New covenant believers receive such a fullness of the Spirit that sometimes we struggle to understand the conditions of believers in the old covenant. The Spirit withheld the fullness of His manifestation, and only some experienced a heightened revelation of His goodness. While this was more than sufficient for faith and worship, new covenant believers enjoy the astounding privilege of seeing the almighty God in the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus promised this blessing, and He fulfilled His promise at Pentecost, the unique event at which He poured out His Spirit in rivers of living water to His church.
Rivers of Living Water
Message 7
Sinclair Ferguson
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Who Is the Holy Spirit?
Order from Chaos
Sinclair Ferguson
Many Christians have either heard, or even muttered, the phrase, "The Holy Spirit is the forgotten person of the Trinity." This assertion misses the real problem in the church today, a problem not extant in generations past. Christians know about the Holy Spirit, but, unlike the Father or the Son, they don't really know who the Holy Spirit is. In this message, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson purposes to remove this ignorance by exploring the questions of the identity of the Spirit, the nature of His character, how we, as Christians, may come to know and have fellowship with Him, and more.
The Face of God
Sinclair Ferguson
Many people have claimed at various times and in various ways that the God of the Old Testament is not the same God as the God of the New Testament. Sadly, this assertion misunderstands the nature and purposes of God. God is immutable: He does not change in His nature, character, will, or purposes. Nonetheless, He has chosen to reveal His person and plans progressively in the history of redemption through His Spirit. This does not mean that the Spirit did not reveal the face of God at all in the Old Testament. On the contrary, the Old Testament reveals that the Spirit disclosed the very personal nature of our Lord to His people throughout the old covenant while pointing forward to the fullness of this disclosure in Jesus Christ.
The Spirit of the Lord
Sinclair Ferguson
It is tempting to understand the Spirit as an impersonal force fulfilling the purposes of God mechanically. However, the Scriptures paint a different picture, and they portray the Spirit as anything but impersonal. The third person of the Trinity is personal, and His role in the life and ministry of Jesus attests to this fact. The Spirit is the lifelong companion and friend of Jesus, and the two were never, nor ever will be, apart. This revelation is marvelous, and our wonder should increase as we consider Jesus' role in sending His Spirit, His companion and friend, to dwell with us.