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We can turn to chapter 2 in your 
confession of faith of God and of the Holy Trinity. If you do 
not have a confession of faith, raise your hand and one will 
be provided for you. We spent a few sessions in chapter 
2. I'll just read the chapter review 
just a bit and then we'll get into the final section that we're 
looking at this morning. So beginning in chapter 2 at 
paragraph 1. The Lord our God is but one only living and true 
God. whose subsistence is in and of 
himself, infinite in being and perfection, whose essence cannot 
be comprehended by any but himself, a most pure spirit, invisible, 
without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling 
in the light which no man can approach unto, who is immutable, 
immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, 
most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute, working all things 
according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous 
will for his own glory, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, 
abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, 
and sin, the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and 
with all most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all 
sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty. God, having 
all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself, is alone in 
and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature 
which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only 
manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is 
the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to 
whom are all things. And he hath most sovereign dominion 
over all creatures, to do by them, for them, and upon them 
whatsoever himself pleaseth. In his sight all things are open 
and manifest. His knowledge is infinite, infallible, 
and independent upon the creature. So as nothing is to him contingent 
or uncertain, he is most holy in all his counsels, in all his 
works, and in all his commands. To Him is due from angels and 
men whatsoever worship, service, or obedience as creatures they 
owe unto the Creator, and whatever He is further pleased to require 
of them. In this divine and infinite being there are three subsistences, 
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. The Father is of none, neither 
begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally begotten 
of the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and 
the Son. All-infinite, without beginning, therefore but one 
God, was not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished 
by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations, 
which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our 
communion with God and comfortable dependence on Him. Amen. Well, 
a very robust statement concerning theology proper or the doctrine 
of God as the scripture sets it forth. These men did not make 
these things up, but as you can obviously hear the allusions 
and the reminiscences of scripture, these are scriptural statements 
concerning God. So in Paragraph 1, we have the 
perfections of God, God's attributes, those things that are true of 
Him. And toward the end of that particular chapter, or paragraph 
rather, it indicates how God relates to His creatures. Notice 
at the end of Paragraph 1, the rewarder of them that diligently 
seek Him, and with all most just and terrible in His judgments, 
hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty. 
Then paragraph 2 takes up God's works relative to the created 
order, those things outside of God. How does God relate to the 
creation? And the things underscored there 
are His independence, His omniscience, and His holiness. And then that 
paragraph ends with the responsibility of creatures to God. Notice the 
last part. It says, He is most holy in all 
His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands. To Him 
is due from angels and men whatsoever worship, service, or obedience 
as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever He is further 
pleased to require of that. It's a pattern here. Not only 
is the truth stated, but then there is a practical implication 
or application drawn out at the end of each paragraph. So after 
the perfections of God in paragraph 1, this is how it relates in 
terms of the creatures. after a robust explanation of 
how God's perfections relate to His creatures, it then underscores 
the reality that we owe obedience to Him, we owe worship and service 
to Him. And then paragraph 3 ends with 
a practical implication as well at the very end, which doctrine 
of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God 
and comfortable dependence on Him. So it's not just theory, 
it's not just abstract theology, but it's practical in terms of 
its application in the lives of God's people. So we are in 
paragraph 3. So if paragraph 2 deals with 
God and his relations to the creature, paragraph 3 deals with 
the internal relations of God, or what we might say God ad intra. And we have covered some of this 
ground. In the first place, notice the fact that we know that there 
is one true and living God, but then notice at the beginning 
of paragraph three, in this divine and infinite being, again, singular. And this reflects Matthew 28, 
19, baptizing them in the name singular of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So there's a sense in which God 
is one, and there's a sense in which God is three. And that's 
what this particular paragraph takes up. So in this divine and 
infinite being, that's God, the only true and living God, there 
are three subsistences. So God is one in terms of essence 
or substance, and then he's three in terms of subsistence or person. And then notice the identification 
of those subsistences or persons, the Father, the Word or Son, 
and the Holy Spirit. It then underscores the fact 
that each of the persons are divine, that each of the persons 
have the entirety of the divine essence. Notice. of one substance, 
power and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet 
the essence undivided." So again, emphasizing the oneness of God 
in terms of essence or substance, and then the threeness of God 
in terms of subsistence or person. The identification of those persons, 
Father and the Word, or Son, and then the Holy Spirit. Again, 
underscoring the reality of one substance, power, and eternity, 
each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided. Now the confession goes on to 
distinguish the persons from one another. So it's wrong to 
deny the oneness of God, but it's equally wrong to deny the 
threeness of God. This has been historically understood 
as Sabellianism. It has been more popularly called 
Modalism. It is best represented today 
in Oneness Pentecostalism and other forms of professing Christianity 
that messes up at the level of the threeness of God. And essentially, 
Modalism says that God is one, but he has shown himself in differing 
modes. He was the father, he became 
the son. and now he's the Holy Spirit. He manifests himself 
in these various ways, which is wrong, it is heretical, it 
is not consistent with scripture, and certainly not our confession 
of faith. And so it is absolutely crucial 
that we understand what distinguishes the persons in the Godhead. So 
we maintain the oneness at the level of essence or substance, 
but we maintain threeness at the level of subsistence or person. And so that's what happens next 
in the confession. Notice it says, the Father is 
of none, neither begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally 
begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the 
Father and the Son. So the language of distinction 
is given there. And in the history of theology, 
we refer to these as notions. the things that distinguish the 
persons of the Godhead, or we can call them eternal relations 
of origin, or as the Confession goes on to highlight, they are 
distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal 
relations. In other words, this is how we 
explain the distinctiveness between the persons of the Godhead. So 
the Father is of none, He's neither begotten nor proceeding. So we 
refer to the Father as unbegotten. or we refer to the father as 
having paternity. That's what distinguishes the 
father in the relations between father, son, and spirit. The 
son, notice, is eternally begotten of the father, so we refer to 
him as begotten, or we underscore that he has filiation. That means 
he's got sonship relative to the father. When the heretic 
Arius suggested there was a time when the son was not, he was 
also suggesting there was a time when the father was not. Because 
this is an eternal relationship, and we need to maintain all of 
it, or we sacrifice all of it. Now we come this morning to the 
person of the Holy Spirit. Notice it says, the Holy Spirit 
proceeding from the Father and the Son. So what is distinct 
or what distinguishes the Spirit from the Father and the Son? 
The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, or we refer 
to this as spiration. And so I want to cover the doctrine 
of the Holy Spirit in a thumbnail sketch. There's obviously a whole 
lot more that could be said, but I just want to give us some 
things to think about in terms of this particular chapter or 
paragraph in the Confession. So in the first place, the Spirit 
is a personal subsistence of the one simple essence. That's 
what we find in this paragraph. In this divine and infinite being, 
there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word, and the 
Holy Spirit. Moeller defines subsistence as 
an individual instance of a given essence. Now it has other meanings 
to be sure, but that's how it's being employed at this particular 
time. Now again, some of this is technical 
language, it's something that the church has used. in terms 
of its defense of and propagation of the doctrine of the Trinity. 
And perhaps the first or second time as we fly through these 
things, you may not get all of it. And later on, especially 
when I get to the aspiration of the Spirit from the Father 
and the Son, again, it's very technical in the sense of it's 
not typically what we think about. So I just ask you to pay close 
attention. If you don't get everything, 
know there's not going to be a quiz. There's not going to 
be a test. You're not going to be stuck at the door having to 
define the inspiration of the Spirit relative to the Father 
and the Son, or you can't get out. That's not going to happen. 
So just some concepts to think through in terms of our understanding 
of Christian doctrine. So the Spirit is a personal subsistence 
of the one simple essence. Then, secondly, the Spirit is 
distinguished from the Father and the Son by the fact that 
He eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. That's what 
the Confession is indicating. The Spirit is distinguished from 
the Father and the Son by the fact that He eternally proceeds 
from the Father and the Son. Remember the emphasis we need 
to distinguish between the persons in order to maintain the threeness 
of God at the level of subsistence. And the way that we do that is 
to understand that the Spirit is distinguished from the Father 
and the Son by the fact that He eternally proceeds from the 
Father and the Son. Now, just some overarching thoughts 
concerning the Holy Spirit, and then we'll hone in on His procession 
from the Father and the Son. So go to the book of Genesis, 
Genesis chapter 1, just as we consider the Holy Spirit. That actually was just a longish 
introduction to get to this point. So just some overarching thoughts 
concerning the person of the Holy Spirit, or the subsistence 
of the Holy Spirit, and then we'll see how he proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. And when I say how, I don't mean 
the technical logistics. Just like we don't know how, 
Jesus is eternally begotten of the Father. Those are things 
that the creature can't wrap their minds around. This is wherein 
God is, in the language of paragraph one, incomprehensible to the 
creature, known only to himself. But that the Bible reveals it, 
in order to maintain the distinction between the persons, that's what 
I mean by the how. So first of all, the Spirit is 
present at the creation and is distinct from the Father and 
the Son. Notice in Genesis chapter one, 
in the beginning, God, we typically refer to Him there as Father, 
created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and 
void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. Spirit of God 
was hovering over the face of the waters. And then notice in 
verse 3, then God said. Look at verse 6, then God said. Verse 9, then God said. Verse 
11, then God said. Verse 14, then God said. Verse 
20, then God said. Verse 24, then God said. Verse 
26, then God said. What is the emphasis there? God 
creates by the Word of His power. And so we've got the Word, we've 
got God the Father, and we've got the Holy Spirit according 
to verse 2. Now turn to Psalm 33 so that 
you can see that Old Testament authors understood this in the 
same way. Psalm 33, specifically at verse 
6. Notice what David says, by the 
Word of the Lord the heavens were made. This shouldn't surprise 
us where we're at in our study in John's Gospel. Remember in 
the prologue, the Word was in the beginning with God, the Word 
was with God, and the Word was God. And all things came into 
being by that word. So we shouldn't be surprised 
that by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made. But then 
notice and all the host of them by the breath or by the spirit 
of his mouth. Job picks up on this in Job 33 
at verse 4. The Spirit of God has made me, 
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. You can go back 
to the Genesis account. We saw this last Sunday when 
we were looking at John 3, 8. If you notice in Genesis 2 at 
verse 7. And the Lord God formed man of 
the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath 
of life, and man became a living spirit. So you've got the Father, 
you've got the Word, and you've got the Spirit. And then you 
have this reference to the plurality in God in chapter 1 at verse 
26. Then God said, let us make man 
in our image according to our likeness. Now some try to argue 
that away as saying it's the plurality with reference to a 
king or his majesty. Others argue that it's some sort 
of a heavenly council made up of angels. I think it's best 
to understand it's the triune God. It's referring to the trinity 
of persons in the one divine essence. You see the same emphasis 
in chapter 3 at verse 22. Then the Lord God said, Behold, 
the man has become like one of what? Like one of us. It's not 
the divine counsel. It's not angels. Man didn't become 
like the angels. Rather, he is, in his arrogance, 
attempting to be like God, falling prey to the attempt of the devil 
to make him take that fruit in order to be as God. So the Spirit 
is present at creation and distinct from the Father and the Son. 
Secondly, the Spirit is present in the Old Testament, distinguished 
from the Father and the Son, and we learn that the Spirit 
is God. Turn to the prophet Isaiah in chapter 63, well, chapter 
11 first. Isaiah chapter 11. It's a prophecy 
concerning Messiah. And in chapter 11 at Isaiah verse 
1, there shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a 
branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord 
shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of 
the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and 
he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the 
hearing of his ears. When Jesus is baptized, you hear 
this voice of approval from the Father in heaven, who says, This 
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. The Spirit descends 
in the form of a dove upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And then turn 
to the prophet Isaiah, chapter 42. Chapter 42 at verse 1, "...behold 
my servant whom I uphold, my elect one, in whom my soul delights." 
Most likely the background for the words of approbation by the 
Father at the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't 
become that at the baptism. It's not adoptionism, but rather 
it is a confirmation that He is the one the prophetic word 
pointed forward to. So behold my servant whom I uphold, 
my elect one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit 
upon him. He will bring forth justice to 
the Gentiles. He will not cry out nor raise 
his voice nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A 
bruised reed he will not break and smoking flax he will not 
quench. He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor 
be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth and the 
coastlands shall wait for his law. Now turn to Isaiah 63. Isaiah 63. Again, the Spirit 
is present in the Old Testament, distinguished from the Father 
and the Son, and He is referred to as God. Notice in Isaiah 63, 
verse 7, I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises 
of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has bestowed on 
us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He 
has bestowed on them according to His mercies. according to 
the multitude of His loving-kindnesses. For He said, Surely they are 
My people, children who will not lie. So He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was 
afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them. In His love 
and in His pity He redeemed them. and he bore them and carried 
them all the days of old. Now, arguably, the angel of his 
presence is a reference to the pre-incarnate Savior. So you've 
got the Son, you've got Yahweh, the Father, in this context, 
speaking. Then notice, he bore them and 
carried them all the days of old. Now notice in verse 10, 
but they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit, so he turned 
himself against them as an enemy, and he fought against them. Again, 
a distinction. In the Godhead, Father, Son, 
Spirit. Now turn to Psalm 78, which is 
dealing with the similar context. And notice what we read there. 
Psalm 78, specifically at verse 17. But they sinned even more 
against him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. 
And they tested God in their heart by asking for the food 
of their fancy. So their testing of the Spirit 
in Isaiah the prophet, their sort of rebellion against his 
government, is indicated here in Psalm 78 as being rebellion 
against the Most High, and testing God in their heart. And then 
compare Isaiah 63, this idea or concept of grieving the Holy 
Spirit, with what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 30. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit 
of God. He's of the same substance with 
the Father. He is the Holy Spirit of God. Now thirdly, and again there's 
other passages that we could turn to, we're going to move 
on to the New Testament. Matthew chapter 3. So that was, 
the Spirit is present in the Old Testament, distinguished 
from the Father and the Son, and He is God. Thirdly, the Spirit 
is present in the New Testament, distinguished from the Father 
and the Son, and He is God. In Matthew chapter 3, at verse 
16, we have the baptism of the Savior. When he had been baptized, 
Jesus came up immediately from the water. And behold, the heavens 
were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending 
like a dove and alighting upon him. And suddenly a voice came 
from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
well pleased." Again, all three persons of the Trinity are present 
in that statement. Turretin refers to the ancients, 
the ancients in the church. He says, hence the saying of 
the ancients, Arian, that was the denier of the Trinity, go 
to Jordan and there you will see the Trinity. You see that, 
obviously, conspicuously, in chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. 
Then, of course, Matthew 28, that formula that is given in concert 
with baptism, you notice what Jesus says. I've already cited 
it, it bears repetition. Go therefore and make disciples 
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name singular of 
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So in this 
divine and infinite being there are three subsistences, the Father, 
the Word or Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are distinguished 
by those things that the Confession goes on to highlight. The Father 
is unbegotten, the Son is begotten, and the Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. There are many what's called 
triadic references in the New Testament. If you're interested, 
email me and I'll send you these. But it's not that you've just 
got the baptismal formula in Matthew 28, and then Paul's benediction 
in 2 Corinthians 13, verse 14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion 
of the Holy Spirit be with you all." I think persons say, well, 
those are the triadic references in the New Testament that indicate 
or underscore for us that there are three persons. No, there 
are many. There's a multitude. One has 
well said, the Bible itself is Trinitarian at its core. It's 
not the case that it's an isolated statement here or there, and 
that's why it's imperative that we get a good working understanding 
of what is contained in this paragraph. Because people today, 
in the church today, are willfully deficient when it comes to just 
who God is. We sound either like modalists, 
or we sound like monarchialists, or we sound like those who have 
no concept or clue that the church as a whole has done fantastic 
work in giving us information to help us understand our Bibles. 
So there are several triadic references, and then of course 
the Spirit is referred to God obviously in that situation in 
Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter 5, we see that the 
emphasis in the early church, the people of God are selling 
property, they're selling things, and they're bringing it to the 
foot of the apostles. so that there can be the charitable 
giving to those in need. This isn't communism. It's not 
socialism. The state did not coerce them. 
It wasn't done at the end of a gun. The apostles didn't even 
coerce them and say, Thou must give. And what's in view here 
in Acts chapter 5 is not even that Ananias and Sapphira kept 
some back. In other words, it was their 
property. If they had decided to keep some 
back and give the rest to the downtrodden and poor, that would 
have not been objectionable. Peter's problem is not with that. 
The problem is that Ananias and Sapphira lied. They said, this 
is all the proceeds. Give it all to the downtrodden 
and poor. But they didn't. They kept some back. So notice 
in Acts 5.1, "...But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira 
his wife, sold a possession, and he kept back part of the 
proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain 
part and laid it at the apostles' feet." It's amazing to me that 
people think that the Bible doesn't condemn socialism or communism. 
The Bible has a commandment that does just that. It's called the 
Eighth Commandment. You shall not steal. It is never 
right on the part of individuals or governments to steal things 
that aren't theirs and then give them away to other people. And 
notice that Peter maintains this. He's not saying, let's just sell 
everything, let's bang our tambourines, and let's give everything to 
the downtrodden and poor. Peter said, Ananias, why has 
Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back 
part of the price of the land for yourself? Notice that Peter 
respects the eighth commandment in verse four. While it remained, 
was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it 
not in your own control? If you only wanted to give 50%, 
if you only wanted to give 10%, that was your prerogative. That is your right as a person 
under God who has private property. But that's not his point. Why 
have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied 
to men, but to God. Notice verse 3. He says, why 
has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? So lying 
to the Holy Spirit, according to verse 4, is lying to God. So it's obvious what we're dealing 
with in terms of the three persons in the Godhead. Now, fourthly, 
and we saw this a bit last Sunday morning in John 3, the Spirit 
is the agent of the new birth. Remember the doctrine of appropriations. 
Every work outside of God, creation, providence, redemption, is ascribed 
to the one true and living God. Remember, there's one substance, 
one power, one will. But there are what's called appropriations. Certain persons in the Godhead 
are given or appropriated with certain tasks so that we can 
learn more about the persons of the Godhead and how they relate 
with one another. So the Spirit is the agent of 
the new birth, again with reference to appropriations, and this is 
consistent with Ezekiel 36, 25 to 27, and then Ezekiel 37 at 
verses 10 and 14. Now, fifthly, the Spirit is another 
helper that Jesus prays to His Father to send. You can go to 
John's Gospel here. John 14. John 14. One man in his book on the Holy 
Trinity, a man by the name of Peter Latham, which isn't the 
best book on the Trinity. I think it's Latham, but not 
the best. There's others I'd recommend. 
But in his introduction, he says how he had some interaction with 
Sinclair Ferguson. And Sinclair Ferguson, those 
of you who attend the Saturday morning will know, he's the author 
of The Whole Christ, and he's the author of a lot of things. 
But one of the things that Sinclair Ferguson had told Peter Latham 
one time was that when Jesus comes to the upper room to prepare 
his disciples, so Jesus is going to die, Jesus is going to rise, 
but then Jesus is going to ascend on high. So he's preparing his 
apostles for that work of disciple making and church planting. What 
does he teach them on? teaches them on the Trinity. 
He gives them a lot of information about the triune God in his sort 
of preparation given to them. But as we're going through John's 
gospel now, the whole document is thoroughly Trinitarian. We've 
got the prologue, chapter 1, verses 1 to 18, how the Word 
relates to the Father. And now in chapter 3, we have 
how the Spirit relates to the Father and to the Son. And then 
here in the upper room, discourse. Notice what Jesus says in John 
14. Verse 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. And then 
verse 16, 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 Jesus, the Son, prays to the Father for the gift of the Holy 
Spirit. Later, Jesus says, it's to your 
advantage that I go away. If I don't go away, you don't 
get the Holy Spirit. It's advantageous to the people 
of God that Christ goes away so that we get the Holy Spirit 
present among us. Now, sixthly, in the Upper Room 
Discourse, notice in John 15, 26. So we've seen who the Spirit 
is according to the Old Testament. We've seen who the Spirit is 
according to the New Testament. Let's see now how the Spirit 
relates to the Father and the Son in terms of procession or 
spiration. Notice in John 15, verse 26. 
But when the helper comes, who's the helper? He's the one he just 
spoke of in chapter 14. I will pray to the Father that 
he sends you another helper, a comforter, a paraclete. One 
like the Son that will do the same sort of thing in terms of 
bringing benefit to the people of God. So when the Helper comes, 
whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth 
who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me. And you 
also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the 
beginning. You mean Nicaea didn't make up 
procession? You mean that Nicaea didn't make 
up spiration? You mean that's actually in the 
Bible? Yes, isn't it? When the Helper 
comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of 
truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me. Now, there was a debate in the 
early church concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit. Did He proceed 
from the Father and the Son, or did He proceed only from the 
Father? The word in Greek is called the 
philioque, and basically that simply means, and the Son. And 
that basically divided the Eastern and the Western Church. So you 
have Eastern Orthodoxy now, and you have Roman Catholicism now, 
but back then it wasn't that. It was a bunch of people that 
feared God, worshipped Christ, and wanted to articulate Christian 
doctrine. But with reference to the Filioque 
in terms of, and the Son, the Eastern Church denied that. Not 
all the Eastern theologians, there were men that were part 
of the Eastern Church that were good theologians that held to 
the Filioque, the fact that he proceeds from the Father and 
the Son. But for the most part, the Eastern Church took the position 
that no, he proceeds only from the Father. This has to do with 
those eternal relations of origin, who's the principal, and that 
sort of thing. The Western Church cited with, 
he proceeds from the father and the son, and this came to be 
inserted in the Nicene Creed at the Council of Toledo, not 
Toledo, Ohio, but the Council of Toledo in A.D. 589. Again, 
I mention some of this, not again because there's going to be a 
quiz, but the rich heritage that we have in these 17th century 
confessions were hard fought for. Men fought. Men prayed. Men searched scripture. Men did exegesis. Men debated. Men got together. Men lost churches. Men lost freedoms. Men lost everything 
in order to defend truth that we have today. So the object 
is for us to appreciate. If we can't explain everything 
that we have here, hopefully it will invoke or provoke in 
us a desire to learn more and to study, but as well to be very 
thankful to God for the rich heritage that we have in the 
Church of Christ. Now Anselm, which is about the 
12th century, Anselm, on the procession of the Holy Spirit, 
maintained that the filioque was very important. And again, 
that's that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. 
In the first place, the Filioque preserves unity and equality 
between all three persons. Remember, that's how eternal 
generation is deployed with reference to the Son. It not only shows 
distinction between the Father and the Son, but it underscores 
the divinity of the Son. He's eternally begotten of the 
Father, the divine essence has been communicated to him by the 
Father, and therefore He is God and worthy to be worshipped and 
praised and glorified. So we see that this procession 
of the Holy Spirit functions in much the same way. It's not 
only to distinguish the Spirit from the Father and the Son, 
but it's also to underscore His divinity, the fact that He has 
the entire divine essence. Secondly, Anselm said, without 
the filioque, the Spirit would not be given by the Son, but 
the Son would be given by the Spirit. Kind of flip things over 
on their head. And then third, whenever Scripture 
speaks of the Spirit as the Spirit of Christ, it is assumed that 
the Spirit proceeds from the Son as well as the Father. So it's not just that the Spirit 
is referred to as the Spirit of God, but He's also referred 
to as the Spirit of Christ specifically, which again underscores that 
He proceeds from the Father and the Son. Now again, brethren, 
if you miss the fine points of this particular argument, there's 
not going to be any judgment that comes upon you. Again, one 
of the emphases in going a bit more in depth this time around 
is to show that the church has had to wrestle with these things, 
the church has successfully wrestled with these things, and for whatever 
reason the modern church has thrown that away over the last 
generation. And as a result, the people of 
God are deficient and defective in their understanding of Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit. The Son, according to preeminent 
theologians in Protestantism today, is eternally subordinate 
to the Father. Brethren, that cannot be, and 
it should not be, and it must not be, and one of the reasons 
why it is, is a failure to do biblical exegesis, and a failure 
to do that exegesis in concert with the Church. How did the 
fathers deal with this? How did the medieval guys deal 
with this? How did the Reformation deal with this? Those are good 
questions to ask when we come to formulate Christian doctrine. 
And over the last generation, the church by and large has said, 
we really don't care what the fathers did. We really don't 
care what Aquinas did, and not just him, but many other medieval 
theologians. And we certainly don't care that 
the Protestant reformers thought those guys were onto something 
either. We're going to chart our own course, we're going to 
get rid of the whole idea of eternal generation of the Son, 
we're going to eternally subordinate the Son to the Father, and end 
up with a very defective Christology, but a very defective Trinity 
as well. So it is absolutely crucial, 
again, if we don't understand every jot and tittle, to realize 
that the Church has dealt with this. And the church had exegetical 
reason and rationale for their formulations that we're seeing 
here in scripture. Again, notice in John 14, that 
verse 25. I'm sorry, that can't be it. 
John 15, 25, yeah. Actually, no. The passages that we've looked 
at, the spirit of, oh, I'm sorry, Romans 8 is the text I'm actually 
thinking of. Romans chapter 8, in terms of 
a synonymous usage of spirit of Christ, spirit of God. So 
again, underscores the idea of eternal, of procession from the 
Father and the Son. Notice in Romans 8, 9. Again, 
brethren, this isn't a Trinitarian discourse by the Apostle. This 
is what I mean. The Scriptures are Trinitarian 
through and through. It's not that the Apostle Paul 
says, okay, here's a Roman 17, and I'm going to give you everything 
that the Bible says concerning the Trinity. No, he just assumes 
the doctrine of the Trinity, and he works from that vantage 
point. We've seen it many times. We see it oftentimes when we 
just read the book of Ephesians at chapter 1. The Father chose 
us in Him before the foundation of the world. In Him we have 
acceptance, we have redemption through His blood. And then we 
have the Holy Spirit who is the seal and guarantee of our purchased 
possession. So we have Father, Son, and Spirit 
in terms of what those persons do relative to the salvation 
of sinners as the one true and living God. Notice in Romans 
8, 9, but if you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed 
the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the 
Spirit of Christ, he is not his. How can he do that? How can he 
just go synonymously like that? How can he just back and forth 
like that? Because of the doctrine of the Trinity. Because of the 
fact that in this divine and infinite being there are three 
subsistences, the Father, the Word, or Son, and the Holy Spirit, 
of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole 
divine essence. and yet distinction among those 
persons vis-à-vis Father, Son, and Spirit. Verse 10, if Christ 
is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life 
because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who 
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ 
from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through 
His Spirit who dwells in you. Now, when we consider the spiration 
of the Spirit, or the fact that He proceeds from the Father and 
the Son, it is distinct from the generation of the Son, but 
it is related. Now, this next quote, again, 
just bear with me, and again, the idea is that theologians, 
Trinitarian theologians, have wrestled with the objections. See, you read, guys, today, again, 
Ware, Grudem, Raymond, unfortunately, in the first edition. Raymond's 
with Jesus now, so he's in a much better place. He knows the truth, 
as it is in Jesus, in a way that he didn't. Millard Erickson, 
recent systematic theologies over the last generation. They 
act like these things have never been touched. Eternal generation 
of the Son is just, it's confusing, it'll make people confused, so 
we won't even deal with it. Are you kidding me? 20 centuries 
of Christ's church has assumed these things and has dealt with 
these things and has defended these things and have answered 
the question, how does spiration and begottenness relate to one 
another? So one theologian, Gillies Emery, says the power of spirating 
the Holy Spirit is included in the generation of the Son. By 
His generation, the Son receives from the Father to be with Him 
the principle of the Holy Spirit. Put otherwise, the procession 
of the Holy Spirit is inscribed in the mutual relation of the 
Father and the Son. This means that the procession 
of the Holy Spirit is connected in itself to the generation of 
the Son by the Father. Again, whether we get all the 
fine points of that quote or not, think about this. Men have 
wrestled with, how do we relate procession to generation? How 
do we make it the case, or understand it to be the case, that the Spirit 
proceeds from the Father and the Son, and not just the Father? In other words, they've fought 
and sought to legitimize the creeds based on what the Bible 
has said. Barrett, in that very helpful 
book we're going through on Saturday morning, if this whets your appetite 
at all, and I hope it does, I hope you don't leave at 10.30 and 
go, man, that was so confusing, I never want to think about the 
Trinity again. That's not my design. My desire is so that 
we can see that the technical language that is in paragraph 
3 in chapter 2 of our confession, that we all confess, is something 
that the church has worked out over her history, and something 
that the modern church has just dispensed with as if it was all 
together confusing. The modern church is not stronger 
as a result. She's not more committed to Trinitarian 
theology as a result. She's not better in terms of 
her respect for, and esteem for, and worship for the Savior. In 
other words, when they've jettisoned these truths, they've jettisoned 
the practical theology that follows from it, in terms of worship, 
in terms of defending the doctrine, and in terms of propagating the 
doctrine. A lot of people just treat the 
Trinity as one big sort of confusing thing that I don't want to even 
think about. Well sorry brethren, you have 
to think about it, because our God is Triune, the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Spirit. So Barrett, in his excellent 
book, Simply Trinity, says the Spirit proceeds from the Father 
and the Son as from one single source or principle, not two, 
since the Father and Son are both subsistences of the same 
simple essence. Now, that was probably the hardest 
point, so let's now move on to number seven. The Spirit is sent 
by God to enable the people of God to cry, Abba, Father. Turn to Galatians. Later on, 
when we continue in the book, Simply Trinity by Barrett, he 
has a chapter on the procession of the Holy Spirit. So we're 
not gonna deal with every jot and tittle of that now, but some 
things that demand our attention in this study of our confession. 
I mentioned notions. Notions are the Father is unbegotten, 
the Son is begotten, the Spirit proceeds from the Father and 
the Son. Those relations between the persons. Another thing that 
we should take into consideration is what's called missions. And 
by missions, theologians have understood the Father sends the 
Son. The Father and the Son send the 
Spirit, and their particular mission in terms of the sending. In other words, the Father sends 
the Son. Why? To live, to die, to rise again. 
Now, that does not exhaust for us who God is in himself, but 
it shows us something concerning the relations. The father unbegotten 
sends the son who is begotten to do the particular task of 
redemption. The father and the son send the 
Holy Spirit to apply the fruit of that redemption to God's people. So think in terms of missions 
and notions when you look at Galatians 4, 4-7. Again, now that doesn't exhaust 
what we know in terms of Father and the Son, but it does show 
something about these ad intra or internal relations of God. 
The Father sends the Son. The Son is from the Father. So 
when the fullness of the time had come, God 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. Eighth, the Spirit is a gift. We see that here. But we see 
that the Spirit is a gift, and Barrett will deal with that in 
his chapter on the procession of the Holy Spirit. Barrett's 
not new in this. Augustine and theologians, again, 
throughout the history of the Church have seen the Spirit as 
a gift given by God the Father and the Son. Again, the fact 
that he's a gift given by the Father and the Son in terms of 
our redemption, in terms of God's relations to his creatures, doesn't 
exhaust who God is in terms of Father, Son, and Spirit, but 
it gives us a window of insight. It helps us to appreciate and 
understand something about the distinctions between the persons 
of the Godhead. In other words, appropriations 
help us learn more concerning who God is in himself. Now with 
reference to the Spirit as a gift given by the Father, Luke 11. Luke 11, well we can turn there 
so that we all are singing off the same page. Luke 11, after 
the Lord's Prayer, Jesus gives an impetus to his disciples to 
pray. So not only does he give us the 
model prayer in chapter 11 at verses 2 to 4, he then gives 
us some illustrations to encourage us to pray. He does that in verses 
5 to 8, and then he does that in verses 9 to 13. Now notice how he ends in verse 
13. If you then, being evil, Jesus is not a health, wealth, 
and prosperity preacher, and he's certainly not somebody who's 
got, you know, self-esteem as the pinnacle for man. If you 
then being evil. He doesn't launch into a defense 
on total depravity. He just simply assumes the reality 
of it. If you then, being evil, and 
it's an argument from the lesser to the greater, if you then, 
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 
how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to 
those who ask Him? It's a blessed incentive for 
us to pray. If we're wretches, and we don't 
give scorpions to our kids when they ask for eggs, and we don't 
give rocks to our kids when they ask for bread, then won't God 
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? But then notice 
in Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. So the Father 
sends the Spirit as a gift according to Luke 11. And then in Acts 
chapter 2, remember we have the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
on the day of Pentecost. And Peter, the apostle, interprets 
for us the significance of this event. First, it's prophetic 
in nature. This is that which the prophet 
Joel had spoken. And then he highlights the person 
and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. He stresses his true 
humanity, verse 22. He stresses his death according 
to the plan and purpose of God, in verse 23. He gives us the 
glorious resurrection of Christ in verses 24 to 32, and then 
the exaltation of Christ in verses 33 to 36. But then notice in 
verse 33, Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and 
having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, 
He poured out this which you now see and hear. In other words, 
the Spirit is poured out by Jesus on the day of Pentecost. Pentecostals 
and Charismatics celebrate the work of the Spirit in Acts 2. 
So should Reformed people, but not to the neglect of the second 
person of the Trinity. In other words, it's the second 
person of the Trinity giving us the third person of the Trinity 
in terms of blessing upon the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then ninthly, in the language 
of the Nicene Creed, After confessing the Father and after confessing 
the Son, the Nicene Creed in its fuller expression after Constantinople 
in 381 says, And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and 
Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with 
the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, 
who spoke by the prophets. So, when we come back to the 
confession of faith, we see the distinction among the persons 
given to us in terms of those notions, or those eternal relations 
of origin, or what the confession highlights as several peculiar 
relative properties and personal relations. But before that, notice 
what the confession takes pains to make sure that we don't get 
wrong. After dealing with the distinctions 
among the persons, it comes back to the one simple essence that 
is God. Notice, after the Holy Spirit 
proceeding from the Father and the Son, all infinite, without 
being, therefore but one God, who is not to be divided in nature 
and being. It's not that the Father is 33 
and a third percent God. It's not that the Son is 33 and 
a third percent God. It's not that the Spirit is 33 
and a third percent God. No, therefore but one God. And then it says, who is not 
to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several 
peculiar relative properties and personal relations. Things 
like unbegotten, begotten, and procession. Things like paternity, 
affiliation, inspiration, are the ways that the church has 
maintained distinction from the Father and the Son and the Spirit 
in the one divine infinite essence, which is God Almighty. Now some 
of the more popular heresies that have affected the church 
that are probably still affecting the church is the heresy of tritheism, 
the idea that there are three gods. This is typically how the 
Jehovah's Witnesses understand you when you speak in terms of 
Trinity. They think that you think there 
are three gods. And essentially, this means that 
the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three different essences 
in the genus God. We know that's not true. There's 
one divine essence, and within that one divine essence, there 
are three subsistences. So God is one in one sense, essence 
or substance. He's three in another, subsistence 
or person. As well, there is the heresy 
of modalism, or Sabellianism, which I've already said before. 
They maintain that the one divine essence or person manifests itself 
in three modes or roles. Probably the most popular guy 
today is a guy by the name of T.D. Jakes. And when T.D. Jake speaks of manifestations 
of God, that's code word. Well, it's not code word. It 
is in the church today, but for anybody else in the history of 
the church, they would have heard modalism. They would have heard 
Sabellianism. They would have heard heresy. 
And then the heresy of subordinationism. That's the claim. that within 
the One Divine Essence, there is a gradation of degree or rank. There is a gradation of degree 
or rank. Jehovah's Witnesses, again, they've 
got problems all over the place, but with reference to their translation 
of John 1.1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 
with God, and the Word was a God. They're actually at least bi-theists. They say that the Father is God 
and the Son is God. That's a plurality of gods. That's 
not what we teach in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. But 
this idea of subordinationism is seen in that translation as 
well. He's a little g God. He's not quite the capital G 
God. He's a little g God. So he's 
subordinate to the Father. Now, for them, it's easy, because 
Jesus is a creature. Jesus was made by God. He's something 
different. He's a third thing. He's not 
really God. He's not really creation. But he's sort of that agent in 
between that creates the created order. But this idea of subordinationism 
has crept into Protestantism, again, because we've gotten rid 
of the language of distinction. We've gotten rid of eternal generation 
of the Son. And we've gotten rid of the idea 
of procession of the Spirit by the Father and the Son. And so 
modern theologians today, within Protestantism, teach subordinationism. They teach that the Son, not 
in the economy of redemption, which we all agree upon. Jesus, 
according to his humanity in the hypostatic union, is subordinate 
to his Father. He says as much in John 14. He 
says, the Father is greater than I. He's not speaking there as 
the second person of the Trinity. He's speaking there as our surety. 
He's speaking there as our mediator. He's speaking there as our prophet, 
priest, and king. But they take that subordination 
in the economy of redemption and then they read it back into 
who God is in terms of his internal relations. You're not supposed 
to do that. That is a huge misstep, and that 
is something affecting the church today that we need to make sure 
we're on guard for. Now finally, notice the practical 
benefit of this. Which doctrine of the Trinity 
is the foundation of all our communion with God and comfortable 
dependence on Him? Was this Savoy? I know it's not 
Westminster, but was it Savoy too? Savoy Declaration has this. The Baptists copy it from that. When I say copy, it's not like 
when you were in 10th grade and you were looking over your neighbor's 
shoulder and copying off his page. They were formulating a 
confession of faith that was robust and was representative 
of their understanding of who God is and how God saves His 
people. So they take this from the Savoy, 
but it's absent in the Westminster. That doesn't mean the Westminster 
is deficient, but I think it does underscore that there is 
some finer tuning going on in the Baptists and the Congregationalists. I mentioned in chapter 11, the 
Westminster divines didn't mention, or they don't mention active 
and passive obedience of the Lord Jesus. That makes it into 
the Baptist Confession. That's a good thing. So the practical 
benefit here, which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation 
of all our communion with God and comfortable dependence on 
Him. Listen to Francis Turretin. He says, it is not sufficient 
to know that God is, as to existence, or what He is, as to His attributes. But we must know also who He 
is. See, this is important. Listen, 
I think Turinton nails this. It is not sufficient to know 
that God is, as to existence, or what He is, as to His attributes, 
but we must know who He is, as to the persons, as He presents 
Himself, to be known by us in His Word. Hence, whosoever denieth 
the Son, the same hath not the Father. 1 John 2.23. And he that 
honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent 
him. John 5.23. Therefore, God has 
revealed himself as one in essence, three in persons, namely, the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now listen. Thus, he 
who does not acknowledge and believe the Trinity has not the 
true God, but has erected for himself an idol in the place 
of God. Now that's a powerful statement, 
brethren, but can be substantiated throughout Scripture. Jesus said, 
if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. What 
does He mean? You need to believe not only that He exists, not 
only that He does great things, but you need to understand who 
He is as well. And then this idea of our comfortable 
dependence on Him. Do we ever think that way? Do 
we ever contemplate that my comfortable dependence on God is by virtue 
of the fact that He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? It is this 
one living and true God, one essence, three in subsistence 
or person, Father, Son, and Spirit. I come to the Father through 
the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. You see that emphasis 
in terms of church life and worship in Ephesians chapter 2. It is 
intensely Trinitarian in terms of corporate worship. He says 
in 2.19, Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, 
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household 
of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles 
and prophets, and in Jesus Christ himself, being the chief cornerstone, 
in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a 
holy temple in the Lord. in whom you also are being built 
together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. See, worship 
is Trinitarian. Churches must be Trinitarian. It mustn't be the case. I remember 
seeing a clip about Joel Osteen, and there's a billion things 
wrong with Joel Osteen, but certainly theology proper is probably right 
at the top of the list. I can't remember in the clip 
I saw, there was a Catholic woman and a Jewish man that were married. And they were raving about how 
wonderful it is to go to Jehovah's Church. But certainly, brethren, 
these things ought not to be. If a Jew is comfortable in our 
churches, we're not preaching Trinitarian marriage. We're not preaching the Bible. We're not a synagogue. We're 
not just rehearsing some things. We're teaching distinctly who 
God is. And He is Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit. The Jews should be offended by 
teaching that goes on in Christian churches. They shouldn't say, 
oh wow, they're just like us. We're monotheistic, we're just 
like them and that, but that's it. There's a huge departure 
and there is a huge difference because they deny that Jesus 
is Messiah and they certainly deny the Trinity in terms of 
who God is. I'm not saying to go out and, 
you know, purposefully offend Jews, but I'm suggesting that 
if a Jew can sit through so-called Christian preaching and not be 
offended, are him that is should offend him. When we sing what 
we sang that Bonar wrote at the outset of our confession study 
today, or when we sing Holy, Holy, Holy, that should be enough 
for any Jewish person to bolt out of any Christian church today. 
So when we have people saying, oh, I just love it. It's so wonderful. Whatever it may be. And maybe 
it may be wonderful at some level. It is. It is a Christian theology. Again, we don't purposely beat 
people up with our doctrine of the Trinity, but we hold to that 
doctrine of the Trinity in such a way so that persons know that 
these people are committed to what the Bible says concerning 
who God is. I don't think they articulate 
it quite like that. But they should know what we 
believe, because what we believe, let us close in a word of prayer. Our Father, thank you for not 
just our confession, though it is a blessing that you have given 
it to us, but we thank you for the Bible. These things, these 
truths taught so obviously in Scripture, and for the work of 
the Church in terms of study, and exegesis, and theological 
formulation, and putting together creeds and confessions that have 
stood the test of time, that have benefited the people of 
God throughout our journey heavenward. We ask that you would cause us 
to reflect deeper upon these things, help us to be interested 
in who God is, even Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we pray 
that in all of this you would be glorified and praised and 
worshipped. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. We have a minute for questions 
or comments. We're actually over, but I don't 
want to end there and say, well, you know, be warm and be filled. Does anyone have any questions? No? No? No? Good. Oh, yes. All 
right. Go ahead. Well, it's an analogy in terms 
of the generation that we know of in humans. I'm a father, and I generated 
my sons. We don't typically use that language. My wife gave birth. But the idea 
of generation is something that is spoken according to the manner 
of men, something we can connect with. We know that a father begets 
a son. Now, when we think of the generation 
of the Son from the Father, again, that analogy is helpful. The 
idea is eternal relations of origin. How did the Son come 
about? Well, He came from the Father. So we identify that as 
generation, or begotten, the language of only begotten Son. But we put always with it eternal. so that it's not just like it 
is in me giving generation to my son, or you giving generation 
to your son. That's not an eternal begetting. 
So when it comes to the father and the son, that's eternal. 
So we have something of an analogy in terms of the human realm that 
we understand. Fathers beget sons, he's the 
only begotten son of the father, but it's an eternal generation. 
To put it in the sphere of God, Creator, infinite. So analogy 
in terms of the finite, but the infinite aspect is that it's 
an eternal generation. Same with the Spirit. There's 
not a time, there was never a time when the Spirit was not. So this 
procession from the Father and the Son is eternal. It's not 
that at one point in history or in eternity the Father said 
to the Son, wouldn't it be nice to have a Spirit? And so they 
then popped out the Spirit. No, no, no. It's eternal procession. All of these eternal relations 
of origin or these notions are modified by eternal when we speak 
in terms of who God is. Right, and when Jesus breathes 
on the disciples in John 20 and says, receive the Holy Spirit, That doesn't mean, you know, 
the spirit, if you had spray paint, you can spray it and see 
it now come into the disciples. It's an image, it's an analogy, 
it is a metaphor, it is a symbol that is helpful for man to discover. I have a question. Yes, sir. 
You mentioned the Holy Spirit, which is prior to the events 
of the Pentecost. Right. And then there are more 
verses in the previous book mentioning what's in the Spirit. Yeah. What are the differences between 
time and the carnage and the presence of the Spirit in those 
instances, as opposed to the apostles? Right, I think that's 
a great question and some have erred at the point of Acts 2 
being the time that the Spirit was given. David says, take not 
thine Holy Spirit from me, right, in Psalm 51. I think when Jesus 
breathes on them, it's anticipatory of of Pentecost, but Pentecost 
is prophesied by Joel. Not that the Spirit had never 
been given, not that David was devoid of the Spirit, but there 
was going to come a time in history, and that was the day of Pentecost, 
when the Spirit would be given in a way that he had not been 
prior. In a corporate sort of a way for the equipping of the 
church in order to go out and do the task of ministry that 
God had given to them. And so you see that in Acts 2, 
but you don't just see it in Acts 2. You see it in Acts 8. 
In Samaria, the Spirit comes upon people there as well. Not, 
again, that the Spirit had never been given, but it's at that 
crucial part in the mission of the Church that they are equipped 
with the Spirit. and then you see it again in 
Acts chapter 10 in the household of Cornelius. The Spirit comes 
upon these Gentiles. Now if you think, it follows 
the outline in Acts 1-8. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, 
Acts 2 Pentecost, Judea Samaria, we call that the Samaritan Pentecost 
in Acts 8, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. So you've 
got a Gentile Pentecost, in Acts 10. Again, the Spirit had been 
present. We saw that in the Old Testament. 
We saw that He's there brooding over the waters of creation. 
He's there being lied to, or rather being grieved by the wilderness 
generation. The Spirit is in David. David 
says, take not thine Holy Spirit from me. The Spirit is present 
but in terms of equipping the church for the work of global 
expansion. Let's just use that language. 
They would need the presence and the power of the Spirit as 
Jesus intimates in the upper room. I'll pray to the Father 
to give you another comforter. That's not just at the individual, 
boy, I need benefit level. It's at the church level as well, 
so that the church in a hostile world can go to the uttermost 
parts of the earth, empowered by the Spirit, to preach the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So yes, the Spirit is present 
in the Old Testament, the Spirit is present in the New Testament, 
So the giving up the Spirit on the day of Pentecost or in the 
Samaritan Pentecost or the Gentile Pentecost isn't, wow, we've got 
this new sort of resource, but it's the degree in which the 
Spirit is given and the purpose for which the Spirit is given. 
To go in this missionary endeavor and to make disciples in Jerusalem, 
Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. All right.