The Holy Spirit and the New Covenant

I developed the following outline a number of years ago. The aim is to show how our experience of the Holy Spirit fits into God's will as revealed in Scripture.  I have used the biblical concept of "covenant" to provide a frame of reference.

The Holy Spirit and the New Covenant

Old Testament background:

Exodus 19:5-8:  Israel agrees to live as God’s covenant people.

Leviticus 26:9-13:  God’s purpose for the covenant with Israel:  He will be their God, and they will be his people.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (Heb. 8:8-12); Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:25-27: Because Israel has repeatedly broken the covenant, God promises a new covenant, a new people of God, with new hearts cleansed from sin, with God’s Spirit living within them to enable and motivate them to please and obey God.

Isaiah 11:1-9: 42:1-6; 49:5-8; 61:1-3 (Lk. 4:18-19): Prophecies about the Spirit-anointed Servant of God, who will bring deliverance and justice not only to Israel but to all the Gentile nations as well. (Note that the Servant is the covenant in Isa. 42:6; 49:8.)

New Testament fulfillment:

John 1:29-34:  John the Baptist prophetically announces that Jesus fulfills the OT prophecies:

1)  Jesus will take away sin (bring deliverance and forgiveness by his sacrificial death as God’s “Lamb”).

2)  The Spirit descends and remains upon Jesus: He is the Spirit-anointed one of whom Isaiah spoke; cf. Luke 4:18-19.

3)  Jesus will give the Holy Spirit (the power to make life in the new covenant possible).

John 3:5: Entrance into the new covenant is by the work of the Holy Spirit.

John 7:38-39: Jesus was here, but the new covenant was still to come, since Jesus had not yet died, nor had the Holy Spirit been given.

John 14:16-26; 16:7-16: Jesus promises the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 22:20: Basis of the new covenant is Jesus’ blood (his sacrificial death for our sins; see also Isaiah 53, 1 Cor. 11:25).

Acts 1:4, 5, 8: Jesus promises the power of the Holy Spirit to enable the disciples to perform the tasks given to them.

Acts 2: The disciples receive the power promised by Jesus (and promised earlier in OT).

Romans 8:9-17: The Spirit’s presence is evidence of participation in the new covenant, as seen by the personal awareness of relationship with God (Rom. 8:16; also Gal. 4:6; 1 John 3:24: 4:13).

1 Corinthians 12:3: Only the Holy Spirit enables one truly to confess Jesus as Lord (the most fundamental confession of the Christian faith, Rom. 10:9-10).

2 Corinthians 3:6: The power of the new covenant is the Holy Spirit within us.

Hebrews 9:11-15: The new covenant is established through Jesus’ sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:19-22: This opens the way for our direct fellowship with God—we can enter the holy place, into the presence of God.

To summarize the most important points:

The Basis of the new covenant is forgiveness of sins through the sacrificial death of the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29; Isaiah 53; Exodus 12).

The Power of the new covenant is the presence and work of the Holy Spirit within the believer, the one who has confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord.

John the Baptist announces that Jesus will provide both the basis and the power of the new covenant (John 1:29, 33).

Further definitions, explanations, and comparisons:

The new covenant = the new relationship between God and humans in which the believer has direct, personal fellowship with God the Father and Jesus the Son through the presence and work of the Holy Spirit.  If the Holy Spirit is present, the believer participates in the new covenant.  To the extent that we allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, we enjoy the privileges and fulfill the responsibilities of the new covenant.

Presence of the Holy Spirit—participation in the covenant

Work of the Holy Spirit—providing power to

1)      enjoy the privileges of the covenant:

a.       access to God (Heb. 10:19-22; Eph. 2:18)

b.      awareness of relationship (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6)

c.       glorifying God through productive, victorious living (John 15; Rom. 8:2)

2)      fulfill the responsibilities of the covenant:

a.       witnessing about Jesus (Acts 1:8)

b.      fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23—becoming like Jesus; holiness)

c.       building up the Body of Christ by mutual ministry

through the Spirit’s gifts (Rom. 12:4ff; 1 Cor. 12:4ff; Eph. 4:1-16)

The presence of the Holy Spirit begins through the new birth, when we become Christians.

Understood sacramentally, the Holy Spirit makes baptism effective.

Understood experientially, the Holy Spirit enables us to repent of our sins and have personal faith in Christ.

The work of the Holy Spirit never ends;

            should always be increasing in our lives;

            depends on our yielded wills;

            will be complete only when the whole church, every Christian,

                       reflects Jesus' character (Eph. 4:13);

            may or may not be dramatically promoted by a memorable

                       experience, which some people refer to as “baptism in/with

                       the Holy Spirit,” but others refer to as “being filled with the

                            Spirit” (Acts 8:14-17; 19:1-6: Eph. 5:18);

            may be promoted by less dramatic, unnamed experiences

                       of Jesus being real to you. 

Not everyone’s experience will be the same, but all can grow in openness and usefulness to the Spirit. Everyone should seek to be filled with the Spirit continually (Eph. 5:18).

John 1:29-34 refers to this entire reality.

“Baptism in the Holy Spirit” (as referred to in John 1) includes the total reality of the new covenant: the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian—a reality prophesied in the OT and actualized in the NT through Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and spiritual presence in the life of believers through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Arden C. Autry, PhD

Scholar in Residence

First United Methodist Church

Tulsa, OK

Christian Use of Scripture

The following notes are from the class I taught last week at First United Methodist Church in Tulsa, OK.  (Actually it was a bit of a review from last autumn's class.)

Keys to the Christian use of Holy Scripture:

1. Know what the Bible is about:

God—the hero of the whole story

and the hero of my story.

2. Know who Jesus is:

eternal Son of God incarnate,

fully God and fully human.

3. Acknowledge the comprehensive power of Jesus’ death.

4. Acknowledge the comprehensive power and presence of Jesus’ life.

5. Allow the Holy Spirit who inspired Scripture

 to guide and apply your use of the Bible

according to the first four points.

 *******

A Crucified Creator

            rules over a cross-marked creation,

                        where resurrection resonates.

Jesus bears in his scarred body

            the marks of every evil ever done,

                        every evil ever suffered.

Jesus shows in his risen body

            the victory over every evil ever done,

                        every evil ever suffered.

Events of the past

(cross & rising of the Creator/Redeemer)

defining the present,

determining the future.

His defining presence is available to all,

            and all may let his presence define them.

Who/what defines you?

Who/what tells you who you are

                        and what you’re worth?

Mighty God, Mary's Son

I've revised the song I wrote for this Christmas.  I felt like it needed another verse.  In writing the third verse I ended up changing the whole thing a bit. 

Mighty God, Mary’s Son,

Babe all heaven worships!

Humbly born, Christmas morn

Here on earth to bless us,

Die for us, rise for us, set us free.

Starting small, conquer all.

Jesus, born to save us.

Mighty God, Mary’s Son,

King of glorious angels!

Reign in us; mortal dust

Claim for lasting splendor.

Full of grace, full of truth, fill us, too.

Starting small, conquer all.

Jesus, born to save us.

Mighty God, Mary’s Son

Master of creation!

Ancient Word, infant Lord,

Sent to save all nations,

Stay with us, live in us, make us new!

Starting small, conquer all.

Jesus, born to save us.

© W/M Arden C. Autry, 2010

Mighty God, Mary's Son

For Christmas, here are the lyrics to a song I recently composed:

Mighty God, Mary’s Son,

Babe all heaven worships!

Ancient Word, infant Lord,

Come in flesh to bless us,

Die for us, live in us,

Make us new.

Starting small, conquer all.

Jesus, born to save us!

Mighty God, Mary’s Son,

King of glorious angels,

Reign in us; mortal dust

Claim for lasting splendor.

Full of grace, full of truth,

Fill us, too.

Starting small, conquer all.

Jesus, born to save us!

© W/M 2010, Arden C. Autry

Immaculate Conception and Virgin Birth

The Plumb Line

Straight Answers to Honest Questions

Question:  Sometimes I hear the term “Immaculate Conception.”  Is that the same as the Virgin Birth?

Answer: They are two different things, but they are related to one another in the understanding of Roman Catholic believers. Properly speaking the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb should be called the virginal conception, but we commonly refer to it as the Virgin Birth.  In contrast, the “Immaculate Conception” is a Roman Catholic teaching about the conception of Mary in her mother’s womb.

Catholics and Protestants agree on the biblical teaching that Jesus was conceived without the involvement of a human father.  The Holy Spirit caused a unique miracle to take place in Mary’s womb, so that Jesus is the “Son of God” (Luke 1:35).  Protestants who are unfamiliar with Catholic doctrine sometimes erroneously use the term, “Immaculate Conception,” to refer to this miracle.  The “Immaculate Conception,” however, is something different.

According to Roman Catholic teaching (made official in 1854), Mary was kept free from “the stain of original sin,” beginning with the moment her soul was infused into the developing fetus in her mother’s womb.  This is celebrated annually on December 8 as “the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.”  This is not based on direct Scriptural statements (although reference is made to Gen. 3:15 and Luke 1:28).  It is based, rather, on a certain line of logic and traditions developed over many centuries, especially in the Middle Ages.  Simply put, Mary’s sinlessness is defended as necessary for her role as Jesus’ mother.  According to Catholic understanding, Mary must have been kept “immaculate,” completely pure and unstained by the “original sin” that infected every other descendant of Adam and Eve.  Somewhat in contrast, Eastern Orthodox traditions teach that Mary was immaculate in actual purity (i.e., avoiding sinful acts), but they do not endorse the Immaculate Conception as held by Roman Catholics.

Evangelical Protestants believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus and in his sinlessness, as clearly stated in Scripture (see Hebrews 4:15).  Since Mary’s freedom from sin is not stated (or denied) in Scripture, Protestants see no need to believe in it.  To the Protestant way of thinking, Mary’s sinlessness seems irrelevant to our confidence in Christ’s work of salvation.  From within the Catholic frame of reference, however, the “Immaculate Conception” makes sense.  Given our different ways of thinking about Mary, we simply have to admit we disagree on this doctrine.  We should not, however, allow legitimate differences about Mary to overshadow the fact that we hold the same view about her son, Jesus—that he is the sinless Son of God who saves us from our sins by his death and resurrection.  That’s the unifying center of our faith, for all Christians everywhere. 

Is cremation a Christian choice?

Question: Is cremation a proper alternative to Christian burial?

Answer:  For this question, we need to reflect on the Christian witness overtly connected to our responses to death.  We also need to respect our human feelings (and those of others) and acknowledge the importance of a healthy process in dealing with loss.

The Bible teaches us that the human body is God’s creation, and that God’s will for our eternal existence includes a redeemed, glorified body like that of the risen Jesus (Phil. 3:21).  When death occurs, the human spirit is separated from the body (James 2:26).  For a Christian, this absence from the body means to be personally present with the Lord, more than ever before (2 Cor. 5:6-8).  Yet the fullness of redemption will not be accomplished apart from a body (Rom. 8:23).  Theologians and Bible students disagree over whether the new body is received immediately after death or later, at the time of Christ’s second coming (compare 2 Cor. 5:1 and 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16-17).  The most important point is that there will be a new body.

In light of the Christian expectation of bodily resurrection and the fact that our present bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:19-20), many Christians historically have felt that cremation was not appropriate, since it reduces the body to “ashes.”  That, of course, in no way hinders God’s power to provide us with new bodies which are immortal. Cremation would not hinder resurrection any more than would a person’s death in an explosion.  Furthermore, countless millions have died so long ago that their bodies have disintegrated and scattered to the extent that only God could possibly gather them together again. 

Because of advances in understanding the nature of the human body, we can recognize that God does not have to use the same molecules that are in your present, mortal body when he gives you a new, immortal body.  Those molecules are being periodically replaced with new ones during earthly life anyway.  Realization of this (and consideration of other factors such as cost and land use) has brought cremation into more frequent use among Christians over the last century.  Churches which at one time forbade it (such as the Roman Catholic) no longer do so.

So burial is not essential for one’s participation in the resurrection.  Some, indeed, will be alive when Jesus comes and will be changed into immortal bodies without actually dying (1 Cor. 15:51).  That does not mean, however, that we should be careless or disrespectful in what we do with the remains of one who has died.  Because bodily existence is God’s plan, and because that person’s presence with us was embodied, and our interaction with that person was in the body, we will want to treat the body with respect and dignity.  Reverence for life should apply for burial, cremation, organ donation, and other issues.

All such matters should properly be the decisions of responsible persons close to the deceased (usually carrying out the wishes of that person).  In my view, it is just as Christian to choose cremation as burial.  Whether burial or cremation is chosen, there needs also to be appropriate recognition of the fact of death and the reality of our loss and grief, and the reaffirmation of our trust and hope in God’s provision for our future.

[Note: I have had more requests for copies of this Plumb Line article than all the rest of the articles put together.]

Giving thanks for everything?

The Plumb Line

Straight Answers to Honest Questions

by Arden C. Autry, Ph.D.

[Note that this repeats (with minor changes) a Plumb Line article I wrote in 2003.]

Question: Are we really supposed to give thanks "for everything" (Ephesians 5:20)?  I don't see how I can be grateful for bad things that happen.

Answer: From the context of Paul's encouragement to be thankful "for everything," we see that we are not being told to regard everything that happens as good. Ephesians 5:16 says "the days are evil" (English Standard Version).  We are exhorted to "understand what the will of the Lord is" (5:17).  That means not everything is God's will.  Things which are not God's will are evil; we are not told to be thankful for those things as such.  There is a way, however, to think with gratitude even about things we have to call evil.

The words "giving thanks always and for everything" (vs. 20) come toward the end of a string of exhortations to be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and making melody in our hearts.  Paul is talking about how to encourage and build up one another in the Spirit-filled life.  Essentially we have to choose to direct our own hearts and minds toward God's will, and we need to help one another do the same.  We do this through our words to one another and through sharing songs of worship.

If we focus our attention on the "evil days," we become discouraged, disheartened, and fearful. In contrast, by keeping our hearts and minds turned toward God we receive strength and courage because we are focused on his will and his faithfulness to his promises. That comes with "giving thanks always," recognizing and celebrating the fact that God's good will is going to win, in the end if not immediately. We can even give thanks "for everything," because of our confidence that, for those who love God, "all things work together for good" (Rom. 8:28).  That does not mean that the bad things are not bad, but it does mean that God's goodness will overcome all the bad and make good out of it.  In that light (and that light alone) we can give thanks "for everything."  We thank God not for the bad thing itself but for what he promises to do with it.

Giving thanks for everything is not a way of pretending that bad doesn't exist.  Rather it is a way of proclaiming that God's good is greater, so much greater that all evil will be defeated and ultimately serve God's good purposes.  Perhaps 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says the same thing with even more clarity: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (KJV).  Giving thanks "in all circumstances" (ESV) means thanking God that he is bigger than the circumstances.  The circumstances may be evil, but circumstances change. In contrast, God is good--"all the time."