{"id":3165,"date":"2021-05-15T18:09:14","date_gmt":"2021-05-15T18:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/?p=3165"},"modified":"2021-05-15T18:09:14","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T18:09:14","slug":"the-spirit-and-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/05\/15\/the-spirit-and-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spirit and Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Pentecost Sermon| Rev. Rolf Preus| May 31, 2009| John 14, 25-27<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Pentecost2009.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.&nbsp; But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.&nbsp; Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He is called the Comforter.&nbsp; He is our Advocate.&nbsp; He is our Counselor.&nbsp; He is the third person of the Holy Trinity.&nbsp; He is the Lord and giver of life.&nbsp; He comes into our lives and lives within us.&nbsp; He is the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In John 14, 25 Jesus says of the Holy Spirit: \u201cwhom the Father will send in My name.\u201d&nbsp; In John 15, 26 Jesus says, \u201cwhom I shall send to you from the Father.\u201d&nbsp; Jesus says that the Father will send the Spirit in Jesus\u2019 name.&nbsp; Jesus also says that he will send the Spirit from the Father.&nbsp; There is no contradiction here.&nbsp; Both the Father and the Son send the Spirit.&nbsp; That\u2019s because the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sending the Holy Spirit to us is what the Father and the Son do in time.&nbsp; We experience it.&nbsp; But the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son is from eternity to eternity.&nbsp; It describes the relationship between the persons of the Holy Trinity.&nbsp; This is a wonderful mystery that we cannot fully understand, but we can set forth what the Holy Scriptures say about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds from or comes from the Father and the Son.&nbsp; It is clear that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father.&nbsp; Jesus said so directly.&nbsp; In John 15, 26 he calls the Holy Spirit, \u201cthe Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father.\u201d&nbsp; When the Nicene Creed was adopted by the Church the original creed confessed: \u201cI believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.\u201d&nbsp; It did not confess that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son.&nbsp; It confessed that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it did not deny that the Holy Spirit proceeded or came from the Son, either.&nbsp; As a matter of fact, the plain biblical teaching is that the Holy Spirit does proceed from the Father and the Son.&nbsp; The Church in the West added the words \u201cand the Son\u201d a few hundred years after the Nicene Creed was adopted by the Church.&nbsp; The Church in the East objected to the change in the Creed.&nbsp; This issue was so fiercely fought that it led to a schism between East and West that has not yet been healed.&nbsp; The pope at Rome and the patriarch of Constantinople broke fellowship with each other over this controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it may have been presumptuous of Rome to add the words \u201cand the Son\u201d to a Creed whose wording had already been established for hundreds of years, the addition did not go against the Scriptures.&nbsp; In Galatians 4, 6 we read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, \u201cAbba, Father!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Holy Sprit is the Spirit of God the Son.&nbsp; The Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Father only.&nbsp; He proceeds from the Father and the Son.&nbsp; We confess rightly when we confess in the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.&nbsp; Whether or not and under what circumstances a creed may be changed is open to debate.&nbsp; What is perfectly true for us Christians is that it is the Bible, not the Creed, which determines the truth that we confess.&nbsp; We do not confess the creeds because they are old and belong to a venerable tradition.&nbsp; We confess the creeds because they are drawn from and agree with the Holy Scriptures.&nbsp; The fact that the creeds are old and agree with ancient tradition means that God has graciously preserved in his Church the truth concerning himself.&nbsp; Thank God for that!&nbsp; But the Bible and the Bible alone is the authority behind the creeds.&nbsp; Not tradition, not history, not the church but the Bible alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Comforter.&nbsp; How does he comfort us?&nbsp; He teaches us.&nbsp; Jesus says, \u201cThe Comforter . . . will teach you all things.\u201d&nbsp; We are comforted by what is taught to us.&nbsp; It is divine instruction in the truth that brings us comfort and peace.&nbsp; He will teach you \u201call things\u201d Jesus says.&nbsp; What are these \u201call things\u201d?&nbsp; Does he teach us about sports and politics?&nbsp; About science and the arts?&nbsp; Does he teach us how to make money?&nbsp; What are the \u201call things\u201d to which Jesus refers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He explains.&nbsp; He says, the Holy Spirit \u201cwill teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.\u201d&nbsp; What Jesus said is what the Holy Spirit teaches.&nbsp; Jesus and the Holy Spirit go together.&nbsp; You cannot separate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Acts of the Apostles St. Luke recounts for us the wonderful events of that first Pentecost when Jesus poured out his Spirit upon the infant Church.&nbsp; The apostles spoke in tongues.&nbsp; There were visions, dreams, and spectacular miracles.&nbsp; It was a wonderful thing to witness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>St. Luke recorded for us the events of that first Christian Pentecost.&nbsp; He wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.&nbsp; His words are God\u2019s words.&nbsp; We know therefore that what he recorded actually happened.&nbsp; Pentecost is history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those historical events happened for a reason.&nbsp; God confirmed the teaching of the apostles with wonderful signs.&nbsp; Just as Jesus cannot be separated from the Holy Spirit, neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit can be separated from the apostolic words.&nbsp; The apostles were not just talking.&nbsp; Their preaching was from God.&nbsp; The truth to which they bore witness was confirmed by the Spirit of truth who validated their message by many signs and wonders performed at the hands of the apostles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And they preached about Jesus.&nbsp; They preached the preaching about Jesus and they preached the preaching that came from Jesus.&nbsp; When considering whether any teaching is sound Christian teaching we must ask a simple question: What does it have to do with Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The modern Pentecostal movement (sometimes called the Charismatic movement) lays great stress on possessing the same gifts that God showered upon his Church on Pentecost.&nbsp; Was this to be repeated throughout the history of the Church?&nbsp; Did God promise to give these gifts until the end of the age?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We find no such promise in the New Testament.&nbsp; But we do find the teaching that the Holy Spirit taught to the apostles as he reminded them of what Jesus had said to them.&nbsp; And in that teaching we find peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The preoccupation with gifts that display our spiritual prowess is damaging to faith.&nbsp; Faith doesn\u2019t focus in on itself.&nbsp; It looks to Christ and to Christ\u2019s words.&nbsp; Faith doesn\u2019t trust in something within us.&nbsp; It always trusts in what God says.&nbsp; The focus of faith is always Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We experience the Holy Spirit.&nbsp; He fills us with love.&nbsp; He changes the way we feel and think and behave.&nbsp; He sanctifies us.&nbsp; But what he does within us in this life is never complete.&nbsp; As long as we remain living in these bodies we remain sinners with sinful desires.&nbsp; We cannot afford to base our faith on what lies within us.&nbsp; Our love is incomplete.&nbsp; God\u2019s love for us is perfect.&nbsp; As St. John puts it: \u201cIn this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.\u201d 1 John 4, 10<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We do not find strength for Christian living by looking at our love for God.&nbsp; We must remain focused on the cross.&nbsp; There is his love for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a great danger of the Charismatic Movement.&nbsp; Folks are taught that there are two kinds of Christians: carnal Christians and spiritual Christians.&nbsp; The spiritual Christians are the ones who have allegedly been baptized in the Holy Ghost and have spoken in tongues as proof of that baptism.&nbsp; In the process, the true baptism that the Bible calls the washing of water by the word is set aside as of little benefit.&nbsp; Christians are led to believe that if they don\u2019t have another baptism beyond what is disparagingly called \u201cwater baptism\u201d they cannot live a victorious Christian life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if we want the Spirit\u2019s power we must know where to look for it.&nbsp; It is not in some ecstatic experience that God has not promised.&nbsp; It is in the words of Christ.&nbsp; Those words bestow the peace that Jesus promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This peace is so much more than a feeling of spiritual euphoria that is here today and gone tomorrow.&nbsp; This is a peace that stands firm and cannot be shaken.&nbsp; Jesus calls it \u201cMy peace.\u201d&nbsp; He won it.&nbsp; He earned it.&nbsp; He suffered to obtain it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider all of the conflict between individuals and nations.&nbsp; Think of all the wars waged.&nbsp; Consider the antipathy harbored in bitter hearts for years, generations, and centuries.&nbsp; Look at all of it in its sordid ugliness: wrangling, arguing, lying, fighting, and killing.&nbsp; This is not an occasional outbreak.&nbsp; This is a constant feature of life in this fallen world.&nbsp; And yes, this comes into our lives and we welcome it in to our shame and our deep regret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the sin that Jesus bore.&nbsp; This is the sin for which he died.&nbsp; This is the sin whose penalty he suffered.&nbsp; This is the sin that he washed away by his innocent suffering and death.&nbsp; And with the removal of this bitterness and hatred and war comes that peace that the world cannot give.&nbsp; It belongs to Jesus.&nbsp; He alone can give it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This peace comes from Christ\u2019s obedience.&nbsp; It does not come from our obedience.&nbsp; Our obedience is never sufficient.&nbsp; Christ\u2019s is fully sufficient.&nbsp; When we rely on our obedience we rely on lies that break apart under examination.&nbsp; This is the false peace of the world and all worldly religions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the peace of which Jesus speaks is permanent.&nbsp; That\u2019s because it depends on God, not us.&nbsp; Faith and self-reliance are opposites.&nbsp; When we rely on ourselves we end up depending on the source of our troubles, anxiety, pain, and fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The peace that Jesus promises is peace with God.&nbsp; He is not angry with us.&nbsp; He does not accuse us.&nbsp; He does not threaten us.&nbsp; Jesus removed God\u2019s anger against us by suffering and dying for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLet not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.\u201d&nbsp; We have the peace of sin forgiven.&nbsp; Who can rob us of it?&nbsp; The Holy Spirit is almighty God.&nbsp; He speaks with the full authority of God.&nbsp; And he brings us the peace Jesus promises.&nbsp; Jesus tells us not to be troubled or afraid.&nbsp; This is not a command.&nbsp; It is an invitation and a promise.&nbsp; The Holy Spirit comforts us with it today and throughout our lives until we depart this world in peace according to God\u2019s word.&nbsp; Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pentecost Sermon| Rev. Rolf Preus| May 31, 2009| John 14, 25-27 These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.&nbsp; But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/05\/15\/the-spirit-and-jesus\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,53,17,4],"tags":[510,506,238],"class_list":["post-3165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-sermons","category-pentecost","category-sermons-by-historical-lectionary","category-sermons-by-rolf-preus","tag-john-14","tag-pentecost","tag-rolf-preus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3167,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3165\/revisions\/3167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}