Christian, Fear Not. You Have The Holy Spirit (Or Better, He Has You)

by R. Scott Clark on April 20, 2021 | 1 Comment

53. Q. What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit?

A. First, he is, together with the Father and the Son, true and eternal God. Second, he is also given to me, to make me by true faith share in Christ and all his benefits, to comfort me, and to remain with me forever” (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 20).

Christians confess that the Holy Spirit is not a force or impersonal power, but that he is true and eternal God. The apostle Paul desired to encourage believers in this truth by rooting salvation in the work of the triune God. In Ephesians 1, is it God the Father who “chose us from before the foundation the world, and predestined us for adoptions as sons,” it is God the Son who worked “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”

At this point, Christians often leave the impression that the we are the ones now responsible to uphold ourselves in sanctification until Jesus comes. But this is not what the apostle says. The preserving and keeping of our lives is accomplished by the power of God the Holy Spirit. The description of the triune God’s salvation is met with a grand crescendo as Paul writes that we have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it (Eph. 1:13-14).” Read more»

Chris Gordon, Abounding Grace Radio April 16. 2021

Resources

Subscribe to the Heidelblog today!


One comment

  1. “Hope is not wishful thinking, we have absolute certainly of future glory that lies ahead of us. ”
    I try to live with this in mind.

    It is hard to live without constantly leaning toward “keeping myself in sanctification” so I am glad for this reminder.

Comments are closed.