************ Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 53 ************
Doctrine: The Apostles' Creed, "I believe in the Holy Spirit"
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on June 3, 2001
Q & A 53
Acts 2:1-13
"I Believe in the Holy Spirit"
Introduction
The Creed we confess together says, "I believe in the Holy Spirit." Don't forget, this is part of true faith or saving faith. True faith, saving faith, believes in the Holy Spirit. To be saved and washed and cleansed and redeemed, I need to believe in the Spirit. True faith, saving faith, grabs hold of the Spirit and hangs on to Him.
Until about 25 years ago the Holy Spirit was not heard of much in Reformed churches. The first reason for this is that most of the bizarre fads within the church have been associated with the Spirit and have given Him a bad name. Those who claim to be "slain by the Spirit" engage in things like snake charming, dancing during worship, holy laughter, holy vomit. The latest, according to John Arnott, senior pastor at Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, is dental fillings being turned into gold.
The second reason is that some Pentecostal Christians have made rather extravagant claims about the Holy Spirit. Some say that true Christians need a special baptism of the Spirit above and beyond the Spirit's presence when you first believe; others say that if you have not engaged in tongue-speaking or any of the other spectacular gifts of the Spirit than you must not really be saved or are a second-class Christian; and still others believe you need to be able to point to the day and hour that you believed in Christ and received the Spirit.
In this light it becomes clear, as we look at Q & A 53, that the Heidelberg Catechism is a product of its time. Consider, for a moment, that the Catechism has six questions and answers pertaining directly to an event in the life of our Lord that goes unnoticed by most of Christendom – the Ascension. On the other hand, it has only one question and answer pertaining directly to an event that a large part of Christendom considers to be of the utmost importance – Pentecost. I am sure that if the Catechism was written today much more would be said about the Spirit.
I Who the Spirit Is
A "I believe in the Holy Spirit," says the Creed we confess. Who is the Spirit? The Bible's answer: "He, as well as the Father and the Son, is eternal God." In other words, He is part of the triune Godhead, the third person of the Holy Trinity.
What does this mean in our life today?
It means that if anyone claims to know God, that person should also know the Holy Spirit. You see, we know, or should know, God in a three-fold fullness. First, we should know Him as the God-above-us: the Creator, the Sovereign Lord, the Law-giver, the Father. Second, we should know Him as the God-for-us: the Mediator, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Son. And third, we should know Him as the God-in-us: the Sanctifier, the Renewer, the Spirit. To know God is to know Him in all His fullness as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Within Reformed circles Christians too often forget or neglect this. We talk so readily about the Father and our creation, the Son and our redemption, but don't have much to say about the Spirit and our sanctification and new life. In our prayers we can say "Father," and "Jesus," but rarely, if ever, do we say "Spirit." But to know God is to also know, worship, love, and adore Him as Spirit.
B "I believe in the Holy Spirit." To confess this is to confess that He is a person and not just some impersonal power – He is the third person of the Trinity.
In many places the Bible recognizes the personhood of the Spirit. He does, feels, and experiences things that only persons can do, feel, and experience. For instance, "He gives" and "He determines" (1 Cor 12:11). We can "grieve" Him (Eph 4:30), which means to cause Him personal pain. We can lie against the Spirit, which is lying against God (Acts 5:3,4). It is possible for people to commit "sin and blasphemy" against the Spirit (Mt 12:31).
C "I believe in the Holy Spirit." The Bible describes the Spirit not only as a person but also as an impersonal force; He is not only the Giver of good things but is also a Gift. He is like a rain shower that is "poured out" (Acts 2:33; 10:45) or as a fire that may not be "put out" (1 Thess 5:19). The Catechism can say, "He has been given to me ..."
In the Old and New Testaments, the word translated as "Spirit" literally means "wind" or "breath." God's breath is God's Spirit. When Scripture says, "God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen 2:7), it is telling us about the life-giving work of God's Spirit. The song we sing, "Breathe on Me, Breath of God," is a request for the power of God's Spirit to be at work in our life. Thus, it is natural to think of the Spirit of God as a power, an energizing force, that emanates from God just as light and heat radiate from the sun.
D "I believe in the Holy Spirit." Perhaps you noticed that the Catechism fails to mention that the Spirit is Christ's Spirit; it fails to mention the intimate connection between Christ and the Spirit. Already in the Old Testament we see this connection.
(Is 11:1-2) A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (2) The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD ...
(Is 42:1) "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations."
As you know, Christ did not start His earthly ministry until He was baptized with the Spirit (Lk 3:22) and it was only in the power of the Spirit that Jesus did His earthly ministry (cf Luke 4:18,19; cf Isaiah 61:1,2)
But Jesus is not only the bearer of the Holy Spirit; He is also the giver of the Holy Spirit. As the Catechism in previous questions and answers makes clear, it is the ascended Christ seated at the right hand of God Who pours out the Spirit upon the church (cf Q & A 49, 51). The Apostle Peter makes the same point in his Pentecost day speech to the crowds of people:
(Acts 2:33) Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
According to John the Baptist,
(John 1:33) The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
And, in explaining to His disciples why He must leave them and ascend into heaven, Jesus said,
(John 16:7) But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (cf John 15:26)
The Apostle Paul said that Jesus, by His resurrection, became "a life-giving spirit" (1 Cor 15:45).
The Spirit, then, is Christ's Spirit. And, it is only when one believes in Jesus that he or she is given the Spirit. We think of Cornelius and his household as an example: they hear and believe the message of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit comes upon them (Acts 10:44).
Being the Spirit of Christ, we see in Scripture that the Spirit is to Jesus as Jesus is to the Father. Just as Jesus is the Father's gift to mankind, so the Spirit is Jesus' gift (John 3:16; 15:26). Just as Jesus represents the Father, so the Spirit is sent in Jesus' name (John 5:43; 14:26). Just as Jesus remained with and guided the disciples, so will the Spirit (John 14:16-18). Just as Jesus taught the disciples the truth because He was Truth, so the Spirit of Truth would lead them into all the truth about Jesus (John 14:6,17; 15:26; 16:13). Just as Jesus did not draw attention to Himself but set out to glorify the Father, so the Spirit glorifies the name of Christ. Jesus bore witness to the Father (John 8:14) and the Spirit bears witness to Jesus (John 15:26,27).
The Spirit always points away from Himself and to Christ, as is evident already at Pentecost. On that day, filled with the poured-out Spirit, Peter and the other disciples did not explain Who the Spirit is, but Who Jesus is. When a person is born of the Spirit, he or she does not shout out, "I have the Spirit," but "I know Jesus." When a person is born of the Spirit, that person speaks not of the Spirit but of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
This causes me to wonder about the faith of those Christians and churches who spend all their time talking about the Spirit rather than Jesus. At the very least, they have their faith backwards; at the very most, their faith is one big lie. For those who are born-again of the Spirit cannot help but talk of the Christ of the Spirit.
E "I believe in the Holy Spirit," says the church of all ages. I believe that the Spirit, "as well as the Father and the Son, is eternal God."
The highest good in our present life is to know God. That ought to be the heart's desire of each and every one of us. And God, as we all know, exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We, then, ought to know, worship, love, and adore God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
II What the Spirit Does
A "I believe in the Holy Spirit." With the church of all ages we not only confess Who the Spirit is, but we also confess what He does. Based upon Scripture, this is what the second part of the Catechism's answer deals with:
Second, he has been given to me personally,
so that, by true faith,
he makes me share in Christ and all his
blessings,
comforts me,
and remains with me forever.
A key word here is "faith." Faith, of course, is a work of the Holy Spirit. And, as we learned in Q & A 20, it is only through faith that the benefits of Christ's work of redemption becomes ours.
Notice what the Holy Spirit does by or through the faith He gives us: He connects us with Jesus Christ just as an electrical cord connects a lamp with a source of light and power. By or through faith the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ and all His blessings.
This reminds me of the missionary Herbert Jackson. As a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.
After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man looked under the hood. Before the explanation could be completed, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only problem is this loose cable." He tightened the bolt holding down the cable, stepped into the car, turned the key, and to Jackson's astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting the power to work.
By the Spirit and through faith tremendous power is available to us. By the Spirit and through faith do you know what we are plugged into? We are plugged into the resurrection power of Christ. But, without the Spirit, we are like the Jackson car with a loose connection.
The Spirit, then, plugs me into Christ. He makes me share in Christ. He unites me to Christ and in Christ and with Christ and all His blessings.
B "I believe in the Holy Spirit." In Q & A 53 the Catechism states only two of the blessings that are ours when the Holy Spirit unites us with Christ: namely, that He "comforts me, and remains with me forever." Some of the other blessings, however, are described in following questions and answers. Let me list some of them for you:
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that "I am and always will be a living member" of the holy catholic church (54)
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that I am gifted for service in the church and kingdom (55)
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that God "will never hold against me any of my sins nor my sinful nature" (56)
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that I have the comfort of knowing that death is not the end for me and that someday my body will be raised from the grave and reunited with my soul (57)
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that I have the comfort of life everlasting (58)
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that I am able to produce fruits of gratitude (64)
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that I am fed with the Word and Sacraments (65)
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that I become dead to sin and alive to righteousness (70)
-it is only because the Holy Spirit, by faith, unites me to Christ that I can make a small beginning in obeying God's commandments (114)
C "I believe in the Holy Spirit." As I already said, the Catechism is clearly a product of its time. If it was written today I am sure something would also be said about Pentecost and Missions, the Holy Spirit and evangelism.
That there is a link there can be no doubt. Listen to the words of Jesus just before He ascended into heaven:
(Acts 1:8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
We receive power, we receive the Spirit, and we become witnesses, says Jesus.
In fulfillment of these very words of Christ the Gospel is preached on Pentecost immediately following the out-pouring of the Spirit and about three thousand souls were saved.
The receiving of the Spirit and the witness of Christians go hand-in-hand. In the book of Acts we read repeatedly that when the Holy Spirit descended on people, they began to speak in tongues. However, it's not the tongues but the speaking that deserves the emphasis. What happens is that the Spirit stoops to use our vocal cords for the mission of God. He wants to communicate the Gospel through us. As I said earlier, those who are filled with the Spirit cannot help but talk about Jesus. And, the Spirit doesn't want this stopped until His goal has been reached: an earth as "full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).
Conclusion
"I believe in the Holy Spirit," says the Creed of the church. I believe
he, as well as the Father and the Son,
is eternal God.
I believe
He has been given to me personally,
so that, by true faith,
he makes me share in Christ and all his
blessings,
comforts me,
and remains with me forever.