Home>
Ministries>
The Pastor Nathaniel's Blog>
The Pastor's Blog Archives>
Pastor's Blog Archives, 2019>
Pastor's Blog August 22, 2018
"The Holy Spirit"
{Scroll over scripture reference to read the scripture or reference.
The Holy Spirit is often taken for granted by Christians in a very specific way: not much thought is usually given to what makes the Spirit holy. The word "holy" (and the idea of holiness) is simply assumed, as if it was just another part of his name. But Romans 1:4 shows us that holiness tells us something about the Spirit and what he does: "And who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord" (NIV).
Paul's preamble to his letter to the Romans is about Jesus Christ and the gospel. In the first few verses of Romans 1, Paul identifies himself as a servant and apostle of Jesus who has been called to preach the gospel (v. 1) - and then he highlights the fact that the gospel was promised in the prophets (v. 2) so that we would know and recognize the Son of God as the promised Davidic king (v. 3) by means of his resurrection (v. 4), and respond to this good news by obeying Jesus (vv. 5-6) . But Paul also emphasizes two things about holiness in Romans 1:4. First, Paul identifies the Spirit as the Spirit of holiness - which is another way of saying "Holy Spirit." For Paul, the Spirit is intimately associated with holiness, and thus is probably the one who supremely shares God's holiness with us.
Second, Paul lists the many things holiness accomplishes for Jesus, which also extends to us through Jesus' life. Jesus is known as the Son of God, but only through the ministry and activity of the Holy Spirit; because the Spirit of holiness is connected with Jesus being "appointed" (or as other translations phrase it, "declared") the Son of God, grammatically the Spirit of holiness is also connected with Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Holiness is associated with Jesus and the Spirit, and it results in salvation for us - in this case, events in Jesus' life by which he secured that salvation for us.
As we worship God today, let us think about all the ways God's holiness brings about our salvation through Jesus.
God Bless.
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
