The Person of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit Part 1
2 Corinthians 13:14
(From Steve Meenho Kang, Live by the Spirit (Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press, 2022)
Today we are starting a new message series, “The Holy Spirit.”
During this series, we will examine topics that are related to the Holy Spirit.
Today we will talk about the person of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 13:14 is very familiar to all of us.
It is because this passage is often used to pronounce the benediction at the end of worship services.
Because this passage is so familiar to us, we tend to not think about the meaning and the importance of this passage.
However, this passage has important implications for our lives.
This passage tells us of the Triune nature of our God, and the persons and the ministries of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
This is why, in order to fully experience the work of the Holy Spirit daily in our lives, we need to understand this passage well.
I. We must correctly understand the doctrine of Trinity (v. 14).
2 Corinthians 13:14 says this.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Here the Apostle Paul mentioned God the Son, God the Father, and God the Spirit.
We believe in one God.
But we believe that in one Godhead, there are three distinct persons.
We call this belief the doctrine of Trinity.
The word “Trinity” is not mentioned in the Bible.
However, the idea of it is there in many places.
It indeed is one of the clearest inferences to be drawn from the Bible.
The simplest and clearest definition of the doctrine of the Trinity that I know is this: There are three distinct persons in one Godhead.
There is only one God.
But there are three distinct persons in one Godhead.
In other words, God the Father is not God the Son.
God the Son is not God the Holy Spirit.
God the Holy Spirit is not God the Father.
But there is only one God.
Even though this is one of the most important doctrines of our faith, it is often one of the most misunderstood doctrine of all.
Therefore, this morning, I want to give a simple quiz on the doctrine of the Trinity.
I will give four illustrations, and you have to decide which one best illustrates the doctrine of the Trinity.
Which one of these illustrations best illustrates one God in three person, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?
First, some believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is best illustrated by H2O.
H2O is one chemical component, but when it gets hot, it becomes steam.
When it gets cool, it becomes water.
And when it gets cold, it becomes ice.
H2O is one chemical component, but it shows itself in different forms.
This is the example number one.
Second, some believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is best illustrated by Sun in the sky.
There is only one Sun, but it gives out heat, light, and rays.
One Sun, but it gives out three different components.
This is the example number two.
Third, some believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is best illustrated by a pretzel.
There is one pretzel, but in it, there are three holes.
One pretzel, but three holes.
This is the example number three.
Fourth, some believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is best illustrated by a person.
There is only one Steve Meenho Kang.
But to my wife, I am her husband.
To my daughter, I am her father.
And to you, I am your pastor.
One person but three different roles.
This is example number four.
So, which one best illustrates the doctrine of the Trinity?
Number one, H2O.
Number two, sun in the sky.
Number three, pretzel.
Number four, me.
Number five, all of the above.
Number six, none of the above.
The correct answer is number six.
None of the above.
The doctrine of the Trinity states that there are three distinct persons in one God head.
There is only one God.
But there are three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
And none of these examples adequately explain this concept.
So, how can we explain the doctrine of the Trinity?
The answer is… we cannot.
Our knowledge is finite and there are some things in the Bible that we cannot totally comprehend.
And the doctrine of the Trinity is one of them.
Other examples include… the virgin birth of Jesus.
Can anyone explain this?
The authority of the Bible.
It is written by people, but it is 100% word of God.
The deity and the humanity of Jesus.
Jesus is100% God and 100% man at the same time.
The human responsibility and divine sovereign.
God is totally sovereign, but we have our will.
Some of the truths in the Bible transcend the limits of the finite human mind.
And I believe that the doctrine of Trinity is one of them.
However, the Bible contains so many references to the Trinity, it is something that we must believe even though it is something that we cannot totally comprehend.
This is why Augustine once said this regarding the doctrine of the Trinity.
“Try to understand it and you will lose your mind. Try to deny it and you will lose your soul.”
I believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is one thing that sets Christianity apart from other monotheistic religions of the world.
There are three monotheistic religions in the world: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
Also, there are Christian cults groups, like Jehovah’s Witness and Mormons who believe in one God.
However, they do not believe in the doctrine of Trinity.
This is why they say that Christianity is wrong.
1+1+1=1 is wrong.
However, a monotheistic belief that does not believe in the doctrine of Trinity has a big logical problem.
All monotheistic religions believe this:
1. God is sovereign.
2. God is an independent being.
3. God is love.
However, if God does not exist in three distinct persons, who would God have to love?
In order to express His love, He would need humans.
This would make God a dependent being.
God would need humans to express His love.
Then He would not be a sovereign being at all.
Why am I explaining this dry doctrine of the Trinity?
I believe that in order to fully appropriate the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we must correctly understand the doctrine of the Trinity.
II. We must correctly understand the person of the Holy Spirit (v. 14).
2 Corinthians 13:14 says this.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Even though the Bible clearly states that God exists as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, most Christians tend to emphasize one person of the Trinity and not the others.
They tend to create the walls of separation between them.
Some Christians tend to focus on God the Father.
We called them “liberals.”
They emphasize the love aspect of God.
But they sometimes fall into religious syncretism.
The danger of this is they sometimes do not recognize the difference between different religions.
When this happens, they do not see any difference between Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, and Krishna.
Some Christians tend to focus on Jesus the Son.
We called them “conservatives” or “evangelicals.”
They tend to focus on the saving work of Jesus.
They focus on evangelism and eternal salvation.
But they sometimes fall into dogmatism.
The danger of this is they can convert Christianity into lists of do’s and don’ts.
When this happens, Christianity becomes legalistic and duty-oriented.
Third, some Christians tend to focus on God the Holy Spirit.
We call them “charismatics.”
They emphasize the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit.
But they can fall into spiritualism.
The danger of this is they focus on dreams and prophecies more than the unchanging word of God.
When this happens, they can go way out of what the Bible teaches, and Christianity becomes experience based.
Each one of us tends to focus on one person of the Trinity more than the others depending on our backgrounds and past experiences.
Let me explain this through my own person experience.
I grew up in a liberal church during my years as a youth.
Then when I committed my life to God, I had some charismatic experiences.
Then finally, I went to evangelical seminary school and learned conservative theologies.
Therefore, I am a liberal, charismatic Christian who believe in evangelical theology.
Basically, every Christian has a bias.
And my bias is that… I believe that I am the most unbiased person.
I am just kidding.
We tend to focus on one person of the Trinity and not the others.
Especially people in the western world tend not to emphasize the person of the Holy Spirit.
We tend to view the Holy Spirit as a mythical person.
We tend to deemphasize the person of the Holy Spirit.
So, who is the Holy Spirit?
He is the third person of the Trinity.
He is God—co-equal, co-existing, and co-eternal with the Father and the Son.
He possesses all of the attributes of the Deity.
He has many titles including these: The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of truth, and the Comforter.
The Holy Spirit is not a mere force, but a person (Jn. 15:26).
He is not like force in the Star Wars movies.
Although the Spirit is invisible, He has the characteristics of a person: Intellect, feeling, and will.
In other words, He knows (1Co. 2:11), He feels (Ro. 15:30), and He wills (1Co. 12:11).
He is not an impersonal “force.”
We must correctly understand the person of the Holy Spirit.
III. We must correctly understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit (v. 14).
2 Corinthians 13:14 says this.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The Apostle Paul mentioned the three ministries of the Trinity.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is shown in His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection.
The love of God is expressed in the fact that He loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son as the sacrifice for our sins.
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is revealed in the Pentecost when the Spirit of God came and empowered believers.
We need the ministries of grace, love, and fellowship.
We can only be sustained by the threefold ministries of the Trinitarian God.
Only when we depend on the grace of the Son, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, then we will experience God fully in our lives.
However, the problem for many of us is this.
We are very familiar with the grace of the Son.
We know and believe what Jesus had done for us through the four gospels in the Bible.
Also, we are familiar with the love of the Father.
We know and believe that God is our Father who loves us infinitely and unconditionally.
However, many of us are not as familiar with the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Many Christians misunderstand the meaning of “fellowship.”
Many Christians think that fellowship is what we do when we drink coffee and eat donuts after worship service.
However, fellowship is a commercial term that denotes a partnership.
For example, when two people start a business together, they are in fellowship.
And the Apostle Paul told us that we are in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
This means that we have entered into a business relationship with the Holy Spirit.
We must have the same goals and purpose.
We must communicate with the Holy Spirit.
We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
And we must be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
But many Christians have no idea how they should partner with the Holy Spirit.
Many Christians have no idea how they can be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
This is why so many Christians are trying so hard to live their Christian lives on their own and struggling.
They cannot overcome temptations.
They are not being transformed into Jesus’ likeness.
They cannot be powerful witnesses of their Savior.
And they do not experience the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
I believe that some of us have difficult time embracing the ministry of Holy Spirit.
Some of us have difficult time being passionate about our faith.
Some of us have difficult time praying passionately.
Some of us have difficult time expressing our joy and excitement as we worship.
Some of us have difficult time committing ourselves to God and to the church.
Why?
I believe that one of the reasons is this.
Some of us have had some bad experiences in our past by those Christians who tend to emphasize the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
This is why some of us have difficulty embracing the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
However, if we do that, we will forfeit our chances to experience the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We must correctly understand the doctrine of Holy Trinity.
We must correctly understand the person of the Holy Spirit.
We must correctly understand and embrace the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We will continue to talk about what the Holy Spirit does in us in the coming weeks.
Come and join us for that.
