Several days ago my family and I were driving to Clearwater, Florida. Clearwater is a coastal town west of Tampa, Florida. To get there we had to drive across a long and narrow road and bridge that spanned the bay between Tampa and Clearwater. Driving on that causeway, we got within 10 miles of Clearwater. We couldn’t wait until we got to there. We had been anticipating the beach all day long. But suddenly our journey stopped. Traffic came to a dead halt. Eventually we could see why. Miles in front of us was a wreck-a fender bender. We couldn’t exit because on either side of the road was the bay. And the longer we sat in traffic, just miles from the end of our journey, the more we groaned for someone to do something to make it possible for our us to move forward.
There is a similar circumstance when we arrive at the prophets in the Old Testament. God’s Story and our story come to a grinding halt. Forward progress stops completely. And something is going to have to happen for the story to move forward again.
- The story began with Creation in which God lovingly formed man and woman and a beautiful cosmos which reflected his beauty and glory.
- Conflict entered the story as man and woman chose to live without God. Their relationship and creation was marred as a result.
- Then, as a rescue attempt, God entered into a Covenant with Abraham and promised that through Abraham’s family he would create a kingdom which would bring the blessing of true community to all the world.
- The Kingdom, however, failed. Its kings ignored God’s ways. Its priests turned loving relationship into legalistic religion. Its people gave lip service to God but cheated each other, became unjust and unfaithful to each other and to God. God sends foreign armies to drag away the kings, the priests, and the people. It seems as if the story has reached a dead end.
But through the prophets God whispers words of hope. Through the prophets God paints a picture of how the story can move forward once more.
For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols… (Ez. 36:24-27 TNIV)
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD… I will be their God, and they will be my people…”For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jer. 31:33-34 TNIV)
…never again will my people be shamed…And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. (Joel 2:27-32 TNIV).
What would move our story forward? Salvation. God imagines us being cleansed from all impurities, forgiven of wickedness, and calling on his name and being saved. Through these prophets, God revealed the one thing that would turn the pages of the story: salvation.That salvation came most fully through Jesus.
Jesus summarized his ministry in Lk. 19:10: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
Peter invited people to turn to Jesus for that salvation in Acts 2:38-39: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call. A fresh start. A clean slate. Salvation. It was a promise made available to all.
Paul writes about Jesus bringing salvation: But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us…so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7 TNIV)
What would move our story forward? Salvation. Jesus brings what is desperately needed for us to progress in our relationship with God and with the people around us: salvation. The movie “The Interpreter” tells of a federal agent named Tobin who questions a UN interpreter named Sylvia. [i]Sylvia has suspicious connections with an African leader who is coming to visit the UN. Tobin learns that the African leader was responsible for the death of Sylvia’s family. Tobin wonders if Sylvia is planning to take revenge when the leader visits the UN. Here is how Sylvia responds: “…in Africa…In Matobo, the Ku believe that the only way to end grief is to save a life. If someone is murdered, a year of mourning ends with a ritual that we call “the drowning man trial.” There’s an all-night party beside a river. At dawn, the killer is put in a boat. He’s taken out on the water and he’s dropped. He’s bound, so that he can’t swim. The family of the dead then has to make a choice. They can let him drown or they can swim out and save him. The Ku believe that if the family lets the killer drown, they’ll have justice but spend the rest of their lives in mourning. But if they save him, if they admit that life isn’t always just, that very act can take away their sorrow.” The only thing that would allow these families to move beyond the wall they hit when the killer hurt them was salvation. They had to save the one who killed.
It’s true when it comes to the daily story of our lives-to move forward there’s got to be forgiveness, salvation. It’s even more true when it comes to the larger Story of God-to move forward there must be forgiveness; salvation. Jesus brings that salvation.But listen again to the words God whispered through the prophets when the story had stopped. Because God speaks of something else just as vital as salvation yet something often ignored and neglected by many today:
- For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. (Is. 44:3 TNIV)
- For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ez. 36:24-27 TNIV)
- …never again will my people be shamed. And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days…And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. (Joel 2:27-32 TNIV .
What is needed to move the story forward? Not only Salvation. But Spirit. Through these prophets, God promises to pour out his Spirit and to put a new spirit in us. The page will turn in God’s story not just through salvation but through the coming of the Spirit.And just as that salvation ultimately came through Jesus, so also did that Spirit.
It was the Spirit that distinguished Jesus’ ministry from John’s ministry. Both Jesus and John came with messages of salvation. But only Jesus came with the Spirit. All four Gospels record this line which summed up the difference between Jesus and John: I baptize you with water for repentance…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 3:11; Mk. 1:8; Lk. 3:16; Jn. 1:33 TNIV). There are many suggestions as to what “baptize with the Holy Spirit” means. I believe it is simply a reference to the fact that Jesus alone came giving the Spirit. He not only came with a gift of salvation. He alone brought the prophet-promised gift of the Holy Spirit. To say he baptized with the Spirit means he alone brought the Spirit to all who would follow him.
Jesus would promise the Spirit to his followers in Jn. 14. He would instruct his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received this Spirit (Acts 1). And Jesus sent that Spirit to the 3,000 new followers in Acts 2. Peter describes this in Acts 2:38-39: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call. Conservative scholar John Stott points to this verse as proof that “baptism with the Holy Spirit” is synonymous with water baptism in which we receive the Holy Spirit.[ii]
When any person turns away from living without Jesus, and turns toward Jesus, and expresses that faith through baptism, Jesus provides two blessings: salvation and Spirit.
Paul summarizes these two gifts: But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7 TNIV)
What would move our story forward? Salvation and Spirit. And Jesus came bringing the fullness of both.
Why is the Spirit such a critical part of the Story? Scholar J. I. Packer writes that there are numerous ways that Christians have tried to describe the importance of the Holy Spirit.[iii] But Packer argues that the most important truth about the Spirit has to do with the Spirit’s connection to Jesus. Packer believes, and I am also persuaded, that the best way to understand why the Spirit is so critical to God’s Story and our Story is to focus on the relationship between Jesus and the Spirit.
I’ll briefly share three ways in which the two are tied together. First, several times in Scripture we find the Spirit named after Jesus. For example, the Spirit is called “The Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9); “The Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19); “The Spirit of Jesus” (Acts 16:7); and “The Spirit of His Son” (Gal. 4:6).
Second, not only is the Spirit named after Jesus, the Spirit is also involved in the life and work of Jesus. It was by the Spirit that Jesus was born to Mary (Matt. 1:18). The Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism (Matt. 3:16). It was under guidance of the Spirit that Jesus was led to the wilderness (Matt. 4:1). It was by the Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead (1 Pet. 3:18). At each critical chapter in Jesus’ Story, we find the Spirit.
Third, not only is the Spirit named after Jesus and involved in the life and work of Jesus. In the words of J. I. Packer, the Spirit “floodlights” Jesus.[iv] By floodlight Packer means those lights which brighten the exteriors of homes at night. You do not see the actual floodlight. You only see what the floodlight is illuminating. Packer writes, “[The Spirit is] the hidden floodlight shining on the Saviour…The Spirit’s message to us is never, ‘Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me,’ but always, ‘Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him, and hear his word; go to him and have life; get to know him, and taste his gift of joy and peace.'” The Spirit is a floodlight shining on Jesus.
What makes the Spirit so critical to progressing in the storyline God has written for each of us is this: the Spirit is the primary way in which we come to know, and see, and relate to Jesus. In this series we will explore four profound ways the Spirit does this: he mediates Jesus’ presence so Jesus becomes a living reality in our lives, not just an intellectual concept or historical figure; he reveals Jesus and Jesus’ way so we more clearly see Jesus and what it means to follow him; he cultivates Jesus’ character within us so that we become more like Jesus from the inside-out; and he prepares each us to serve and minister just like Jesus.
I mentioned earlier the trip my family took to Clearwater, Florida. We had never traveled to the beach at Clearwater and had no idea what it looked like. So when we came to that narrow causeway and saw some small beaches, we pulled over. They were about 15 yards wide, dirty, and full of rocks. But, we thought, maybe that’s the Clearwater Beach. We almost stayed. But then we persuaded ourselves to go further. And are we glad we did! When we arrived at the actual Clearwater Beach, it was a beach probably 40 years wide, pristine white sand, small seashells all over, and a beautiful shallow shore. There was a long and stately peer. There were sky-blue umbrellas everywhere. It was a perfect beach.
Too many Christians have accepted a Christian life which is like that first beach. They’ve focused only on Salvation. They’ve stayed at the first spot they came to. But wants us to go further. He wants us to move into the life of the Spirit. The life God wants us to have is like the real Clearwater Beach. He wants us to experience the full and rich life of a Spirit who connects us with Jesus.
A few days before that Clearwater trip, my family and I were standing at a thoroughfare in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. A parade was about to begin. The sides of the thoroughfare were packed with onlookers. A few yards away we could hear the parade starting. Finally it made its way to us. There was a brass band playing. They were followed by an Model-T-type of car. In it was a family who had won an overnight stay in Cinderella’s Castle. Inside the car was another family who were the Grand Marshall of today’s parade. Then, there was a break in the parade. We looked down the street and couldn’t see any cars, floats, or characters. And the people next to us said, “That was it?! That was the parade?! What a waste of time! Let’s go ride some rides.” And they and a few others peeled away and returned to the rides. But a few seconds later the rest of the parade came into view. And what a parade it was! Almost every major Disney character had a float. There were hundreds of participants. It was one of Disney’s major parades. But the guests next to us had missed it.
Similarly, too many Christians have focused only on Salvation and walked away before recognizing the additional blessings God desires to give through the Spirit. God wants us to experience the entire parade, not just a part. Salvation and Spirit.I was recently with a friend whose infant child had died. My friend is still reeling from the death. He’s doubting God like he never has before. But he’s pressing forward. He’s refused to give up. He will not allow this to be the ending chapter. And it appears to me that the Holy Spirit has become one of the factors in helping his story continue.
At a recent lunch my friend initiated a conversation about the Holy Spirit. He had been thinking about the Holy Spirit. And he said to me, “You know how when you go to a nice restaurant and they bring out your meal and it’s got that little garnish on it? I always put that garnish to the side and then eat my meal. I used to think the Holy Spirit was like that garnish. It’s really not that important. But I no longer think that way.” Some of us do think that way. The main meal in our spiritual lives is something else. The Holy Spirit is a little garnish we put to the side. But the Spirit is so much more. It’s my prayer that we’ll discover that together in this series.
