Today I shared with the women’s Bible Study about the Holy Spirit. Here is some of what we studied. For 2,000 years Christians have been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. This is in obedience to Christ’s command to His disciples in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The Lord’s teaching about the Holy Spirit is in the context of the Church’s mission to make disciples. His teaching begins in Matthew 1:20 with the Angel’s words to Joseph, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirt.” Here the Spirit helps Joseph to trust in this child’s mission to save his people from their sins. Because of the Spirit, Joseph is not afraid and can obey the Lord about this matter.
It is that same Spirit that helped Joseph not to fear into whom all believers are baptized. Joseph lived in a world full of fear, violence, and evil. We see this in Herod’s murder of the children and the crowd’s wild enthusiasm for the torture and murder of Jesus. We need the Spirit to remind us that Jesus was born into this world, but he is different from this world. We need the Spirit to make our hearts unafraid and ready to serve the one who saved his people from their sins.
Matthew’s teaching about the Holy Spirit continues in the ministry of John the Baptist. The God of Israel sends one last prophet in the tradition of Elijah and Jeremiah to proclaim a message of turning towards God. Two times we are told John’s message was to “Repent!” However, Matthew paints a picture of humanity that would make true repentance seem impossible. The key that unlocks this problem is the ministry of Holy Spirit. John proclaims that when the messiah comes, He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
It is this Spirit from Jesus Christ into whom disciples are said to be baptized in Matthew 28:19. The Spirit inspires and enables repentance towards God. Disciples are not struggling to repent in order to be baptized by Jesus Christ with the Spirit. They have been baptized by Jesus Christ with the Spirit in order to now repent lifelong. Instead of feeling stuck in our past the Holy Spirit enables us to feel free to turn away from the “old me” to Jesus Christ to whom we have a new allegiance. As a pastor once said about disciples of Jesus Christ: “They are not struggling to be free from sin. Rather, they are free to now struggle against it.”
Next Matthew turns toward beholding Jesus Christ in the ministry of the Holy Spirt in Matthew 3:16-17 “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” Here the ministry of Spirit helps us behold Jesus who identified as a sinner in order to take our place on the cross. Scripture constantly teaches that the Holy Spirit comes to draw attention not to himself, but to Jesus Christ savior of sinners.
As exciting as it must have been to see the heavens ripped open and the Spirit descending like a dove, and hear the Father’s voice from heaven, believers now can behold God’s glory anytime we like through his written word. The Spirit and the Word are a good marriage. In Ephesians 6 we are told that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. As we study and meditate on Scripture, by faith the Spirit enables believers to behold Jesus Christ and all His glory. The privileges believers have in having the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit spoken over them are amazing. Let’s rejoice today because of the ministry of God the Spirit.