The Holy Spirit's Ministy

Charles H. Spurgeon said, "In many places dedicated to the Lord, the name of Jesus is too often kept in the background. The Holy Spirit is almost entirely neglected, and very little is said concerning His sacred influence. ... May God send us a Christ exalting, Spirit loving ministry." 

The Holy Spirit's ministry is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ is exalted, the Holy Spirit will work among us. The Holy Spirit always works to exalt Jesus Christ (John 16:7-11). When Christ is neglected in our ministry, we are ineffective in our service. When we honor the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will work in us and our churches. 

On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of people. The promise of the Father was fulfilled just as Jesus had spoken (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit came with great power to exalt Jesus as Lord. The Holy Spirit was sent to draw people to Jesus. Three thousand repented and received Jesus as Lord that very day. Believers were filled with the Holy Spirit to exalt Jesus Christ as Lord.

The Holy Spirit's ministry is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. The focus must be upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The reason for that is simple. The Holy Spirit's ministry is effective through us, when the focus is on Jesus our Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3).

God Receives Sinners

John MacArthur wrote,"God receives sinners. The flip side of that truth is that He refuses the righteous. Not that there are any truly righteous people, of course (Romans 3:10). But those who think they are good enough, those who do not understand the seriousness of sin, cannot respond to the gospel. They cannot be saved, for the gospel is a call to sinners to repent and be forgiven."

Jesus said, "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). His gospel is for sinners only, and that includes all of us (Romans 3:23). Those who are self-righteous see no need for a Savior from sin. They foolishly think that they are good enough without the gospel.

The apostle Paul wrote, "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all" (1 Timothy 1:15, NASB). That's the gospel of Christ, that God receives sinners.

Before Paul was saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, he was a Pharisee. He thought that he could please God with his self-righteousness. Only when he saw himself as a sinner was he saved. MacArthur warned all who are self-righteous. "They cannot be saved, for the gospel is a call to sinners to repent and be forgiven." 

The Anointing in You

Martyn Lloyd-Jones taught, "We have been anointed and been set apart; we have received this unction, and it has given us this understanding of truth which enables us to say that 'we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). That is your anointing of the Holy Spirit.

"But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you" (1 John 2:27). The anointing is the Holy Spirit abiding in you as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word Christ means "anointed one." Christ abides in every believer, through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

The anointing is the Holy Spirit abiding with you to teach you (1 John 2:27). He teaches you according to Holy Scripture, inspired of the Holy Spirit. According to the New Testament, you are taught by God. Jesus said, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me" (John 6:45). 

Certainly, God uses people to teach you, such as evangelists, pastors, and other teachers. However, we are all dependent upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit to teach us. Both teachers and those who are taught must depend upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit to understand the truth.

Christ in the Psalms

The gospel is Christ crucified for our sins and risen from the dead, according to the Scripture. The apostles in the New Testament preached Christ from prophecy in the Old Testament Scripture, and that includes the book of Psalms. Before the New Testament was completed, they preached the gospel of Christ according to the Scripture, which meant the Old Testament Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

The gospel of Christ is throughout Old Testament prophecy, such as the Psalms. Christ is prophesied dying and rising again. Christ is prophesied coming the second time and reigning over all. Verses in the Psalms are quoted in the New Testament. Psalms reveal Christ in prophecy.

In Psalms we find the gospel of Christ. He is prophesied suffering death at the cross (Psalm 22). The Psalms also declare the resurrection of Christ (Psalm 16:8-11). That is the gospel of Jesus Christ foretold in the Psalms.

The Psalms prophesied the present day priestly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, as our Intercessor with God the Father (Psalm 110). Psalms also prophesied the second coming of Christ (Psalm 2).

The apostle Peter preached Christ and the resurrection on the Day of Pentecost from the book of Psalms (Psalm 16:8-11; Acts 2:25-28). That means the first gospel sermon in the Christian church was on Christ from prophecy in Psalms. Both the Old and New Testament reveal the gospel of Christ.

Full Salvation In Christ

Full salvation is in the past, present, and future. That is to say, in Christ you have been saved; in Christ you are being saved; in Christ you shall be saved. Three terms describe your full salvation in Christ: justified, sanctified, and glorified.

In Christ believers have been saved. That is justification by faith in Jesus Christ. In Christ believers are being saved, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). That is sanctification. In Christ believers shall be saved. That is glorification, when Christ returns. In essence, believers shall be like him (1 John 3:2).

Full salvation includes justification, sanctification, and glorification. It's by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ is every believer's full salvation. In Christ believers are justified and free from all condemnation. In Christ believers are being sanctified until glorified. In Christ believers shall be made just like him, when he appears.

Full salvation is from the beginning unto completion in Christ. "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). In Christ believers have been justified (Romans 5:1). In Christ believers are being sanctified (1 Corinthians 1:2). In Christ believers shall be glorified (1 John 3:2).

Be Righteous In Christ

Charles H. Spurgeon testified, "My hope lives not because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died; my trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, HE is my righteousness."

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ receive the gift of God's righteousness. When you believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, you "become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). That is the imputed righteousness of God in Christ, accounted  to every believer. Be righteous by faith in Christ.

"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). We receive the imputed righteousness of God in Christ. It is the gift of God received by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are accounted righteous by God in Christ.

How did Abraham become righteous? He was righteous by faith in the Lord. He received God's imputed righteousness by faith. Abraham is our example three times in the New Testament on how to receive God's righteousness (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23)."And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). 

How Jesus Saves

"We have heard the joyful sound, Jesus saves. Jesus saves!" Those words from an old hymn are true forever, because Jesus our risen Lord lives to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him (Hebrews 7:25). Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are saved (Acts 16:31). How does Jesus save us?

Jesus saves from the curse of sin unto the blessing of God. Jesus took the place of sinners, when he died on the cross in our place. All have sinned and all are under the curse of sin (Romans 3:23). To be cursed is to be cut off from the blessings of God and marked for destruction. In his humanity, Jesus was cut off from God the Father at the cross for our sins. He cried out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46).

Jesus saves from death unto life eternal. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). The Bible mentions two types of death. The first death is physical death. We all must die, but Jesus our Lord will raise us from the dead in glorified bodies like unto that of our risen Lord. The second death is for those who are not saved. They are cast into the lake of fire, at the great white throne judgement (Rev. 20:14-15).

Jesus saves from sin unto righteousness. Our sins are no longer counted against us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our sins are imputed to Christ at the cross. In exchange for our sins, the righteousness of Christ is placed upon our account (2 Corinthians 5:21). We give him our sins at the cross. He gives us his righteousness. That's how Jesus saves.