The Spirit of God
Last weekend, we addressed the long-awaited fulfillment of God’s promise that the Spirit of God would fall on God’s people. This fulfillment comes at Pentecost – in a sudden, unexpected flurry of wind and fire that rests on the disciples in Jerusalem, then fills them so that they start proclaiming the mighty works of God.
Pentecost is like God showing off with fireworks. The initial “boom” from the canon is the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the “crack” of the explosion in the sky is the coming of the Spirit. This event, like a firework, is on display for many to see and marvel at. And that’s the point – God is, with a bang, showing that His Kingdom is here and that He will advance it by the means of Spirit empowered humans.
I said in the sermon this weekend that the Spirit of God, as mysterious as He is, shows up time and time again in the Old Testament. In fact, I essentially wrote a second sermon last week on this very thing. On this Tuesday, I wanted to give you just a little taste of what I was looking at last week in hopes to give you another level of gratitude about the gift of the Spirit.
The Spirit Creating Order
In Genesis 1:2, the earth is formless and void and “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” What’s the significance of this moment? It shows us that the Spirit of God is intricately tied into everything that follows – God creating order out of chaos by forming the earth and filling it. The word for Spirit in Hebrew is Ruakh – which means breath, or wind. This wind of God then shows up then in God’s re-creation of ordering the world, after the flood. In Genesis 8:1, we read “and God made a wind (ruakh) blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.” It is the same Spirit that creates order from chaos that is given to us take our lives and re-order them. By His spirit, He takes formless hearts of stone, and makes them intricate beating hearts of flesh.
The Spirit Filling for Empowerment
In Genesis 41 – the patriarch Joseph starts to interpret the dreams of Pharoah. In 41:28, these interpretations are credited to the work of the Holy Spirit through Joseph, giving us the first glimpse of a Spirit empowered human. We see next, in Exodus 31 that God fills Bezalel with the Spirit to empower him for the work of crafting the designs and artistry in the tabernacle. Then, fast forward to the prophets and we see that the Spirit of god empowers them to speak God’s words powerfully (Micah 3:8). The OT paves the way for the expectation that the Spirit will empower God’s people for the advance of God’s Kingdom.
The Spirit Giving Life
In Ezekiel 36:26 God says that He will put His own Spirit in His people. He says, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Then in Ezekiel 37, the prophet is given a vision of a valley of dry, dead bones that come alive when God’s Spirit comes upon them. God states “I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live….” The OT sets us up to expect that the Spirit will come and give people life. And in the New Testament, we see that Jesus teaches (John 14, 16) that the Spirit is going to be sent as a pointer to Christ by convicting the world of Sin and drawing them to Himself – who is the only way to salvation. And that the Spirit’s indwelling is the means by which Christians are sanctified (2 Cor. 3:18).
Church, may we marvel at the gift of the Holy Spirit (something we likely don’t do enough). Contemplate it. Celebrate it! The Spirit that ordered the world re-orders you if you’re in Christ. The Spirit that empowered the prophets is accessible to you for power. The Spirit that breathes life into dry bones has given you life! Hallelujah, and Amen.
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” – Romans 8:11
In Christ’s mercy,
Pastor Ryan Aufenkamp