It's a Holy Spirit Throw Down!

A goal of every church, and individual, is a balanced approach to understanding and worshiping the triune God. It has been my experience that this balance is difficult to attain. I have participated in local churches where the work of Jesus Christ is rightly emphasized, but there is no mention of the Holy Spirit. Conversely, there are local churches which place great emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, but understate the work of Jesus Christ. Biblical balance is needed in both types of local churches. In this post I focus on the former type of church, which far outnumbers the latter type of church.

I recently hit the restart button on my daily Bible reading. At ESVBible.org there is a M'Cheyne One—Year Reading Plan. A part of my reading today was Genesis 1, Acts 1, and Matthew 1 and I was struck by the activity of the Holy Spirit in each chapter. A simple theological observation suggests that a theology about the Holy Spirit often beings in the New Testament—especially in Acts. Acts 1 is when the Holy Spirit was promised to the local church and Acts 2 reveals this promise to be true. However, God's Spirit predated Acts 1 and actually begins in Genesis 1.

Genesis 1:1 says that God created the heavens and the earth. Easy enough to understand. In verse 2 the text makes it clear that God used His Spirit in the creation of the world. "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." It is not a reach to assume exegetically that God's Spirit was at work throughout the entire creation of the world. Further corroborating the work of a triune God in Genesis is verse 26 where God says, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." The plural pronoun our suggests that God, who is monolithic, is operating on another level from human understanding. The Holy Spirt and Jesus Christ (Col 1:15-16) are the cause for the use of the plural. This idea is not novel in the Old Testament.

Fast-forward to my next portion of Scripture from today. Matthew 1 (pre Acts) also describes a function of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:18 says the Holy Spirit got Mary the mother of Jesus pregnant. It's an odd idea but clearly miraculous. In order for the Son of God to come to earth the Holy Spirit's involvement is essential. In this sense, the miraculous conception of Mary makes sense.

Now on to Acts 1. There does seem to be a shift in Acts 1 regarding the availability of the Holy Spirit—at least this is revealed to the local church. Acts 1:4-8 says the Holy Spirit is promised but it will be a "baptism" or immersing. The language of baptism in the Greek is insightful. The baptism of John meant to be fully wet or immersed into water. The Holy Spirit will descend upon the Church in the same way. As a result the Church will receive "power" (v. 8). An eternal theological principle is being expanded upon. Even Peter knew the eternal function of the Holy Spirit when he mentions the Holy Spirit using the mouth of David to prophecy (v. 16).

This cursory study on the Holy Spirit should propel Christians to think about how the Bible demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit since Genesis 1. Christians need to also affirm the continual work of the Holy Spirit in our local church. The Holy Spirit is a part of our prayer, preaching, and singing. The Holy Spirit guides our actions and reveals sin in the depth of our heart.

My primary goal in this post is to have reader to acknowledge that the triune God of the New Testament was working in power in the Old Testament. The triune God and the work of the Holy Spirit are not New Testament ideas. The triune God has existed in eternity and is first evidenced to us in Genesis 1 and the triune God continues to show Himself until Revelation 22—and indeed continues to work in His Church.