilled and Christ comes in glory to take us home. God’s “arrabon” is the presence of the Holy Spirit as God’s signature on the bottom line, assuring us of His blessings to come. The Spirit in us makes redemption official and anticipates when we are able to acquire complete possession of our full redemption. Through the heavenly gift of the Spirit, God has identified us as His own, and we thus have a new identity in Jesus. Since God is completely trustworthy, we wait in faith until the remainder of His plan of eternal life is completed. Another helpful way to think about arrabon is that this is also the word the Greeks used when they wanted to speak of the engagement ring, the promise of faithfulness until their future life together. In a sense then, the Holy Spirit is God’s engagement ring promising each of us full communion at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. (Rev. 19).
“It is God who gives us a sure place in Christ, and has both anointed us and marked us with His seal, giving us as pledge the Holy Spirit in our hearts.” (2 Cor. 1:22).
Seal. (Greek, “sphragizo”); to keep secure and protected through a tight seal; the personal sign that makes a transaction official and authentic. A seal certifies that an agreement is genuine. God’s seal solidifies the promise of the arrangement, and reveals the official approval of the one in authority. Being sealed in the Holy Spirit certifies God’s promise of redemption and our future inheritance in Him. The Spirit’s seal protects our spiritual destiny… “Born of the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, unified in the Spirit, given gifts of the Spirit, and given ministries by the Spirit.” (Dr. Brian Simmons).
Chrismation. In mny church trdtions, one of the offical sacramentql mmetns during a baptism is the chrismtion, in which tghe officiant says to the person being baptized, ‘ou are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and markded as Christ’s own forever!” This act of chrismation completes the baptism, giving the gift of the Spirit through noinjting with the chrism, a specially preprd oil. This sacrament was done in the earliest records of the first Christans after the biublical er.
The Father’s Promise. Yahweh God made an astounding promise through His prophet Joel, “I shall pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters shall prophecy, your old people shall dream dreams, and your young people see visions. Even on the slaves, men and women, shall I pour out my Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-30; also in Acts 2:17-18). Similar to that promise was this one in Ezekiel 36:26-28, “I shall give you a new heart, and put a new Spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my Spirit in you, and make you to keep my teachings, and respect and practice my judgments.” Jesus confirmed this promise Himself before His ascension in Luke 24:49, “Behold, I send the Promise of my Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” And He also said the same thing in Acts 1:4, “And being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which you have heard from me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit…” St. Peter confirmed this promise in his first sermon to the gathered at Pentecost, “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.” (Acts 2:33).
The Son’s Promise. Jesus said Yes! to the Father’s promise of the Holy Spirit by confirming it at His ascension, but also by teaching about the Spirit in the gospel of John. He tried to cheer up His sad disciples after telling them about His impending departure, by saying that it is actually to their benefit that He returns to the Father. The result of His absence is that the Spirit will be sent in Jesus’ place. Jesus ascends to the Father, and the Holy Spirit descends to continue God’s presence on earth. The Spirit of Jesus replaces the physically absent Jesus. He tells them in John 16:7, “Unless I go away, the Paraclete will not come to you.”
The Spirit’s Promise. Paraclete was Jesus’ descriptive name He gave to the Holy Spirit (in John 14 and 16). The Greek term means “called to come alongside of.” This rich term paraclete points to many different functions and personal ministries of the Holy Spirit after He comes alongside of us in love and friendship. The Spirit is the ultimate Helper to us as He lives out His personal character He shares with the Father and the Son. As Paraclete, the Spirit fulfills these roles in us as we grow in Christ. Jesus must have had a good reason to call the Spirit the Paraclete, of course. Unpacking the meaning of the term, we see that the Spirit’s helping style is fleshed out in ministering to us in these ways: The Spirit is called to come alongside us in order to point us to Jesus, advise and counsel us, remind us in order to understand, advocate for us, comfort us, listen to us, exhort us, teach us, and encourage us. That is the style, the method of influence that is intended for the benefit of every person being empowered by the Spirit.
“Abba” in Romans 8:15 – An Aramaic word that is a child’s affectionate term for father; a title that directly addresses the father in a family setting, much like ‘Dad’ or ‘Papa’; a word that assumes a profound personal relationship between child and father; a believer’s term of honor and intimacy that refers to God as Beloved Father.
“All who are guided by the Spirit of God are indeed children of God. The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. You have received the Spirit of adoption, of full acceptance, enfolding you into the family of God. You received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as his own children. You will never feel orphaned, for as He rises up within us our spirits join Him in crying out ‘Abba! Father!’ In the bliss of our adoption we say ‘Beloved Father!’ For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as He whispers into our innermost being, ‘You are God’s beloved child.’ We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children.” (Romans 8:14-16.
Chrismation. In many church traditions, one of the official sacramental moments during a baptism is the chrismation, in which the officiant says to the person being baptized, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked as Christ’s own forever!” This act of chrismation completes the baptism, giving the gift of the Holy Spirit through anointing with the Chrism, a specially prepared oil. This was done in the early church and is maintained in the more historic churches.
“God’s Seed” in 1 John 3:9 – (Greek word “sperma“) – The seed of divine life introduced into a believer by the Father through the Holy Spirit; the provision of a new family name and identity; the miraculous infusion of the Father’s DNA, a new spiritual genetic framework within a believer; the transmission of new characteristics from the Father with a new heredity as a child of God; through His spiritual seed, God “fathers-forth” a new race in Christ.
“People conceived into life by the Father don’t make a habitual practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. His principle of life is at work in them. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to deliberately and knowingly practice sin. After all, they are children of the Father! They have His nature permanently within them! Whoever has been born of God will refuse to keep sinning, because they have been fathered by God Himself, and contain His nature. Here is how God’s children can be clearly distinguished from the Devil’s children: Anyone who does not demonstrate righteousness does not belong to God, nor does the one who refuses to love fellow believers.” (1 John 3:9-10).
A Final Note on the Holy Spirit: “The Holy Spirit is God’s “guarantee” of what will come. His work in our lives today assures us that the healing process will be thoroughly completed in Christ’s presence. Each time the Holy Spirit reminds you of Scripture, convicts you of sin, restrains you from selfish behavior, or prompts you to love, you have evidence that He is present. You have the Spirit within you beginning the transformation process. Whether you deal with aches and pains or even disabling limitations, trust God that His total renovation of your body and soul is in process.” (NLT notes in Study Bible).