The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, lesson 11 question 4
Courtney Hemenway · Jul 25, 2021
Holy Spirit (2021-23), No. 23
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261923395043

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

All right, we are in lesson 11, and I think we're on question four. I think it went back and listened to it, so question four of lesson 11. Let me find my cursor here. So, question four, 1 Corinthians 2.12.

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but spirit of who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. question is how do we come to understand and enter into all that god has given us so what would be my first answer to this if you know me how do we enter into this let's not know you very much nobody knows me i'm feeling i'm feeling suddenly very alone abiding in christ What was that, abiding? Faith. That's what you're wanting to say. Thank you, JD. By faith. And let's see, Debbie is in the back, probably near the picture. Faith and the facts are like tracks in the train and all that good stuff.

I don't have it in front right now. So it's the... If you ever got a tattoo, you should get the proper tattoo. Well, I could probably get it down here in Florida, but I don't have the actual one, so I'd have to come back and get it there. I think I'm going to have to put a thing either on my phone or on my computer so I can actually get that. I'm afraid if I actually knew what that said every time. I don't know.

Anyway, it's faith. What is behind or undergirds our faith? doesn't mean i wouldn't have faith but what is behind that uh... our faith is that the assurance of the spirit it's the spirit it's the holy spirit you know we've just discussed this in all this is the holy spirit witnesses with our spirit remember how we uh... we looked at that that uh... he intercedes with our prayers and you know it actually was kind of interesting that god searches the holy spirit's mind in us Remember, we looked at all that, and it is the Holy Spirit that convinces us or convicts us of all that is true about us in Christ. So, you know, those are the things like Lewis Ferry Chafer's 33, 34 things. It's the Holy Spirit that convinces us of that, all that's true about us. So, why do I have it this way?

The testimony of the Spirit goes further than the assurance of sonship. Let us read another verse, and this is the verse that we went over. Now that we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given us of God.

Here the full treasure house of God's gifts of love are thrown open to us. And as we in wonder gaze at one and another, the spirit assures us that they're all ours. We know the things that are freely given to us of God. We understand them and have full assurance that they are ours.

I kind of went back on this one in our faith class. I remember just thinking about this, and I think I talked to Mike a little bit about this. What is it, well, what is it if you, in the faith class, if you just pick up one or two of the things that Lewis Perry Chaffer has on us, some of those truths, and there's so many of them, and I've said I've kind of got all these notes, sometime I'll bring it out in a message at some point, about faith and all the things that are expressed in the scriptures about us. And the thing, I think, I thought about is, what if you just picked up one or two of those things, and really the spirit just convinced you?

How that would change your life. And that's, you know, actually, we went to Davis' church this morning, and he was going on First Thessalonians, and he brought up the point, and it was very similar to what he's saying here. He says, do you really, Do you really understand, appreciate, and, not really the feelings, but the assurance that we have in Christ? Do you, I mean, the end point, that we have this assurance, we will step into eternity and be face to face with Christ. You have, I mean, what in the world can overpower that? I would say the lack of faith overpowers it. That's it. And that's where, you know, again, coming into, if you really understand what the truths are about us, you can overcome the world.

And actually there was the, I didn't have to pull that up actually. It was in one of the, let me see if I can get this pulled up here real quick. So I've got this. I'm gonna be faster to do it on my, It was in my reading of this week. It was right before some of the verses we're going to look at. While you're looking, I have a question. This verse says that we've received the spirit, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God. And the reason that we have received him is that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God.

So our faith has to be based in fact. We've got to know the facts first, correct? Correct. Donna, grab the picture behind you. Faith in the facts, or faith comes first. You need the facts first. All right. So the Spirit of God is about the business of revealing, showing us, through God's Word, what is ours. all the time. I think that the hindrance is the fact that we either are hesitant to believe what he says, or we try to base our faith on whether we've experienced it or not, and whether it is a reality in my life as opposed to somebody else, or just, what do you do, just take him at his word? Ultimately, that's what you do, but that's through the Holy Spirit, the working on us. That's going to be just us doing that. It's got to be, and that's what this whole class is about, the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

The verse I came across when I was reading, I was doing my dailies, in 1 John 5, verse 4, who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Who overcomes the world? And it's by what? Beliefs, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the one who overcomes the world.

And as I was looking at all these, I kept thinking about that in our faith class, about how if you, and Mike, you and I talked about that, if you just, any of those one things that the Holy Spirit convinces you of that's true of you, that Lewis Perry Schaffer has, those things are true of you the instant you believe. That changes you, it has to. Yeah, I agree.

And that's where the one who overcomes the world is the one who believes, who has faith in all that's true about us. And when I read through the scriptures, there's so many things that God tells us that is true about us beyond what Lewis Perry Chaffer says.

There are just so many things, and it's all about faith, which is trust in what God has said that's true about us. And that is the thing that I just, you don't know how you instill that in people. It has to be the Holy Spirit that really convinces you that once you have faith in what God tells us, we can overcome anything. overcome the world, that's where our peace, our rest, all of that comes from is faith in what God tells us is true about us.

You know, the message this morning when the pastor was saying, you know, do you really understand the assurance or the peace that you have in the end point of our lives? The assurance that we have. And I mean, does that make you live your life differently, knowing that God's in control, and the end point is we're face to face with him for eternity, and his love will never end for us. I'm curious, Courtney, was there any mention of the the growing process of that, because there's faith in the facts, right?

But then there's the sanctification side of things, where that assurance that you mentioned, are you assured, completely assured, just how that sanctification process works? Because that conviction continues, not just around your sin, but it goes on. throughout your Christian life?

Well, that's it. That's the whole growth part of it. The sanctifying or the growth. And that's what, you know, I think about this and it's like, why can't we just, by faith, take in all of it? Like right away and just be done. Now we're ready. Why do I have to, you know, walk through the 34 things? I mean, maybe get one of them.

It's hard to answer that question really, but it comes down to faith. I think it's still that you have to grow up. When I was five years old, I couldn't do calculus. the fifth of hiding yet i don't remember that growing and the knowledge of what he's giving us you know absolutely that's right and that's the abiding part is where you're going in that position i mean your position your condition starts growing to where your position is and and that's really the the key is that if you keep i don't think you can absorb everything that's true about us right away I think there's just so much to it that it's a growing process, that abiding, as you say, but the abiding is over a lifetime.

And it comes back to what we were saying last week, is that it's the relationship and the time we spend with Christ, because that's who our life is, is in Christ. And as we spend more time to where, as last week, we cry out, Abba, Father, Daddy, we start to understand all these truths about us because what's true about us is true in Christ. And it's just time. But it's like, the more we stand with him and the more the spirit convicts us, that's where we have the peace, rest, comfort, and our growing abiding in Christ and that intimacy with Christ.

So I think that's just one of those things where I wish we could all understand everything immediately. And the Lord convinced us of everything in one fell swoop. But that would be like doing calculus at age two. It just doesn't happen. It's a growing process. And I think the spirit works on us. And this goes to the whole focus of the class. It's the spirit that convinces us of these things. We're not going to convince ourselves. It's the spirit convincing us of the facts that are brought out by God in his word, the living word. So I think about that.

I wish we could take it all in at one shot. We can't, but the growing process is exciting. As you grow and as you rest in his word, it just gets better and better, sweeter and sweeter, stronger and stronger, more peace, more rest. And as the trials come, it's, I don't want to say not easier, but the ability to be able to rest in him is based on a relationship with him. So when the trial comes, we can rest.

I do this a lot with the Zoom calls for work. When I see somebody writing a lot, like Jim is, I start to get curious. What are you thinking over there? I was just thinking and I was writing. learning to trust God is a process that takes a lifetime as the trials get more difficult.

Because God is going to give us more difficult trials and it's harder and harder to learn to trust God in those more difficult trials. You know, just this past week I've dealt with anger and disgust at the whole system. God is approved here on this earth, you know, with Satan being the ruler over the earth and, you know, Satan can only go as far as God allows him to. But still, you know, it's just a whole process of God allowing a precious five-year-old who is loved by his parents and all those who knew him to go to heaven this early? I mean, it's just, you know, if you look at it in the flesh, it does not seem reasonable. It just doesn't seem fair. But, you know, I have to trust God in this, that it is His will, and that it is for our good.

If this would have happened 20 or 30 years ago, I would have had a much bigger struggle with it, and probably would have lost all interest in God for a while. He's given it to me at this time, when I'm stronger in my faith. And as we grow in faith, so the trials get harder and harder. It's like in the Hungry Heart this past week, these guys were saying that God At the beginning, God immediately answers your prayer and does it positively. But as you go along, God leaves you for a while and He doesn't answer your prayers right away. It takes a little time to answer the prayers.

You have to trust in those times as you grow. It's harder to trust over the period of time, but this is what it requires. This is the process of spiritual growth. Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously sometimes not easy, you know, and as we talked a little bit about that, even with Ethan, you know, the positives of it from his standpoint is his, you know, very medically challenged body is no longer, he's got a new body. And a lot of these things that happen like that, it comes down to, this is testing of our faith. Do we believe that?

Where he has a new body, he's face-to-face with him. And I think of the things where, we talked a little bit, Jim, about this, that God had him accomplish everything he wanted to do through him. and if you know the things he wanted nature you know he's going to do if he's done with all the things he wanted him to accomplish you know it's it's time to take him home and that's you know if you look at it and you have the faith that that that is and it's very tough i don't mean to minimize this at all i can't even imagine that you know he's sitting here with uh... granddaughter you know that uh... taking away that would be incredibly tough. But the underlying piece is knowing that God's in control of it and that he has, we were talking about that on the way back, the pastor down here is going through multiple myeloma, and the days that he has written for him. Once he's done with what he has for him to accomplish, he goes home.

For me too, as Paul, to die is to gain. There are things that he's given us in scripture that gives us peace, even through these trials. Again, I don't want to minimize that, but I think of he's free of that body, just like Norm, when Norm went home to be with the Lord. Can you imagine that, after the lifetime that Norm had, that he's now in a body that is perfect? Oh my goodness. There are things that they've given us in scripture that are really meant to comfort us, but each one of these is a growing experience.

I think the Holy Spirit is the only one who can convince us of these truths and to give us that peace that surpasses all understanding. That's what I always rest on. Even in the prayers, underlying all of the trials and the suffering, by faith we have a peace that surpasses all of that.

And that's what I pray for you, Jim, is that you have that peace that God is in control of it, knows what he's doing, and rest in that, even though it's through these trials. It is a growing process. So, yeah, I can't even imagine what you're going through, again, sitting here with a granddaughter. If he takes her away or anybody, I rest in the fact that God is in control.

And that gives me that peace. All right, moving on. Number five, question five. Read to 1 John 5, 17 through 13. This is why I kind of read that one section of scripture which is right above this, which was the one who overcomes. So I'm going to start in verse 5, 1 John 5, 7-13.

And then, what does the spirit, the water, and the blood persuade us about? So, who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who overcame by water and blood, Jesus Christ. Not with water only, but with water and with blood. It is the spirit who testifies, because the spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify, the spirit, and the water, and the blood. And the three are in agreement.

If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For the testimony of God is this, that he has testified concerning his son. The one who believes in the son of God has a testimony in himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life and this life is in his son. He who has a son has life. He who does not have the son of God does not have life. These things I've written to you who believe in the name of the son of God so that you may know, that you may know that you have eternal life. Incredible section there.

So first, let's define terms. What or who does the water and blood represent? Life and death. Pooh. Well. Water is always a term used for the life of the believer, right? So I was just answering partially that question. The blood obviously stands for the death. When there's no blood, there is no life. But there's a new life. It's not the same life. all at all of the class kind of chime in on that but or or give a foundation to the answer that i think i i i i i phrase that in a way who all the more jesus obviously it's different verse six this is the way this is the one who came by water and blood jesus christ so this is is christ and then the spirits pretty evident obviously that's class so it's a lot of what it was represented by jesus christ uh... so interestingly enough i said in verse eight it states that the spirit, water, and blood are all in agreement so the question is what are they in agreement about? the solution so what is the solution? I'm going to let somebody else answer that The truth about who Christ is? It's a testimony, right? So, Joe, I think you're on to it there. So, the question is, what are they agreeing about? Which also gets to the question, what do they persuade us about?

Believing in the Son of Man to have eternal life. That's the certainty that we get at the end of this. Basically, the witness of the Holy Spirit is the truth. He gives us the truth. With water, his work in regeneration, and the blood is Christ's work for us. Those are the three sections of that. He unites his witness to give us complete certainty of that eternal life. Christ and the Spirit are the ones that give us this certainty.

And so it's interesting that they're in complete agreement. And the agreement is that we have assurance or eternal life. So, is that clear? when it's interesting it says these three are in agreement it makes it sound like the father the son of the holy spirit and i was wondering if maybe the water in this particular meant the spirit of the father was in agreement with the holy spirit and the sun you know the the is inversely so this is the one who overcame by water and blood and this is is jesus christ so Ultimately, they're all one, the Trinity, so they're all in agreement. But it's interesting, this one, and that was the thing that kind of caught my eye was, yeah, they're in agreement.

And whether it's the Father in this one or it's really Christ and the Holy Spirit, they're in complete agreement. And the complete agreement is new life in Christ and eternal life in Christ. It's the Holy Spirit that gives us the truth, the water is the regeneration, and then Christ's blood is the one that paid for it. What if you said the water might be the word of God?

Yeah. And there's different interpretations on the water and what the water is, you know, cleansing. You know, we also talked about that with, I think, Mike, when you were teaching, it was kind of interesting about the blood cleansing. You know, is the blood cleansing or the water cleansing? And, you know, I always thought water is the cleansing, blood is the payment.

But I think in your lesson, I think you were talking about how blood is cleansing. And I think Ingrid came up with, I think there's a hymn or something. I can't remember what she said, which one. I don't know if she's still on or not. Nothing but the blood or something. I can't remember which one of the hymns. But on this one, it seems like, and this is from Rideout, brought this up, that the witness was the Holy Spirit of truth, water was the regeneration, blood was Christ's work for us.

Yeah, and again, I think the interesting fact is they're all in agreement. And the agreement is eternal life in Christ. So, let's move on and see if we can get question six. What always is John's purpose in writing to believers? So that we can know right now with absolute certainty that we have life that's eternal and it's in the sun.

Yep. And we get that in several different ones. First John 5, 13, the one we just read, these things I've written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. Why? So that you may know that you have eternal life. And then in John 20, 30 and 31, therefore, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing in you may have life in his name. So, again, that's it. It's to tell us of Christ and to give us that assurance. And I always remember, I think it was in the Romans class, where in Newell's book, where he gives the timing of the books. They're not chronologically laid out.

And John is written after all of Paul's epistles. So what Paul is really doing, and it's very different than all the other gospels, John's gospel is all about Christ's deity and that he is the son of God. And so, he's writing that specifically, I think, to back up all of Paul's epistles, and that what Paul is saying is true, because Jesus is the Son of God. And so, John has written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That in believing in him, you may have life in his name. That's his purpose. So when we see 1 John and John, all these, that's really what he's doing, is backing up what Paul had in his epistles. That Christ is who he said he was.

So what is eternal life? Eternal life? What is it? Life in Christ. What did the Lord Jesus say it was? and uh... to know him and the one who sent him yeah and the one who sent him yes so that's eternal life and you know again when you get into all the identification we've been placed into him and that's where our eternal life is because christ is eternal and we've been placed into him so eternal life has a lot to do with knowing at the noses the father and the son there's not a commodity you are in your kitchen that i think john is writing that how do you know that you have eternal life because you know the sun I think the important part, like I said, is the fact that this is all after Paul's epistles. Paul's epistles tell us about our identification, our placement into Christ. In Galatians, I've been crucified with Christ as no longer I live. You know, Christ lives in me, you know.

And the 2 Corinthians 5.17 where we're new and kind. All these things are telling us about we're new, we have eternal life, we're placed into Christ now. And by definition, that's an eternal life. So I think, yes, knowing Christ and the Father, That's eternal life, is to know Him and the Father. But beyond that, it's, we are placed into Christ. Christ is eternal, and that's our life.

Yeah, and I think that that 1 Corinthians 2 verse, back in question 4, that we receive the Spirit of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Well, what are the things? The things are Christ Himself. Yeah, and, you know, that's getting back a little bit to what we're saying, you know, the intimacy that we have with God is based on our position in Christ.

And the Colossians 3, 3, we're hid in Christ, in God. And that's, the eternal life is placed, in fact, we're placed in Christ, in God. And that, to me, is the definition of eternal life. So, again, that's, a lot of these are just, the eternal life part is, it's all related to whose life we have.

Well, there's so much that goes into understanding, and I think John was right in that you may know you have eternal life, but believing that you would have eternal life in his name, it really boils down to knowing him. and realizing that the knowing Him has to do with the oneness that you are with Him, because that's what the Spirit is trying to explain to us, is this union with the Son of God, resurrected Christ, that we have. And that union and that knowledge, especially that knowing him is what eternal life really is.

Well, you can't know that without the spirit. You would never know that. Right. And that's the thing, you know, first you need the facts, and then the spirit is one that convinces you of those facts. So, yeah, it's, you know, we don't come up on this ourselves, you know, it's God's living word revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Yeah, that's right.

Well, JD, I've got a couple more. We got three down. Maybe I can get through it quicker next week if I'm personally there. I'll try and blow through it a little faster. Got it. Well, we derailed you a little bit today. It's not just your cadence. We know that you struggle with that problem.

Thank you. I resemble that remark. I was just kidding. All good. I think last lesson, you had about a four lesson week, I think. Yeah, probably so. I think I feel like I'm in good company. You are. All right, why don't we close? I'm going to try to thank you. We thank you again, just the ability to, uh, wherever we're at, uh, to just come together and fellowship around your word.

We just, uh, thank you again for who we're studying the Holy spirit and the indwelling in each and every believer has the, uh, uh, permanent indwelling of the Holy spirit and the life that we have in Christ. And, uh, as we're just looking at this eternal life, is to know your son. And that is such an exciting journey. As we've also, just as we've gone through this class, to see the growth and the spiritual journey that you have us on, as we grow, as in 2 Peter 3, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, That is the growth and the maturity that we get as our condition begins to start emulating our position, as we grow in that grace and knowledge. Just the fact that you have an eternal love and the intimacy that you have with each and every one of us, that anytime, anyplace, anywhere, we can come before you and call you father, daddy. and you hear us, and you have an intimate relationship with us, and just the caring, the eternal caring for each and every one of us, and that gives us, again, what the world cannot offer, peace, rest, and comfort. We just, we thank you for the position that you have placed us in, in Christ, hidden Christ, in you, Father. And what a joy that gives us. So, just pray, like as it gives a message, and again, just prepare the hearts to receive it, and we thank you for this time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.