WEBVTT 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:19.120 You can open your Bibles to the book of Second Corinthians chapter three again, the same place we did our scripture reading earlier tonight. 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:47.759 When the scripture refers to people as being spirit-filled, I want you to understand that when the Bible describes someone as spirit-filled, what that means is that they are being transformed into the image of Christ. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:56.240 That the Holy Spirit, when he fills an individual, he does that to make them more like Christ. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:02.560 And that you can't be conformed into the image of Christ apart from the Holy Spirit. 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:08.879 And no one who is filled with the Holy Spirit will fail to be transformed into the image of Christ. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:17.280 I have often lamented how much the charismatic movement has messed up our understanding of the Holy Spirit. 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:24.480 The third person of the Trinity is often the neglected person of the Trinity, at least in the sense of a right understanding of Him. 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:40.079 Because so much of our kind of Western Christian world views being spirit-filled as the miraculous gifts, you know, tongues and prophecy or uh even internal feelings, like I felt the spirit lead me to this, or I felt the spirit lead me to that. 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:52.000 But when the Bible speaks of being spirit-filled, what the language the scripture uses about being spirit-filled is the Spirit indwelling in somebody to conform them into the image of Christ. 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:59.359 And there's so many different ways the Holy Spirit does that, but I want to drill down on one in particular in 2 Corinthians 3. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:01.280 And this is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:06.239 I know I say that about any chapter I'm preaching, but I really do mean it with this one. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:13.759 We read the whole chapter earlier in our scripture reading, but I want you to look just at the last two verses, verses 17 and 18. 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:17.039 The Lord is the Spirit. 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:45.840 And there has to be some kind of just basic understanding here that the Holy Spirit, when you come to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit regenerates you. 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:47.599 This is what Jesus talks about in John 3. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:54.960 The Holy Spirit is the one who brings salvation, he brings faith, he brings you to spiritual life, he opens your eyes to see. 00:02:55.199 --> 00:03:06.080 And when that happens, God not just regenerates you, but in the New Covenant, in the New Testament, in the church, when God saves a person, he abides with him through the Holy Spirit. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.000 The Holy Spirit dwells in that person. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:13.039 And what that means, when you say the Holy Spirit dwells in you, the Holy Spirit, of course, is spirit, not flesh. 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:14.879 He doesn't occupy space. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:20.000 So how does somebody who is spiritual and doesn't occupy space dwell in you? 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:24.240 I mean, he doesn't take up residence in like the left upper artery of your heart or anything. 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:28.080 What that means is that he operates with you spiritually. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:53.759 You know, you're a human being, you have flesh, but you have a soul, and your soul, in a sense, is the real you, and that your soul is where you're encountering spiritual truth, and the Holy Spirit is operating with you, intersects with Jesse Johnson in my soul as he takes the scripture and unites it to my soul and causes me spiritually to understand the Bible spiritually and be transformed more and more into the image of Christ. 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:55.280 That's happening at a spiritual level. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:04:02.560 Outwardly, I don't get conformed into the image of Christ as far as my physical appearance, but inwardly it happens. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:07.120 So that's the level which the Spirit fills your life. 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:16.959 He doesn't reside inside your corporal body, the Spirit resides in your soul as he gives you life and transforms you. 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:19.040 I mean, there's all kinds of passages about this you could turn to. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:22.560 James 1, verse 21, a very common awana verse. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:24.319 Your kids probably all know it. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:33.680 Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:36.000 So just think of the language James uses there. 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:40.000 You're supposed to receive the word that's implanted in you. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.519 That's not normally how reception or or implanting works. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:46.879 You don't tell the ground to receive the plant that you put in it. 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:48.959 But that's the language here. 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:49.839 It's an imperative. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:54.399 God is putting the seed in your soul, and you are receiving it. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:58.319 And I think the key word of James is describing this is you're receiving it with meekness. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:04.399 So the Lord puts the word, implants the word in your heart, and you are supposed to be meek as you receive it. 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:15.279 So you go low, recognizing that the authority in your life is the word of God, because it's the word of God that's been implanted in you that is able to save your souls. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:20.800 Now, this is a foundational distinction between the old covenant and the new covenant. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:22.639 And that's what 2 Corinthians 3 is all about. 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:32.079 2 Corinthians 3 is about just how much better it is to be a Christian in the church than it would to be a follower of God in the Old Testament. 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:35.439 And it's hard to rank the different dispensations, you know, one better than the other. 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:39.120 You know, if you would have been alive before Noah, you get to live a really long life. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:39.920 That'd be cool. 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:43.920 But also everybody's murdering each other, so it's not a guarantee, you know? 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:52.000 You know, if you lived in the Old Covenant era and you were an Israelite, you have the temple and the priesthood and all of that, and there's some cool things that I guess would go along with that. 00:05:52.160 --> 00:06:00.800 But in the church, what you have here in the church is the Holy Spirit who dwells in your heart and conforms you into the image of Christ. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:04.879 This just did not happen in the old covenant. 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:06.800 This is a new covenant reality. 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:09.199 I mean, just look at chapter 3, verse 6. 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:19.279 That God, through Christ, has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:21.680 The letter kills, but the spirit gives life. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:31.439 So Paul here is contrasting himself as an apostle, the apostle of the Gentiles, over and against what it would have been like to be a minister in the old covenant era. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:40.240 Paul refers to the old covenant in a way that probably wouldn't make us comfortable, but he refers to the old covenant as the letter that kills. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:45.920 Yeah, the Torah is glorious, but it also killed everyone that tried to keep it. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.199 I mean, that's what the law did. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:49.040 The law brought with it death. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:55.680 That doesn't mean the law itself was sinful, of course not, may it never be, but the law showed the people's inadequacy, it showed their sin. 00:06:55.839 --> 00:07:01.519 And so Paul here is rejoicing that he is sufficient to be a minister of the new covenant. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.920 The Spirit in the new covenant gives life, the letter it kills, the letter here being a contrast to the old covenant. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:15.519 We know that because the next paragraph, the old covenant was written on stone, but in the new covenant, it's written on human hearts. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:17.360 And that's just that's it right there. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:20.639 In the old covenant, Moses brought the law down from the mountain. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:21.839 It was written on stone. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.879 Remember, the Israelites broke it, literally broke it. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.199 Moses had to write it again. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:29.839 That's the old covenant. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:35.519 The new covenant, God bypasses that and writes it on human hearts. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:39.120 This is why the New Testament is described as the law of Christ. 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:43.279 It's put inside of us, written not in stone, but written in hearts. 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:47.279 Now, what 2 Corinthians 3 is doing is Paul is basically arguing with the Corinthians. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:55.360 They are, in a sense, over him and are accusing him of being in it for the money and all sorts of things and being a false prophet and a false apostle and all this. 00:07:55.519 --> 00:08:01.040 And so Paul sarcastically asks at the beginning of the chapter, do you guys need a letter of recommendation from me? 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.439 Or do I need a letter of recommendation from you? 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:04.959 Like, how would this even work? 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:07.040 Who's recommending who here? 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:09.279 And I think he's being facetious there. 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:17.120 He's not really asking for a letter of recommendation, nor is he really offering one, because the next verse he says, You are my letter of recommendation. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:20.000 It is written on your hearts. 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:21.600 You can't forge that. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:24.720 You say when you write a letter of recommendation, it's uploaded in a portal or whatever. 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:25.600 Not here. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.240 It's in the human heart. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:29.839 It's the Spirit of the Living God. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:31.439 That's the glory of the new covenant. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.600 And it's so much better than the glory of the old covenant. 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:40.480 Remember in the old covenant, Moses comes down from the mountain and he veils his face because the glory is fading in him. 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:46.960 The distance between him and Mount Sinai, it diminishes his glory, and so he veils his face. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:51.600 But in the new covenant, that glory is internal. 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:53.279 So our glory increases. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:55.039 I mean, this is the difference in the old and new covenant. 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.039 In the old covenant, the glory decreased. 00:08:57.200 --> 00:08:59.919 Moses came down from the mountain and kept going down. 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.600 In the new covenant, you come to faith in Christ, and that's your starting block. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:12.480 You're only being transformed more and more gloriously the rest of your life. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:17.039 That's the incredible thing. 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:19.600 You know, I I often liken this to athletics. 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:21.840 In athletics, there's a curve, you know? 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:27.039 You the more you practice and the more you train, the better you get, and the better you get, and the better you get. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.519 And then you hit a certain age, and then training and practice doesn't help anymore. 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:33.360 Now it's only going down. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:41.519 The old covenant, Moses started up there at his peak, and in a sense, only went down. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:50.639 In the new covenant, we're starting at the bottom, and we're only growing in glory all the way until heaven will never peak. 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:51.519 That's the crazy thing. 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:53.039 With godliness, you never peak. 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:56.320 You keep getting transformed more and more throughout your life. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:02.879 Now, why the big difference in the old covenant and the New Testament, and there's a hundred reasons that often many of them are described in the book of Romans. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:06.960 Uh, but I just want to drill on one here that Paul focuses in. 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:10.000 You can jump down to verse 12 of chapter 3. 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:16.240 We have this hope, we're bold, not like Moses, who had his face veiled because of the his glory fading. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.879 But look at uh verse 14, their minds were hardened. 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:23.919 When they have the old covenant written, there's a veil over their hearts. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:24.480 Why? 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:29.600 Because in the New Testament, verse 16, when one turns to the Lord, the Spirit is removed. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:31.600 Verse 17, the Lord is the Spirit. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:38.639 So the difference here, this hope is hinged on the reality of the Holy Spirit who dwells in people's hearts who believe in Christ. 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:41.919 So this comes back to the Holy Spirit. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:46.480 So a lot of people ask questions about how the Lord and the Spirit relate to one another in verse 17. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:47.279 The Lord is the Spirit. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:48.799 I thought the Lord was Jesus Christ. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:53.279 God at reference here is the God of Christ, God is the Lord, God is Spirit. 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:55.120 I mean, all this is happening in chapter 3. 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:57.120 First Corinthians is happening as well. 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:01.519 Who knows the mind of God except the Spirit who searches out the mind of God? 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:04.159 Um, so we need kind of a Trinitarian lesson. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:17.120 So if you'll indulge me for a few minutes, you understand that the Trinity is three persons, that all three persons have the same essence, the same attributes, it's the same being. 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:27.840 God is really one person, the Father, who communicates all of his fullness to the second person, the Son, and the Father and the Son communicate all of their fullness to the third person, the Holy Spirit. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:30.960 That's why the Trinity is called Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:33.200 There's an order to it, and I'm gonna give you a crash course. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:34.320 Here's your vocab word. 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:37.679 Your only vocab word tonight is taxis. 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:40.159 That's the one vocab word you need to get tonight. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:43.120 And we're I'm gonna drive it home throughout the rest of the evening. 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:46.399 It's important to Paul's argument in 2 Corinthians 3. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:48.320 Taxis is just the word for order. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:50.720 It means there's a structure or an order to something. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:53.840 The three persons of the Trinity are not arbitrary. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:58.480 The three persons of the Trinity are one, two, three, first, second, third. 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:02.639 Not A D zebra, but one, two, three. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:08.159 There's an order to them that is precise and an order to them that is intentional. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:13.919 Taxis is a Latin word, it's not a biblical word, but the concept is, I think, very biblical. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:16.559 Taxis means order, one, two, three. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:19.039 And this is how the Trinity is presented in the Bible. 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:20.399 The Father is always the first. 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:29.679 When you see the three persons of the Trinity presented in the scripture, it's always Father, Son, Spirit, and He's called the Father because He generates the Son, He gives life to the Son. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:32.240 The Son is the image of the Father. 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:38.879 Jesus says this that nobody has life and of themselves except the Father, and the Father has granted it to the Son to have. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:43.120 You recognize that with the three persons of the Trinity, there's never a starting point for any of them. 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:44.399 This is all eternal. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:47.039 They always exist for all points in time. 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:51.039 The Father is the Father by nature, and so he's always had a son. 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:54.240 If there was ever a time when the father didn't have a son, then he wouldn't be a father. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:55.519 I think you all understand this. 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:56.879 I've hit on this enough. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:59.279 I can see some of you smiling already. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.399 But there's an order to it: Father, Son, Spirit, and the Father gives all of himself to the Son. 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:08.399 The Father and the Son together give all of themselves to the Holy Spirit. 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:11.360 So every part of God is in the Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:13.919 The only distinction between the three is the order. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.679 The Father is the first, he's the one who gives himself. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:19.519 The Son is the second. 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:22.159 That's the only distinction between them. 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:31.279 I've often given the analogy of the Delta Airlines article I read many years ago about identical twins, and it was a uh airline flight magazine. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:38.159 Do you remember flight magazines and airlines back when they were allowed to have those in the pre-COVID world and in the before, in the before era? 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:44.799 And this one article asked, How do you it was different parents who had identical twins, and when they were little kids, how did they tell the twins apart? 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:48.000 And there are all kinds of little anecdotes in there. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:53.279 My favorite was a parent who in all the pictures had one kid on the right and the other on the left. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:59.519 But then they realized as they were developing the film that a lot of the pictures were flipped, and so the whole plot was ruins. 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:04.480 There were some parents that dressed one in red all the time, one in green. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:08.639 There's uh a set of identical twins at uh IBC right now. 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:13.919 They're in middle school, and they do a shoelace trick where you know one has one color shoelace, and the other is the other color shoelace. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.919 If you know what I'm talking about, you'll see it now. 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:19.039 Uh I think it's just for their parents to tell. 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:29.759 There was one set that wrote in a Sharpie marker on their heel when they were born, and they kept updating it throughout, you know, because when they're little tiny, you can't tell. 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:32.240 And they kept updating the Sharpie marker. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:41.519 When you're looking at the Father, Son, and Spirit, how are you able to tell who is whom? 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:43.200 Which is which? 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:47.840 Because they are identical in every single way. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:54.080 The only distinction between them is one, two, three. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:55.600 First, second, third. 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:56.480 That's the order. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:01.840 The Son is not the Father, the Son is not the Spirit, the Son is not first, the Father is first. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:03.600 Apart from that, they are identical. 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:07.039 Let me give you the way Scripture describes this in other places. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:11.519 The Father is referred to as the source, which makes sense if he's first. 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:15.440 The Son is referred to as the image, he's the image of the invisible God. 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:19.440 Hebrews 1, the radiance of the divine glory. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:23.840 And the Holy Spirit is often referred to as the affection, then. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:27.279 The Father is the source, the Son is the image, the Spirit is love. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:28.799 And you understand how this would work. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:33.919 The Father has an image of himself, that image is not himself, but it's identical to him in every way, shape, and form. 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:41.200 If you have an image of yourself, your image is not like you because you are arrogant, and your image of you is way better than you are in real life. 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:46.240 But the Father, his image of himself is identical to him in every way, shape, and form. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:53.200 And he sees his image, and his image is animated, his image has life because the father has life. 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:56.080 His image is distinct from the father, but identical to the father. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:57.519 That's the Son. 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:00.559 And the Father has love towards his own image. 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.600 The Father loves himself, he sees his son, and he loves the Son. 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:07.279 The Son sees his father and loves the Father, and that is the Spirit. 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:12.480 That love is the entirety of the Godhead is poured out, and that love is the Spirit. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:15.679 So the Spirit is often referred to with affectional language. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:18.000 And you can see how there is an order to these. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:20.399 They all exist simultaneously and in all eternity. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:23.600 But you can see when you think about it for a second, how there is an order. 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:26.240 Source, image, affection. 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:29.759 Or another example, life, light, and love. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.039 God is life, Jesus says. 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.799 The Father grants the Son to have life in him. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:40.879 This is the eternally generated Son, has life granted to him. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:44.159 And the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:46.960 He puts the love of God in your heart. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:52.960 Now, as you look at this, you recognize right away, all three persons of God are all of those things, right? 00:16:53.120 --> 00:17:00.159 The Son is life, the Spirit is life, the Father is light, the Father is love, of course. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:02.320 All three of them are all three of these things. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:09.440 And yet, when you think about them in this order, there is a particularity to the order: life, light, and love. 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:12.160 And this is why the Holy Spirit is often associated with love. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:16.160 Not because he alone is love and the Son is not love or the Father is not love. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:18.960 Because He's the Spirit. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:22.559 The love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father abides in him. 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:30.319 Love is in, of course, all three persons of the Trinity, but in a sense, it's rightly designated to the Spirit. 00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:35.359 This is why he's, by the way, the Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of love repeatedly in the New Testament. 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:38.799 Romans 5.5, Romans 15 30, Galatians 5.22. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:46.160 In 2 Corinthians in chapter 13, verse 14, 2 Timothy 1, verse 7, repeatedly the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Love. 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:49.599 Again, it doesn't mean the Father doesn't have love or the Son doesn't have love. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:54.319 It's just when you think about it, the Father has life and gives life to the Son. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:59.119 The Father is the source, and the Son is the light that's coming out of him. 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:00.000 He is the image. 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:02.960 And as they love each other, that is the Spirit. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:07.519 I'll give you a couple more of these because this is going to be important when we get back to 2 Corinthians 3. 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:09.519 The planner, the Redeemer, the Applier. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:10.880 We went through Ephesians 1. 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:13.119 This is a big point in Ephesians 1. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:17.039 The Father plans salvation. 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:19.359 The Son is the Redeemer. 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:24.799 The Holy Spirit is the one who applies salvation to the elect. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.279 Now, obviously, all three persons of God plan salvation. 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:33.599 Only the Son is the redeemer because he alone has the human nature. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:36.720 And the Father and Son send the Spirit to apply. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:42.319 So, in a sense, all this is true of all three persons, but the way it's described in Ephesians 1, there is this order to it. 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:48.079 God predestines you, Jesus dies for you, the Holy Spirit changes your heart to believe in that. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:49.359 You want to update this? 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:50.880 Here's an updated way to say it. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:57.519 The Father has the cash, the Son is the cash, and the Spirit handles the transaction. 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:01.759 The Father possesses what it costs to redeem you. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:03.920 The Son is that possession. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.880 And the Holy Spirit is the one who enacts the transaction. 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.359 I didn't put that one on the slide because, you know. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:11.119 But I like it that way. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:13.839 A creator, Christ, and church. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:17.039 And now you're starting to see a chronology to this. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:19.279 The Father creates the universe. 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:25.119 Now, of course, if you want to talk just about creation, the Father creates the universe through the Son and to the Holy Spirit. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.359 The Holy Spirit is hovering on the waters of creation. 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:33.839 So all three are present at creation, but the works of creation are normally attributed to the Father in the Bible. 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:40.000 Of course, he creates through the Son, of course, and the Spirit is involved, of course, but it's normally attributed to the Father. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:44.160 After creation, in the middle of the Bible, is Christ. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:45.599 He is the Savior. 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:47.920 The Son is sent from heaven. 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:50.319 The middle of the Bible hinges on Christ. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:51.359 He comes. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:53.920 Of course, he's sent by the Father, and of course the Spirit aids him. 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:59.279 Of course, all three persons are involved in his life and in ministry, and yet he's the Messiah. 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:02.000 The scripture points forward to him and then backwards it looks at him. 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:03.440 He's the centerpiece. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.319 But now, thirdly, is the church. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:08.240 And the church belongs to the Spirit. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:13.519 Jesus is the Lord of the church, and the church worships God our Father, but the church is spiritual. 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:19.839 Every person who is part of the church, every member of the church, so to speak, has the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of him. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:22.160 It is the Spirit that builds the church together. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:23.119 He gives gifts. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.039 This did not happen in the Old Testament. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:28.960 When the Old Testament looked forward to spiritual gifts, it was always looking forward. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:35.359 The Savior will descend to the grave and ascend to heaven on his way, giving gifts to men. 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:38.000 It's Psalm 68 repeated in Ephesians 4. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:40.319 This is the way the Bible speaks of spiritual gifts. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:44.240 They are something that is given to the church to serve one another. 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:48.880 We are the temple, which is a spiritual building built together by the Holy Spirit. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:57.920 Every individual that comes to faith in Christ does so through the Holy Spirit, and we are built into this building brick by brick, soul by soul. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:02.720 So you see the chronological order, even first, second, third. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:04.480 It's not just, that's the taxis. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:10.240 It's not just speaking of God Himself, Father, Son, and Spirit, but the way you experience that in time. 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:13.920 Creation, Christ, the church. 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:21.200 And third, and this will be our last one here, this is the transition back to 2 Corinthians 3, is speaker, word, and sealer. 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:22.559 The Father speaks. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.519 Of course, he's the source, he's the illuminator, he speaks. 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:32.240 The Son is the word, he is the Lagos, He's the content of the Father's speech. 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:34.160 I mean, you just think about that. 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:35.680 That's the entirety of God, isn't it? 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:37.279 When God speaks, he speaks all of himself. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:39.920 He's light, he's constantly revealing himself. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:42.720 The Son is the word, it's the full content of it. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:49.279 And the Holy Spirit is the one who comes and seals that word in your heart. 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:58.400 It's amazing, the Father by nature is a revealer. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:02.720 The really the essence of the Trinity. 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:04.240 The Father reveals himself. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:12.799 We don't have a religion, we have a religion of mystery to use the New Testament word of mystery, but in the Bible, the word mystery is it's something that's revealed. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.720 We don't have a religion of mystery where God is keeping things back from us. 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:18.799 If anything, Christianity is the opposite problem. 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.279 God reveals too much for us to understand. 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:27.039 So different than the religions of the world where you just don't know. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:28.319 You don't know if God hears. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:29.359 You don't know what he wants. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.759 You don't know what sacrifice he requires. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:33.680 You just don't know. 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.079 You never know. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:38.319 But not in Christianity. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:41.440 God reveals everything of himself. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.880 Our minds can't take it all in, but it's not because God doesn't share it. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:47.119 And then the word. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:48.559 Jesus is the word. 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:51.920 The word of God is power because the word of God is God Himself. 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:52.960 So it has power. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:54.559 God says something and it exists. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:58.720 This is why creation in Genesis 1, God is speaking it and it exists. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:01.039 God's word never returns void. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.039 There are no falling words, as Samuel says. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:04.720 Everything God says comes to pass. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:06.160 That is so unlike our words. 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:08.960 Our words are made up of intentions in our heart. 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:12.079 Well, intentions in our heart that come from our mind. 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:17.279 And then there it's a vocal sound, like our vocal cords wave together and an audio sound comes out. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:18.640 That's our words. 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:21.440 You know, if you really mean it, you might yell it. 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:23.759 But what happens to the word? 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:28.960 Yeah, I mean, in here it might bounce off the wall for a second, but we put sound panels in to kind of mute it a bit. 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:30.400 And the word goes out. 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:34.720 You say something, and sometimes you'll say something embarrassing and you hope nobody remembers it. 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:37.759 You say something mean and they remember it too long. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:39.440 You say something wrong. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:43.359 Our words are just they're nothing. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:47.279 You know, they're sound and fury signifying nothing, right? 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:48.160 That's our words. 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:50.559 They bounce off the wall and they dissipate. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.319 The truth in our words is the heart that it comes from. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:55.680 That's it. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:58.880 Our words don't do anything. 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:04.079 What a contrast with God's words, which accomplishes everything, because Jesus is the word. 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:06.240 And then finally, the sealer. 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:09.680 The Holy Spirit seals the words into our heart. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:18.480 Notice that the Spirit, in this, what's on the screen, He is the one that's operating in spirit. 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:23.359 When you look at across the line here, notice that all of the top row, planner, creator, speaker. 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:24.960 In the previous slide, it would be the same thing. 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:27.119 The top row is all originating words. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.519 The middle row is all redemption words. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:35.039 The middle row is all what is being accomplished in this world, that God is actually redeeming sinners. 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:37.200 And the same is true in the previous slide as well. 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:40.400 And the third word, the third line is all spiritual words. 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:43.440 The Holy Spirit, it's not an arbitrary name for him. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:47.519 It's not, you know, it's not like he father, son, and what's the third one called? 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:48.240 Oh, I don't know. 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:49.119 Just to make something up. 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:53.839 No, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Holy Spirit because he's doing spiritual things. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:25:11.119 All three persons of God are spirit, but the Holy Spirit is doing spiritual things, working in our heart, applying salvation to our souls, building the church, which is a spiritual entity, sealing the gospel in our hearts. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:15.279 The Holy Spirit anoints people for ministry. 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:17.920 The Holy Spirit resurrects Jesus Christ from the grave. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.440 It's the power of the Spirit that resurrects him, that unites his soul to his body. 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:23.680 The Holy Spirit fills us spiritually. 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:26.400 The Holy Spirit, I'm just rattling through the New Testament list. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:29.279 The Holy Spirit comforts us, convicts us. 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:36.480 If the Son is primarily the Savior, the Spirit is primarily spiritual. 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:40.240 Now, all these things show life between two parties. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:42.240 The word doesn't have existence by himself, right? 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:43.519 The word needs a speaker. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:45.839 The word has to have an effect. 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:48.000 The sealer, he's got to have something to seal. 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:49.839 He's sealing the sun to us. 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:52.720 The speaker has to have an audience, the son. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:58.160 So notice that even in this at that basic level, all three of these people require each other. 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:00.400 The Trinity is not optional. 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:04.319 It's a required doctrine to understand how God operates. 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:07.599 But the Spirit is spiritual. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:12.799 This is why Jesus in John 16 says, I tell you the truth, it's better for you if I go away. 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:14.160 And we often stumble on that. 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:16.480 We think, how much better would it be if Jesus were here? 00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:18.240 He could solve all our problems. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:22.480 We could just ask him, What would you do, Jesus? 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:23.920 What's the right answer? 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:30.880 But Jesus says, No, it's actually better if you go away, because if we have to ask Jesus to solve our problems, we're asking somebody outside of us. 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:35.039 But if Jesus goes away, he sends us his spirit which dwells inside of us. 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:37.839 That's the difference, and that's why it's better. 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:41.039 So John 16, Jesus says, I'm going to send you the Spirit. 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:47.519 When he comes, he'll convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, concerning sin because they don't believe in me. 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:49.680 So see how the stealer is pointing back to the word? 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:53.119 The spirit will convict people for not believing in Christ. 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:58.480 And concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, you'll see me no longer. 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:01.599 And concerning judgment, he's the ruler of this world. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:04.480 So see how all three persons are pointing back to each other. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:08.079 The Spirit convicts us about Christ, and Christ says the Father is the judge. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:09.119 So look out. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:15.119 In a positive sense, the Spirit saves you by drawing you to eternal life. 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:18.079 So now, back to 2 Corinthians chapter 3 here. 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:25.680 Paul is arguing at the end of chapter 3, the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:32.880 What he's saying is the Holy Spirit brings this trinitary knowledge in a better way than the Old Testament has, and in a way that actually sanctifies you. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:36.400 It's different and it's superior than with what Moses had. 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:42.559 The Holy Spirit brings a letter written on our hearts in verses 1 through 3, which is better than the letter written on stone. 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:46.640