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INJ
The Holy Spirit: The Comforter
St John 14:23-31
Divine Service
Pentecost, June 4th, 2006
Dear Saints,
Jesus promises His disciples that He would send His Holy Spirit. This is what Pentecost is about, how fifty days after Easter, ten days after the Ascension, the disciples were still afraid, they were still locked in the upper room. But on that day, the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, as Jesus promised, and sat on top of each of the disciples in the form of a tongue of fire, and they began to preach, fearlessly preach the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus' death and resurrection. Even in languages that they didn't know, so that all the people gathered in the city, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, so that all the world could hear the preaching about Jesus.
It is fitting for us, today, to consider the special work of God the Holy Spirit, how He worked on the first Pentecost, and how He continues to work today in the church. This is especially important considering all the false teaching the abound concerning the Holy Spirit. There are churches that seem to specialize in the Holy Spirit, where the mark of salvation in speaking in tongues or being 'slain in the spirit,' which is where someone is cast to the floor and shakes uncontrollably. Charismatic and Pentecostal services are filled with 'prophecy' and 'word's of knowledge' in which the Holy Spirit gives direct revelation to people.
On the other hand, many churches who continue to move away from the Scriptures claim to have the Holy Spirit on their side. In the recent debacle of the Episcopalians electing a homosexual bishop, I remember reading an explanation concerning why the church is no longer bound to the prohibitions concerning homosexuality that are so clear in the Scriptures. The logic is this: the Holy Spirit continues to speak in the church, and we are listening to the Spirit, who has told us that the prohibitions against homosexual acts is outdated, and no longer applies. So the Holy Spirit is blamed for rejecting God's Word.
But is this what the Holy Spirit does? Is this why we need the Holy Spirit? So we can get a new word from God and know better what words in the Bible to believe and which ones are outdated? So that we can be carried off into some sort of religious ecstasy? No. Of course not. To learn why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, and to know what the Holy Spirit is come to do, we turn the Words of the Scripture, especially the Gospel text for today [St John 14:23-31].
The text begins with Jesus saying, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.” [14:23] Now that is some wonderful stuff, that the Father will love us and that He and Jesus will dwell with us, even make their home with us, but it's all conditional, it's all based on an 'if', a very big 'if'. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word.
This 'if' stands between us and God, between us and life, between us and the Father's love; if we keep His word, that is, hear and believe and live according to His word, He will love us. This is truly a daunting 'if', especially for us sinners. Paul says, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.” [1 Corinthians 2:14] So that in ourselves, by our own strength and our own will and our own power and our own choice, we cannot, in any way, keep His word. So Jesus' 'if' is an iron curtain that completely cuts sinners off from any hope of life and salvation, but rather locks us down in our miserable sinful condition.
This is why Jesus sends the Holy Spirit. To do what we cannot do, to create in us faith and trust in Christ and His words and promises to us. This is why Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Comforter. The Greek word in the text is paraklatos, and somewhat difficult to translate. The NIV translates, “Advocate,” which isn't terrible, but has the idea that we are good, but we're just in need of someone to speak of our goodness and defend our innocence. I've been wrongly accused of stealing the cookies, and I need an Advocate to defend my innocence. The ESV and the NKJV (which you have on the bulletin) translate “Helper”, which also isn't helpful, it's as if we are doing most of the work, we just need a little extra muscle. I'm lifting the piano into the house, but I can't quite get it, and so I need a helper. The Holy Spirit does more, much more than help us, giving us that extra boost.
The KJV translates paraklatos as “Comforter”, and this is it. A comforter is one who comes along side of us and gives us what we do not have. When we are in despair, a comforter speaks hope, when we are surrounded by darkness, a comforter brings light. So the Holy Spirit, He is our Comforter, into the darkness and despair of our own wretched sinfulness, He comes bringing that which we do not have, the hope of heaven, the light of the Gospel, the forgiveness of all of our sins.
And the Holy Spirit does this by teaching and preaching. As He was manifest on Pentecost in the form of a tongue, this is a fitting emblem of the Holy Spirit's work. Jesus describes the Spirit as the wind to Nicodemus, “the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.” [St John 3:8] So the Holy Spirit is generally not seen, but always heard. He comes teaching and preaching God's words and promises. “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to remembrance all things that I said to you.” [14:26]
And this teaching and preaching of the Holy Spirit brings peace. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” [14:27] The peace of Jesus, that passes all understanding, that is far above what we could achieve, the peace between God and man that Jesus accomplished on the cross, this is the peace that the Holy Spirit brings to us, the comfort that the Comforter gives to us.
If you all will allow me a personal story, I remember the first time I visited a Missouri Synod service. Keri and I were mostly going to contemporary services. When we left I remember saying something like, “I really just didn't feel the Holy Spirit there.” The service wasn't emotional or terribly exciting, and I mistook that as the Holy Spirit's absence. But how terrible to reduce the work of the Holy Spirit to my own emotional condition, as if the whole work of the Spirit is to give us goose-bumps.
The Holy Spirit, which our heavenly Father sends to us in the name of His Son Jesus does much more than this, He comes speaking comfort and peace, giving us faith and trust in the promises of God. By the work of the Holy Spirit we keep Jesus' word, we hear it, and believe it, and even begin to follow and keep it and live our lives according to it. These are the works of our God, the Holy Spirit.
And so how do we recognize Him? How do we know that He is here with us, even today? Do we feel Him? Does He give us some sort of religious experience? We know and are certain that the Holy Spirit is here because we have heard Him teaching about Jesus, and His cross, and the salvation that this has won for us.
In the words, “I forgive you all your sins.”
In the words of the Scriptures read and sung and said together.
In these words we are about to hear, “Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.”
These are the words and works of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. May God the Holy Spirit grant unto us both to hear and believe His Comforting promises to us. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO
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