Scripture is very clear on the fact that the Holy Spirit has a number of other tasks. We read that it is the Spirit who renews the face of the earth every spring again (Psalm 104:30). Lord's Day 20 mentions specifically that it is the Holy Spirit who makes me by a true faith a partaker of Christ and His benefits. It is also He who comforts me and abides with me forever. But all these other tasks of the Spirit are to be understood in the light of this central task: He draws the attention of sinners to Jesus Christ.

For why is it that the Holy Spirit renews the face of the ground?

So that there might be life on earth, existence. Obviously, where there is no life, there can be none to praise God.

Why does He renew men's hearts, work faith?

So that men might be able to give glory to Jesus Christ.

Why is it that the Spirit abides with believers?

Because if it were not for the continued presence of the Spirit, not a single believer would remain a believer.

And none would seek the things that are above. The mandate given to the Spirit of the exalted Christ is based on the fact that all of life is dependent upon God. Apart from the Spirit, there can be no praise for God. Hence all that the Spirit does is directed to that one goal: glory for the exalted King of kings, Christ the Saviour.

So it is, then, that the presence of a Spirit with such a task is really a source of humiliation for men. The Saviour has obtained a salvation that no person in any way deserves. He has told us, too, that this salvation is for all who look to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. Yet there is not a single descendent of Adam that is able to observe what the Christ has done, to praise Him on account of it. Each is thoroughly dead in sin. And the dead see not. Christ may have obtained much for us but it does not profit us anything as long as God does not Himself apply it to us. Without Christ, there is no salvation. Without the Holy Spirit, the salvation that Christ may have acquired could not be made ours.¹

Why is it that the disciples were assured that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all the truth (John 16:13)? That was because the fallen mind of man is such that no man can comprehend the depths and the heights of God. They were given this promise because on human strength alone there can be neither Bible nor Christians. Because of our absolute depravity the Holy Spirit has been mandated to cause men to see the Christ. To deny depravity is also to deny the necessity of the Holy Spirit. Conversely, to challenge this work of the Holy Spirit is to challenge the reality of our deadness.

The fact of Pentecost has faced Christians with a challenge: why was Pentecost necessary?² And what is its real purpose? Yet these questions need not be that difficult. Human nature is such that no man would see Christ if it were not for the fact that a floodlight was placed on the Saviour. Even then, our eyes would be and remain blind until they were opened by the renewing work of the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit was poured out after Christ had finished His work on earth so that we might benefit from Christ's work; yes more, so that fallen men might glorify this exalted Lord. Pentecost, then, is just as important in the history of salvation as is the incarnation or the resurrection or the ascension.

Having said that, it is also clear why we may be thankful that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person. No one less than God Himself can free man from the snare of sin, can open the eyes of the spiritually blind. If the Holy Spirit were not Himself God, we would have no salvation. But as it is, even though Christ has left earth for heaven, we are not orphaned. "Immanuel" remains a reality, even after the Ascension. God the Spirit is with us, even dwells in our hearts, so that we might be enabled to behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. His identity makes His work possible.

The Work of the Holy Spirit is Christocentric³⤒🔗

He takes that which is Christ's and declares that to the disciples. He says to fallen, blinded men:

behold, the Christ. Look to Him, for He has many riches. He is greatly to be praised, for in Him there is much salvation.

The apostle Paul repeats the thought. The Holy Spirit causes us to direct our eyes to heaven, to where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1 ff; cf. Lord's Day 18.49).

A further indication that the central task of the Spirit is to cause men to look to Jesus Christ is given to us in Acts 2. If ever there would have been an opportunity for the Spirit to reveal precisely what His task was, that would surely have been Pentecost Day. Yet in that sermon which Peter preached after the Holy Spirit was poured out, Peter does not ask attention for the Spirit. Inspired by the very Spirit Who was moments before poured out, Peter asks the crowd to consider Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Certainly, he uses as text a passage from the prophecies of Joel that speak about pouring out the Spirit. But as soon as Peter gets to the sermon proper, what does he say?

Men of Israel, hear these words: 'Jesus of Nazareth …'Acts 2:22

And he goes on to explain how Jesus suffered, was crucified, died and was buried, but was raised by the Father on the third day and taken up into heaven and given a seat at God's right hand. And it is from His throne at God's right hand that Jesus "has poured out this which you see and hear" (Acts 2:33). And why has the Lord done this? That "all the house of Israel (might) know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36).

From what the Holy Spirit does on Pentecost Day, it becomes apparent that this is the basic thrust of His work. He causes men to see Jesus Christ. He does not cause people to look to Himself. No, He works with the Father and the Son to cause men to marvel at the redeeming work of God Almighty, and so to praise this great God, three in one. For that reason, even on the day of His outpouring, He acts as a floodlight. He does not draw attention to Himself, but He encourages people to look to the exalted King of kings and Lord of lords. To separate the Holy Spirit from Jesus Christ is to do a gross injustice to the revelation of God. There is a reason why the Scriptures repeatedly refer to the Holy Spirit as "the Spirit of Christ." It is His task to highlight the Saviour. What God has joined together, let not man cast asunder.

Implications of the Holy Spirit's Identity and Activity←⤒🔗

One hears the injunction rather frequently in our day that we are to be "filled with the Spirit." The suggestion is even this, that if one has not received a special filling of the Spirit — also referred to as the baptism of the Spirit — one is still missing something. I put it to you that being a Christian is synonomous to having the Spirit. To say that one has Christ is to say that one has the Spirit of Christ. To maintain that one is a Christian is to insist that one is filled with the Spirit. According to the Scriptures, it is the vital characteristic of every Christian that he is filled with the Spirit of his Saviour. Consider the following material.

Peter concluded his sermon on Pentecost day with the injunction that all should repent, and be baptized. To that command, the apostle, on the authority of the outpoured Spirit, appended a promise: "and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38ff). It is instructive to note that Peter does not speak of probabilities. The Pentecost audience is not told that they "might" receive the Holy Spirit. Rather, the consequence of repentance is   to be the reception of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Spirit in a believer is presented as being a matter of course.

The apostle Paul outlines the farreaching consequences of being "justified by faith." Among these consequences, he makes mention of "the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). Paul, just as Peter, records the Spirit's presence in a believer as a reality. Again, in Romans 8 the apostle is very specific: "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him" (verse 9). And to "belong to Christ" can be nothing else than being a Christian. To the believers in Corinth, Paul writes: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?" (l Corinthians 6:19). In another letter to these Christians, Paul writes in connection with our God-given hope of a "heavenly dwelling" that "He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (Il Corinthians 5:5). Nor does John speak differently. "By this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us" (l John 3:24, cf4:13).⁴

It would seem that these statements of Scripture speak for themselves. Undeniably, to be a Christian is to have the Spirit. The two are inseparable. That would mean also that a child of God need not seek the "fullness of the Spirit." He has that fullness. Nor are Christians to be divided into two distinct groups, those who do have the Spirit, and those who do not. Such a distinction is not taught in the Word of God.

Actually, the fact that the Spirit is pleased to dwell in the hearts of each and every Christian also flows logically out of what is the task of the Spirit. If it is His work to focus the attention of men to Jesus Christ, how shall men be Christians apart from the Spirit? This testimony of Scripture that each Christian invariably is possessed by the Holy Spirit is further evidence of the validity of the thesis that the Spirit's central work is to focus the attention of sinners to Jesus Christ.

But if all Christians have the Holy Spirit — or, to be more precise, if the Spirit has all Christians; as if we could ever possess the Almighty Spirit of God! — then this reality must necessarily become apparent, There are few, who will deny that certain consequences must flow out of the presence of the Spirit. But differences arise as soon as one inquires how the presence of the Spirit becomes apparent. For there are those who say that this presence must be manifested in such things as speaking in tongues or having the ability to heal or be healed. Or it is the desire to run around and do all kinds of things for Christ. Yet that IV not at all what we learn from the Word of God, The apostle Paul tells us what the fruits of the Spirit's presence are: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22ff). It is not Aging all kinds of Christian activities that indicates the Spirit's presence; it is rather that one does God's commands in a certain manner. It is, as the apostle expresses it in another place, that one is renewed after the image of the Creator (Colossians 3:10). And who is it that has demonstrated to us what it is like to be renewed after the image of the Creator? That is no one else than the Lord Jesus Christ. Being filled with the Spirit manifests itself by the fact that a Christian is an imitator of Christ; he has a Christ-like character in his personal, everyday life. So it is that Paul can pen these words: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (Il Corinthians 3:18).

Again, given that the Holy Spirit focuses the attention of sinners to Jesus Christ, it logically follows that those in whom He dwells will also draw attention to the Saviour. They will do so by their entire life-style. They not only behold the glory of the Lord; they also reflect the glory of the Lord.⁵ To maintain that the Spirit directs attention to the exalted Christ implies that one has to relegate the same function to those in whom He dwells. Christians, just like the Spirit, glorify the Saviour (cf John 16:14).

That means also that speaking in tongues and healing are not to be considered the telltale marks of the presence of the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit will cause someone to speak in tongues only if glossolalia is needed in a given situation to draw attention to Jesus Christ. It is the fruits of the Spirit that are the telltale marks of the Spirit's presence.

We are ourselves thankful that we are permitted to be children of God. But let us then also carry through to the consistent consequence. To be Christians means to have the Spirit. To be possessed by the Holy Spirit implies that one leads a Christ-like life; due to the work of the Spirit within us, Christians are reflectors of the Son of God. Living in sin and being controlled by the Holy Spirit are contradictions. That entire section of the Heidelberg Catechism which deals with conversion, good works and the ten commandments (Lord's Day 32-44) is to be seen in the light of the Spirit's presence within us. These are all included in the fruits of the Spirit.

Furthermore, because the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to behold the exalted Saviour we must respond in fitting ways to the picture we are permitted to see. lnasmuch as an art buff cannot contain his delight because of the beauty revealed by a spotlight on a particular painting, so also a Christian, by definition, cannot remain silent about what the Spirit has allowed him to see in Christ. It is a consequence of being filled by the Holy Spirit that one is compelled to speak — each in his own place — about that glorious Saviour seated on heaven's throne. Call it what you will — evangelizing, home mission, speaking of the Lord, living as the image of Christ — it is a natural result of being filled with the Spirit of Christ. Because the Holy Spirit — true God — draws our attention to that redemption obtained for us by true God, it is not possible for a Christian — a person filled with the Spirit of God — to be cold to the Lord God. Enthusiasm for God is part and parcel of being filled with the Spirit — unless God can somehow deny Himself.

I do not wish to state that we lack severely the required enthusiasm for the Lord. But the fact may be considered established that we all are and remain sinful, we all continue to have need for improvement. So we do well to examine ourselves continually for evidence that we show the fruits of the presence of the Spirit of God within us. After all, we are able to quench the Spirit of Christ (l Thessalonians 5:19).

From the evangelical Christian world of today, one hears reports of congregations with great enthusiasm for the Lord; so great, in fact, that there is a burst of evangelizing activity. One hears also of overflowing happiness, expressed in a genuine love for each other and others. One hears of this joy in Christ being expressed by dancing and handclapping, not unlike David did when the ark was brought up to Jerusalem (II Samuel 6:14).

For whatever reason, we greet these reports with a measure of scepticism and tend to write them off as uncontrolled excesses in emotionalism.

One cannot deny that there are examples of excesses. But I would warn that we do not condemn an entire movement because of the excesses of some. If there is indeed this joy in the Lord and enthusiasm for His service — and that reality cannot be denied — then we are to recognize that the Holy Spirit is working in the world around us. The ways in which others worship God may strike us as somewhat strange — and they may need correction — but we do well not to stare ourselves blind on the shortcomings of fellow Christians. We might instead consider learning from their enthusiasm for the Lord. For one cannot deny — thankfully — that the Holy Spirit is doing His work of spotlighting the exalted Lord also outside of our circles.

I should like to conclude with a note of warning and encouragement. One hears sounds to the effect that one ought to be able to feel the presence of the Spirit. Whether or not one feels His presence is then made a criterion of whether or not one has the Spirit.

We noted that it is part and parcel of being a Christian that the Spirit of Christ dwells within a person. So, no Christian need rely on emotion in order to be convinced that the Spirit is near.

That, however, does not do away with the fact that one can at times wonder whether or not he really is filled with the Holy Spirit. This questioning can in turn even lead to the thought that one might not be a child of God after all.

In that context, I wish to draw your attention to the Canons of Dort. Chapter III/IV, a part of our confession that deals quite extensively with the work of the Holy Spirit, concludes with these words: "For grace is conferred through admonitions, and the more readily we do our duty, the more this favour of God, who works in us, usually manifests itself in its lustre and the more directly His works proceed" (Article 17). One might fail to sense the presence of the Holy Spirit, but that ought not to discourage anyone; the Spirit is present. To become the more fully aware of the Spirits' presence, one has the duty to use the means which the Spirit has been pleased to use to mediate His presence. Those means include the diligent reading and study of the Word of God, as well as using the preaching of the Word and the sacraments as thoroughly as possible, That promise is fixed for us: as children of God in whom the Lord has been pleased to work faith, we may be sure that we have received the Holy Spirit. Such was His promise when we were baptized. The fact that we are allowed to be able to see Jesus, and the glorious work of redemption which He accomplished for us, is proof of the fact that to us has been given the Spirit of Christ. This Spirit, from eternity God Almighty, dwells in our hearts, as a guarantee that one day we shall again dwell with God Himself.

Our day focuses much attention on the Holy Spirit. It is well for us to know what the Lord has revealed concerning the third Person of the Trinity. But we are not to stare ourselves blind on the Spirit. He was not given so that we might look to Him. He was given in order to direct us to the exalted Christ. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we want to look into the floodlight, and neglect the lighted building.