This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of “The Holy Spirit” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, February 26, 1995.

Tonight we are reading from Ezekiel chapter thirty seven and we begin at verse one. Pay attention now to the reading of God’s word. Ezekiel thirty seven verse one. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. And he caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and lo, they were very dry.

And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto 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 you, that you may come to life. And I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive and you will know that I am the Lord.

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling. The bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew, and skin covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, thus says the Lord God, come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain that they come to life. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on 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 has perished. We are completely cut off.

Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God, behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people, and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people. And I will put my spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it, declares the Lord.” And then turning to Ephesians chapter 2, at verse 19, This is Ephesians 2, 19.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a growing of God in the Spirit.

Let’s pray together. Our God, may we take encouragement from the fact that we are here to receive of your word and blessing. Our relationship to this assembly, our giving attention to the details of worship, our hearing of the word, are no small matters before you. Therefore, our God, may our assurance of salvation be increased and perfected as we find our spirits willing to sit under the preaching of your word, knowing that by your word and with the blessing of the Spirit, we are refreshed, we are strengthened for service in your name. We pray, our God, that you then would minister to us at this time. For Jesus’ sake, amen.

Now we are bringing our brief study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament to a conclusion this evening. Not that we won’t have occasion to refer to the Old Testament again in our study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit, but this installment or segment of our study comes to a conclusion this evening. I preach this message as one of emphasis. That is, I preach it in order to call your attention to where we have been. And therefore, this message is a message of reminder before we go ahead with further consideration.

I remind you, therefore, that we have found in the Old Testament the contours of our Christian doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Now, this is no surprise to you, I’m sure, and we as Christians were bound to discover these things, it would seem. Our conviction is then that The Old Testament is consistent, consistent with what we as Christians have now come to embrace. It is consistent with regard to our belief and conviction about the Holy Spirit. As we observe generally, the progress then of God’s self-disclosure from Old Testament to New, we particularly observe that progress as we take up the person and the work of the Holy Spirit. The person of the Holy Spirit, who is the Father and the Son, takes on his own clearly defined identification. from the New Testament to the Old, we see in the Spirit of God more than merely God’s energy or the force of God at play upon the surface of the world or in the affairs of this creation. We truly see a person at work. an individual whom we confess identical with God.

Classical texts commend themselves along these lines and give common voice to that conviction, then, that rises off the pages of God’s Word. Psalm 51, verse 11, is a famous text. David writes here in his Psalm of Confession, “‘Do not cast me away from thy presence, and do not take thy Holy Spirit from me.'” Now, obviously, neither David nor his Jewish audience at that time have moved into a full-blown Trinitarian doctrine such as the Church confesses. Yet this passage is very suggestive of what we, as the Church, confess.

In the first line, David sets out his fear in terms of being cast out of God’s presence. The second line is a parallel statement and functions as the equivalent, in different words, to the first line. This means that leaving God’s presence equals being deprived of His Holy Spirit. Read, then, the two lines in light of each other.

Now, two things arise from the text that take many centuries to clarify, as it were. and could only be clarified, I might add, by the coming of Jesus Christ himself and the setting forth of the fullness of the revelation of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The two things that rise from this text are these.

One, the presence of the Holy Spirit is the presence of God. Very simple. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the presence of God, and thus the Holy Spirit is God, His personality being thus established in this task. But two, God can be addressed by David about the Holy Spirit. David can speak to God about the Holy Spirit, and thus it appears that the Holy Spirit has an individual identity.

Now, to be sure, much even at this is clouded and ambiguous. Nevertheless, the contours for the coming doctrinal confession of the church are perceived even here in Psalm 51 verse 11. Another text that we might look to in this respect, Joel chapter 2 verses 28 through 32. This is a familiar text. but it offers up to us the same conclusions at which we have arrived in our reflection upon Psalm 51.

Remember how that text goes. God says, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, verse 28. He goes on to say, I will display wonders, blood, fire, columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness. the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord’s coming.” This takes us through and into verse 31.

Here, on the one hand, the spirit appears as separate from God, who speaks and who, as the Lord, comes at the last day. Thus, the spirit has an individual identity. On the other hand, the Spirit is Himself associated with the apocalyptic coming of God, a preliminary preparation or preparatory coming of God that then sets before it the conclusive, the climactic appearance of the Lord. Thus, the Holy Spirit is the presence of God Himself, and consequently identical to God. As God has personality, so also does the Spirit, since the Spirit is God.

These texts then move us toward the fuller revelation that then brings about the Church’s confession. There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power, and in glory.

But merely stating the classic doctrine about the Holy Spirit’s individuality and identity with God and finding support for it in the Old Testament hardly fills the bill in terms of the Old Testament’s teaching with regard to the Holy Spirit. Such an approach left to itself merely sounds like the reading back into the Old Testament of Christian dogma. Important to see, therefore, is the fuller range of the Old Testament’s revelation of the Holy Spirit, a fuller range that brings into focus not just the person of the Holy Spirit, but also his work, his activity, is ministry. Indeed, the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament prepares us well for what we see opening up for us in the new. Now, we have looked at two passages as representative in the Old Testament in order to better understand the Old Testament’s presentation on the work, the ministry, the activity of the Spirit, namely Genesis 1 verse 2 and Zechariah 4 verse 6.

The first of these texts tells us about the Spirit of God. You know that very well. The Spirit of God who moves upon the face of the waters. There are a number of things laid within this verse and its context for our consideration. For instance, the Spirit appears in the context of that mention, leading up to his introduction, of the formlessness, void, and darkness. You find these mentioned at the opening of verse two. But the Spirit’s mention also leads us into comment about the Word of the Lord. by which the light enters the creation scene, verse 3.

This makes it plain that the Word and the Spirit are inseparable for the accomplishment of God’s purpose, something the Church would do well to remember in our own time. But equally plain is the Spirit’s relationship to what had preceded namely the formlessness, the void, and the darkness. For you see, the Spirit is not only the Spirit of power, thus united to the Word, the Spirit is truly the agent of resolution.

I will stress that again for you. He is the agent of resolution, the one by whom God does the impossible. the one by whom God brings resolution when resolution is completely and utterly impossible. In this respect, I emphasize it to you one more time.

You must remember that the formlessness, the void, and the darkness mentioned at the opening of verse two are absolute. That is, they admit to no resolution from within the created order. There is nothing in the created order that can bring a resolution to the formlessness, void, and darkness. That resolution must come from God Himself.

And beautifully, that resolution is effected now, we are told in the second verse of Genesis 1, by the Spirit. And as we move on, the Spirit with the Word. And God said, you see, let there be light. Now, the resolution that comes into view as the Spirit ministers, as it were, as the Spirit is active, as the Spirit works, the resolution that comes into view is presented to us then as a building enterprise. And that enterprise, we are told, is one in which the spirit is indispensable. This means then that the spirit’s work is architectonic. So God, in the creation and by His wisdom, builds a habitation, a place in which He and His creature man might converse, have fellowship, and commune.

Now, we have also learned from this text, although it is not altogether clear, it’s not something certainly that leaps off the page at you, that the Spirit is not only the agent of resolution, He is also the agent of glory. Now, I realize full well that this still remains a bit abstract for us. And yes, this is where things get a little more difficult for us, not just because it’s a bit obscure in the text, but because we just have a great deal of difficulty relating to this whole thing. But I am pressing you on this matter, and I continue to emphasize it to you because of its great, yes, great importance.

The Spirit is the agent of resolution, but He is also the agent of glory. And the fact that He is the agent of glory is tightly bound up to the fact that he is the agent of God’s resolution. That is to say that he resolves in light of glory. The resolution comes in relationship to glory. Now, hang with me.

It will just be suggested here and lead us then into what we find in Zechariah 4. But the hint of it here in Genesis 1 is set before us, as I suggested to you, in the bird imagery that Moses uses in connection with the Spirit’s movements. If you literally translate that second verse, the latter part of it, you find here that the Spirit is actually portrayed bird-like. He is portrayed as a great bird hovering, as it were, upon the face of the waters. Now, you may recall, if you heard my message on this, you may recall that I endeavored to explain to you the meaning of that imagery. We connected the bird-like action of the Spirit here in Genesis 1-2 to the winged creatures, the angelic entourage that accompanies God’s marvelous visitation from glory. There is then this coming out of glory of the Spirit And this coming of God in the Spirit is one that is accompanied with the angelic host. The point is that the Spirit brings with him the heavenly world in frame.

He brings the heavenly world of glory in tow. and it is specifically this heavenly world, this world of glory, that provides the pattern for the forming of the world and the resolution that is brought with regard to the formlessness, the void, and the darkness. The resolution, ultimately, for the formlessness of the world is the form of glory. The resolution of the void is the fullness of glory. The resolution for the darkness is the light, the radiance of glory. Now, I admit, it ain’t apparent from the text. It simply isn’t all that clear.

And that is why you need the rest of the Old Testament revelation to pound the point home to you. Beyond and behind the obvious is that which is not obvious. Beyond and behind what you see is what you don’t see. And what you do see is completely dependent upon what you don’t see. And if you don’t understand that, you simply are not getting the point.

For the rest of biblical revelation will be concerned to drive that point home to you. You must live by the things you don’t see. You have to. You have to train your mind, your soul, your heart with regard to the things you don’t see. Now, I’ve admitted it to you.

Time and again in this message at this point, which I’ve just made, is a bit obscure, a bit of bleach in Genesis 1-2. But now as you move through the rest of Revelation, and particularly as we come to our under-representative text, Zechariah 4-6, and its context, Here it is going to be pressed home to us. God is intent upon training his people so that their eye is able to perceive, yes, even by faith, those things that are not apparent. So he takes us into a world of vision. That world of visions is there for the purpose, again, of training our souls and our hearts.

Now, I don’t intend to repeat all of my messages on Zechariah 4.6. I’ll draw all the parallels tonight between Genesis 1 and Zechariah 4 for you. I will only say, once more, that the Spirit here is presented as the Spirit of power, yes, and brought into relationship with the Word. That is true, is it not? The Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. That’s Zechariah 4, 6. The Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. So yes, the Spirit is the Spirit of power, and that in the Word. Amen. But again, the Spirit is the agent of resolution.

What now are the impossibilities? The impossibilities in Zechariah’s situation are those that are in connection with the rebuilding of the commonwealth of Israel, and most particularly the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord. Now, it may look like a very achievable goal and task, humanly speaking, but the Lord now will remind all those involved it is an impossible task, except by my Spirit.

It is indicative of bringing life out of death, because that’s how things are for Israel in exile. Isn’t that the message of Ezekiel 37? You folks are dead. You’re a bunch of dry bones in a valley. Can you live? only by the word of the Lord, only by the Spirit of God. Well, the Spirit is the agent of resolution, resolution of the impossibilities.

Indeed, this is underscored by the prophet Ezekiel in his message, out of Ezekiel 37. So yes, the spirit bound to the Word, the spirit of power, the spirit, the agent of resolution. Once more, the spirit now is bound to a building enterprise, as we suggested with regard to Genesis 1. There, the creation and view, but now one in which God and His people have built a habitation in which The Lord with his people can converse, commune, and rejoice together in fellowship. But also, Zechariah 4 sets before us powerful and transcendent images in the vision that is given to the prophet. For the Spirit appears most definitely now as the agent of glory.

Behind the structures and the various pieces of furniture that were pertained to this rebuilt temple in Jerusalem are the greater structure with the more impressive pieces of furniture in glory. And I might add at this point, lest you think that all that we are concerned with here is structure and pieces of furniture. behind the order and the offices. Namely, as you move through Zechariah 4, you come to the end and you find out that the two olive trees are identified with two personages, the anointed ones who stand before the face of the Lord. So yes, it’s not just structure and pieces of furniture. behind the order and the offices of the restored administration for the temple in Jerusalem is the greater order with its offices from glory.

Is it a matter of importance how the church is ordered and how the offices appear? Yes, it is. Why? Because there is a connection between the order and the offices. of the Church, or of the temple of God in the world, and his temple of glory above.” What becomes apparent then in this is the issue of priority. It may appear to us that the order of things here has priority. That is not the case.

The world of glory, the heavenly world, provides the pattern for things here. Therefore, the world of glory, with its two olive trees, its candelabra, its Holy Spirit oil for anointing are the reality of which the earthly sanctuary structure order offices are but a copy and a shadow.

But even though we have moved now from Genesis to Zechariah, and we are much clearer on this point Now than we were, we still stand short of where we have been brought by Jesus Christ and his administration of the Holy Spirit. For all that the Old Testament gives us, as it concludes, we are still in a fog, we are under a cloud. that he’s only listed in our Savior Jesus Christ, the very one to whom all of the Old Testament revelation pressed. The Holy Spirit’s ministry, because of Christ, will even make of that ministry of the Spirit in the Old Testament Something as it were, so to speak, nothing at all. The Holy Spirit’s ministry, because of what Jesus Christ has brought and what he has done, makes that ministry that prior ministry of the Spirit in the Old Testament appear as if it were nothing at all.

For now, true life has come. True life for the Valley of the Dry Bones didn’t come in the Old Testament administration. John the Baptist confesses that he could only baptize with water. There comes one after him who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

And as a result of Christ’s Spirit-anointed ministry, life, form, fullness, light, structure, order, and office finally come to their own and into their complete form, their true reality, their true heavenly glory, now presenting itself in the spirit Spirit’s work, ministry, and activity.

Yes, the Old Testament leads us to the new, even as we see the Holy Spirit bring to us that which we would have judged impossible. The Holy Spirit bringing to us eternal life. an eternal form and fullness, life of light, imperishable structure, permanent order, and yes, lasting office. As Paul says, we are God’s household and we are being built upon The foundation of the apostles and prophets by Jesus himself cornerstone.

In whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord in whom you also are being built together. Into a dwelling of God. In the spirit. in the Spirit. He is the agent of resolution. He is the agent of glory who brings with him an entire world.

Our God, we would not shortchange the Spirit with our confession, much less our appreciation. And Lord, as we would ask that we would be filled with the Spirit, we would also ask, O God, that we would give the Spirit his due. May we rejoice in the Spirit. May we glory in the Spirit and in the Spirit’s ministry for us. May we see the value of the Spirit’s work, even the completeness of it, lest we be tempted to boast. There can be no boasting in us, O God. For Lord, you have given us all that we have before you and with you, by and in the Spirit. We pray, blessing the Spirit, in the name of Christ our Savior. Amen.

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.