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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
John's gospel as we work our way through this wonderful gospel 
account of our Lord's life, ministry, death, resurrection. We're in 
John chapter 14. Our focus this morning will be 
verses 16b to 18. I realize that we have slowed 
down the exposition. As I've mentioned on a few occasions, 
that when Jesus gathers his disciples there in the upper room, one 
of the things that he uses to encourage and instruct them is 
the doctrine of who God is. And God is one in being, three 
in person. So one in substance or essence, 
and everlastingly three in person, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
So it seemed wise to slow down a bit, specifically this morning, 
considering the nature of the Holy Spirit in verses 16b to 
18. But I'll just read beginning 
in 14 at verse 12. Most assuredly, I say to you, 
he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also. And greater works than these, 
he will do because I go to my father. And whatever you ask 
in my name, that I will do, that the father may be glorified in 
the son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If 
you love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the father and 
he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever. 
The spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because 
it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him for he 
dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. 
I will come to you. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
gracious God and Holy Father, we thank You for Your Word. We 
thank You that it's given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 
the Spirit of Truth. We thank You that it's profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction 
in righteousness. And today, as we gather together 
to consider this one true and living God who exists eternally 
as Father, Son, and Spirit, we pray the Holy Spirit would guide 
us and illumine our minds and hearts, cause us to receive with 
thankful hearts the Scriptures, And may it be the case that we 
would see that all of our dependence upon you, all of our communion 
is predicated on this fact of who you are and what you've done 
on behalf of your people. Do forgive us now for all sin 
and unrighteousness. Cleanse us in the precious blood 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, send the Spirit to 
guide, to lead, to instruct us. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as I said, we're gonna 
spend a bit of time on the nature of the Holy Spirit. One of the 
things that we've seen in John's gospel is that John is concerned 
about telling us what happens in terms of our salvation. He 
announces, in fact, that reality in chapter one at verse 29. He 
quotes John the Baptist who saw Jesus, and John the Baptist said, 
behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But 
before John gets there, in what we call the prologue to John's 
gospel, In John 1, 1 to 18, he sort of goes behind the scenes 
and he teaches us something about theology. He teaches us something 
about God as he is in himself. In the beginning was the Word. 
The Word was with God and the Word was God. And that Word became 
flesh and dwelt among us. So the Word there is the second 
person of the triune God, the Lord Jesus Christ. So as we come 
to this passage, we've seen the Spirit referred to and mentioned 
in John's gospel up until this point, but here specifically 
we see Him relative or related to the Father and the Son. So 
as I said, I think it's wise for us to slow down the exposition 
and consider the nature of the Holy Spirit. Now, if you are 
a first-time visitor or a long-time attender or even member, There's 
going to be some technical concepts today, some things that we don't 
typically think about, so please come back again. It's not always 
this technical here. I try to keep it not simple stupid, 
but keep it simple so that we can all get what God's Word says 
to us. But as I mentioned last week, 
something's happened within the last, I don't know, 80 to 100 
years in the life of the church. There's gotten to be a great 
deal of ignorance about the doctrine of the Trinity. Now, there's 
good things happening right now. There's a lot of good guys writing 
and what we call retrieval of the ancient truth and the biblical 
truth. But over the last 100 years, 
I think people would say, yeah, I believe in the Trinity. But 
to go beyond that and ask the question, how does one God exist 
eternally in three persons? Well, you're kind of met with 
a shrug, or, I don't know, I just know that Christian doctrine 
is that God is a Trinity, and therefore I worship Him, and 
that's good. But we need to be able to give 
an account, a biblical account, for why we worship one God in 
Trinity. Well, in the ancient church, 
they developed creeds and confessions that functioned sort of like 
guardrails for the church. I mentioned that illustration 
last week. Imagine if you live on the top of a mountain, and 
there's a windy road to get up there, and there's no guardrails 
on the side of the road. People are going to veer off. 
People are going to fall off the cliff. And a visitor comes 
one day and says, why are all these cars in the bottom of the 
valley there? And you say, well, there used 
to be guardrails, but for some reason we took them down. Well, 
what is that reason? I don't know, but we took them 
down and so all the cars went off the cliff. Well, that's kind 
of happened with the church and with Christians who don't understand 
the doctrine of the Trinity. We got rid of the guardrails. 
In 325, and then again in 381, we have what was called the Nicene 
Creed. And then in 451 we have what's called the Chalcedonian 
Creed or Definition. And then in the 17th century 
we have our own confession of faith called Second London Confession, 
which was written in 1677 and then published and ratified in 
1689. Those are guardrails to keep 
the Church from flying off the cliff. So if you get rid of the 
guardrails and then you look down at the bottom of the valley 
and say, nobody can understand or describe, at least at a basic 
level, the doctrine of the Trinity. Why is that? Because we got rid 
of the guardrails. So there is some technical concepts. 
There are some things that perhaps you don't usually think about, 
but I just want to encourage you to give me your ear. We'll 
work through the material. Try not to make it too difficult. 
And again, that's not because you're dumb. I feel like I'm, 
you know, the guy that David writes about in Psalm 19 and 
119, the law of the Lord makes wise the simple. But with reference 
to some of these concepts, again, if you've not listened or heard 
the guardrails, if you haven't heard the strategies that the 
church has used or the tactics that the church has used to protect 
the fact that there is one God who exists eternally as Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, it may almost sound Japanese to you. 
So just give me your ear. We'll work through the material. 
If you have questions, please ask afterwards. So as we look 
at our context specifically, we're in the upper room. It's 
the last discourse of our Lord with his disciples prior to his 
death and resurrection and ascension on high. As Ferguson says, the 
world is about to collapse all around these disciples. So what 
does Jesus do in the upper room? He teaches them a lot about God. 
The most wonderful truth, the most wonderful doctrine is who 
God is and what God has done. drowning in a sort of a practical 
Christianity. Five tips on how to be a better 
you. Five tips on how to be a better husband. Five tips on how to 
be a better wife. Again, that's not necessarily 
bad to be a better husband or a better wife, but we need to 
understand who God is. Great are the works of the Lord, 
they are studied by all who delight in them. If we are interested 
in botany or zoology or a whole host of other things, why aren't 
we interested in who God is? Especially as the believers, 
those who have been conquered by sovereign grace. So the Lord 
Jesus spends His time instructing them concerning Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit. And in our particular context, 
beginning in verse 12, He directs their attention to consider their 
mission. their mission in the world. It's predicated on his 
mission, coming into the world, living, dying, and rising again. 
The mission then for the disciples is to go out, to make disciples, 
to baptize those disciples, and to found local churches so that 
they can instruct those disciples in the truth. So notice in 1412, 
most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me, so they're 
justified by faith alone in Christ, the works that I do, he will 
do also. and greater works than these 
he will do because I go to my Father." It's not competition. The Lord Jesus is doing the works 
from the right hand of the Father through the disciples who go 
out to preach and teach and make disciples. No competition. Competition 
Christ involved in this particular word and again, it's because 
I go to my father He ascended on high he led captivity captivity 
gave gifts to men He gives the Holy Spirit to equip the church 
the people of God to go out to testify Concerning God and the 
gospel of free grace and Jesus says you're gonna do these very 
things notice then in verse 13 Whatever you ask in my name Not, 
again, I want to be a cowboy when I grow up, Jesus. I want 
to be an astronaut. I want to have, you know, millions 
and millions of dollars. In the context, the asking in 
His name has to do with the carrying out or the execution of the mission. 
In other words, they're going to have to go challenge the Roman 
Empire. They're going to have to challenge the unbelieving 
Jews. They're going to have to be men of courage, men of faith, 
men of wisdom, men of tenacity and endurance. Well, in order 
to do that, they need divine aid. In other words, when Jesus 
says, here's your work, it's going to be greater works than 
I have done, even. You're going to outshine me. 
And again, it's not competition. Jesus does it through them. They're 
going to need to lean on divine resources. And so that's why 
he says, whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that 
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything 
in my name, I will do it, specifically for mission, but as well in a 
general sense, whatever is consistent with the will of God. You can't 
pray to God to go out and commit a crime. I want to go rob a bank, 
God, and I don't want to be caught. And Jesus says, whatever I ask 
in His name, that you will do. No, that is contrary to the will 
and the mind of God. We pray consistent with the will 
and the mind of God, which we see revealed in Holy Scripture. 
Then notice in verse 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. 
And again, it's not saying this is the way of salvation. We've 
already believed on him, justified freely by grace. What's the chief 
fruit or effect of having been justified by faith? It's love 
to Christ. When we love Christ, what are 
we going to do? We're going to keep His commandments. And that 
is precisely the emphasis here. They have believed on Him, they 
love Him, keep my commandments, and go make disciples in all 
the nations, baptize those disciples, and then teach those disciples 
to observe all that I have commanded you. And again, he emphasizes 
some divine resources or help given to them to assist them 
to carry this out. And that's verse 16. Notice, 
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, 
that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the 
world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows 
Him. But you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in 
you. I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." So when 
we look at the nature of the Holy Spirit here in verses 16b 
to 17, there's four things that I want to draw out. First, the 
distinction of persons in the Godhead. The distinction of persons 
in the Godhead. This is, He will give you another 
helper. Secondly, the unity of the Godhead. Whenever you discuss the Trinity, 
you need to make sure you appreciate the one and the three. He's one 
in one sense, essence or substance, three in another sense, subsistence 
or person. So we need to look at the distinction 
of persons in the Godhead, 16b, he will give you another helper. 
Secondly, the unity of the Godhead, 17a, the spirit of truth, and 
more on that in a few moments. Thirdly, the ignorance of the 
Godhead, not that the Godhead is ignorant. but persons are 
because they're not saved. Verse 17b, whom the world cannot 
receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. And then finally, 
the knowledge of the Godhead, 17c, but you know him, for he 
dwells with you and will be in you. We most likely won't get 
to verse 18, so you will get home for lunch. Anyways, let's 
look first at what Jesus says here in verse 16. That's probably 
the longest introduction I've ever done. Hopefully we're all 
singing off the same page now, and again, there's going to be 
a few concepts that perhaps you've not heard before, but stick with 
it, and hopefully it will make some degree of sense. With reference 
first to the distinction of persons in the Godhead, I want to go 
a little bit behind the scenes as well. In other words, what 
John does is he rehearses for us the glory of Jesus Christ 
in his public ministry. Behold the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of the world. How does Jesus Christ do that? 
Well, first of all, why does John the Baptist say that? Well, 
John the Baptist is functioning with an old covenant mindset. 
See, in the Old Testament, what you had was the nation of Israel 
in covenant with God Most High, Yahweh of Israel, and as the 
people of God in that covenantal setting, they had a way to approach 
God. In other words, they were sinners 
and God was holy. So how do unholy, sinful men 
get into the presence of a holy God? Well, they do so by what 
the book of Leviticus teaches. They do so through sacrifice. 
In other words, through blood atonement. In other words, taking 
animals, cutting their throats, presenting them to the priest 
at the tabernacle or the temple, and giving that as a sacrifice 
to God Most High, to make atonement or to cover or to satisfy for 
their sinfulness. So when the Baptist sees Jesus 
and he says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin 
of the world, that makes sense when you think Old Covenant. 
Because they would bring lambs, they would bring bulls, they 
would bring pigeons, they would bring animals to that place where 
they worshiped so that they could be accepted by God. So the Baptist 
heralds the coming of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin 
of the world. See, the blood of bulls and goats 
and those lambs and pigeons, they didn't actually take away 
the sin. They prefigured or pointed forward or served as signposts 
pointing to the one who would in fact take away those sins. And so John then declares how 
Jesus does that as the Lamb of God. How does he take away the 
sin of the world? He does it through his life of 
obedience. Remember, I already mentioned John 1, 1 and 1, 14. 
1, 14 says, the Word became flesh. Why did Jesus assume our humanity? Why did Jesus become flesh? So 
that He could do what we don't do. So that He could do what 
we can't do. He lived a life of perfect obedience 
to the law. Now think about that for just 
a moment. Have you lived a moment with perfect obedience to the 
law? Have you had a good five seconds in your life where you 
loved God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and 
you've loved your neighbor as yourself? Probably not. Jesus had 33 years of it. Why? Because he's the Word of 
God who assumes our humanity. So he lives in obedience to that 
law, something that you and I couldn't do. And he doesn't just do it 
as an example. Oh, well, if you dig down deep 
and try really hard like Jesus, you can do this. No, that's not 
why he lives according to the law. He does it so that when 
we, by grace, believe on him, we receive his righteousness. 
It's really amazing. And then Jesus goes to the cross. 
Why did he go to the cross? Well, if you ask the Pharisees, 
it was because he was a revolutionary. He forbid paying taxes to Caesar. And he made himself out to be 
a king. And we can't have any truck with somebody like that. 
That's not why Jesus went to the cross. Jesus went to the 
cross in light of that old covenant system. He was the Lamb of God 
who takes away the sin of the world. He went there for atonement. 
He went there for sacrifice. He went there as our substitute. 
The crushing justice of God the Father fell on Him, and as a 
result now, we are safe because of that. So Christ's life, his 
death, and then his resurrection are absolutely crucial, and John 
spends from 128 all the way to John 20, 31, and then into the 
epilogue in chapter 21 to rehearse that truth. But it's that chapter 
1, verses 1 to 18, where, as I said, he goes behind the scenes. He teaches us what is in theology 
called theologia, or theology, and oikonomia, which is economy. You've got theology, which speaks 
concerning God in himself. God as if there was no world, 
God in eternity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We want to know 
about that, don't we? Well, John gives us a view. But 
then, economy refers to what God does outside of himself in 
terms of the created order. Are we gathering this? Are we 
tracking? That's not so hard. Who God is 
in himself, and then what God does external to himself in the 
created order. God made all things. God doesn't 
get better because of the world. He doesn't get worse because 
of the world. God is. Whether there's a creation external 
to him or not, God is. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 
in eternal glorious bliss. So John peeks behind the curtain 
of the economy of redemption and gives us something about 
theology in John 1. We need to take that mindset 
and bring it to our study of the Holy Spirit here. He is another 
comforter. He's a paraclete. He's a helper. 
But How'd he get here? Where'd he come from? Jesus has 
spoken of him in John 3, he regenerates or causes the new birth. But 
again, I think it's good for us to ask the question, what's 
happening here? So in terms of the distinction, 
we've got theology and economy. Everything internal to God is 
theology. Those things external to God 
we'll call economy. Now, when we look at the economy 
of redemption, guess what we learn? We learn about our salvation, 
don't we? Isn't that great? We watch Jesus 
live. We watch Jesus die. We watch 
Jesus be raised again. We, by grace, believe on Jesus. 
So we can read John 1, 28 to the end of chapter 21 and say, 
wow, he saved us from our sins. But guess what else the economy 
teaches us? It teaches us something about 
who God is in himself. Now, not exhaustively, not everything, 
because brethren, we'll never exhaust who God is, right? He's 
infinite, we're finite. He's creator, we're creature. He's limitless, we are limited. So the confession of faith that 
we subscribe says that his essence is known or comprehended only 
by himself. That doesn't mean we don't learn 
truth from the 31,000 propositions in the Bible, but it means that 
we will never fully know him. the way he is in himself. But 
that economy of redemption teaches us something about what is true 
in God himself. If you want to do it in Latin, 
it's the ad extra, works of God, that teach us truth about the 
ad intra, or internal being of God. And John's gospel is conspicuous 
at this point. In fact, one man makes this observation, 
the Son's appearance in time is a revelation of the fact that 
He is Son from all eternity, and so is from the Father, even 
as the Spirit's economic sending by the Son is a revelation of 
the fact that He eternally proceeds from both. You've probably heard 
that language, God from God, light from light, true God from 
true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father, 
through whom all things were made. So Jesus is God from God, 
light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, 
eternally begotten, and he is one in being with the Father. 
And then the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. 
You say, well, I don't know that I understand all that. Again, 
brethren, stick with it. You'll never fully understand 
it. But the question is, does the Bible teach it? Are these 
guardrails that have been put in place by Nicaea, by Constantine, 
or rather Chalcedon, and those upheld by our Baptist divines, 
are they good guardrails? I would suggest absolutely positively 
they are. So again, look with me at our 
passage. We have what's called eternal 
processions. That means the Father is unbegotten, 
the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. Those eternal processions are the ground 
for the temporal missions of God. In other words, Jesus coming 
from the Father, like this man says, the Son's appearance in 
time is a revelation of the fact that He is a Son from all eternity 
and so is from the Father. Even as the Spirit's economic 
sending by the Son is a revelation of the fact that He eternally 
proceeds from both. So the Holy Spirit, when we look 
at verse 16, is the third person of the Trinity, and he eternally 
proceeds from the Father and the Son. That's theology. In 
terms of economy, the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father through 
the Son into the world to save sinners. It's a particular task, 
a particular mission. In fact, go to Galatians 4, where 
I think that this is obvious and evident. Galatians chapter 
4, we see the Father sends the Son, and the Father and the Son 
send the Spirit. That is temporal mission. Father sends the Son to live 
for us, to die for us, to be raised again. The Father and 
the Son send the Spirit to be a comforter, another helper, 
a paraclete, in order for our good and benefit. Those things 
reveal to us what is true of God in Himself. The Father is 
unbegotten, the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit 
proceeds from the Father and the Son. Notice in Galatians 
4.4, but when the fullness of the time had come, God, this 
is God the Father, sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born 
under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that 
we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are 
sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, 
crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore you are no longer a 
slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. 
See what Paul is saying? When you look at these temporal 
missions, the Father sends the Son, the Son and the Father send 
the Spirit. These temporal missions, what 
God does in time, gives us something about who God is in Himself. 
Father unbegotten, the Son begotten, and the Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. So essentially what we have here is the one 
God in three persons. Now, in terms of a demonstration 
from the text, look at verse 16. Jesus, speaking here, says, 
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, 
that He may abide with you forever. There's distinction of person 
there. Does everybody see that? There's 
three persons there. Remember, our main point right 
now is the distinction of persons in the Godhead. He will give 
you another helper. The Son asks the Father, and 
the Father sends the Spirit through the Son. This underscores that 
distinction. There's two problems when it 
comes to the Trinity. It is forgetting the distinction, 
and it is ending up in tritheism or all kinds of heresy. And so 
we need this distinction of persons, or an obliteration of the three 
persons of the Trinity. John Gill says, this is no inconsiderable 
proof of a trinity of persons in the Godhead. Here is the Father 
prayed unto, the Son in human nature praying, and the Holy 
Ghost, the Comforter, prayed for. You see that distinction? Again, I'm not making this up. 
You all see it right there. Jesus says, according to His 
humanity, I will pray the Father and He will give you another 
Helper that He may abide with you forever. Matthew Poole says 
that term another signifies the personal distinction of the third 
from the first and second person in the Blessed Trinity. A popular 
preacher named John Chrysostom made this observation in a sermon. 
He says, let those be ashamed who have the disease of Sibelius, 
who hold not the fitting opinion concerning the spirit. Sibelius 
was a man who didn't see a distinction of persons. He was what modern 
day persons call modalist. You've probably heard of the 
Oneness Pentecostal Church. They deny the Trinity, brethren. 
They're modalists. They say that God was the Father, 
He became the Son, and now He's the Spirit. That's not what we 
find in the text. We find a distinction of persons 
in the one essence of God. So modalism, right alongside 
a Sabellianism, is heresy. And the church saw it that way, 
and the church condemned it. And that's why the church wrote 
creeds and confessions. Not to make up Christian theology, 
but to highlight and protect Christian theology as it comes 
to us in the Holy Scriptures. So Sabellianism obliterates the 
distinction of persons in God. It is modalistic. Now notice 
the text again. He will give you another helper 
that he may abide with you forever. The Spirit is another helper 
just as Christ is a helper. The same word lies behind 1 John 
2.1. Jesus is an advocate with the 
Father. This simply means mediator, intercessor, 
helper, one who appears on another's behalf. Van Maastricht says, 
one who takes up the cause for another, and indeed for his benefit. So Jesus commissioning the disciples 
to go into the world to do these greater works doesn't leave them 
on their own. He says, I'm going to pray to 
my father and my father is going to give you another helper and 
that another helper is going to abide in you and enable you 
to go out and do the task that Jesus has called you to do. It's 
a wonderful thing in the context, but again, it explains or exemplifies 
or declares or reveals to us what is true in God. The Father 
sends the Son. The Father and the Son send the 
Spirit. The Father is unbegotten. The Son is begotten by the Father. 
The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Again, this 
language of Nicaea isn't made up. It's not just some way to 
dupe the masses into believing in this sort of three-headed 
God. No, this reflects what Scripture teaches. One true and living 
God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is 
distinction among the persons, and you see that there. Now then 
notice, secondly, you've got the unity of the Godhead. Verse 
17a, he mentions the Spirit. He is another helper that he 
may abide with you forever. And then in 17a, he says, the 
Spirit of truth. Now, why do I say this underscores 
the unity of the Godhead? Well, look back at John 14.6. 
John 14.6, Jesus said to him, I am the way, notice, the truth 
and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. The psalmist refers to God the Father as the Lord 
God of truth, yet not three truths, one truth, one true and living 
God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I mentioned 
guardrails. How do we not go off the street? 
How do we not fly off the cliff? How do we not end up with all 
those other cars that know that we're supposed to worship Trinity, 
but have no clue whatsoever about what that means? Our confession. It says, in this divine and infinite 
being there are three subsistences, or persons, the Father, the Word, 
or Son, and the Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and 
eternity, each having a whole divine essence, yet the essence 
undivided. Gotta navigate within those guardrails, 
the guardrails that they fetched out from the 4th century and 
the Council of Nicaea, and the 5th century from the definition 
of Chalcedon. We're not operating in a vacuum. 
We need to lean on the church. We're not as smart as we might 
think, and the cars in the bottom of the hill evidence that and 
demonstrate that. We need to lean on those who, 
by God's grace, were useful in the context of the church to 
take Scripture as their ultimate authority, their final authority, 
and then to set forth doctrinal statements that protect that 
doctrinal authority. And so when it comes to these 
things, the guardrails will keep us in place. Now, in terms of 
the spirit as a divine person, again, he's not just an impersonal 
force there. He will give you another helper 
that he may abide with you forever, the spirit of truth. He has personal 
pronouns, male, by the way. As well, there are many things 
that we know of in scripture that indicate that he is, in 
fact, a person. I would suggest, and we're going 
to turn to some passages here, the fact that he is counted with 
the other persons of our blessed God. Look at 2 Corinthians 13. 
2 Corinthians, now just arguing for the divine personhood, or 
the personhood rather, of the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 13, 
14. Because as you might guess, when 
it comes to the Holy Spirit, there's a couple of problems 
on either side. One, the error or the heresy of Sibelius to 
say that God was the Father, He became the Son, and now He's 
the Spirit, the obliteration of distinction. But there's on 
the other side, this idea that He's not a person. You ever talk 
to a Jehovah's Witness? Ever? Do they confess the Trinity? No, they do not. They teach that 
Jesus is created by God, that Jesus is a little g God, and 
that the Holy Spirit is not a person. As far as the Jehovah's Witnesses 
are concerned, which, what a lie. They're not witnesses to Jehovah. They are deniers and heretics 
with reference to Jehovah. But they say that the Spirit 
is just an active force. It's an impersonal active force. But again, notice how he's listed 
or indicated alongside of the Father and the Son. 2 Corinthians 
13, 14, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of 
God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 
We already saw Galatians 4, look at Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians 
chapter 4, verse 1, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech 
you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with 
all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing 
with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit 
and the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, 
just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, 
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above 
all and through all and in you all. And then just backing up 
a bit in terms of the practical ramifications of this in 2.18 
and 20. For through Him, Jesus, we both, Jew and Gentile, have 
access by one Spirit to the Father. Verse 22. In whom you also are 
being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. We 
have these triadic references all over the New Testament. Triadic 
simply means three. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
The Holy Spirit is mentioned alongside of them, not as an 
impersonal active force, but as a person. The Spirit is described 
in personal ways. He is sent from the Father through 
the Son. And he comes to the people of 
God to aid them, to assist them, to be that spirit of adoption 
by which we cry, Abba, Father. Consider the fact that he has 
life in himself, Romans 8.2. He has intellect, 1 Corinthians 
2.10. He has will, 1 Corinthians 12.11. 
He engages in personal operations. He regenerates sinners. He converts 
them. He sanctifies them. He teaches 
them. He comforts them. He leads them. 
He commands them. He can be lied to according to 
Acts 5, 3, and 4, and as well he can be grieved, Ephesians 
4, 30, and he can be sinned against, Matthew 12, 32. That's not an 
active force, that is the person of the Holy Spirit. One true 
and living God. In this divine and infinite being, 
there are three persons. The Father, the Word, or Son, 
and the Holy Spirit. They each have the whole essence. The essence undivided. It's not 
partialed out. God, the Father, 33 and a third. The Son, 33 and a third. The 
Spirit, 33 and a third. That's not biblical. That is wrong thinking. That's 
bad theology. That's the kind of stuff that 
guardrails would protect people from crashing into the ground 
with. As well, the fact that the Holy 
Spirit is consubstantial. That means He's one in being 
with the Father and the Son. How do we know that? Well, again, 
the Bible tells us so. The divine names of the Holy 
Spirit. We don't have time to go through 
all these passages. Again, if you want the notes, 
email me, text me, send a carrier pigeon. I'm happy to send you 
the notes. It's got the proof text in there. I just don't want 
to keep you till dinner time. But we see him referred to as 
Yahweh or Jehovah, the God of Israel. You see that in Isaiah 
6 and then in Acts 28. As well, he is referred to as 
God, Acts 5, 3 and 4. He is called Lord in 2 Corinthians 
3, 17. Again, how can that be? Because 
in this divine and infinite being, there are three persons, the 
Father, the Word of Son, and the Holy Spirit, each having 
the whole essence, yet the essence undivided. Whatever is true of 
the Father, is true of the Son, is true of the Spirit, yet not 
three gods, one God in three glorious persons. You have the 
divine attributes of the Holy Spirit. Consider what scripture 
says concerning him. Eternity, Hebrews 9, 14. Immensity, 
Psalm 139, 7. Immensity doesn't mean he's big. 
It means he fills all places. It's kind of connected to omnipresence. God is everywhere. And in Psalm 
139, the psalmist says, where can I go to flee from your spirit? 
If I go down to the depths of hell, I can't evade the spirit 
of the living God. He's got omniscience, 1 Corinthians 
2, 10 and 11. Omnipotence and independent authority, 
1 Corinthians 12, 4, 6, 11. And then we see, again, this 
reality that he is called the spirit of truth. Not three truths, 
one truth. Jesus is truth. Father is truth. Not three truths, one truth. 
As well, we see that Jesus, or rather the Spirit, is referred 
to as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus in Romans chapter 
8. Again, he's not impersonal. That's not an act of force. He's 
the third person of the triune God. We notice as well the divine 
operations of the Holy Spirit. See, there was a famous theologian 
named B.B. Warfield, and he had this argument 
with reference to the doctrine of the Trinity. He says that 
it was there, or the truth of the Trinity is in the Old Testament. 
But the light shines in the New Testament, and he uses this analogy 
of having a room in your house, and you don't have the light 
on in there. But there's all kinds of furniture 
in there. Well, when you flip the light on, it doesn't mean 
the furniture magically appeared. the furniture was there, the 
light just helped you to see it better. If you wandered through 
that room when the light was off, you'd bump your leg on the 
furniture. Most of us do that even when 
the light is on. We bump into things. You bump 
into the triune God in the Old Testament a lot. You probably 
don't always realize it, but you do. Genesis 1, 1 and 2 is 
a Trinitarian statement. In the beginning, God created 
the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and 
void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit 
of God was hovering over the face of the waters. You say, 
well, God's there, and the Spirit's there. Where's Jesus? In this 
divine and infinite being, there are three subsistences, the Father, 
the Word, or Son. John 1.1, in the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word was with God. How does the Father create? Through the Word, from the Father, 
through the Son, in the Spirit. This is a conspicuous pattern, 
not just in the New Testament, but from Genesis to Revelation. 
The Bible is Trinitarian to the core. And if you doubt that, 
turn with me to the psalmist, Psalm 33. Notice how he waxes 
concerning this passage. Psalm 33, another Trinitarian 
passage, and there's many in the Old Testament, but notice 
in Psalm 33, specifically at verse 7, by the word of the Lord, 
the heavens were made. Again, there's that word, the 
divine word, the second person of the Trinity, by the word of 
the Lord, the heavens were made and all the host of them by the 
breath of his mouth. Well, in the Old Testament, Hebrew, 
and in the Great New Testament, you have the the word spirit 
is also breath. It's not accidental that when 
Jesus is teaching Nicodemus about the the ministry of the Holy 
Spirit, he can point to the wind. He didn't just make that up. It fit, right? Spirit is wind 
or breath. And so when he says, you don't 
know where the wind comes from, you don't know where the wind 
is going, but you certainly know the effects of the wind as it's 
having been there. He uses that imagery. Well, the 
psalmist reflects on that as well. The divine operations of 
the Holy Spirit. He is creator. Job 33.4, the 
Spirit of God has made me and the breath of the Almighty gives 
me life. But then consider in the New 
Testament the things ascribed to the Spirit, divine operations, 
miracles, the resurrection from the dead, Matthew 12.28, Romans 
8.11. miraculous healings, powers, tongues, prophecy, 1 Corinthians 
12. He anoints Christ, our brother 
red, Isaiah 11. One of the ministries of the 
Holy Spirit in the New Testament is to be there for the second 
person of the Trinity, according to his humanity, to uphold him, 
to anoint him, to bless him, and to empower him for the task 
of redemption. As well, regeneration, renewal, 
conversion, sanctification, strengthening of the people of God. Consider 
in the New Testament, especially we see divine worship given to 
all three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
Consider that we see the Trinity at the Jordan River in Matthew 
6. The Lord Jesus goes into the water. The Spirit descends upon 
Him in the form of a dove. It doesn't mean He is a dove. 
It means that was a theophany, a manifestation of God by a creaturely 
element. And when that Spirit devolves 
or descends upon him, you've got the voice of the Father in 
approbation saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well 
pleased. The ancients used to say to Arius, 
if you want to see the Trinity, go to the river Jordan. And then 
in Matthew 28, that baptismal formula, baptize them in the 
name singular, the name singular of the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Spirit. Brethren, the Jehovah's Witnesses 
are wrong. The Mormons are wrong. Arius was wrong. Sibelius was 
wrong. There was a whole host of people 
that drove their cars right into that ditch because they didn't 
listen to the Bible and they didn't listen to the gifts given 
by the Christ of the Bible to keep them from flying off the 
road. There is heresy around us. Today the famous and most common 
one is to subordinate Jesus. Not in the economy, what the 
Bible teaches, but in terms of theology. How could it be that 
one of the persons is less God than the other persons? They're 
consubstantial, one in being. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
How does Jesus say what he says in John 14 to the questioning 
disciples? If you've seen me, you've seen 
the Father. Why is that? Because the Father is in me, 
and I am in the Father. That can only be true based on 
the fact, or demonstrated by the fact, that the triune God 
is what the Bible teaches. Again, it does us no good to, 
well, I kind of have a notion of this. You don't have to be 
John Owen. You don't have to be Spurgeon. 
You don't have to be, you know, the famous guys in the church, 
Athanasius and Augustine. You've got to have a rudimentary 
understanding. You've got to understand, at least at some 
level, one true and living God who exists eternally in three 
persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In fact, that's Westminster 
Shorter Catechism. You get those two answers down, 
and you've probably got a lot better theology than, you know, 
I don't know, 80% of the population out there. How many persons are 
there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the 
Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three 
are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. It's 
a beautiful thing, brethren. Say, well, I can't fully understand 
it, because he's God, and you're not. But the question is, does 
the Bible reveal this? Yes, it predicates of the Father, 
Godhood. It predicates of the Son, Godhood. It predicates of the Spirit, 
Godhood. Yet not three gods, one God. One in substance or 
essence, and three in person or subsistence. That is not a 
contradiction. If he's one in one sense, and 
three in another sense, that's not contradictory. I don't care 
what the Jehovah's Witnesses say. I don't care what Charles 
Taze Russell had to say. I don't care that they invoke 
John Calvin himself on John 10 30 and say, well, he didn't believe 
in a Trinity of persons. Yes, he did. You're lying. You're 
just lying. And brethren, as you consider 
Trinitarian heresy and error, as you consider the fact that 
many Christians today, again, kudos, I believe in the Trinity. 
Okay, well, what does that mean? Well, I'm not too sure. What 
does the devil do, or what is true of the devil in terms of 
his nature to advance his cause? Well, he's a murderer, right? 
Look at Planned Parenthood. That demonstrates. Look at the 
utter disregard for the image of God in man today. Yeah, it's 
wicked, wretched, abominable humans that are dead in Adam. 
But what is that owing to? It ultimately is owing to the 
devil, who's a murderer from the beginning. But what else 
is unique to the devil? He's a liar. You don't think 
he's going to invoke so-called do-gooder Christians to deny 
the Trinity? To deny that which is absolutely 
crucial and essential for us to know? Brethren, I've said 
it many times. You could be wrong on the doctrine 
of the last things. You can be a premillennialist. 
You can be an amillennialist. You could be a postmillennialist. 
We'll all sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb. You can't 
be wrong on who God is. Well, how do you say that? John 
8, 24. What does Jesus say? If you do not believe that I 
am, not that I'm being, that I'm physical, that I have blood 
flowing through my veins, but he says, if you do not believe 
that I am, Genesis 3, 14, Moses says, who do I say sent me? Tell 
them I am who I am sent you. Jesus says that. If you do not 
believe that I am, you will die in your sins. I don't know a 
place in Holy Scripture where it says, if you do not affirm 
amillennialism, you will die in your sins. If you're not a 
premillennialist, you're going to die in your sins. If you don't 
use the Trinity Psalter hymnal, you're gonna die in your sins. 
If you don't go to that particular church on Wellington Avenue, 
you're gonna die. It doesn't say that, brethren. But if you 
deny who God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is, you die in 
your sins. See, that's why I'm trying to 
take some time. You're not, I am just so noble 
and wonderful, the most noble of all. That's not it. I just 
think we need to think clearly on the Trinity. Oh, let's just 
love Jesus. Which Jesus are you loving? Are 
you loving God from God, light from light, true God from true 
God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father through 
whom all things were made? If so, then welcome, brother. 
But if it's the Jesus that makes you feel happy, the Jesus that 
makes you feel good, or the Jesus that sanctions your sin, or the 
Jesus that's okay with communism, or the Jesus that you invoke 
for whatever wretched reason you have, You gotta get in your 
Bible and learn who Jesus really is. Because if you don't believe 
that he is I am, then you will die in your sins. And again, 
just so you don't think I'm making that up, toward the end of John 
chapter eight, he does it again. He says, Abraham rejoiced to 
see my day. He saw it, he was glad. How do 
you think the Jews responded? You're not yet 50 years old and 
have you seen Abraham? You don't have that pedigree. 
You don't have that longevity. You don't go back in time, Jesus. Look at that, John chapter eight, 
specifically at verse 57. Then the Jews said to him, you 
are not yet 50 years old and have you seen Abraham? Jesus 
said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham 
was, there it is, I am. Now, lest you think I'm making 
this up, look at the Jews' response according to verse 59. Then they 
took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went 
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed 
by. The Lord God Most High, the true 
and living God, exists eternally as the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Spirit. The Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten by the Father, 
and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. That's 
the eternal processions in God. When it comes to the economy 
of redemption, the Son takes on our humanity. The Son is sent 
by the Father to redeem those under the law. The Father and 
the Son send the Holy Spirit so that they might indeed be 
able to cry, Abba, Father! So what we see in terms of the 
temporal missions, God saving His people from their sins, reflects 
or reveals something that is true of God in Himself. And I 
would suggest that that's exactly what John does in his gospel. 
He wants you to see the temporal missions. He wants you to see 
the works of the Spirit and the Son. But he wants you to see 
behind the scenes as well, that this reflects who God is. The 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one true and living God. 
And when we look at the Holy Spirit, we see those things all 
predicated of Him. The eternal procession, the temporal 
mission, the Spirit is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit 
of Christ, Romans 8, 9, and 11. The Spirit is a gift given by 
the Father, according to Luke 11, 13. And the Spirit is a gift 
given by the Son, according to Acts 2, 33. So brethren, when 
you work your way through scripture and you start to look at it in 
these sorts of ways, you go, oh yeah. If I were to take a 
quiz of somebody in another church, and I hope not here, but it may 
happen here, where does the Bible teach that God is triune? Well, 
Matthew 28 and 2 Corinthians 13, 14. Good. That's great. But those are two among many, 
many, many, many, many passages. Do you know the Old Testament? 
I think it's Isaiah 61. You could grieve the Spirit there. 
Do you know how many times in the book of Hebrews it speaks 
of the written revelation of the Old Testament as the Spirit 
says? The Holy Spirit is a person, a divine person, one in substance, 
one in being with the Father and with the Son. I think it 
is summarized well in one of those guardrails called the Nicene 
Creed. So in 325, they hammer out the 
creed. They get the Father, they get 
the Son. And as I mentioned in a theology class one time, what 
happens after they write these creeds? That's it, it's settled, 
everybody go home. No, people start asking questions. People start challenging. People 
start to scratch their melons and say, well, what about the 
Holy Spirit? So in 381, that's when they put the part in about 
the Holy Spirit. Does that stop everything? No, 
because then there's questions. Well, if Jesus is God, then how 
can he also be man? Well, that's the creed at Chalcedon 
in 451. See, the theological enterprise is legitimate. Asking 
questions, seeking answers, doing theology with one another, listening 
to the ancient church, listening to those gifts that were given 
by Christ to the church. So I would suggest in Nicaea 
in 381, they nailed it. When we ask the question, does 
John's gospel teach this? The absolute positive answer 
is yes, in the affirmative. Jesus is God from God, light 
from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one 
in being with the Father, through whom all things were made. That's 
the prologue. In the beginning was the Word, 
the Word was with God, the Word was God. And then in verse three, 
all things were made by him. Nothing came to pass without 
him. It is the truth of Holy Scripture, 
one glorious God, three wondrous persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. We're gonna end here. We'll pick 
it up next week. As I said, we're slowing it down. 
If anything has confused you, don't say, well, I'm never going 
back to that church again. Please give us another kick at 
the can next week. But in conclusion, one of the 
ministries of the Spirit when he comes into this world from 
the Father and the Son is to make much of Jesus. That's what 
he does. He's another helper that shines 
the spotlight on Jesus. Why does he do that? Are they 
in competition? No! He does that because in the 
realm of redemption, in the economy of salvation, that's his particular 
task. He comes on the day of Pentecost, 
not to dazzle people with tongue speaking, but to set forth the 
Lordship and the glory of Jesus at the right hand of the Father, 
who has given the Spirit in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. And so if 
the Spirit wants to make much of Jesus, that's what I want 
us to end on today. Jesus makes this simple statement 
in John 14, 12. He says, most assuredly, I say 
to you, he who believes in me, So what does that mean? Disciples, 
those who believe on Him, are going to go out and do greater 
works. Notice that that's how they become disciples. You know 
the word disciple simply means follower, right? Follower of 
Jesus. Well, how does one become a follower? 
Well, according to John 14, 12, it's not through your works. 
It's not through your efforts. It's not through your labors. 
It's not through your religion. It's through faith in the son 
of God. And again, this is a constant emphasis throughout John's gospel. Just a couple of specimen passages. 
Look at John one in the prologue, specifically at verse 12. But 
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children 
of God. Notice, to those who believe 
in His name. John 3, specifically at verse 
16, most famous verse probably of the Bible among all people. For God so loved the world that 
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him 
should not perish but have everlasting life. Look at John 6, specifically 
at verse 39. Now think about this. You may 
be in a sinful state right now. You may have broken relationships 
right now. You may be in big trouble at work right now. You 
may be conscious of the fact that you've got big trouble with 
God. And it might rise up at some 
point, and I hope it does, and I pray it does, for you to say, 
what is the will of God for me? I've tried to get better, and 
I fail miserably. I tried to stop this particular 
addiction, and I failed miserably. I tried to be a better employee, 
and I fail miserably. I'm sure at some level that's 
the will of God for me. at a level a bit further down 
the scale. Look at verse 40. Here's the 
will of God for you. If you're not a believer, if 
you're not a Christian, if you are dead in your sins, this is 
God's will for you. Verse 40, and this is the will 
of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes 
in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise Him up at the 
last day. And then one final text in John 
20. If we ask the question, John, why'd you write John? John 20, 
specifically verses 30 and 31. You know, sometimes if you have 
an assignment to write a paper, you typically put your thesis 
statement at the beginning. My paper is going to argue that 
the death penalty is true, that the death penalty is biblical, 
and the death penalty is the right response to a nation filled 
with criminals. You set that out at the forefront, 
and then you argue in terms of the support of that thesis. John 
puts his thesis at the end. Notice in 20, 30, and 31, which 
is perfectly legit, by the way. I'm not standing over John saying, 
well, you should have put it in the front. No, no, you can 
do that. That's fine. Notice what he says 
in 20, 30. Truly, Jesus did many other signs 
in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this 
book. But these, these signs that are written, are written 
so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. You 
may not have got all the distinctions, and the unity, and the Father, 
and the Son, and the Spirit, and the unbegotten, and the begotten, 
and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. I grant 
that. It's new stuff for a lot of us. We're trying to work our 
way through it. We're thankful that God has blessed the church 
with men that help us along that way. The one thing you need to 
know this morning is that God is a holy God. He's a righteous 
God. The Bible says that His eye is too pure to look upon 
any evil. That doesn't mean He doesn't see it. It means He doesn't 
look approvingly upon any evil. God is holy, holy, holy. The 
angels, in the presence of God, they've got wings. With two of 
those wings, they cover their feet. With two of those wings, 
they fly. And with two of those wings, 
they cover their face. Why is that? because he's holy, 
holy, holy. That's their job. Those angels live and exist to 
stand in the presence of God and say, holy, holy, holy. Not just thrice, but over and 
over and over again. Antiphonal praise. That God is 
holy. That God made you to serve Him, 
to obey Him, to do what He calls you to do. He's given a record 
of that in what we call the Ten Commandments. Don't be an idolater. That means don't put anything 
before God. Don't be a blasphemer. That means 
don't make, you know, God's name a curse in your lips. Observe 
his day. Be subordinate to the authorities 
that he has appointed in your life. Don't murder people. Don't 
commit adultery with people. Don't steal from people. Don't 
lie to people. Don't covet from people. That's 
his law. Well, that's what we find in 
Scripture. We also find that we've got problems, 
right? We don't do what God says. We 
fail, we sin, we reject, we resist. We're like that kid that you 
have to threaten to throw out of the house because he's not getting 
his act together. So what happens? The Word became flesh and dwelt 
among us. He lives for us, he dies for 
us, he's raised again for us, such that everyone who believes 
in him will have everlasting life. This is not go fix yourself. It's not go get better. It's 
not be a better you. It's believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ and you shall be saved. That's the glorious gospel of 
free and sovereign grace that all who come to him, he will 
in no wise cast out. He will receive you. He will 
bless you. He will give you those benefits 
of justification by His grace through faith. He will sanctify 
you through the power of His Holy Spirit, and He will one 
day glorify you, which means bring you into heaven to reign 
and rule with Him forever and ever, world without end. Amen. That is what you need. That is 
who you need. And the way of access is through 
faith in Him. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the truth 
revealed in that word that you are one glorious God who exists 
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We confess that these things 
at times are difficult. Help us to keep our noses in 
the scripture. Help us as well to stay on the road with the 
good guardrails that you have furnished through your church. 
And give us grace, Lord God, to value, to supremely prize 
that Lord Jesus Christ who said that if you do not believe that 
I am, you will die in your sins. May many today come to a saving 
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy 
Spirit. And we pray in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, let 
us stand and we'll sing 564. 564 in praise to our great and 
glorious God. ♪ With holy truth and wondrous 
words ♪ ♪ Sing all glory to God himself ♪ ♪ With holy truth and 
wondrous words ♪ ♪ Sing all glory to God himself ♪ ♪ Blessed be 
this world ♪ Grace to you and peace from him 
who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven 
spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful 
witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the 
kings of the earth. To him who loved us and washed 
us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests 
to his God and father. To him be glory and dominion 
forever and ever. Amen. Lord, go with us now. Help 
us to sanctify the day, to call it a delight, and to find joy 
in fellowship and in the person of our blessed Savior. And we 
ask this in His most holy name. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.