Happy Pentecost Sunday 2015 - 9 reasons for Pentecost

Leviticus 23:15-16 "And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord

Acts 2:1-2 "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting."


Introduction:
Happy Pentecost Sunday! Christians the world over celebrate today in commemoration of the event of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. The New Testament records in Acts 2 that the Holy Spirit came in power and presence, birthing forth the early church some 50 days after Jesus Christ's resurrection.  Pentecost Sunday occurs 50 days after Easter (hence the reason for the name "pentecost", "penta" = "50"), and is the focus of today's blog.  Let the reader note that Pentecost, though pointing primarily to the day in which the Holy Spirit came in power and glory to empower Christ's church, was not originally a New Testament holiday.  Back in the Old Testament, during the days of Moses, God revealed to the Jews seven festivals or "feasts".  The middle one on the Jewish Calendar was referred to by various names: "Shavu'ot", "Feast of Weeks",  and of course "Pentecost".  As you will see in a moment, Pentecost has great significance for the Christian in understand the wider scope of redemption revealed in the Bible.  Below I am going to list reasons why Pentecost is so important for you as a Christian as we see in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

1. Pentecost's Purpose: Harvest

It was to occur 50 days after the bringing forth of the first fruit of the barley harvest, the day which would become Jesus' resurrection of the dead.  The Jews had two harvest seasons: spring harvest for Barley and Summer Harvest for the Wheat crop.  Among other images, wheat symbolizes the harvest of souls in salvation.  (Matthew 3, 12 and 13)  We know from Acts 2 that 3,000 souls were saved on the day the Holy Spirit came - a mighty harvest indeed! (Acts 2:41)

2. Priority of God's Word

The very first festival revealed to the Jews was that of Passover, commemorating God's deliverance of them out of Egypt. (Exodus 12-15)  Fifty days after their crossing the Red Sea, God delivered the Law or Torah on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19-20.  Through the centuries the Jews came to connect their celebration of that fiftieth day not only for the purpose of God's revealed festival of Pentecost, but also the revelation of His Law or Torah to them.  This commemoration came to be called "Shavu'ot" or the bringing forth of the Law.   A significant parallel connects the very first Pentecost with the one in Acts: namely at the time of the Law's revelation, 3,000 souls died (compare Exodus 32:28).  However in the New Testament Pentecost in Acts 2, 3,000 souls were saved!

3. Prophecy is fulfilled
Peter preached on the day of Pentecost the explanation behind the Spirit's arrival.  In Acts 2:17-21 Peter quotes verbatim Joel 2:28-31, a prophecy written almost 800 years before the events in Acts.

4. Promise fulfilled
Jesus had promised His disciples in John 14 and 16 that He would not leave them comfortless once He ascended in to Heaven, but that the Father and He would send the Holy Spirit in His name.  Jesus kept His promise to both His disciples and us, thus another significant truth about Pentecost.

5. Person of the Holy Spirit
Lets not forget of course the chief purpose and goal of Pentecost: The coming of the Holy Spirit as a Permanent and Abiding Person in Christ's church Who is at work in this world.  He is God the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity.  In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit worked on the outside and would come upon people at periodic times.  In this New Covenant age, the Holy Spirit works from the inside out in Christians and is the Permanent Resident of the church and individual saints. (1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:6)  In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit pointed saints forward to God's Promise of salvation yet to come.  In this present age the Holy Spirit since Pentecost points people back to the Person of salvation - Jesus Christ, and by the scriptures explains and applies Christ's finished work to all who convicted by Him believes.

6. Proof that Jesus raised from the dead and is Ascended
Pentecost, as John Piper notes, is the reason we know anything about Easter.  The fact that the Holy Spirit came is proof that Jesus did indeed raise from the dead and that He made it to heaven to be at the Father's right hand. Pentecost and it's outcome is proof positive that Christ is ascended and that the Gospel is undoubtedly true.

7. Preview of things to come
The seventh significant purpose or reason for Pentecost in the scripture lies in the fact that the Spirit came to give His people a preview.  Throughout the 224 prophecies that pertain to Christ's return and the coming Kingdom, we are told about a New Heavens and new Earth where there will be no curse.  In Acts 2, we see evidence of God reversing, on a local level, the curse of the languages He pronounced originally in Genesis 11:1-10 at Babel.  Throughout Acts 10 and 19, this miracle would be repeated.  Pentecost tongues was a miracle insofar as 17 different language groups got to hear the Gospel all at once from men who had never been trained in them.1

For a brief span of hours, the Spirit so gifted the Apostles to share Christ with nationalities gathered at Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.  Another curse that was reversed and gave a foretaste of things to come is the fact that the Spirit returned to the Lord's temple.  Ezekiel the Prophet saw the Spirit of God leave the temple in Ezekiel 9-10.  However the Spirit came back to inhabit a new temple of flesh and blood, the church.  We know that when Christ comes back, Israel will be restored and she will be indwelt by the Spirit of God. (Zechariah 12-14; Romans 11:25-26) Previews such as these are granted to us as a result of Pentecost.

8. Person of Christ
Jesus Christ in His pre-Pentecost state concerning His humanity was limited to being in one place and at one time.  Whenever the Spirit came, though Christ was in Heaven, still retaining a glorified humanity, yet by His Divine nature shared together with the Spirit, we can on an experiential level be ministered to by Jesus through the Holy Spirit.  To illustrate, I can watch and experience events half-way around the world by way of television.  Though those events and people are localized from the origin of the signal, yet by way of the signal beamed to my satellite dish, I can experience them.  Likewise the Holy Spirit, sharing in the same Divine nature with the Divine Son of God, brings the Person of Christ to us, Who touching His humanity is localized in Heaven at the Father's right hand.  This post-Pentecost Jesus is thus able to minister globally and universally to each of his people by the Holy Spirit's ministry.

9. Partition between Old and New Testaments
When did the Old Testament or Covenant come to an end, and when did the New Testament era or Covenant begin?  Acts 2 is the international dateline of the Bible.  Though from a literary standpoint our New Testaments begin at Matthew, yet from a Chronological standpoint, Pentecost in Acts 2 is the official beginning of the church age.  Now mind you, it would take 30 years on either side of Pentecost before the transition from Old to New Covenant was complete.  Jesus' entry into time by His virgin birth 30 years before Pentecost signaled the beginning of the end of the Old Testament economy.  Likewise by the end of Acts 2, some 30 years after Pentecost, the New Testament church age was well underway and in full swing.

May you dear friend have a wonderful Lord's day and remember: fifty days after Easter is Pentecost Sunday.  My hope is that through these thoughts from scripture, we can gain an ever richer view of all the Lord has done for us by the sending of His Holy Spirit, Who points us to Jesus.  

Endnotes________________________

1. I don't believe the gift of tongues spoken of in the Bible has anything to do with a private prayer language or ecstatic utterance.  Rather the gift of tongues was given at Pentecost for the purpose of evangelizing people groups whose language had not been previously learned, rather than for private edification.  I have some dear friends who will advocate the prayer language position from passages such as 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.  However the context of those two chapters actually undercuts the private prayer language position, since the Apostle Paul is urging his readers to seek the greater gifts that will "edify the body".  Oftentimes, modern tongue speakers will claim that their abilities bring personal edification, an outcome that is opposite of what Paul was teaching in the Corinthian letters.  Whatever may be claimed about the modern day phenomenon called tongues, I don't personally think the phenomena called "tongues" matches the gift of tongues recorded here in the New Testament.

Exploring God's tender mercies in Romans 1

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:

In yesterday's post we looked at what is meant by serving God from the power of God's tender mercies. Evidently Paul sees the need to underscore the need to present our bodies as living sacrifices from the standpoint of "the tender mercies of God". We explored the wider context of scripture with regards to how the Lord equips saints with His mercies to achieve what He commands them to do. Service to God would be impossible without knowing that He is for us. Today I want us to begin considering the mercies of God mentioned in Romans 1. In all there are around 70 such mercies in Romans 1-11! By the time we get through this listing, the reader will see why Paul by Divine inspiration wrote about "the tender mercies of God" in Romans 12:1.

All of God's tender mercies in Romans 1

1. Prophets 1:1

2. Incarnation 1:1

3. The Scriptures 1:1

These first three mercies are God's way of revelation to man about Himself. He didn't have to reveal anything, and yet Hed did so. 

4. The cross 1:4

5. Christ's resurrection 1:4

6. Effectual calling unto salvation 1:5

7. Preaching 1:5

8. Gifting of faith 1:5

9. Gifting of repentance 1:5

These mercies of God represent the "act" by which salvation was achieved (cross & resurrection) and by which it is applied (effectual calling and preaching). Our God is truly a merciful God. 

10. Covenant of grace 1:7

11. general revelation 1:18

Here we see God's method by which He approaches sinners in need of salvation - the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace is what He instituted in the Garden of Eden and was most chiefly expressed and fulfilled by Christ. Such a revelation of God's mercy is specific and saving insofar as the sinner responds by grace through faith. General revelation in creation reveals God's wrath against sin. God again is showing mercy by even revealing the fact that there is a particular problem - sin. Why is that merciful? Because if there is a problem - sin, then it necessarily follows that there be a solution - salvation. Moreover, the solution must come from God. As Paul writes more in Romans, we discover that the power of salvation is in what He wrote near the beginning, namely the Person of the Son incarnating himself in true humanity. God is truly merciful. He makes available everything needed to be reconciled to Himself. Outside of Jesus there is no reconciliation, no hope and no mercy. God desires to show tender mercy. The question is: will you receive what He offers by faith?

Serving our great God by the strength of His tender mercies

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:

When we consider the above passage, Paul is writing in light of all he expressed in Romans 11:33-36. The word "therefore" indicates that what he is about to write follows from what he just wrote about - namely God's greatness. How a Christian serves God is the chief concern of Romans 12:1-13. When we serve God, we are not talking about some slavish, dutiful, drab, gritting-of-the-teeth type of commitment. To serve God is not something I just do out of my own strength or that you do out of your own ability. As Christians, we cooperate with the Holy Spirit Who brings down to us God's greatness in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Commentator Warren Wiersbe notes: "The motive for dedication is love; Paul does not say, “I command you” but “I beseech you, because of what God has already done for you.” We do not serve Christ in order to receive His mercies, because we already have them (3:21–8:39). We serve Him out of love and appreciation." Quite literally, to serve God is to serve with Him. So how is it that we serve God with His greatness? What does the Holy Spirit do in enabling Christians to serve the Lord in a lifestyle of worship? It all begins by noting how the Holy Spirit administers His "tender mercies".

The tender mercies of God - the strength for effective ministry and service

Paul again states in Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Why are the Spirit's dispensing of tender mercies the power source in our service to God? 

1. The joy of Spirit-wrought tender mercies
What is there about these "mercies" that makes rendering oneself as a living sacrifice a joyful privilege? God's tender mercies are His deep and tender affections towards His people. Do not think of the term "mercies" as a weak term. To know that God is already for me in my service to Him means I have nothing to fear - no demon, no person and no situation. When a person realizes how much tender mercy and affection God has chosen to express towards them, that person will find service to God a delight rather than a drudgery. Coupled with the notion that the Spirit Himself is the One responsible for the dispensing of such mercies - we find service to God to be an empowering and enjoyable experience.

2. The power of Spirit-wrought tender mercies

Philippians 2:1-2 gives us the perfect cross-reference to Romans 12:1. Notice what Philippians 2:1-2 says - "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." The word translated "affection" is the same word translated in Romans 12:1 by the phrase "tender mercies". Clearly the tender mercies of God that are responsible for empowering our service to God are the result of the Spirit's activity in conjunction with our own. 

3. The provision of Spirit-wrought tender mercies

Scripture elsewhere testifies to how the Lord grants us mercies to do His work. Lamentations 3:22-24 reminds us - "The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” When I consider what Jeremiah wrote here in Lamentations, I often think about each day of the Christian life as having situations that have different costs attached to them. Some situations will be 50 cent situations, others one dollar and if its really big - ten dollars. Every morning, God lays out for me His tender mercies - that is - His grace empowered enablements by His Spirit. For simplicity's sake, lets say today the Spirit had laid out for me $5 worth of mercy to take care of $4 worth of problems. Whatever may come our way, we have more than enough to handle it. But now lets say at the last minute of the day something goes wrong that I have no ability to address until the next day. Now the question arises: do I panic or press into God? Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." In other words, God will have fresh mercies ready for tomorrow to address tomorrow's troubles. He gives us what we need for today. When we understand how His mercies work, and how the Spirit gives to us exactly what we need, we learn the secret to walking daily by faith in His service.  

4. The dependance taught by Spirit-wrought tender mercies
David for instance makes mention often of God's mercies at work in his life. 2 Samuel 24:14 records David in a time of great distress, looking to God's tender mercies - "And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man." Here David draws strength from what are literally God's expressions of pity and compassion towards him. The manner of mercy which David experienced in his life was to such a degree that scripture elsewhere uses it as a standard way of expressing how God displays His power. The greatest example of the power of such mercies is found in Acts 13:34 "And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David." It is because of Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead that we have access by His Spirit to all the spiritual blessings of God, including His mercies. The great lesson of depending on God for everything in service to Him only comes through interracting with Spirit-wrought tender mercies in our lives. 

Closing thoughts:

It makes sense as to why Paul would urge his readers by means of the tender mercies of God. The strength supplied and worked forth by the Spirit in these tender mercies strengthens Christians to serve our great God. By these tender mercies spoken of in Romans 12:1, the Spirit does four things: 

1. Works forth joy
2. Works forth power in the Christian
3. Works forth provision 
4. Works forth dependance upon God. 

Such tender mercies from the Spirit of God are what makes service to God so empowering and enjoyable. To know that God is truly for us and on our side, to know that we already have His favor is motivation and power enough to serve Him most effectively. As the Bible Knowledge Commentary notes - "In the light of Paul’s closely reasoned and finely argued exposition of the mercies of God (Rom. 1–11), such an offering is obviously a desirable response for believers."

The Lifestyle of Worship to our Great God - Romans 12:1

Romans 12:1 (NASB) "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,which is your spiritual service of worship."

Note: The Reader is invited to check out a more thorough version of this post at: https://biblicalexegete.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/a-study-on-presenting-ones-body-as-a-living-sacrifice-and-the-lifestyle-of-worship-from-romans-121/

Introduction: 

Today's post is about explaining what Paul meant in Romans 12:1 by the phrase: "present your bodies as living sacrifices".  It will be suggested that this phrase refers to that which follows from the reception of eternal life in the Gospel - namely the living out a lifestyle of worship to our great God.

Briefly summarizing Romans 1-11 as leading up to Romans 12:1                

What Paul did in the prior 11 chapters of Romans was to unfold the power of the Gospel. This theme is described in the key verse of his epistle, Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." In journeying through the foothills of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit reveals through Paul's pen the greatness of God's redemption. At the heart of God's redemption is the qualification for being right with him (i.e righteousness in Romans 1:17). This qualification is received upon trusting in Jesus Christ by grace alone through faith alone apart from the law. In Romans 1-11 the following themes are explored:

1. Introduction to the Gospel. Romans 1:1-17

2. The Power of the Gospel. Romans 1:16-17

3. The Judgment of God - All Have Sinned. Romans 1:18-3:23

4. The Remedy from God - Justification & Reconciliation. Rom 4-5

5. The Christian Life - Sanctification. Romans 6-8

6. God's Sovereign Salvation for Israel, the Gentiles and the Church. Romans 9-11:32

7. The Grand Doxology - Romans 11:33-36

The Holman New Testament Commentary notes on the relationship of these first eleven chapters to Romans 12:1 - "This verse is one of the most important in all the Bible, and contains more key theological terms and truths for its size than perhaps any other verse of Scripture. Having completed his explanation of sin, salvation, sanctification, and sovereignty, Paul now does to the Roman believers, in a manner of speaking, what the Holy Spirit does in our lives—he urges the Rome believers to act on the truth they have received."

So the question is: with the power of the Gospel and the reception of it by grace alone through faith alone, does the Gospel of Jesus Christ bring about not only an internal change of heart but also external change in behavior? Romans 12-16 answers with a strong affirmative yes! 

At the head of Paul's discourse on the practical Christian life is this idea of presenting oneself as a living sacrifice. As was mentioned in the beginning of this post, Romans 12:1 is concerned with urging Christians to live out a lifestyle of worship that flows from the Gospel. Below we will briefly offer some exposition on this opening verse of Romans 12:1.

1. The power source for a lifestyle of worship - God's tender mercies

Paul's urgent tone for his readers (and for us) to apply what was just written is expressed by the opening phrase "I urge". Whenever this verbal idea appears in the New Testament, it performs the double duty of reinforcing encouragement and urgency to one's duties. The Evangelical Commentary of the Bible notes: "The transitional phrase in view of God’s mercy (12:1) links the previous section on divine sovereignty and the present unit on Christian behavior, for on this alone hangs the “therefore” of the exhortation, “I urge you, brothers.” 

So what is so special about the word translated "mercies"? This word refers to Divine pity, compassion and tenderness. One scholar has suggested the meaning of "a heart of pity", hence underscoring God's heart of pity towards His people. God's tender mercies make available to His people everything He is and everything He has. Such mercies enable them to achieve His purposes for them. Undoubtedly God's tender mercies are the power source behind living out the lifestyle of worship.

2 Corinthians 1:3 uses this word to describe the Person of the Father in the life of the Christian - "The Father of tender mercies and God of all consolation." Paul writes elsewhere in Philippians 2:1 how the other two Divine Persons of the the Trinity, the Son and Holy Spirit, directly administer these tender mercies - "Therefore if anyone (is) encouraged in Christ, if anyone is comforted from such love, if anyone is partaking of the Spirit, if anyone has strong affections and tender mercies." Together the Father, Son and Spirit are the One God that is the God of tender mercies.

It is from these mercies that God supplies strength to live out the daily walk of faith and to put into perspective today's challenges and tomorrow's concerns. (Lamentations 3:22-24; Matthew 6:34). So God's tender mercies are the power source for the lifestyle of worship. 

2. Christ is the Pattern for the Lifestyle of Worship                                                         The next phrase we encounter in Romans 12:1 gives us the pattern for living out a lifestyle of worship, namely "present your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy, pleasing to God." Two thoughts are worth noting here. First, the pattern as it is set forth in the particular phrase "living sacrifice". What is so intriguing is how there co-exists the jamming together of two different ideas - "sacrifice" (what one would offer up as a burnt offering) and "living" (life, quality of life, particularly the spiritual life given by God in salvation).

Sacrifices placed on an altar are normally dead, and yet believers are portrayed as presenting their physical lives as a living offering to God. This implies a giving up of all rights, since in an offering the offerer would relinquish any rights of ownership and freely give up the animal being offered. It has been also noted by many how with a living sacrifice, one must make sure it doesn't try to sneak off the altar!

The second and perhaps more important observation about this pattern set forth by Paul is that it is a Christ-like pattern. How do we know the language of "presenting" corresponds to Christ? Consider two examples. First, the Pre-incarnate Son is recorded speaking these words in Hebrews 10:7 “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) To do Your will, O God.’” The next example is Luke 2:22, wherein the infant Christ being brought to the temple by Mary and Joseph to fulfill what was prescribed by the law of Moses in "presenting (Him) to the Lord".

This pattern of "presenting" our bodies as living sacrifices is very Christ-like, which is why Paul commends it. Hebrews 12:2-3 encourages us with these words about this pattern - "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

To further reinforce this imagery, Paul describes the manner of our presentation as living sacrifices that are literally "set apart and very pleasing unto God". We are again reminded of how our practical righteousness operates within the credited righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

Commentator Matthew Henry notes: "We are temple, priest, and sacrifice, as Christ was in his peculiar sacrificing. There were sacrifices of atonement and sacrifices of acknowledgment. Christ, who was once offered to bear the sins of many, is the only sacrifice of atonement; but our persons and performances, tendered to God through Christ our priest, are as sacrifices of acknowledgment to the honour of God." Later on Henry remarks how Christ works in our works to make what we do acceptable - "A living sacrifice, that is, inspired with the spiritual life of the soul. It is Christ living in the soul by faith that makes the body a living sacrifice, Gal. 2:20."  The pattern of the lifestyle of worship is undeniably patterned from Christ Himself and the power thereof comes from God's tender mercies through the Holy Spirit.  Now let's focus on the final phrase in Romans 12:1 and one final observation about the meaning of "presenting our bodies as living sacrifices".

3. The purpose of the lifestyle of worship:  worship God in His greatness

The Westminister Shorter Catechism poses this opening question:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Paul tells his readers that by presenting their bodies as living sacrifices to God, they are exercising what is, in some versions, the most reasonable act of worship. Other English versions translate this final phrase as: "your most spiritual act of worship." The phrase can be rendered in one of two ways: "reasonable" and "spiritual". The point?  To show the reader that the worshipful goal of presenting one's body as a living sacrifice is the height of Christian spirituality and most reasonable purpose of the Christian life. To take in the Gospel and not live out a life of worship dedicated to God makes any other purpose both unspiritual and unreasonable.

Closing thoughts:                                               Today's post aimed to explain what Paul meant when he urged his readers to "present their bodies as living sacrifices".  It was suggested that this phrase refers to that which follows from the reception of eternal life in the Gospel - namely the living out a lifestyle of worship to God. As we worked through the text of Romans 12:1, three thoughts emerged that set out to explain the meaning of Paul's exhortation:

1. The power source for a lifestyle of worship - God's tender mercies

2. Christ is the Pattern for the Lifestyle of Worship

3. The purpose of the lifestyle of worship:  worship God in His greatness

The Life Practical Ramifications of God's Greatness for the Christian life

Romans 12:1-2  "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Introduction:

Over the past couple of weeks we have been exploring the central Biblical theme of "The Greatness of God". In our process of discovery we have been utilizing Romans 11:33-36 as our chief text. Romans 11:33-36 not only is a doxology or explosion of praise unto God for His greatness in salvation but also summmarizes the first 11 chapters of Romans which detail God's greatness and power in the Gospel.  In the first post of this theme (http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2015/04/why-we-need-gods-greatness.html ), we saw four reasons why the church and Christians need the Greatness of God as a central focus:

1. Evangelism's motive is the greatness of God

2. Worship is based upon the greatness of God

3. Service to God centers on God's greatness

4. Everyday life needs God's greatness

Yesterday we finished up a four part series featuring the Ambassador of God's Greatness - the Holy Spirit. If it were not for the Holy Spirit, God's greatness would not be accessible to the Christian. God is so Great and Awesome that apart from the Holy Spirit's work, His greatness is observed and known about in the heavens and in the conscience by way of general revelation. (Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:18-20; Romans 2:15). Such revelation of God's greatness renders all human beings without excuse and liable to judgment. What is needed is saving revelation, which is specifically revealed in the Bible and most fully through Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Titus 2:11-15; Hebrews 1:1-2) 

Hence has been our discoveries thus far in our study of this great theme of God's greatness. Today begins taking what we have gleaned from Romans 11:33-36 and exploring what life looks like practically when lived out such truths. 

We could deem our previous studies as focusing more upon what I call "worship application", meaning seeing God and relating to Him vertically. If we are ever to live for God effectively, we must see how awesome He is in His full-orbed revelation through the Son. Unless I am in awe of God, I'll never delight in God. Worship application gives us the proper perspective - albeit a vertical and eternal one - for considering life application. To reverse this order is like trying to convey excitement over the Grand Canyon from a postcard. The postcard's point means nothing unless one has been swallowed up by the grandeur of its immensity. Much moreso with God! If we do not proceed in this order from the vertical (God to me), we will never be effective in our life application (me to others).

When we consider Romans 11:33-12:21, we discover the following life-application ramifications for God's greatness in the Christian life:

1. God's greatness in its worship application. Romans 11:33-36

2. Serving with God's Greatness. Romans 12:1-13

3. Living life focused on God's greatness. Romans 12:14-21

God's greatness is as practical as it is worshipful. In reality, our doxology (how we worship) leads to how we live for God. May others who see us serving and living for God conclude that we have been those who have been captured by His Greatness. By the Holy Spirit's working, would it be that others would be converted by grace through faith and experience this wonderful reality for themselves. 

P4 The Ambassador of God's Greatness - The Holy Spirit

Isaiah 40:13-14 "Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,Or as His counselor has informed Him? 14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?"

Introduction:

The Christian life begins with a visitation The Ambassador of the Trinity, Who is the Ambassador of God’s greatness. When I speak of this One and only “Ambassador of God’s Greatness”, I am speaking of the Holy Spirit. In previous posts we have looked at the greatness of God, and how the need for the greatness of God could not be any more than in today’s church and Christian life. We also saw in our last post on this theme how the church’s mission, and really the Christian’s mission is none other than promoting the greatness of God in a world that rejects God for lesser things. Romans 11:33-36 spells out more clearly than any other scripture the greatness of our God.

Today’s post aims to conclude our series by showing how the Holy Spirit, the Ambassador of God’s greatness, brings down to people this great truth – namely that God is great, and greatly to be praised. So as we shall see, our main point of application will be that: the Ambassador of God’s greatness brings to you and me the greatness of God. We saw already how the Holy Spirit brings to us the desire to worship God. We considered two days ago the details about this Mighty Ambassador and how the Holy Spirit brings to us the meaning of scripture. Today we conclude our study by noting how this Mighty Ambassador brings the Majesty of Jesus to us.

The Holy Spirit brings to you the majesty of Christ

Paul wraps up his doxology in Romans 11:36 with these amazing words: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” Paul is concluding this first portion of Romans 1-11, which begins by stating itself to be “the Gospel about Jesus Christ”. Romans 1:1-4 states – “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,        ² which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son, who was born of a

descendant of David according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared the Son of

God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of

holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Thus the majesty of Christ is at the center of the Gospel, since the Gospel is the Gospel about the Son.

We saw earlier how Jesus told His disciples in John 16:13-15 that the Holy Spirit would be the One to bring to them further illumination regarding the majesty of Jesus Christ. Unless the Holy Spirit brings Jesus closer to us, we won’t see any reason to rejoice in Him nor glorify Him. John 7:37-39 explains - ³⁷ On the last and most important day of the festival,  Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink!  ³⁸ The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture  has said,  will have streams of living water  flow  from deep within him.” ³⁹ He said this about the Spirit.  Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit,  for the Spirit  had not yet been received because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” Even following our salvation, the Holy Spirit’s ministry is not only about bringing Jesus to us but also revealing Him in us. (Colossians 1:27)

Closing thoughts:

As we close out today’s post and this series, I want the reader to consider the fact that the Holy Spirit, the Ambassador of God’s greatness, brings to you and me the greatness of God. We saw how He does this first of all by bring to us a desire to worship God. In salvation this desire is initiated by the new birth in saving faith which the Holy Spirit works forth in the hearts of sinners. This same desire to worship God continues on in the Christian’s life through both the Spirit’s work and the believer’s obedient response. We then saw how the Holy Spirit brings to us God’s greatness by delivering to us the meaning of scripture. The Bible is His word, and the meaning thereof can only be accessed by the same Spirit Who illuminates and makes it plain to our understanding and application. Then we saw the third way in which the Ambassador of God’s greatness brings to us God’s greatness is by delivering the majesty of Christ. The Spirit’s main task is to point the way to Jesus Christ and to show Him for Who He is and what He is, namely as God in human flesh, the Prophet, Priest and Soon coming King worthy of worship and our True Friend. Thanks be to God for the Holy Spirit, the Ambassador of God’s greatness!

P3 The Ambassador of God's Greatness - The Holy Spirit

Isaiah 40:13-14 "Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,Or as His counselor has informed Him? 14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?"

Introduction:

When I was growing up at home there was a period of time where we had the opportunity to become acquainted with what I would call “an ambassador of goodness”, otherwise known as “The Schwan’s ice cream man”. Whenever Friday would come, my sister and I knew that in addition to finishing up school, we would get to sometimes see that yellow and white truck back into our drive way. My dad would go out to greet this diplomat of the tastiest frozen desserts this side of eternity (I don’t think I exaggerate). Back then as a boy I had no trouble eating as much ice cream as I could stomach. My dad quickly developed the habit of eating ice cream for his lunch, all thanks to the goods delivered by the Schwan’s ice cream man. While we received these bi-weekly visits from the “Schwan’s” home deliver truck, I soon began to notice the commercials on T.V and then it dawned on me: “hey, that guy is delivering to us what is on the commercial”. As a young boy, all of this was an amazing experience. We thought we had it good with the ice cream from the store. However, when the Schwan’s man came into our lives with his frozen treasures of ice cream, why would anyone want to turn back?

The Christian life begins with a visitation The Ambassador of the Trinity, Who is the Ambassador of God’s greatness. When I speak of this One and only “Ambassador of God’s Greatness”, I am speaking of the Holy Spirit. In previous messages we have looked at the greatness of God, and how the need for the greatness of God could not be any more than in today’s church and Christian life. We also saw in our last message on this theme how the church’s mission, and really the Christian’s mission is none other than promoting the greatness of God in a world that rejects God for lesser things. Romans 11:33-36 spells out more clearly than any other scripture the greatness of our God.

Today’s post aims to continue showing how the Holy Spirit, the Ambassador of God’s greatness, brings down to people this great truth – namely that God is great, and greatly to be praised. So as we shall see, our main point of application will be that: the Ambassador of God’s greatness brings to you and me the greatness of God. We saw already how the Holy Spirit brings to us the desire to worship God. We considered yesterday in greater detail this Mighty Ambassador Himself. Today we want to consider how the Holy Spirit brings to us the meaning of scripture.

The Holy Spirit provides the meaning of scripture. Romans 11:33-36

Sinful man must have the Spirit’s work of convincing Him that Jesus is worthy of worship. The problem is that sinful man has no desire to worship this great God. However Jesus tells us what the Spirit does in overcoming this obstacle in John 16:13-15  “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14“He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15“All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” The Holy Spirit’s task in regenerating lost sinners in saving faith is to remove the heart of rebellion against God and replace it with a heart that desires God. Romans 8:5-6 tells us – “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”

The preacher may come to you with polished words and the song leader may be angelic in their voice and musical ability. Yet, lest the preacher’s message be accompanied by the Holy Spirit’s conviction and lest the song service be charged with Holy Spirit anointing, all will fall on deaf ears. He brings the desire to worship God. But what else does He bring?

Romans 11:33-36 is a doxology that not only quotes scripture but is also summarizing scripture (in this case Romans 1:1-11:32). When the Schwan’s man began to bring ice cream regularly to our home growing up, there were numerous flavors and different kinds. It did not take long until my dad knew what kind of flavors were in the truck and the different kinds of treats made available. The Schwan’s delivery person not only brought the goods, he had the responsibility of explaining the goods. In returning back to Romans 11:33-36, there is no doubt that the passage is not only among the greatest verses in the Bible, but also the most profound.

As we already noted, Paul quotes from Isaiah 40:13 which in its wider

context points to the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is

admittedly a closed book to the minds of unbelievers. 1 Corinthians 2:9

states – “but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has

not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has

prepared for those who love Him.” Human

reason alone is incapable of

appreciating the meaning of scripture. 

Unbelievers may read a verse like

John 3:16 and tell you what it says, 

however unless the Holy Spirit is

working in their hearts and shedding 

light on the passage, the appreciation

of the meaning will remain hidden. This 

is why 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us–

“But a natural man does not accept the 

things of the Spirit of God, for they

are foolishness to him; and he cannot 

understand them, because they are

spiritually appraised.” The Holy Spirit is 

the one who brings home to the

heart of the sinner the joy of the 

Gospel.

The Holy Spirit is the One who bridges the gap between the words of scripture and their meaning. Unless you and I have grasped the meaning and significance of the scriptures, we won’t know how to apply them. The Holy Spirit connects our minds to the meaning of the words on the pages of sacred scripture. 1 Corinthians 2:10-13 explains – “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

The Bible elsewhere tells us that the Spirit is the primary author of every word of the Bible along with 40 other human authors spanning some 1500 years. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21) Who else can we go to in understanding the Bible than the Holy Spirit. He has gifted teachers and preachers to communicate the scriptures and He also gives Christians the ability to discern, appreciate and apply the words of the Bible.

It is vital to remember to pray for the Spirit to give us not only the sense of scripture but the desire to study it. Psalm 119:9-11 contains the Psalmist’s expressed desire to study God’s word and a request for such a desire. The Holy Spirit is the One Who brings to us the things freely given to us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:12) So much more could be said on this point, but we must hasten. Again, the Ambassador of God’s greatness, the Holy Spirit, brings to you and me God’s greatness by way of bringing the ability to worship God and making plain the meaning of scripture. We once more ask: what else does this Great Ambassador bring?

More tomorrow....