Ezekiel 37 verses 1 through 14. This is the word of our God. Let us give our attention to its reading. The hand of the Lord was upon me and he brought me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley. It was full of bones and he led me around among them. And behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, O Lord God, you know. Then he said to me, prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones. Behold, I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you. And you shall live and you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a sound and behold, a rattling and the bones came together bone to its bone. And I looked and behold, there were sinews on them and flesh had covered upon had come upon them and skin and covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, Son of Man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, Son of Man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are clean cut off. Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God. Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, all my people, and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, all my people. And I will put my spirit within you and you shall live and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have spoken and I will do it, declares the Lord. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Brothers and sisters, we come again this evening to continue our study. of our doctrine of God. Who is God? How does He reveal Himself? Particularly, we've been looking at the doctrine of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our Confession of Faith, if you were to look at it, at the back of the Trinity Hymnal, it contains chapters that speak of God, and it contains chapters that speak about the Son, and the work of the Son. And indeed, this has bothered some in the past, and if you know your Presbyterian history, you know that at one point the confession was actually amended, or additional chapters were included, and one of them was on the Holy Spirit. However, when our church was formed, and I don't just mean HOPC, I mean the Orthodox Presbyterian Church was formed, they did not accept those additional chapters. They did not accept the chapter on the Holy Spirit. And as one would begin to wonder, does that mean then that we do not believe in the Holy Spirit? Or do we somehow relegate the Spirit to some, I don't know, Second-class godhood. I don't know how we would even begin to think of such a thing But no if you were to go and look in the confession of faith It's the Holy Spirit is spoken of no less than eight times there in the confession 19 times in the shorter and larger catechism and in fact as I was putting together my study for tonight I was able by looking at the catechism to see all the points that I want to cover this evening the personality of the Holy Spirit the deity of the Spirit and the work of the Spirit and But I want to remind you that the role of the Holy Spirit, as we talk about, we've talked in the past about distinguishing between the Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit, as they relate to one another, and the Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit, as they relate to us. In that second way of thinking about it, what we call the Trinity in relation to us, or what theologically is referred to as the Economic Trinity, when we think about that, the role of the Holy Spirit is to draw us to the Father through the Son, And this is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit as we've looked in past weeks at Ephesians 1 and how the Spirit seals us to our inheritance, provides us, if you will, the down payment, Paul says. The fact that the Holy Spirit dwells within us is a guarantee that we will receive the final and full redemption at the resurrection. Moreover, the doctrine, as we talked about this in past weeks, the mutual indwelling of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ensures that no member of the Trinity is neglected. Yes, we self-consciously, and we're going to talk about this in a couple of weeks, we self-consciously think about our worship in Trinitarian terms. We come to the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit, just as we think of prayer that way, or it's a good way to think of prayer But it's not as though if one Sunday, or for each Sunday, we don't, okay, well one third of the time goes there, one third goes there, one third goes there. That is to misunderstand the doctrine of the Trinity. No person is neglected simply because we come and pray to the Father. With that said though, it is important that we understand what we believe about the Spirit and that we do, in fact, acknowledge that He is God. And this is one of the questions that we have for membership, that we talk about, that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God. And so this is something that we confess, and as we confess it, it's important that we understand it. Well, as we've looked in the past weeks at various ancient heresies, With regard to the doctrine of the Trinity, I mentioned that most of the heresies related to the person and work of Christ. But I was reminded this week that there was at least one heresy, one heretical movement associated with the Spirit, and I have been practicing the pronunciation of this word all week, and I think I'm going to mess it up. Let me go slow. It's the Pneumatomachians. The pneumatomachians. Once they say it once, I can usually get through it the rest of the times. And this literally means, interestingly, is spirit fighters. And these are those who accepted the deity of Jesus, but denied the deity of the Spirit. They saw the Spirit as a creation of the Son and as a servant of the Father and the Son. And this is what prompted the addition to our creed that we confess even this evening that we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. This confession that we make each and every week reminds us of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. He is God. He has been active. from the very beginning. And so let us consider together tonight's scripture, the Word of God, and see what we learn about God the Spirit. We begin with the person of the Holy Spirit. Typically the way that this is discussed in theological works is the personality of the Spirit, that He is, in fact, distinct from the Father and the Son, yet in relationship with them. He is called, at various times in Scripture, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. The Holy Spirit is a separate person from God the Father and from God the Son. And we see this in a few places, and just to point them out, we think, first of all, of the baptism of Jesus, the baptism of Christ. The Father speaks, this is my beloved Son. The Son is the one who is being baptized there by John the Baptist. and the Spirit descends like a dove, like the dove, as it meant that we should run out and make pictures of doves and say that's the Holy Spirit. It's talking about the means in which the Spirit descended. It was like a dove We also see the Spirit as a separate person, distinct, yet in relationship with the Father and the Son in the benediction, the benediction that often speaks of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. When we think of Jude, chapter 1, verses 20 and 21, you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. There we get all three members of the Trinity present there to encourage God's people And in this way, the Spirit cannot and must not be thought of as some emanating force from God. And this is, of course, what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach. They believe that God the Father dwells on some planet far away, and He uses the Spirit as sort of this impersonal force in order to work on the earth. No, no, the Spirit, a person, the Spirit in relationship to the Father and the Son. And we can see this just by the fact that the Spirit is the one whom the Father will send, whom the Son will send. One who will come and comfort His people. Note the use of the pronouns the scripture uses in reference to the Spirit. John 16, verses 14 and 15, He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine, therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. The Spirit has a distinct role within the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit. The Spirit has a distinct role in the work of redemption, even as we confess the Spirit is the one who overshadowed Mary, and she conceived Jesus. the Spirit there present even in the incarnation. But the Spirit has a relationship to us. The Holy Spirit is in relationship to us as God's people. And for this we think about what we see all throughout Scripture, particularly in the New Testament, as the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the church in Acts chapter 2. Indeed, in Acts chapter 15, verse 28, there we read, it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden." This is, of course, the Jerusalem Council, where they're deciding how to handle the Gentiles who have entered into the church. Do they make them be circumcised? Do they make them follow dietary laws and the other festivals of the church calendar at that time, the Jewish church calendar? No, as Peter says, it seemed good to the Holy Spirit. and to us. Not some emanating force, but one who's in relationship with God's people. And indeed, if you were to go and read chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation, you'll hear the refrain over and over, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So not only is the Spirit distinct from the Father and the Son, and in relationship to us, but also Scripture speaks of the personal characteristics of the Spirit. And for these, I'll just move somewhat quickly. Some of them we've covered in past weeks, but I also want to make sure we get to the rest of the sermon this evening. Now, the Spirit is a Spirit of wisdom. The Spirit has wisdom. In Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 2, or Ephesians chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, The Spirit also is the One who teaches. This is why when we read the Scripture and we turn to pray, we ask for God's Spirit to enlighten us, to lead us, to guide us, to teach us, because this is what Scripture tells us. In John 14, verse 26, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Yes, that is particularly for the apostles. And indeed, it was the work of the Spirit that ensured the inspiration and inscripturation of the Bible. We don't want to look at John 14 and verse 26 or any of those other passages in John's Gospel and think that they mean nothing for us. No, we as God's people are called to depend upon the Spirit to guide and to teach us, to keep us from error. We are to constantly turn back to God's Word, because this is how the Spirit speaks to us. In God's Word, John 16, verses 13-15, also speaking of the Spirit of Truth who will come The Spirit can also be lied to. Again, passages we're familiar with, Acts chapter 5, where Ananias and Sapphira come and they offer up their offerings and Peter says, you have not lied to man but to God. You have not lied to man but you have lied to the Spirit. The Spirit is one who can be lied to and also referenced as God. The Spirit can be grieved and even outraged. Paul tells the Ephesians, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. It doesn't work if the Spirit is some emanating force from the Father or some creation of the Son. No, the Spirit can be grieved. The Spirit can also be outraged. Hebrews 10.29 How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified and has outraged the Spirit of Grace? The Holy Spirit is God, just as the Father and the Son are God as well. Three persons, one God. And when we think of those passages, the spirit also is not some warm fuzzy that is often presented in theology or at least in our thinking. Well, so we see the person of the Holy Spirit, also notice the deity of the Spirit, and for this, just three points, and I've included scriptures there for you to consider throughout the week as you are able. First, the Spirit is holy, 1 Corinthians 6, verses 18 through 20. We see the Spirit is holy because we are supposed to, we are called to be holy because of the Holy Spirit's presence within us. And I hope that's not too confusing of an explanation, but Paul says this, flee from sexual immorality? Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you are bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Now Paul is not saying here that all those other sins that are outside your body are somehow better than the sin of sexual morality, but particularly if you know the church at Corinth, he's encouraging them and commanding them to flee away from sexual morality because that was their tendency. They were in a sex-saturated culture. and they have fallen into a number of grievous sins along those lines. So Paul is stressing the need for holiness, the need to flee from that kind of sin, and he draws on the reality that the Holy Spirit is within you. The Holy Spirit is holy. The Spirit is holy, and therefore we are called to be holy. The Spirit also, I'm sorry, and then just to connect it to the deity of Christ. Remember, of course, in Isaiah 6, that God is the one who is holy. He is holy, holy, holy. And so by calling the Spirit holy, it's not meant to say, well, He's just, you know, some really, really, really good Spirit. But to connect the Holy Spirit with what Scripture teaches us about the holiness of our God. The Spirit has all knowledge in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 10-11, as it is written, what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him. These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thought except the spirit of that person which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now, we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. This is a passage that we may spend some more time in, in the weeks to come, as we think of the relationship between the Father and the Spirit. But I've chosen it for this evening to show us that the Holy Spirit is, in fact, God, because He is the one who's able to know the mind of God. And indeed, if the Spirit had been created, if the Spirit had been merely an emanating force, then he would not be able to understand the depths of the mind of God. This is what Paul is getting at here, and we do well to heed this, particularly as we think, toward the end of our sermon this evening, about the role that the Spirit plays in our prayers. We don't know what to pray, oftentimes, as we are faced with decisions, or as we are faced with difficulties. We're not certain how to pray, but the Spirit knows how to pray, because He knows the mind of God. Because the Holy Spirit is God. The Spirit is eternal. So, the Spirit is holy, He has all knowledge, and He is eternal. Hebrews 9, verses 13 and 14. If the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience? from dead works to serve the living God. This is a passage that we looked at briefly in Sunday School this morning. But here, what I want to draw out of it is the eternality of the Holy Spirit. Again, the idea that He is somehow a created being or shows up on the scene kind of late. That's not it at all. He has been with God from the beginning, just as the Son forever dwelt with the Father and the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has always been there. This brings together the work of redemption, for Christ comes and He offers Himself through the Eternal Spirit in our behalf. So we see the person of the Holy Spirit, that He is in fact distinct from the Father and the Son. We see the Deity of the Holy Spirit. We also see the work of the Holy Spirit. from death. And it begins with the miracle of these dead bones. And in fact, they're more than dead bones. The language there is meant to describe for us dried, calcified bones that are brittle to the touch and no one, nothing is going to happen to bring life to them. No one's going to be able to say, oh, well, it only seemed like they were dead. No, these were a valley of bones laid out before Ezekiel and the question put before him, can these bones live? And Ezekiel answered, probably as wise as any human being can answer, Lord, You know. Uncertain of why it is that God has brought him there in this vision to stare at this valley of dry bones, he listens to the Word of God. He listens to the command to command the bones to come to life. What a marvelous picture that is as Ezekiel stands there in that valley and he simply says, the bones live. And they, all of a sudden, begin to come together. They become covered with muscles, flesh, and skin. No question that such an act would be a miracle. Indeed, it is there in Ezekiel chapter 37 that not only do the bones come back together, but then he's told to prophesy, to prophesy to the wind, to prophesy to the wind. And if you have a footnote in your Bible, it'll say that in all the verses where it talks about the wind, it also can be translated the word spirit. Because the word wind in the Hebrew, ruach, is the word for spirit. So Ezekiel prophesies to the wind. He calls the spirit to come into these bodies, these lifeless bodies, and they come to life. And the meaning of the dead bones is given to us in verses 11 through 14. God explains that He will do this very thing for His people. He will call His people from death to life. And what Ezekiel 37 gives for us, brothers and sisters, is a picture of salvation. It's creation. It's new creation language, even. The language that Ezekiel uses here is repeated elsewhere. It's in Genesis 2, verses 5-7, where God forms the man from the dust of the ground, and then He breathes into him the living Spirit. And he becomes a living creature. It's not until that moment the Spirit enters him. That's different than what we have here in Ezekiel. In Genesis chapter 2, it's merely the creation of the first man. But in Ezekiel 37, it's the recreation of the dead. It's those who have been killed. It's those who are dead that are brought back to life. And this is the picture of salvation that we find repeated by Jesus and I think picked up on here from Ezekiel 37 in John chapter 3. In John chapter 3, as Nicodemus goes to Jesus and he talks with him about about what it means, who God is and all of that. Let me just pick it up there in verse 1. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind, spirit, blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it goes or where it comes from. This is where Jesus connects it. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be? Jesus answered him, are you a teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? If you've ever read John chapter 3 and you've wondered why is Jesus rebuking Nicodemus? How would he understand these things? I don't understand them. It's because of Ezekiel 37. The promise of the spirit that would blow. The promise of the dead bones that would come to life. That a man can in fact be born again. Not by going back to the womb, but rather by the work of the Spirit within him, calling him to new life. And Paul completes it for us in 2 Corinthians 5, as he speaks of those who are in Christ as the new creation. All that was given there in Ezekiel 37 by way of promise, all that Jesus spoke of in John chapter 3, is a reality in us tonight. For we once were dead in our trespasses and sins. Apart from Christ, we would be no better off than those bones lying dry in the valley. But Christ has called us by the Spirit. His Spirit has entered in us and we have been born again. It is the Spirit who convicts us of our sin and convinces us of God's remedy in Christ. You may hear from time to time of those Christians who say that unless you believe in some ongoing supernatural gifts of the Spirit, such as healing, prophecy, tongues, that you don't really think highly of the work of the Spirit. But nothing could be further from the truth for us. For the work of the Spirit within us is evident in our repentance. The work of the Spirit within us is evident as we trust in Christ. This is the work of God's Spirit promised in Ezekiel 37, spoken of by Christ in John chapter 3. So the work of the Spirit is in regeneration. It's also in that great passage in Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit fills us, yes, but then doesn't leave us, but stays with us. He is that down payment, that deposit that guarantees the whole. And here we get the fruit of the Spirit. And I won't spend a lot of time on this. I have preached on Galatians 5 and these verses in the past. And if you'd like to hear that sermon, you can find it online. But notice first that it's singular. It's the fruit of the Spirit, not fruits. Just as the Apostle Paul speaks to the Corinthians about how love is patient, kind, and so on, here he speaks of love that shows itself in being peaceful, faithful, and joyful. This is the fruit of the Spirit. But notice also that this is the work of the Spirit. It's too easy for the fruit of the Spirit to become the nine commandments. that stood over us and judge us. Are you bearing enough fruit? Are you working hard enough to show this fruit in your lives? It can become just as condemning as are you following all ten of the commandments. But no, this is the work of the Spirit within us. It's that fruit that is planted. And the language here in Scripture is important. As it talks about fruit, it means that it reminds us that it comes in seasons. That there are some seasons that we bear more, and some seasons where we bear less. And that's not to say that we want to excuse those seasons where it feels as though our faith is dry. But I want to give us a way to understand it. This is the work of the Spirit within us. And by the way, that's good news. Because as you struggle, as you struggle with the fruit, as you don't show the patience, the love, the kindness, the joy, as you don't show the things that you want, it can become too easy for us to say, well, maybe I can struggle harder and try harder and do more. But if it's the work of the Spirit, then we can pray that God would, by His Spirit, produce this fruit in our lives. We can ask for God to help us to love others as He loves us. We can pray that the peace that we have with God will be manifest in the peace we have as a church. The fact that it's called fruit reminds us that it takes time, that it comes in seasons, and that it is a product in our lives, not something that we manufacture. But I also want to point out that because it's the fruit of the Spirit, that this is what God, by His Holy Spirit, is in fact producing in you. Though you struggle to be faithful, God is producing the fruit of faithfulness in you. Though you wrestle with self-control, the seed is planted and God is growing in you both the desire and the ability. These are promises of God's Word that we cling to that we hold fast to as we continue to struggle in this life. So the work of the Spirit is there in regeneration, in the beginning of our faith. It's there in the ongoing, as our faith goes on, as the fruit of the Spirit is made manifest more and more within us. But it's also there, and there's so much more that we could cover. I've written down there, sonship and prayer. These are things that we've talked about in the past, that the spirit within us, this is the spirit that cries out, Abba, Father. And it means that we are no longer slaves, but sons. And if a son, Paul says in Galatians 4, then we are heirs through God. This is the reality that the Spirit works within us. This is the reality that is produced within us. And we're called at all times to see this reality through the eyes of faith. This is why Scripture is given to us, so that we can understand these things. And as I already said in Romans 8, verses 26-27, the Spirit who helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit knows the mind of God, and He intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. There's so much more to think about with regard to the Spirit. There are the gifts of the Spirit that God continues to work within us, the fruit of the Spirit that God is producing within us. And then time will come to perhaps the greatest work of the Spirit within our lives as we wrestle. Obviously, regeneration is The fruit of the Spirit is amazing. The fruit of the Spirit is nothing short of miraculous. The Spirit also comforts us. Comforts us as we live in this life, as we struggle, as we sorrow, as we face sin, Satan, and death. The Spirit comforts us to remind us by God's Word that Christ has faced all of these for us. with the good hope that in the end, if Christ will tarry, in the end, we will see our Savior face to face. This is the work of God's Spirit within us. And all I can say about the questions of whether or not the Spirit is God, whether or not He is divine, is He has to be to fulfill the promises, to fulfill the work that God begins within us. Let's pray.