Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt August 3rd, 2025
The Person And Work Of The Holy Spirit- Part 5
On the last night the Lord Jesus spent with his disciples before his crucifixion, he talked with them about things that seemingly had nothing to do with the normal Passover celebration. The triumphal entry celebration of Jesus coming into Jerusalem to the praise and adoration of tens of thousands should have been an occasion for great celebration. Jesus wasn’t acting like the Messiah coming to take His place on the throne of David. As they gathered in the upper room for the Passover celebration Jesus was clearly troubled. Then He washed their feet which was usually done by the lowest servant. It caused a stir because for him to wash the feet of His disciples was unthinkable. But Jesus was teaching what the Kingdom of God looked like in practice. Jesus meant the act to be a powerful lesson on being a servant leader. During the Passover meal Jesus, by connecting the bread and the wine to His body and blood announced the inauguration of a new covenant with God, one sealed by His sacrifice and based on faith and grace rather than external observances or ritual.
They couldn’t see it but His main goal that night was to prepare them for the future — not just for his arrest and death, but also for when he ascended to His Father in Heaven. And one of the most amazing things he told them was that they would be better off once he was gone. Can you imagine what it was like for the disciples to hear Jesus speaking with them face to face, and having him tell them that? They were also being given a lesson on what it meant to walk by faith not by sight. What they were unable to understand was that once Jesus was gone, God’s Holy Spirit would be sent to them. Have you ever been told something that was going to completely change everything in your life? It was so overwhelming that nothing that anyone said brought any comfort. All the disciples heard was that Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah was leaving them and going back to the Father.
Jesus had been with them for 3 years and they knew that without Him there was no way they could continue, not without Him being there. Jesus was letting them know that this was good news, the Holy Spirit would be with them, indwelling them. There was no way they could conceive of what this would mean until it happened. The Spirit would enable them to fulfill their roles in the founding of Christ’s kingdom here on earth. And he would empower the church to build God’s kingdom throughout the world. Jesus was pointing His disciples to a new thing that was based on the prophetic word within the Hebrew Scriptures. The person and work of the Holy Spirit as God would have been unknown to them but would soon be revealed in power.
For the first time in their lives the Old Testament would come alive in ways that had been previously hidden. This power that Jesus promised them was not their power but the same power that Jesus demonstrated while He was with them in the flesh. The time would come when they remembered the dove descending down upon Jesus as he came up out of the waters of baptism. This was the power to accomplish the will of the Father, through the Son, by means of the Holy Spirit.
Even though Jesus would not be physically present with them until His return at the end of the ages, He would be with them in ways previously impossible. In truth the disciples would have a more intimate relationship with Jesus than ever before. Remember how Matthew ended his gospel with Jesus final words to His disciples as He prepared to ascend back to the Father. Matthew 28:19-20,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In truth the disciples had no understanding of what Jesus was telling them and wouldn’t until Pentecost when the blinders came off and they would finally be able to see, to experience what Jesus had promised. Because of their faithful obedience the Father and the Son would come and make their dwelling within them just as Jesus promised in John 14:23.
This morning we’ll be focusing on the Holy Spirit’s work within the community of God’s covenant people. This is week 5 in our series of “The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
Before the days of Abraham, God dealt with all human beings in the same way. But today we’ll look at the providential work he does within just a segment of humanity. Beginning with Abraham, God entered into a special relationship with a distinct group of people. And he created a covenant to govern this relationship. From Abraham onward, God has always had a special covenant people. And we call this covenant people “the church.”
Scripture also refers to ancient Israel — Abraham’s descendants — as “the church.” The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses the Greek term ekklesia to designate the “assembly” or “congregation” of Israel. This is the same word commonly translated “church” in the New Testament. The Septuagint uses this term as a name for Israel where these terms are used. (Deuteronomy 9:10, 31:30; Judges 20:2; 1 Kings 8:14; and Psalm 22:22, 25).
Even the New Testament refers to national Israel as an ekklesia in Acts 7:38. “This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.”
Listen to how Peter described the church in 1 Peter 2:9: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.”
In speaking of the New Testament church, Peter called it by several Old Testament names for the nation of Israel.
In Exodus 19:6, God called Israel, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” In Deuteronomy 7:6, Israel is referred to as “a people holy to the Lord … his treasured possession.” And in Isaiah 62:12, we read, “Israel will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord.”
When Peter referred to the New Testament church by Israel’s Old Testament names, he indicated that these two groups constitute a single, continuous covenant people. Why is this important? Because it points us to the plan of God to redeem those who would be His ekklesia, the people who were in covenant relationship with God. This is not new but has always been that way. Of course, there are differences between God’s covenant communities in the Old and New Testaments. But their unbroken flow or connection helps us understand the Holy Spirit’s work.
In both Testaments, and throughout history since then, the Spirit’s work among God’s covenant people has greatly surpassed his work in the rest of creation. So when we use the word “church,” we’ll have both the Old Testament and New Testament covenant communities in mind.
We’ll explore the Holy Spirit’s work of providence in the church in three parts. First, we’ll look at his covenant of grace. Next week we’ll consider his provision of the Holy Word of God- the Scriptures. And then the next week we’ll address the Holy Spirit’s spiritual gifts to those within the church-the covenant community. Let’s look first at the Holy Spirit’s covenant or special grace.
In both the Old and the New Testament, Scripture describes God’s relationship with his church as a covenant. The Westminster Confession of Faith describes a covenant as “an agreement or binding arrangement between two or more persons.” This definition aligns with the term “covenant” translated from the Hebrew word berîth in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament the Greek word diatheke. These are the same words the ancient world used to describe international treaties. In particular, God’s covenant relationship with his people resembles ancient treaties between great emperors and those within the kingdoms that served them.
These Ancient treaties shared three features in common: They expressed the emperor’s benevolence toward his subjects. They defined the loyalty the emperor’s required of his subjects. And they explained the consequences that would result from the subjects loyalty or disloyalty. And these treaties, or covenants, continued throughout the generations, so that the successors of the subjects would continue to serve the successors of the emperor. In a similar fashion, God’s covenants record his benevolence toward his people, explaining the loyalty they owe him, and describe the consequences for obedience or disobedience. Remember that in Moses writing to the children of Israel he is explaining their relationship with Yahweh in a way that would be familiar to them, especially those who had grown up in and been delivered from Egypt.
It's here that we can introduce the terms Common and Special- Covenant grace. Common grace is the Spirit’s work of promoting goodness and life in all humanity — a type of general benevolence. But God’s covenant with the church includes an even greater measure of benevolence, promoting goodness and life that exceeds common grace. And it includes greater patience, forbearance and mercy than the rest of humanity receives. This is true for everyone in the church, whether or not they have saving faith.
In the days of Abraham, Moses and David, God made covenants that extended special grace to the entire nation of Israel. He first created Israel as a special nation when he called Abraham into a covenant relationship in Genesis 15, 17. This covenant graciously promised that Abraham’s descendants would inherit the Promised Land, and that they would rule over all the nations of the earth. As Paul wrote in Romans 4:13: “Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world.”
Abraham received this promise on the basis of God’s grace, which Abraham received through faith. God appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God called him to leave his home and family and travel to a land that God would show him. This indicates that Abraham was not actively seeking God but was likely an idol worshipper and had never heard of Yahweh. Hebrews 11:8 tells us, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Throughout Israel’s history, God continued to deal with them graciously. Everyone familiar with the Old Testament knows that the nation of Israel was often unfaithful to God. They grumbled against him. They resented his plans for them. They worshiped other gods. They mistreated their neighbors.
God showed covenant grace to Israel when he rescued them from Egypt. He divided the Red Sea for them, destroyed Pharaoh’s army, and gave Israel rest in the Promised Land. Despite these blessings, Israel continued to sin against him. But even as they continued to sin, God’s Spirit continued to extend covenant mercy and grace to them.
Deuteronomy 7:6-8, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
Nehemiah 9 summarizes Israel’s national history from Abraham through the attempted restoration of the kingdom in the fifth century B.C. Throughout this summary, it says that God treated Israel with love and mercy, despite their flagrant rebellion. Listen to just a couple of examples of the Spirit’s covenant grace in this chapter. In Nehemiah 9:17-20, we read: “You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, “This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,” or when they committed awful blasphemies. Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert… You gave your good Spirit to instruct them.”
Here, Nehemiah referred to Israel’s sin in the days of Moses. The fact that Israel committed these idolatries and blasphemies proves that many Israelites weren’t true believers though they lived in the covenant community and experienced the blessings of God. They were still in covenant with God, and he still treated them with covenant grace. As Nehemiah emphasized, God sent his Spirit not to punish Israel, but to instruct them.
In the days of David, God graciously established a permanent dynasty in Israel. But the people were so unfaithful that in 930 B.C. God divided the kingdom into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. For the next several hundred years, God continued to express covenant grace by sending prophets to encourage the people to repent. But they didn’t. So, he sent Israel into exile in 722 B.C., and Judah into exile in 586 B.C. But even then, he maintained his covenant grace. Nehemiah continues in 9:30-31:
“By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.”
The attempted kingdom restoration in Nehemiah’s time was another example of God’s covenant grace. It ultimately failed because the people continued to be unfaithful. But God’s covenant grace stood firm, so that he protected and sustained the nation for the next five centuries and promised to restore them to faith through his Messiah or Christ. Listen to how Zechariah 12:10 describes this coming salvation: “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication.”
Ancient Israel’s history is characterized by failure and hope. God’s covenant promises guaranteed Israel’s ultimate success. But Israel’s near-constant rebellion against God meant that, generation after generation, they fell under the consequences of disobedience. Israel’s kingdom was divided in two, and each part was dragged away into exile for its own sin. When their exile ended, their restoration attempts failed because they wouldn’t remain faithful to the one that had rescued them. Even so, God’s covenant grace remained strong. And in that grace, he eventually sent Jesus to rescue his covenant nation. Some in that nation received him as Messiah and they became the early covenant community of the church. So keeping in mind how the Spirit providentially dealt with the church in the Old Testament, let’s turn our attention to his covenant grace of the New Testament.
Just like the church in the Old Testament; the New Testament church contains both believers and unbelievers. And, just as in the Old Testament, the entire church community is in covenant with God. This is why the New Testament often addresses the matter of unbelievers in the church.
For example, Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds, in Matthew 13:24-30. This parable assumes that there will be unbelievers in the church, and it warns that even professing believers might not be saved. In Galatians 5:4, Paul said that those who were trying to be justified by the law had fallen away from grace. In other words if they were faithful in doing and being good they felt their salvation was assured. First Timothy 1:19, 20 speaks of some that had “shipwrecked their faith” and had been “handed over to Satan.”
Hebrews 6:4-6 also warns that those who have shared in the blessings of the Holy Spirit can fall away and be lost. Does this mean that they lost their salvation? No it does not, as a matter of fact it serves as a reminder to those who have actually come to faith in Christ of the importance of perseverance. It also as a warning to those who have claimed to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but in reality have not. Later on the writer of Hebrews assures those who have come to saving faith to rest assure of God’s faithfulness. Listen to Hebrews 6:17-18, “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”
We see that we can trust God to keep us because of two unchangeable things: He never changes, and He doesn’t lie. All these ideas are points of continuity between the church in the Old and New Testaments.
Obviously we hope that most of the people in our churches are believers. But regardless the soundness of their faith, the fact that we’re in covenant with God means that the Holy Spirit shows us a measure of covenant grace. This isn’t necessarily saving grace — that grace is reserved for believers. But it’s still grace. It’s still unmerited favor from God that improves our lives and presents us with the opportunity to be saved.
Think of it this way: everyone that is part of the church is regularly presented with the gospel and the opportunity to repent and be saved. I know that when statements like this are made there will be some who will think to themselves, “Am I saved?” So let’s end today with breaking it down to a very simple way of thinking about this in our own lives.
For those of you who have been in Bible studies with me I normally pose the question, “What is the central theme of the whole of God’s word?” What theologians call the “Meta Narrative”, the overall theme of the Word of God. I believe that the answer to this is the Kingdom of God.”
From Genesis to Revelation the whole story is built around God’s design for the Kingdom of Heaven to come down and join with the earthly kingdom. Jesus taught us to pray for that in the Lord’s Prayer. “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in Heaven.” Listen to Jeremiah 31:33, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
This theme is throughout the Bible in one form or another. (Genesis 17:8; Exodus 29:45; Ezekiel 14:11; Zechariah 8:8; 2 Corinthians 6:16)
In closing listen to the Revelation 21:1-4, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Does this resonate with you? Is this the longing of your heart? Are you willing to bow down before the Lord inviting Him to be the most important, the number reason for living. If this is you I suspect that you know. If this isn’t you I would love to sit and talk together. Let’s pray.
