Grace OPC Sewickley PA

Sermon Book: Ezekiel

  • Revelation and Ezekiel

    Revelation and Ezekiel

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Revelation” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, January 23, 1994.

    About this sermon

    Revelation is in large part a commentary on Ezekiel, and Ezekiel’s opening vision of the living creatures and the wheels shows why. Both books share one thematic outline and one set of eternal, spiritual, consummate blessings. Both also affirm the deity of Christ and show the church as the true Israel.

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    Sermon transcript

    We begin tonight by turning to the book of Ezekiel, the prophecy of Ezekiel. We are at the first chapter, and we are beginning at verse 1. This is Ezekiel chapter 1, verse 1. Give your attention to the word of God. Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chibar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month, in the fifth year of King Joachim’s exile, the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi. in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebon, and there the hand of the Lord came upon him. And as I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually, and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.

    And within it there were figures resembling four living beings. This was their appearance. They had human form. Each of them had four faces and four wings, and their legs were straight and their feet were like calves’ hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces, and wings of the four of them. Their wings touched one another.

    Their faces did not turn when they moved. Each went straight forward. As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man. All four had the face of a lion on the right, and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above, Each had two touching another being and two covering their bodies, and each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go without turning as they went.

    In the midst of the living beings, there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. and the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning.

    Now, as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings for each of the four of them. The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another.

    Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. As for their rims, they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. And whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them, and whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Whenever those went, these went, and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Our Father, we are grateful to you that your word is revered and honored by many in the world. And we thank you, O God, for those churches in which your word is revered.

    We pray our Father for those churches, those communions, those denominations, that their commitment to your infallible word would not then be shaken. Instead, O Lord, may these churches remain firm in their commitment and determined. Our prayer, Lord, is not merely with respect to them, but for ourselves, that we might stand with these who stand with and for your word, that we would stand in integrity confessing our devotion to you and also acknowledging that we are subject to the word that you have given.

    We pray, Father, that the witness that comes forth from us and from others may be helpful. That it may be helpful, Lord, to the church worldwide. For we realize that there are many churches There are many communions and denominations in which the doctrine of the Word has slipped. There are even some in which the doctrine of your Word and its truth has been abandoned altogether. We pray, our Father, that you would even confront these churches with your truth, and that they might be righted and brought back upon the path. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

    This is our third introductory message to the book of Revelation. as we make ready for our assault on chapters 12 and 14 in the book of Revelation, and the complex figures of the woman, the child, and the dragon. Last week we struck the apocalyptic bell, so to speak. relating the book of Revelation to that wide body of apocalyptic literature, biblical and otherwise. But you will remember that in that message we distinguished between the imaginative and even speculative fantasies of the Jewish apocalyptics, perspectives I might add at this point, as feverish about certain political analyses as they were about the end of the world, we distinguished between the general Jewish apocalyptic and the biblical apocalyptic. Essentially, what we saw was that the common Jewish apocalyptic left no room for the gospel. That is, It left no room for the good news about the intrusion of God in His mercy, through the cross of Christ, upon the plain of this world, for the reclamation of sinners the world over, prior to the world’s end.

    Of course, you know Christ’s Even more than that, we know that Jesus Christ, in all that He is and all that He does, is the heart of the gospel, and that through Him and in Him, the age to come, with all its blessings, not the least of which is life, life in God’s presence, has broken in upon this world even prior to the end, and that is at the center of the good news.

    The age to come, with all its blessings, life in the age to come, life in God’s presence, has broken in upon this world even prior to the world’s end. That is the gospel. In Jesus Christ, through his cross, through his person, through his work, these realities of the age to come have become our possession. Now I trust that you see the significance of all of this.

    Not only does it clearly set before you that mercy, that grace, by which you have been saved from the terrors of God’s judgments, and that consummate terror of the fires of hell at the end of the world, but it also sets before you the character of that mercy which God is concerned to communicate to you presently. You see, the Bible speaks about the character of this mercy in a number of ways. The Bible tells us that this mercy is, in fact, heavenly in its essence, reflecting upon that specifically when there is brought into our view the heavenly places that are spoken of repeatedly.

    For instance, in the epistle to the Ephesians, or the heavenly country. of Hebrews 11.16, or the heavenly Jerusalem of Hebrews 12.22. So then we see that the character of this grace, this mercy, which is given to us, is heavenly in its very essence. But it is also eternal, as in eternal life.

    Eternal life mentioned for us, for instance, in that most famous of texts, John 3.16, and any number of other New Testament passages.

    The point that we must see is that with these descriptions, the Bible means to declare to us that the gospel communicates to us, who believe, blessings beyond which there can be no further or higher blessings. Hear me on this. The point that we must see is that with these descriptions, the heavenly character, the eternal character of the mercy in you, the Bible means to declare to us that the gospel communicates to us who believe blessings beyond which there can be no further or higher blessing. There is no higher blessing than that which comes to us from heaven. There is no higher blessing than the blessing of heaven. We are here talking about ultimate things. These things then belong to another world, a world of everlasting transcendence and radiant glory, and these things have become ours.

    Maybe then, with this in view, we are better able to understand why the Bible pushes us in the direction that it does. as we move through its pages from beginning to end. Is it not true that we are moved away from the temporal, even away from the temporary, that we are moved away from the terrestrial, away from the earthly, in the direction of the heavenly and the spiritual? Now, to become a little bit more concrete about these things, is it not plain to us, is it not clear to us, that the political and social interests that belong to the temporal arena of this world and creation are thereby marginalized? The social and political interests of this world are thereby marginalized. Now, that is not to say that these interests don’t have a place and even an importance, but they do, in fact, belong to the temporal orderings of this creation. And the direction of things, as we move through the pages of Scripture, is from the terrestrial to the heavenly, from the temporary to the eternal.

    But we might also see, then, that marginalized are kingdom notions. Here comes a critique. Marginalized, as well, are kingdom notions. the kingdom notions of many who, either through their visions of a world empire, even if it be achieved through evangelization, or through their visions of a millennial reign by Christ on earth, or through a general evolutionary march to a great society, all of these stop short of the Bible’s true interest and concern.

    All of them have in you concerns and interests that are not ultimate. Even if we have the best social and political blessings in this life, there are those blessings that transcend such social and political blessings. the interest of Scripture and the concern of the Gospel, that those ultimate blessings, beyond which there are no higher or further blessings, be ours. The Bible, then, in the end, has little interest in the better life. And I dare say, it even has little interest in the better world.

    Speaking of this world, the better world of the religiously liberal social engineers, for instance, or the better world of the conservatives who are into turnstile religion, always counting their statistics. You know the type. Or the kind that are into the self-esteem gospel, or into various millennial schemes But this is not to say, and of course I think we have already alluded to this fact, this is not to say that there is no internal development in the biblical apocalyptic as we move through the pages of scripture, as we move from the Old Testament to the New. It seems that the Bible even quite deliberately, sets in front of us its own testimony to its own internal development with regard to this apocalyptic.

    Now let me ask you, what is the most difficult of all the Old Testament books? Did we read from it this evening? Well, I know I would cast my vote for the book of Ezekiel. Maybe you would cast your vote for that book as well. Now, let me ask you further. What is the most difficult book in the New Testament? Is there any question? We all know what the most difficult book in the New Testament is. Without argument, it is the book of Revelation.

    Now, as we pointed out in our messages, these two books share an apocalyptic style and tone. But what if the relationship between them is even closer than a mutual style and tone? What if the relationship between these most difficult books in the respective testaments is even closer than mutual style and tone. A number of insightful Bible commentators and theologians have pointed out how closely Ezekiel and Revelation are in fact bound together. even matching up with one another in terms of their thematic structure.

    Now, here comes the fun part. I’m going to give you a thematic outline for the book of Ezekiel. It comes in six parts. First of all, chapter one. Ezekiel in captivity sees a vision of God. Part one. Ezekiel in captivity sees a vision of God. Chapter 1.

    Secondly, chapters 2 through 24. Messages to the Jewish people. Chapters 2 through 24. Messages to the Jewish people. Chapters 25 through 32. Judgments upon the nations, chapters twenty-five through thirty-two. Fourthly, the Messianic Kingdom, chapters thirty-three through thirty-seven. Chapters thirty-three through thirty-seven, the Messianic Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Fifthly, Gog and Magog. I love to say that. Chapters 38 and 39. 38 and 39, Gog and Magog.

    And finally, chapters 40 through 48, a vision of glory and peace for the redeemed of the Lord in the new temple, closing with the words, The Lord is there. The Lord is there. Now, I want you to think about the book of Revelation. Please, I’m not giving you a new outline to replace the one I gave you earlier, but there is a thematic structure here that I want you to note as we move through the book of Revelation. Again, in six parts. Chapter 1. John, in captivity, sees a vision of Christ. John, in captivity, sees a vision of Christ, chapter 1. Chapters 2 and 3, some of you know the book of Revelation pretty well. Chapters 2 and 3, the messages to the seven churches. Chapters 2 and 3, the messages to the seven churches.

    Chapters 4-19, the judgments upon the world. Chapters 4-19. Fourthly, Chapter 20, the first verses, the Messianic Kingdom, described here in the language of millennia. Fourthly, the Messianic Kingdom, the Kingdom of Christ, the opening verses of Revelation 20. The concluding verses of that chapter, once more. Fifthly, Gog and Magog. The concluding verses of Chapter 20, Revelation, Gog and Magog. Finally, chapters 21 and 22, the vision of the glory and peace of the redeemed of the Lord in the New Jerusalem, focusing on the words, God himself shall be with them.

    There is then here an amazing interlocking of themes, and even the order in which those themes appear in these books. So amazing is this interlocking that it seems conclusive that we are dealing here with more than just mere coincidence or happenstance.

    Could it be that the spirit responsible for Ezekiel presents the same thematic code in Revelation? Could it be that the spirit responsible for Ezekiel presents the same thematic code in Revelation? And what would be the purpose of such an agenda by the Spirit. Could it be that the Spirit, in the end, provides His own commentary to the Old Testament book of Ezekiel? Could it be that the Spirit has provided His own commentary on the Old Testament book of Ezekiel.

    A commentary that is now set in place because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Could it be, then, that the interplay between Ezekiel and Revelation works to the proper and even definitive interpretation of both of these books. That is to say, as we are now wonderfully prepared to read Ezekiel, and that in such a way that we do not miss its testimony to Christ and his spiritual kingdom, that was there all along. So also, we are now wonderfully prepared to read Revelation, and that in such a way that we do not miss its testimony to the fulfillment of Old Testament expectation in and through Jesus Christ. Of course, it is impossible tonight for us to go into a detailed analysis of the relationship between these two books, but I want you to note the Spirit’s direction of things, so as to confirm what we have been saying from the beginning of this message. Look at the first section in Ezekiel that we have marked out, where we find Ezekiel in captivity, given the vision of God, specifically the Lord God of Israel. But now match that up with what we find at the opening of the book of Revelation. There we see John in captivity, answering to Ezekiel.

    But John’s vision, you see, is of the glorified Christ. There is a deliberate replacement going on here. The glorified Christ of John’s vision replaces the Lord God of Israel in Ezekiel’s vision. And I ask you, can there be any doubt with respect to the intention of the Spirit when you consider this parallel? Clearly, Jesus Christ is exalted in John’s vision to nothing less than the full status of deity. Where in Ezekiel we had the vision of God, in John we have the vision of Jesus.

    Jesus is God. Jesus is God. That is what the Spirit is saying. Remember who John was. He was at one time an Orthodox Jew, for whom the thought of exalting a man to the position of deity was unthinkable. But now that which was unthinkable is irrepressible.

    But moving on quickly here, look at the second section, if you took notes. In the second section in Ezekiel, you see that message is given to the Jews, chapters 2 through 24 in that prophecy. Now look at the way in which that section in Ezekiel matches up with the second section in Revelation, where John gives message to the church, the seven churches specifically, but through those seven churches to the church itself. Once more, we are face-to-face, is it not obvious, with replacement.

    As God, in Ezekiel’s vision, is replaced now with Jesus, who is in fact himself God, in John’s vision, now you have the Jewish people as such being replaced by the Church. Is this not, then, true biblical theology? The true Israel of God now is the Church of Jesus Christ. Here is Israel’s meaning.

    Its meaning all along was to give way to the Church. The Church is no parenthesis. It’s no interruption in God’s economy, in His dealings with the world, The Church was, in fact, a goal in God’s design, and that even from before the foundation of the world. Our dispensational friends are in error. Let’s put it more crassly. And isn’t it ironic? They are the ones who pride themselves in their ability to interpret the book of Revelation. And they miss the point. How sad.

    Now for us, Before we leave this point, it’s important for me just to stick in this thought. There is parallel further with regard to that message that comes through Ezekiel to the Jewish people of his day, and now the message that comes to the church through John, servant of Christ. Yes, indeed. Blessing, to be sure, but also warning. Read what the Spirit says to the seven churches and take hate, heed. We are dealing here with life and death issues. But finally now, I want you to notice the replacement that occurs at the closing of the two books.

    We have at the end of Ezekiel that enigmatic description of the grand and glorious temple, chapters 40-48. But surely we must say now, in light of what we have been finding, that this description of the temple at the conclusion of the book of Ezekiel does not, in fact cannot, find its fulfillment in some sort of reconstructed building on the site of the old temple in Jerusalem. That’s not it. Instead, that description given at the conclusion of Ezekiel finds its fulfillment in the transcendent heavenly abode that descends at the conclusion of the book of Revelation out of heaven from God, not built by man, out of heaven from God, the premonition of which is already in the world in God’s spiritual house, the Church.

    And you are in it. And to be in it is to also have set before you clearly and definitively the presence of God. The presence of God. Ezekiel and Revelation are the Bible’s most difficult books. But God himself in his spirit has given us help. And indeed we are helped when we realize the interconnectedness of these books and begin to interpret the one in light of the other. It is my conviction It is a conviction that I hold, that I believe is irrefutable, that such interpretation, such interpretation as we compare Ezekiel with Revelation, compels us to see the heavenly, spiritual nature and character of the kingdom.

    And that heavenly spiritual character and nature of the Kingdom is already expressing itself in provisional fashion in the true Church of Jesus Christ. And it is my hope that you are a part of the true Church of Jesus Christ, not just in body, but to the depths of your soul.

    Give us your help, O God, with your word. We have committed ourselves to your word, confessing that it is inspired and infallible. But Lord, we pray that we would not presume upon our confession, but rather be diligent with respect to the word, so that we might understand your word properly. To this end, our God, by your Spirit, help us to grasp hold of the true nature of the kingdom, the heavenly and eternal quality and nature. We pray our Father that you will bless us as we think about how we ought to live in this world as citizens of another. Even as we prepare ourselves for the revelation of that wonderful full benediction that shall come from you at the last day.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Irresistible Grace and the Holy Spirit

    Irresistible Grace and the Holy Spirit

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of “The Bible and Calvinism” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, November 22, 1987.

    About this sermon

    Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones becomes the text for weighing the modern Pentecostal understanding of the Holy Spirit against the teaching of Kuyper, Vos, and Gaffin. Irresistible grace is the Spirit’s work of uniting us to Christ, not mere religious excitement.

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    Sermon transcript

    This morning we are reading from Ezekiel 37, and some of you know what is coming. We are beginning from the first verse. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of a valley that was full of bones. He caused me to pass by them all around. There were very many bones in the open valley, and indeed, they were very dry.

    He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’” Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews upon you, bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you. You shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

    So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking. The bones came together, bone to bone. When I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them on the outside. But there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. We are cut off for good.’”

    Therefore, prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, all my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall ye know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord. Then from John chapter six, verse sixty-three, it is the spirit that giveth life. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

    With me briefly. Our Father, your servants called of you speak with that word which is given them by you, and Lord oversee their consciences that they would not speak except in keeping with your word. May their voice then be but a witness to the word, which, in company with the Spirit, brings life to those who are dead. Father, may we, quickened by you, live continually by the power of your Spirit, consciously seeing our lives as those that are beneath your gaze, preserved by you. For Christ’s sake.

    There was a young man who attended my father-in-law’s church for a couple of months. After that time in that congregation, the young man approached my father-in-law with his question. He was what you might call a spirit-filled Christian. During his months under my father-in-law’s preaching, he had concluded that there was no experience for teaching about the Spirit in his church. My father-in-law was not hesitant, and I think that those of you who know him realize that he is not one to hesitate.

    Responded by calling the young man’s attention to the classic statement concerning the work of the Holy Spirit that appears in the confession and in the catechisms of this church. You want to talk about the work of the Spirit? The work of the Spirit undergirds everything that I say. For, you see, we cannot speak about the application of redemption and salvation without speaking about the Holy Spirit. How are we going to speak about the effectual call? My father-in-law went on. How are we going to speak about justification or adoption or sanctification? Turning to the apostles, he began to expound on the last paragraph of that section, which concerns our belief in the Holy Ghost. But not only that—recognizing as well that this section goes on to relate the Holy Catholic Church to the Holy God, to the Holy Ghost, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. The Holy Spirit, he concluded, is utterly indispensable to the message of this church. And if you have not understood that, then you haven’t really been listening.

    Our time has been described as a period of crisis with regard to the third person of the Trinity, a crisis surrounding the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The trauma arises from the latter part of the last century and continues into our own. It has taken two forms. One is seen in the reaction of modernism toward the traditions of the church and the traditional confession with regard to the Spirit and his operation. The other is seen in the rise of the holiness movements and the Pentecostal movements, which we know well. The trauma overtook the Reformed church at the turn of the century, when an alliance formed between those who might be called somewhat Pentecostal and those who were fully modern.

    They wanted to bring about change in the creed. They looked at the Westminster Confession of Faith and decided that, since the confession did not have a special chapter on the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit had somehow been neglected. They believed a new chapter should be added to speak specifically about the Holy Spirit. But the issue at stake in that debate was not whether the Holy Spirit had received adequate attention in the confession. Rather, the question was, when all the arguments were set aside, whether the attention the Spirit had received expressed the views of those now dissenting. The confession’s position regarding the Spirit focused on the Spirit’s work in applying redemption.

    You may recall in your confession and in your catechism that those sections are strongly Calvinist—uncompromisingly Calvinist. It was this Calvinism to which those who were objecting were, in fact, objecting through their questions and arguments about the Holy Spirit.

    Now, this is not to say that the Holy Spirit is not worthy of our special attention and our special study. Nor is it to say that there may not have been some neglect by theologians in the Reformed tradition during that period. Yet, from that period came some remarkable contributions to the Reformed church’s understanding of the Spirit and His work. I have in mind two Dutchmen: one named Abraham Piper, and the other named Herman Hoeksema. Hoeksema was a statesman, a politician, and an educator.

    He was also an editor of a newspaper, and he wrote a devotional for that newspaper, week by week. When he had completed a series on the Holy Spirit in those devotional sections, the collection would comprise over six hundred pages in a volume now entitled The Work of the Holy Spirit. Kuyper’s interest in those essays and devotionals was this: that the Holy Spirit is deeply involved in, and interested in, our daily lives, and we must be conscious of His operations day by day. His presentations of this theme were very popular, quite direct, easily understood, and easily digested.

    The other Dutchman was Gerhardus Vos, a transplanted Dutchman who lived in this country. His approach to the Holy Spirit was much more theological, certainly from the perspective of a professional theologian. But no less intense. Vos’s understanding of the Holy Spirit pushes the Reformed church in a direction that, formally, you have been unwilling to go.

    For thus realize that the Holy Spirit is actually the one who mediates to us the realities of our hope. It is the Holy Spirit who is specifically called the down payment of our inheritance, the earnest of that which is promised to us. The Spirit comes from another world and is given to us as a gift, and His presence means to us the mediation of the realities of the world to come.

    And though a little more difficult to grasp, no less practical, no less compelling, no less meaningful, for the Christian in the Christian daily walk. The direction that was struck by these two Dutchmen has been enhanced by a theologian of our own time, and one who has stood in this pulpit and preached to this church, Richard Gaffin. He has carried on that work with regard to our vision of and appreciation of the Spirit in terms of the certain availability of the Holy Spirit to the Church. There is no question about that. Dr. Gaffin has pressed that upon all who will listen.

    The Spirit was given to the church at Pentecost. Therefore, the issue is not the arrival of the Spirit. Rather, the issue is our experience of being filled with the Spirit. The issue is not our access to the Spirit, but our being filled with the Spirit. This concerns the person and the work of the Holy Spirit. Even if it is true that in Reformed circles there was a certain neglect due to God’s providence, there have been men raised up to help us and encourage us in our doctrine of the Spirit, in our thinking about Him, and in our experience of Him.

    Regarding my own ministry in relation to the person of the Holy Spirit, it could be said—and said well—that my ministry is characterized by a concentration upon Jesus Christ. I would expect each of you to say the same if you were to describe my ministry or my preaching along certain lines.

    Indeed, the concentration has been upon Jesus Christ, the Son. It has been upon His person and work, and upon the grace that is ours through Him. A model for this pulpit could well be Colossians 3:11: “Christ is all in all.” At the same time, the ministry of this pulpit could be characterized by devotion to and passion for God the Father, in keeping with the goal stated in 1 Corinthians 15, where it is said that the Son delivers up the kingdom to God the Father, and in verse 28, “God is all in all.” Or, somewhat more subtly, the ministry of this pulpit could be characterized in terms of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit standing central in our law. As we reflect upon the message of the New Testament regarding the Spirit, and as that Spirit is contrasted negatively.

    Settle her again. For instance, the flesh and the spirit are in antithesis, representing two dominions. The spirit is the principle of operation and life in one, while the flesh is the principle of operation and spirit in the other. These dominions are in conflict—one under judgment, the other adorned with glory.

    Truly, as Paul says, the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. But this pulpit could also be described as relating to the Holy Spirit in a covenant. This covenant seeks to help you appreciate the sentiments of the apostle Paul in Second Corinthians, chapter three, verses.

    Not the letter, for the letter kills. Rather, the ministry of the Spirit stands opposite the ministry of the letter. The letter brings us into bondage and leaves us under the sentence of condemnation. The Holy Spirit is central to the ministry, just as the flesh is contrasted with the spirit, and the letter is contrasted with the spirit. Yet this contrast is not only negative. The Holy Spirit is also central to the pulpit and ministry of this church and to your lives, because the spirit is identified by the apostle Paul as the fountain of liberty. Where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty; there is freedom.

    One need only think of the Spirit as the principle of the age to come. Consider the age to come, its vast expanse. There you have room to move. True liberty abounds in the glory of the world and the age to come, and it is the Spirit who now mediates to you the realities of that world. You are set free, so that you might live beyond the oppression of sin, beyond the oppression of the law, beyond their tyranny, in the realm of liberty and freedom.

    That the Spirit, as we have seen this morning and as we have read, is also the fountain of life. Over against this, the Spirit is specifically identified as the giver of life. It is often said that the Spirit is like the one described in Second Corinthians three. The Spirit is like righteousness, as stated in Romans eight. One of the passages we have read this morning is from John’s Gospel, chapter six, verse sixty-three.

    Once more, these words are on the lips of Jesus. The Spirit is what gives life. Now it is at this final point—when the Spirit is recognized as the fountain of life—that He becomes the focus.

    For us, in our consideration of our Calvinistic confession, we are at the fourth of the five points of Calvinism: our doctrine of the Holy Spirit, primarily considered under the doctrine of irresistible grace. Why did the Calvinists insist upon this point? Because they were convinced of the biblical foundation, as it relates to the fact that our Scriptures tell us that the Spirit is the giver of life, the fountain of life, and life itself. This testimony is found throughout Scripture, and it is nowhere more evident than in the Gospel of John.

    The Gospel of John, in its first twelve chapters, could well be called the book of signs. As your mind reflects on these chapters, you recall the mighty works that Jesus performed. He turned water into wine in John two. He healed the son of an official in John four. He healed a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years in John five. He multiplied the loaves and fishes in John six. He healed the man who was born blind in John nine. And in John eleven, He raised Lazarus from the dead.

    All of these signs, but signs of what? Signs that life is flowing through Christ. Signs of that life that is running through Him by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is one. And thus, as we move through these signs, it is as if we are going through a progression. I often think of those chapters in John’s Gospel as a sequence of events, similar to a competition where the difficulty increases with each step. You begin with water turned to wine, and you end with the raising of a man who has been dead for four days.

    The theme, then, is the progressive revelation that life is attached to Christ, and He supplies that life through the Spirit. But as we come to this conclusion, we easily look back through all the other chapters and realize that this has been the message of John all along. We think of that passage in the message where it says, “My life is found nowhere else, and it is found specifically in the Spirit.” This is the same message Jesus gives to Nicodemus in John 3. The sovereign activity of the Spirit is what is emphasized: it is the Spirit.

    That is why, unless you are born of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. The Spirit blows where He wills. You cannot tell where the wind comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. In John chapter one, it speaks about those who are sons of God: they are born not of human will or the will of the flesh, but of God. God gives them birth.

    Here is the culmination of all the Old Testament expectations regarding the appearance of the Spirit, the Spirit of promise. In Joel chapter two, the prophet says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” Zachariah says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord. What can be said or added to what we have read in Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven? That remarkable story of the dry bones, except for the Spirit, represented in this chapter by the breath or the wind called for by the prophet, the bones do not live.

    The testimony of Scripture is overwhelmingly clear: we are dead unless the Spirit gives us life. And if the Spirit gives us life, then truly we are alive. Who can resist His power? Yes, the doctrine of the Spirit, known as irresistible grace, may be neglected by those who have been preaching the gospel and preaching it truly. I do not think the message has been absent. Yes, we are made alive by the Spirit. We are not dead in our sins.

    Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for the word concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Though it may be true, our Father, that Your Church has not reflected as much upon the Spirit and His work as she ought, yet there has been a constant line of testimony, a voice that is heard repeatedly concerning the ministry of the Spirit in the lives of the saints. O Lord, we pray that Your grace may abound to us, Your children, as we reflect upon the Spirit and His call. For surely by His call we have been brought near to You, and now by His power we remain near to You.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.