Go ahead, say it..."Another Sproul book?!?!" Sorry, I promise that there are no more in my current 'to read' stack. Clearly what Mr. Sproul has to say is what I need to hear in 2011. I'm thinking that 2012 might be a bit Bonhoeffer heavy so prepare yourself for that onslaught. I finally finished "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" by Eric Metaxas and it was well worth the effort. The man is beyond this 'realm'. Seriously, that's all I can say except that I will be diving into his writings with an excited heart and mind because whatever he had to say, I want to hear it. But I digress....
I'm always looking for advice on how to be more 'Spirit-filled' as I feel that's a major key to me decreasing as He increases (John 3:30). And that's not a charismatic, barking-in-the-spirit filling but rather, having a clearer sense of hearing God speak into my life and knowing without a doubt that it is Him and not me. Some of the chapters in this book are very heavy on the philosophy end of things and I won't even attempt to tease that stuff out here. But the latter chapters are full of wonderful insights about the Holy Spirit and made me glad I had taken the time to wade through the stickier stuff.
In the first chapter, "Who is the Holy Spirit?", it is obviously the place to lay the foundational information about what/who we are about to study. "In our fallen human state we lack the ability to receive the things of God...A person cannot discern spiritual things until that person is first made alive to spiritual things by the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit's work of regeneration, of spiritual rebirth, that enables us to have spiritual discernment" (p. 14). I was glad to know that I was on the right path in terms of what I wanted to learn from the book. Mr. Sproul goes into some explanations and examples of the Holy Spirit being referred to with personal pronouns and how, from this, we should declare that the Holy Spirit is a person. "The New Testament exhorts us not to sin against the Holy Spirit, not to resist the Holy Spirit, and not to grieve the Holy Spirit. He is set forth as a person whom we may either please or offend, who can love and be loved, and with whom we can have personal fellowship" (p. 16).
Chapter 2, "The Holy Spirit is God", explains in depth the controversy that has been in the church for centuries regarding the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It's well worth the read to see how Scripture supports them both in the affirmative. In terms of the Holy Spirit, the determination is made that the Spirit is "omniscient, omnipresent, and eternal" (p. 24), thus ascribing deity.
When I read the title of Chapter 3, "The Mystery of the Trinity", my first thought was that my brain was about to get a lovely ache. I enjoyed Sproul's explanation of why we should attempt to unwrap this topic and thought it could apply to all theology as a whole - "Before we can ever begin to love God with all of our heart, soul, and might, we must first have some concept of the God we are to love" (p. 30). First he delves into some common objections raised against the concept of the Trinity:
1) "Trinity" is not a biblical word. His answer: "We may use non-biblical words in our theological expressions as long as they are communicating biblical concepts" (p. 32). He then follows this with some great quotes from Calvin and an in-depth explanation of some Greek works (homoousios/homoiousios) that have been at the centre of the controversy.
2) The doctrine of the Trinity is contradictory and therefore irrational. His answer: "In the Bible the contradiction is not the hallmark of the truth; it is the hallmark of the lie" (p. 40). He goes on to discuss the philosophical Law of Contradiction and in relation to this says "If it [the concept of the Trinity] is irrational, then it is unworthy of our belief. God is not honored by nonsense statements. If our formula for the Trinity is contradictory, then it is a nonsense statement and ought to be abandoned" (p. 42) but "the formula does not assert such things. The formula says that God is one thing (essence) and three in another (persons). Unless it can be shown that essence and person are the same thing, the formula is not contradictory" (p. 44). But seriously, there is so much logic he went through to get to this conclusion. Just read it.
I have to start out the paragraph for Chapter 4 "Essence and Person: Probing the Mystery of the Trinity" with the quote Dr. Sproul chose on the first page. "It does not take a great mind to be a Christian, but it takes all the mind a man has" - Richard C Raines. The moment I read this, I thought 'I should get this tattooed on my forearm so I could always have it in front of me'. I might not go that far but I definitely have it written down where I will see it often. Anyway...the author starts out the chapter with a great discussion of the difference between paradox, mystery and antinomy. "A paradox is so-called because it seems like a contradiction. It looks like a contradiction, but is not a contradiction" (p. 46). "Mystery is often confused with contradiction...The difference is that a mystery may be understood with additional information, but a bona fide contradiction can never be understood. We cannot understand contradictions because they are intrinsically unintelligible" (p. 48). He then goes on to deal with the opening of John's gospel and how important it is for us to understand the statements made here, lest we wind up in bad theology like that of the Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons. This is well worth the read if you have ever tried to 'argue' the first chapter of John with someone from these belief systems. Coming back to the essence of God at the end of the chapter, Dr. Sproul says "when the Christian church confesses its faith in a triune God, it intends to convey the idea that there is one essence or being, not three, but that there are three distinctive, subsisting personalities in the Godhead. The names Father, Son and Holy Spirit indicate personal distinctions in the Godhead but not essential divisions in God" (p. 61). At the very end of the chapter, I loved how he encouraged people to stay with him in this investigation by saying "centuries of theologizing have made it clear that the Christian life is not lived rightly without the the right beliefs as the foundation. Not every Christian needs to be a seminary-trained theological scholar, but every Christian does need to understand the nature of the God we worship. (We are supposed to love God with all our mind)" (p. 61).
Chapter 5, "The Holy Spirit in Creation", provides strong proofs that the Spirit was and is a divine part of God's overall creation. "Part of the Spirit's work is to 'hover' over creation, keeping things intact. In this regard we see the Spirit as the divine Preserver and the Protector. The Spirit works to maintain what the Father brings into being" (p. 71).
Chapter 6 was where this little book really started to pick up for me. In my copy, I have a lot of notes and thoughts in the margins from this point forward. Entitled "The New Genesis: The Holy Spirit and Regeneration", the crux of the chapter is the absolute necessity of regeneration for someone to come to faith and how that regeneration can only come from One source. I think what I loved so much about this is that it gives all the credit and glory to God for every single soul that comes to Christ. No pride can come of our witness or walk if we cling to this truth. "Spiritually dead persons are incapable of seeing the kingdom of God. It is invisible to them, not because the kingdom itself is invisible, but because the spiritually dead are also spiritually blind" (p. 78). "No one is born a Christian. No one is born biologically into the kingdom of God. The first birth is one that is of the flesh. Flesh begets flesh. It cannot produce spirit" (p. 79). "The flesh is not merely weak with respect to the power of rebirth. It is utterly impotent. It has no power whatever to effect rebirth. It cannot aid or enhance the Spirit's work. All that the flesh yields is more flesh. It cannot yield an ounce of Spirit. The nothing is not a little something" (p. 80). This is why I need more of Him and less of me. The chapter ends out with a discussion of monergism (a work produced singly) and synergism (a work that involves cooperation between two or more persons or things). The reason this distinction is so important is we want to answer the question 'Is regeneration a monergistic work of God, or is it a synergistic work that requires cooperation between man and God?'. "To be sure, after a person is regenerated, that person cooperates by exercising faith and trust. But the first step, the step of regeneration by which a person is quickened to spiritual life, is the work of God and of God alone. The initiative is with God, not with us...telling a man to choose rebirth is like exhorting a corpse to chose resurrection" (p. 87). Reading this chapter made me pause and take some time to be thankful that I was chosen for this infinitely valuable gift. "It is to the Holy Spirit of God that we are debtors for the grace of regeneration and faith. He is the Gift-giver, who while we were dead made us alive with Christ, to Christ, and in Christ. It is because of the Holy Spirit's merciful act of quickening that we sing sola gratia and soli deo Gloria - to the glory of God alone" (p. 93).
Another brilliant quote starts out Chapter 7 - "To the one who remembers the Spirit there is always a way out, even in the wilderness with the devil" (Herbert F. Brokering). This chapter, "Safe and Sound by the Holy Spirit", really appealed to my sense of knowledge as it shows how we move from our original consciousness of God through to conviction which then leads us to conformity with Christ. "In salvation we are not only saved from sin and damnation, we are saved unto holiness. The goal of redemption is holiness" (p. 95). I love these two sentences because it gives me a clear direction when I wake up every morning. If I seem to be losing my way at any point I can just remind myself 'Move toward holiness'. Those words should always steer me in the right direction. "The battle with Satan is chiefly a battle for our minds. There is no greater folly, no greater peril to our sanctification than to succumb to the enticing seduction that says, 'Christianity is strictly a matter of the heart' (p. 98)...Mindless Christianity is a contradiction in terms. Christians are exhorted to think - deeply - under the guidance of the Holy Spirit" (p. 99). Mr. Sproul then discusses how the Holy Spirit is so key to us when we approach the Word. He is the author, He is the inspiration, He is the illuminator, He is the One who convicts. "The Holy Spirit teaches, leads, and speaks to us through the Word and with the Word, not apart from or against the Word. How grievous it is to the Holy Spirit when unbridled spirits mock God by claiming the leading of the Spirit when they are acting against the Word of God" (p. 101). Some thoughts on justification as the fruit of faith follow. "We are just, not because we have become instantly sanctified; we are just because the merits of Christ are imputed to our account. God counts us just in Christ, while in ourselves we are still polluted by sin" (p. 102). Simul Justus et peccator = at the same time just and sinner. In understanding regeneration versus justification, we should learn that regeneration (which is monergistic) is immediate and spontaneous whereas sanctification (which is synergistic) is a gradual process which proves our justification authentic. Yes, it's a bit to wrap your brain around but please do it. The final section addresses our conscience in sanctification. "Our outward behaviors manifest the inward disposition of our heart and the thinking of our minds" (p. 107). There will be a constant changing in our consciences as we move toward Christ-likeness. "The Holy Spirit works not only to give us an awareness of the truth; He works to convince us of the truth...The conscience serves as a monitor of our behavior. The problem with our conscience is that it may be acutely sensitive to the Word or God or it may be desensitized" (p. 108). And to further prove how diligently we should study the Word: "A good conscience is one trained by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. When we understand God's truth clearly and are convicted by it firmly, then the governor of conscience begins to rule us into righteousness. The spiritually mature conscience is scrupulous. It does not allow what the flesh allows" (p. 109). Can I get an 'AMEN'?
Chapter 8, "The Baptism of the Holy Spirit", discusses the doctrine of such and has some good historical information on the Charismatic/Neo-Pentecostal movement in the church. "This is the exciting news of Pentecost. In God's plan of redemption the Holy Spirit has gifted every believer for ministry. The whole church has been empowered from on high. There are not two levels of believers - gifted and non-gifted, baptized in the Spirit and not baptized in the Spirit" (p. 131).
"The Fruit of the Spirit" in Chapter 9 was a great journey. "It is the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit that is the mark of our progress in sanctification" (p. 133). As someone who is always concerned that I'm not moving forward enough in my sanctification, this chapter was very helpful in giving me some more concrete areas that I can examine to either spur me in a different direction or encourage me that I'm looking at and working on the right areas in my life. "Here is the battle. The old man is pitted against the new man. The sin nature of the flesh fights to choke the influence of the Spirit. Though this warfare is internal and invisible, there are clear outward signs of the carnage wrought by the battle. When the Spirit is victorious, we see the fruit of it. When the flesh wins, we also see the outward evidence" (p. 134). Mr. Sproul uses Galatians 5:19-21 as a list of the works of the flesh and discusses each point on the list so the reader can better check themselves for evidence of these in their life. Then Paul gives us the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-33. "It is no accident that the fruit of the Spirit is not elevated in our ranks as the highest test of righteousness. There abides so much flesh in us that we prefer another standard. The fruit test is too high; we cannot attain it. So within our Christian subcultures we prefer to elevate some lesser test by which we can measure ourselves with more success. We can compete with each other with greater facility if we mix some flesh together with the Spirit" (p. 137). After I read this I wrote in the margin 'Sad but struck me as so true'. Then he goes on to discuss each of the fruits of the Spirit in more detail. Please pardon me for going on here but some of his points are brilliant!
Regarding love: "Love is not defined by simplistic abstinence from drinking, dancing, makeup, movies, card-playing, and the like. It was envy that required the cross, not lipstick; it was covetousness that demanded atonement, not poker; it was pride that called forth the need for propitiation, not the cinema" (p. 138). "The preacher who smiles benignly from his pulpit, assuring us that 'God accepts you just the way you are' tells a monstrous lie. The kingdom of God is far more rigorous in its requirements than Mr. Roger's neighbourhood. The gospel of love may not be sugar-coated with saccharin grace. God does not accept the arrogant man in his arrogance. He turns His holy back on the impenitent. To be sure, He demonstrates love toward His fallen creatures, but that love has holy demands" (p. 138).
Regarding joy: "The joy of the Spirit is permanent...The joy of salvation is forever" (p. 139). "The joy of the Spirit is as stable as it is exhilarating. it the joy that abides in the midst of suffering. It has depth. It penetrates the soul. It sends despair into exile and banishes pessimism. It produces confidence without arrogance, courage without bravado" (p. 140).
Regarding peace: "The legacy of Christ is peace. Peace is our inheritance from the Prince of Peace. It is a peace the world cannot give. This peace is a lasting peace that no one can snatch from us" (p. 140).
Regarding patience: "It has no place for explosive tantrums from a hair-trigger personality. It is slow to anger. It endures the insult and the malice of others. It knows nothing of a judgmental spirit" (p. 141).
Regarding kindness: "Kindness is a virtue of grace. It involves a willingness to keep one's power and authority in check. It does not crush the weak. It is thoughtful and kind. It manifests the judgment of charity, tempering justice with mercy" (p. 142).
Regarding goodness: "The ultimate standard of goodness is the character of God Himself...the quality of goodness is planted in the lives wherein the Holy Spirit works" (p. 142).
Regarding faithfulness: "Faith is trust. It means far more than believing in God. It means believing God" (p. 143).
The final chapter "The Other Comforter" discusses Jesus as the Paraclete (Greek word meaning helper or comforter or counselor). I had never heard this word before and Mr. Sproul explained that traditionally the church uses Paraclete to speak of the Holy Spirit but that the Spirit is more of 'Another Paraclete' and Jesus is the original. "The ministry of the Messiah involves a ministry of consolation. He comes to heal the brokenhearted and to comfort all who mourn" (p. 148). "In his role of Paraclete the Spirit is doing something to assist us before we are wounded. He works to provide us with strength for the battle as well as consoling us after the battle" (p. 154). I will end the examination of this book as the book itself ends: "If Nietzsche is looking for supermen, he must look to those who have been strengthened by the power of the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who is called alongside of us to come with strength. Indeed, in and of ourselves, we as Christians are a mass of weakness. But we hear afresh the promise of Christ to His church: You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)" (p. 156).
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all - 2 Corinthians 13:14
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one - Deuteronomy 6:4
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it - John 1:4-5
Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" - John 3:3
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast - Ephesians 2:8-9
...as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" - 1 Peter 1:15-16
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor - Luke 4:18
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law - Galatians 5:22-23
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