Bible Study Series: The Trinity
Part 2: The Trinity: The Role of the Holy Spirit
by Fraser Gordon
So far we've looked at the concept of the Trinity in the Old Testament and then the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ - the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. This time I want to do a short study into the third person of the Trinity, the role of the Holy Spirit. Often we hear messages on the moving of the Spirit, the outpouring of the Spirit, His miracles and wonders, the fruit of the Spirit, or the things that are done through the Spirit. Today I want to focus on the role of the Holy Spirit as the third person in the co-equal Trinity.
The Helper
Some versions of the Bible use the term Holy Ghost, almost like He is some kind of force or something out of Star Wars. The third person of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. He is a person with a mind, will, and emotions. 1 Corinthians 2.10-11 says, But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. So the Spirit has a mind, and in 1 Corinthians 12.11 it reveals He also has a will, But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. We know that he also has emotions because the New Testament says we can grieve and quench the Holy Spirit. These scriptures show us that He is more than a force, He is a person and the third member of the Trinity.
In John 14 Jesus tells His disciples what will happen to them after He is gone.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. Jesus tells His disciples He's going to go to His Father, but will send another called the Helper.
In John 15.26, he repeats the same thing,
"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
Notice all three persons of the Trinity are involved. Jesus Christ who is speaking will send the Helper, the Spirit of truth from the Father. In Chapter 16.7 it is repeated yet again, Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Jesus tells His disciples that He has to go and it's for their advantage that He does. The Holy Spirit is given the titles of Helper, Comforter, and Spirit of Truth. The Greek word for helper is paraklétos, and it means one that comes alongside to help, or one that draws near. This is why in many versions He's called the Helper. Why has He been given these titles and attributes instead of a name? The Father has many names - Jehovah Jireh, Adonai - there's a long list of names that reveal His character. The second person of the Trinity’s name is Jesus Christ. Jesus means saviour the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father Php 2.9-11. But the Holy Spirit is not named. He's given titles like Helper, Comforter, and Spirit of Truth. I think the reason for this is that His role in the Trinity is to point to another member of the Trinity. He doesn't want glory for Himself, He doesn't want to be worshiped. Had He been given a name, the Church would probably have worshiped Him. His role within the Trinity is something quite different. It's not to be worshiped but to point all the worship toward the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.
Conviction and Judgement
I want to have a look at John 16 and what it says about the Holy Spirit concerning His role toward unbelievers and the world.
John 16:8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
We see His first role is toward unbelievers and the world. Jesus said, When He has come, He will convict... The first role of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity is to convict the heart of fallen man. We need to remember this when we're evangelising or talking to others. We may be afraid to speak about the Gospel of Christ because we're afraid of their response. But the first role of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, is to convict. He is the only one that can press these truths on the heart of fallen men so they repent and turn to life. It is His role to convict of sin and the need of a savior and it's our job to present the truth. Life can only come if the Holy Spirit convicts. Sometimes we feel like it's our responsibility to convince people that Jesus is who He said He was. But Jesus says that's not our responsibility, it's the Holy Spirit's role. He is the only one that can bring true conviction so that man can repent and turn from his evil ways and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then Jesus goes on to say in verse 9 that He'll convict the world of sin, because they do not believe in me. Jesus declared himself the sinless lamb of God to the world. Now men are without excuse for their sin when presented with the cross of Christ. It's the Holy Spirit's role to convict men who are without excuse. Jesus has come into the world but men love darkness. Men are without excuse because they do not believe in God's provision of a savior for mankind and a savior for their sin. Then Jesus says, of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more. The Lord Jesus Christ’s life was the light of men. John's Gospel tells us He is the only sinless perfect man that has walked on earth and His righteousness met the standard that God required. He was the acceptable sacrifice. He was the one delivered up for us all and He was resurrected to the Father's right hand. The fact that He was resurrected means that His sacrifice was accepted by the Father. All the claims about Himself were true and He is now with the Father. Because of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ we are now declared righteous in God’s sight. Jesus’ perfect, sinless, holy life was an acceptable sacrifice to the Father and it condemns men who do not believe. The Holy Spirit condemns them because they do not believe in that right standard which was met by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then verse 11, of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. This has nothing to do with the coming judgment seat of Christ or the great white throne judgment. This judgment is about the ruler of this world. Satan was judged right back in Genesis 3.15,”He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." Satan would bruise the heel, but in so doing his head would be bruised or crushed. We see a similar imagery in Hebrews 2.14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. So through death Jesus destroyed Satan and his hold over mankind. Jesus used the very thing that the devil had power over - death. Through His death upon the cross He defeated the one who had the power over death. After David's stone had found its mark on Goliath’s forehead David used Goliath's own sword to cut off the head of the giant. Goliath's main weapon was used to remove his head. This is similar imagery.
The ruler of this world has been judged and his power over death has been taken away. Now mankind is free to believe in Christ and receive eternal life. The standard was met and Satan’s power has been removed. Yes, he is still the prince of the power of the air and he works in the minds of those who do not believe. But it's the Holy Spirit's role now to convict the heart of fallen men so they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Colossians 2.14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. This means that all the legal documents that stood against us and prevented us from being in a relationship with Christ, have been wiped out. The Lord demanded perfect righteousness, perfect living, perfect holiness of which none of us could meet. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who has met that standard and He took those demands away on the cross. In verse 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. The principalities and powers no longer have the power of death over believers, they no longer have a claim because that claim has been met by the Lord Jesus Christ. Men are now free to believe in Him who is their savior.
The restrainer
One other role of the Holy Spirit is that of restrainer.
2 Thessalonians 2.6-8 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
When we watch the news or if you look around the world you think ‘oh my goodness what is happening in this world’, but can you imagine the state of the world if the restraining hand was taken away? At some point, Thessalonians tells us, He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. Some people believe this is the church,and yes the church has a role to play in restraining because the church is called to be salt and light in the world. Salt has a preserving aspect to it and because of decay the use of salt preserves food and stops it from rotting. Light in this world means that wherever you see light it dispels darkness. So the church has a slight role to play - we are called to be salt and light in a world that is decaying and filled with darkness.
The true restrainer is the Holy Spirit and at some point He will withdraw His hand. We know that just as the Lord Jesus Christ was given three and a half years of ministry, so Satan in the tribulation period from the midpoint on will be given a free hand. He will have his time of ministry which may be when the restrainer pulls back. Will the Holy Spirit be removed from the earth? No He will not because there are multitudes whom the Spirit of God convicts during that tribulation time. It will be the hardest time on earth but will also be the greatest revival. The Holy Spirit will be active and working but His restraining hand will be pulled back and the mystery of lawlessness will come forward. Just as we have been talking about the Trinity - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Satan also has his trinity. In Revelation 13 there is Satan, the beast who he empowers, and the false prophet who does false wonders, signs, and miracles. These three imitate the true Trinity.
With you and in you
John 16.7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
John 14.16-17 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit came to empower the church at Pentecost, when He came upon them and filled them. Three words, ‘with you, in you, and upon you’. Jesus said, it is to your advantage that I go away. From Genesis to now, God's intention has been to dwell with His creation. In Exodus 25.8 God wanted to dwell among the nation of Israel in a tabernacle building. He said, And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. It has always been God's intention to dwell in the midst of His people. The tabernacle, His dwelling place, was right in the middle of the people of Israel. They camped all around the outside of Him, but He was the centrepiece, and nothing has changed. God has always wanted to dwell in His people.
Right in the beginning, when Adam and Eve fell, on the day they chose to go it alone, they died spiritually. No longer did they have God at the centre of their lives but were controlled by a fallen, adamic nature that controlled their mind, their will, and their emotions. The self-life controlled them. But as soon as the Holy Spirit comes on a believer, when He lives within occupying that place in their spirit, He now starts to govern their mind, their will, and their emotions. This was always God's intention. The fall of Adam is like a person who goes outside and has trouble starting their car. They hop out of their car, go to the front, and lift up the hood only to find that the motor has been stolen. That's what happened on the day Adam and Eve chose to go it alone. They died spiritually. They had no ability to live a holy life because their motor had been taken. But on the day a man repents of his sin and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his saviour, the Holy Spirit comes into that person, and upon that person, and they now have the means and the ability, they have the motor within the vehicle to control them so they can live a life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, Jesus says in verse 18, I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Jesus said He is going to come to us, but the person who will come is the Holy Spirit. The three are one. Galatians 4.4-6 brings this out.
Galatians 4.4-6 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
It's the Holy Spirit that confirms our sonship. We now know that we have a Father who loves and cares for us. He has adopted us as sons and we are an heir through Christ. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to confirm to believers that we are dearly loved and accepted in the beloved. You have a completely new position by which you can approach God as Abba, Father. Jesus Christ has met all the possible observances and requirements of the law to draw you back to God. It's the Holy Spirit's role to confirm that to you and me. In John 14.16 Jesus starts to talk more about the role of the Holy Spirit toward believers. Let's read a few things about Him.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.
John 16.7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
First of all the Father will give a Helper in John 14 and then Jesus will send Him in John 16. Once again the Trinity are one.
John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Interestingly, Jesus says that the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit, it doesn't say that they will not receive it. It's impossible for the world to receive Him unless He produces the need of a saviour in the fallen heart of man.
Not of His own authority
John 16.12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
The Holy Spirit is an equal member of the Trinity, but the Trinity is not individuals doing their own thing. The Lord Jesus Christ said in John 14.10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority either as written in John 16.13.
There is a wonderful picture of this in Genesis 24. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to present a bride to the Lord Jesus Christ, and conforming believers into the image of Christ. Abraham sent his servant back to his own land, to find a bride for Isaac. The servant is not named in the same way that the Holy Spirit is not named. The servant of Abaham was obedient to the instructions that Abraham gave. He had to be 100% obedient to find the right bride for Isaac. In a similar way the Holy Spirit will not speak on His own authority, His role is to do the Father's will and He is here to prepare a bride for the Son in the same way that Abraham's servant went to find a bride for Isaac.
Of things to come
In John 16.12-13 Jesus says that not only would the Holy Spirit not speak on His own authority, but He would tell them things to come. The disciples wanted to know what the end of the age would look like but Jesus only gave them a limited amount of revelation. When the Holy Spirit came He would complete the revelation that was to be given to mankind about the things to come. When you look at what was revealed to the apostles, to Paul, and especially to John in the Book of Revelation, it was often about things to come and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came once to die for the sins of the world. He will appear a second time to rule and reign on earth.
In John 16.14 Jesus says of the Holy Spirit, He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. This is the wonderful truth about the Holy Spirit - His primary role is to bring glory to the Son who left heaven, came down to this world, died on a cross and was raised again to the right hand of the Father. He will glorify Me not take glory and worship for Himself, but glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a bit like when you're driving on the highway and you see a billboard with lights all around the edge of it. The lights are there to show you what the message is. Maybe it’s an advert for a restaurant. You don't drive down the road and go, ‘whoa, look at those lights!”. No, the lights enlighten the message on the billboard inviting you to go to the restaurant to eat. The lights are not there as the focus, the glory or the attention. The lights point toward what you should be looking at. Where your gaze should be. It’s the same with the Holy Spirit. He does not want to be worshipped, His role is to point toward and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells mankind, about the Son, the saviour of the world. Many churches have got this the wrong way round. They have an overemphasis on the Holy Spirit but the Bible doesn't give this emphasis. Jesus said, He will glorify me for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you. His primary role once again is to enlighten the Lord Jesus Christ. The wonderful thing about the Trinity is that they all live to glorify another member of the Trinity. God exalts the Son in Php 2.9-11
Php 2.9-11 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Son, when He was on earth lived to glorify His Father. John 17.4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. Now that the Holy Spirit has come, His role is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ as it states in John 16.14. They do not bring glory to themselves - the Father glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father, and the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ.
Conclusion
So far we've looked at the Holy Spirit's role to the world, which is of conviction and judgement. His role toward believers is that He would dwell with them and in them and start to affect their mind, will, and emotions. He would also be the cause of fruit to God, speaking about things to come, and give out gifts according to His will within the body. That's in 1 Corinthians 12, chapter 11.We will finish with this verse in 2Co 13:14
2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
That's a beautiful little sum up from the book of Corinthians. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. The love of God is a Father's love for the world, that He gave His one and only Son. The communion of the Holy Spirit is His role, that He would draw alongside us as the paraclete. That He would be in you and with you and that you would commune with God through the Spirit of God. That He would dwell with you and in you and work alongside you and form you into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and present you as a spotless bride to the Son.
This has been just a small study of the Holy Spirit mainly on His role within the Trinity. There is a lot more including the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God bless you and I pray you would see more in the Word of God. Amen.