(Outline of a sermon preached in the Central Baptist Church, Sydney in the late 1960s - by Rev Rowland Croucher)

"The story of the Bible is the story of Spirit-filled men and women"

1 OLD TESTAMENT

"For the OT writers the Spirit of God denotes God in His activity in the world" (JAF Gregg). The Spirit is the agent of God in creation (Gen 1:2, Ps 104:30) and re-creation (Is 32:14, 15; I Sam 10:6). Great leaders were possessed by the Spirit e.g. Joseph (Gen 41:38), Joshua (Nu 27:18), Othniel (Jg 3:10), Gideon (Jg 6:34), Saul (I Sam 11:6), David (I Sam 16:13). The Suffering Servant in Isaiah's Visions will have God's Spirit upon Him (42:1). The Spirit gives the gift of prophecy (Nu 24:2, I Sam 10:10, 2 Sam 23:2; Is 48:16), and gives strength to do extraordinary and unusual feats (e,g, Samson - Jg 13:25, 14:16,19; 15:14). The Spirit stands for the universal presence of God (Ps 139:7), and yet He dwells ina special way in His people Israel (Is 63:11-14; Hg 2:4,5). The Messianic Age to come will feature a special outpouring of the Spirit (Is 11:2; 44:3, Ek 39:29; Jl 2:28). A special function fo the Spirit is His gift of practical craftsmanship (Ex 31:1-5).

2 THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS

In the first 3 gospels references to the Spirit are comparatively meagre. Before the birth of Jesus, the Spirit came upon Zacharias (Lk 1:67), Elizabeth (Lk 1:41) and Simeon (Lk 2:25) and in a unique way upon Mary (Lk 1:35; Mt 1:18,20). At His baptism, the Spirit came upon Jesus in fullness and power (Mt 3:16,; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22, Jn 1:32,33). Jesus was full of the Spirit (Lk 4:1), led by the Spirit (Mt 4:1) empowered by the Spirit (Mt 12:28). For the followers of Jesus, they are promised baptism with the Spirit (Mt 3:11; Mk 1:8; Lk 3:26; Jn 1:33) the essence of all God's good gifts (Lk 11:13; Mt 7:11), who will help in times of need (Mt 10:20; Mk 13:11; Lk 12:12). Whatever "sinning against the Holy Spirit" might mean, we can say two things about it:

a) Because this sin is unforgivable, it is the most terrible of all sins (i.e. unrepentant rejection of the message of God conveyed by the Spirit.

b) Therefore the person who cannot possibly have committed this sin is the one who fears he has (Mk 3:28-29; Mt 12:31-32; Lk 12:8-10).

3 THE FOURTH GOSPEL

Here is the high-water mark of NT teaching about the Holy Spirit. Jesus promises living water to quench the thirst of the soul (7:37-39), especially after His glorification and ascension, when the Spirit will come in all His fullness and power. John uses the distinctive title "Paraclete" (14:16-26; 15:26; 16:7) I.e. the Spirit will come as helper, comforter, counsellor, teacher, strengthener and friend of the Christian, especially when in need. The Spirit will come as a gift, not an achievement (14:15), and will come perpetually and continually to the church (14:16, 18). Only the believer can possess the Spirit (14:16, 17), who teaches him the truth (14:26)

especially about Christ (16:13, 14). To His disciples, Jesus promises the Spirit to bring His words to their memories (14:26), and help them predict the future (16:13). Finally the Spirit will have a witnessing, "convincing" and convicting work (15:26,

16:8-11).

4 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

The title could equally well read "The Acts of the Holy Spirit". First, the disciples were told to wait (1:4) for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit who would give them the necessary power for their task of evangelising the world (1:8). Pentecost marked a new "age of the Spirit" (cf.John 7:39). Luke finds it difficult to describe what happened then (2:2,3), but it gave the disciples new courage to preach their new-found message (Acts 2), with its new insights into Scripture. In addition they were given the gift of "tongues" (2:4). Acts acknowledges both David and Isaiah spoke in the Spirit (1:16; 4:25 & 28:25), and all its great figures are men of the Spirit - Peter (4:8), Sephen (6:5), Paul (9:17; 13:8), Barnabas (11:24). The Spirit also guided groups of Christians - the prophets and teachers of Antioch (13:2,4) the Council of Jerusalem (15:28-29) i.e. the Spirit guided in every step to take the good news to the Gentiles, rather than retaining it within Judaism.

In particular, the Spirit guided and directed the life and activity of Paul (e.g. 16:6-7; 19:21; 20:22-23; 21:4). As Acts sees it, the mark of a Church is the presence of the Spirit (9:31; 13:52; 10:45; 15:8) who appoints church officers (20:28). The Holy Spirit's activity is connected with prayer (4:31,; 8:15) preaching (10:44; 11:15) fasting (13:2), baptism (10:45; 19:5-6) and the laying on of hands (8:15-18; 19:17). Because the Spirit is the power behind all effective Christian activity, it is very important that His presence be acknowledged (see 19:15), not resisted (7:51) nor that He be tested by deceit (5:3,9).

5 THE LETTERS OF PAUL

To Paul, the Holy Spirit is essentially the gift of God (Ep 1:17; 1Th 4:8; Ro 5:5), coming to every Christian through Jesus Christ (Ga 4:6; Ph 1:19; Ep 3:16) as the guarantee of God's promise of eternal life (2 Co 1:22; 5:15; Ep 1:14; Ep 4:30). Through the Holy Spirit God's love is poured into our hearts (Ro 8:14-16). A Christian is sanctified ("made more like Jesus") by the Holy Spirit (1 Co 6:11; 2Cor 3:18; 2 Th 2:13), making him more sensitive about good living (Ro 9:1) and more sure of his salvation (Ro 8:16; Gal 4:6). Righteousness comes through the Spirit (Ro 14:17), so does peace (Ro`4:17), joy (Ro 14:17), hope (Ro 15:13; Ga 5:5), love (Ro 15:30, Cl 1:8), liberty (2 Co 3:17) and strength (Ep 3:16). The Christian lives in the Spirit (Ga 5:25), and the Spirit dwells in the Christian: as he is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Christian ought to be filled with the Spirit (1 Co 6:19; Ep 5:18), led by the Spirit and walking in the Spirit (Ga 5:16, 18, 25) and standing fast in the Holy Spirit (Ph 1:27). However, the Christian can grieve the Holy Spirit (Ep 4:30) and quench the Holy Spirit (1 Th 5:19). Not only does a Christian confess Jesus as Lord by the Spirit (1 Co 12:3), but the Spirit continues to operate within the church, giving gifts to all members of it (1 Cor 12:8-11) creating unity within it (1 Co 12:4), guiding its decisions (1 Co 7:40), encouraging true worship (Ph 3:3), and prayer (Ro 8:26-27). Finally, Paul contrasts the operations of Spirit and flesh (Ro 8:1, 4, 9, 13; Ga 3:2, 5:17, 6:8), and the Spirit and the letter of the law (Ro 2:29, 1 Co 3:6; Ga 3:2).

6 THE REMAINDER OF THE NT

The Holy Spirit is often mentioned in the NT as the inspirer of OT Scriptures (I Tim 4:1; He 3:7; 9:8; 10:15; 1 Pe 1:11; 2 Pe 1:21). He is God 's agent in regeneration (Ts3:5) and in sanctification (1 Pe 1:2). He is called the Spirit of grace (he 10:29) and truth (1 Jn 5:6). The Spirit enables Christians to bear persecution and trial nobly and gallantly (I Pe 4:14), as He also enables them to confess Jesus as God (1 Jn 4:2), and indeed, convey the good news to them through preaching (1 Pe 1:12). In Jude we are encouraged to "pray in the Holy Spirit" (v 20). In the Revelation the Spirit gives John visions (1:10 etc), brings messages to the seven churches (2:7 etc), guarantees God's promises to the faithful (14:13), and bears the final invitation from God: "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come" (22:17).

Finally, there are three passages (1 Tim 3:16; Ro 1:4; 1 Pe 3:18) which could either refer to Spirit (capital S) or spirit (small s). If they refer to the Holy Spirit, they refer to His supreme and highest function: He was God's agent in the Resurrection of God's Son.

(I am indebted to William Barclay for many of these insights).