A Study By
Gary Ray Branscome
LESSON 15
Since the Holy Spirit is present everywhere, there
has never been a time when He was not in the world. In fact, It
was the Holy Spirit who moved upon the face of the waters on the first day of
creation. It was the Holy Spirit who kept the true religion alive in the
centuries prior to Christ's advent. It was the Holy Spirit who brought the
nation of
Therefore, when the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit
being poured out on the day of Pentecost, it is not saying that He was not
present before that time, or that He did not bring people to faith in Christ
before that time. Instead, it is telling us that He began His work of bringing
Christ to the nations at that time. In other words, because the work of world
evangelism is to be accomplished by the testimony of Jesus Christ [i.e. the
gospel], not by cruelty and violence, it did not begin until Christ had
completed His work of reconciliation. [John
The same love that moved God to send Christ to the
cross also moved Him to give us the Bible as a divine testimony to Christ's
sacrifice. For that reason, nothing that the Bible says came by the will of
man. Instead, holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost
(2Peter
When this is explained to some people for the first
time, they react by saying, “Saved people need the law too.” What
they fail to understand is that when saved people use the law, God is not
speaking words of condemnation to them. Instead, they are using the law to
condemn their own wicked thoughts and desires. In fact, that is what the Bible
is talking about when it says, “If we would judge ourselves we would not
be judged.” (1Corinthians
Since works cannot make anyone righteous, the law
was never intended to make people righteous through works. Instead, its purpose
has always been to reveal our sin and need for God’s mercy (Romans
[Note: Luther's, “Commentary on
Galatians” is a great book for those who want to know more about
forgiveness in Christ. Both John Bunyan and Charles Wesley came to faith
through reading that commentary.]
Contrary to what the world thinks, our confidence in
what the Bible says is a gift of God not an assumption. As the Holy Spirit
works through His Word to bring us to faith in Christ, He bears witness to the
truth of what is written, thus giving us faith in His Word (John 10:26, 1John
5:6, Romans 8:16). Having come to faith, we then have a responsibility to
reject any ideas that contradict His Word, starting with our own ideas (Isaiah
8:20, Romans 3:4, 2Corinthians 10:5). That responsibility is important because
the carnal mind can easily deceive us, and those who would rather explain away
the words of Scripture than change their own thinking are rebelling against God
(Jeremiah 17:9, 1John 4:6, Psalm 107:11, 1Samuel 15:23, Romans 12:2,
2Corinthians 10:5, Proverbs 3:5).
Moreover, as we read God’s Word we need to
understand that the doctrine God wants us to learn from His Word consists of
what the Bible clearly and plainly says, not elaborate
explanations (2Corinthians
As the Holy Spirit brings people to faith in Christ,
they receive the forgiveness that Christ died to obtain for them, and through
that forgiveness are cleansed of all sin and declared innocent of any
transgression (Romans
[Note: Not only is our salvation a gift, but the
faith by which we receive that salvation is a gift as well (1Corinthians 12:3,
Ephesians 2:8-9). Furthermore, just as the Holy Spirit brought us to faith
through His Word, He also works through His Word to keep us in faith (1Peter
1:5, Romans 10:10,17).]
Since God instituted baptism in order to make it
clear that those who come to Christ must come as sinners seeking forgiveness,
the Bible makes several references to forgiveness in connection with baptism
(Acts
God also uses baptism to place those who desire
baptism under the spiritual care of a congregation. The Holy Spirit then works
through the ministry of the Word to strengthen their faith, by continually
reminding them of their sin while assuring them anew of forgiveness in Christ
(Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Mark 1:4,8, 1Corinthians 11:27-32).
Everyone whom God has reconciled to Himself, through
faith in Jesus Christ, has been called by God to the ministry of reconciliation
(Galatians 5:8, 2Corinthians
God has given each congregation the responsibility
of nurturing those under its care, while disciplining those who fall into open
sin, yet remain unrepentant (Hebrews 10:25, 1Corinthians 5:1-5). At the same
time, within each congregation all members are equal,
and the only authority is the Word of God (Matthew 23:8). Of course, that does
not mean that everyone should pull to himself, for God wants us to cooperate
and work together (Romans
The Word of God authorizes every believer to study
the Bible, go directly to God in prayer, judge what is taught, condemn false
doctrine, proclaim the gospel, intercede on behalf of others, and, when
necessary, to baptize and administer the Lord's Supper (1John 2:27,
1Corinthians 10:15, Mark 16:15, Galatians 1:6-9, Matthew 18:15-18, John
16:22-27, 1John 5:15-17). At the same time, it also authorizes believers to
call certain men, who meet Scriptural qualifications, to carry out the work of
the ministry on behalf of the congregation (1Timothy
Since the men who have been called by the
congregation, have been called to carry out God’s work, it may be said
that they are “called by God.” However, their call is not an
endowment of authority, but a request to serve (1Peter 5:3). In other words,
they are not being called to run the congregation, but to serve the
congregation by carrying out the ministry of the Word (Matthew 23:8).
Nevertheless, because they are trying to care for our souls we should deal with
them kindly, and show them a certain amount of respect. At the same time, that
respect is a matter of Christian courtesy, not something demanded by their
position (Mark
In carrying out his duties, a minister serves the
congregation by carrying out in a public and official capacity, the same
commission that Christ has given to every believer (Matthew 28:19).
Nevertheless, because God has limited those who are allowed to teach or hold a
position of authority in the congregation, congregations that call those God
has excluded (including women) are rebelling against God, and those whom they
call are not called by God (1Corinthians 14:34,37, 1Timothy 2:11-12).
At the time of Christ, the pastors of a congregation
were usually older men that had been chosen from the membership of the congregation,
and served without pay. Under the leadership of those men, the congregation
would then hire a teacher (Rabbi), whose duties would include leading Sabbath
Day worship. Since such teachers were usually ordained, the Jewish practice of
ordination was carried into the Christian church. However, even though
ordination is mentioned in the New Testament, it is not required by God and has
no divine promise connected with it.
Church discipline is an important responsibility
that God has given to each congregation. And, because the purpose of that
discipline is to rebuke those who are clearly unrepentant, it is a crucial part
of the ministry of the Word. For that reason, we should never let it be
perverted into a way of manipulating people or making members submit to human
authority. While the congregation is to deliver those who have clearly
transgressed God's Word (yet remain unrepentant) to Satan. That action should
never be carried out as a self-righteous attempt to eliminate the unrighteous.
Instead, it should be seen a way of conveying to the guilty party the
seriousness of his sin, and the importance of repentance. At the same time,
those who are on the receiving end of such discipline need to know, that God
has said that when this is done He will stand behind it (John 20:22-23,
1Corinthians 5:1-5,11, 2Corinthians 2:6-7, Titus 3:10, 1Corinthians 14:40,
Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, 1Corinthians 11:27-31, Galatians 1:6-9). [Note: Because church discipline is a serious matter, a person who
is under discipline in one congregation should not be accepted into membership
(or admitted to the Lord's Supper) by another congregation until the problem
has been dealt with and repentance is forthcoming.]
The word, “communion” has to do with the
unifying factor that binds a group together, or more specifically that which
they have in common. And, in the case of Christian believers, the one thing
that binds us together is our faith in Christ (1John 5:1). In short, because we
have all been cleansed of sin through faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we are
all children of God, citizens of heaven, brethren, and co-heirs with Jesus
Christ. [1Corinthians
In order to understand how the Lord's Supper relates
to faith in Christ and why it is called a “communion,” consider
carefully the words that Christ used when He instituted that supper (Luke
22:19-20, Mark 14:20-24, Matthew 26:26-28, 1Corinthians 11:24-25). When He
said, “This is My body which is given for
you… this cup is the new testament [gospel] in My blood, which is shed
for you,” He was summarizing the very essence of the gospel. In other
words, faith is believing that Christ's body was given
for us on the cross and that His blood was shed for us for the remission of
sins on the cross (1Corinthians 15:1-4, 1John 1:7, John
[Note: Because the unrepentant are unworthy to
partake of the Lord's supper, it should never be offered to unbelievers, those
under church discipline, or those who are not able to examine themselves (1
Corinthians 11:27-29).]
Since the heart of the gospel is the good news that
Christ took our sins upon Himself and died in our place, in order to better
understand what that means, try to visualize your sins being washed away by His
blood (1Corinthians 15:1-3). Close your eyes if necessary, and begin by
picturing yourself as dirty all over, vile, filthy
with sin. Then picture the blood of Christ swirling all around you like a
flood, washing away every sin until you begin to glow. Finally, visualize
yourself standing before God, radiant with holiness, not because of any
goodness in you, but because every sin has been washed away by the blood of the
lamb. That is true holiness! That is the perfect righteousness of Christ
Himself (Romans 10:4). And, that is how God sees us when we trust in Christ. In
fact, nothing that we do (no set of rules that we keep) could ever improve one
bit on such perfection. Because His blood has cleansed us of all iniquity, when
we stand before God it is as if Christ were standing there in our place. He has
taken our sin upon Himself and given us His righteousness in exchange for it.
And, that is what the Bible means when it says, “By one offering He hath
perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews
While the word “sanctify” means to set
apart or make holy, because our works cannot make us holy, sanctification has
nothing to do with our own vain efforts at making ourselves righteous (Isaiah
64:6, Romans 3:20). On the contrary, because the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
us of all sin, we are sanctified in the eyes of God as soon as the Holy Spirit
brings us to faith in Christ (Romans 3:28, 1John 1:7,9, Hebrews 10:10-14). At
the same time, the Bible does speak of an earthly sanctification, which sets us
apart from the world (1Thessalonians 4:3-5). Nevertheless, that earthly
sanctification is worthless without the forgiveness that sanctifies us before
God (Romans
Our behavior will improve as our conscience is trained
to recognize sin and the love of Christ is shed abroad in our lives (Galatians
To walk by the Spirit is to walk by faith, not by an
imaginary law that requires obedience to impressions and inclinations. And, we
walk by faith when we trust in Christ's atonement to make us righteous, instead
of trying to make ourselves righteous by our works. However, when we do trust
in Christ the Holy Spirit resides in our heart and helps us to resist the flesh
(Galatians
Although Christ's death on the cross took place at a
particular point in time, because God is not bound by time, the efficacy or
effect of Christ's sacrifice is not limited by time, but has been the same in
every period of history (Revelation 13:8). In fact, that is what the Bible is
trying to tell us when it says “Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3:6). Just as Abraham was
cleansed of sin and counted as righteous through faith in Christ, all who were
cleansed of sin prior to the time of Christ were cleansed through faith in
Christ. Therefore, because the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice extends backward
in time, the “New Covenant” — the Covenant of grace —
is really older than the “Old Covenant.” And, that is why the Bible
says, “The covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law,
which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul”
(Galatians
Just as the Holy Spirit worked through His Word to bring us to faith, He works
through His Word to keep us in faith (Romans 10:14-17). And, that is why Satan
is continually at work trying to lead people away from the Word of God. For
that reason, we need to stay close to the Word while exposing, condemning, and
shunning those who would lead us away from the truth of Scripture and faith in
Christ (Acts 17:11, 2Corinthians 10:4-5, Jude 3, Romans 12:2, John 8:31).
1- Was there ever a time
when the Holy Spirit was not present on earth?
2- Why is the Bible the word of the Holy Ghost?
3- What two distinct messages are contained in the Bible?
4- What is God’s message to the unrepentant?
5- What is God’s message to those who repent?
6- Can works make us righteous?
7- What has the purpose of the law always been?
8- What is the doctrine that God wants us to learn from His Word?
9- What is the “invisible church”?
10- How does the Holy Spirit strengthen our faith?
11- What is the purpose of church discipline?
12- What is the one thing that binds all Christians together?
13- What washes away our sins?
14- How does the Holy Spirit sanctify us?
15- Who is continually trying to lead people away from the Word of God?