Faith Basics: New Covenant Ministry of the Holy Spirit Part 1

Jared Millican and Dan Jarms discuss the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and his role and ministry in the New Covenant.

• Automated Transcription

• Dan Jarms 0:00
  Today on faith matters, we are continuing our faith Basics series I'm talking about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. And Jared Milliken joins me as we talk about the Holy Spirit's role in the New Testament.
  
  Dan Jarms 0:18
  I'm Dan Jarms, and you're listening to faith matters a podcast to help update you on matters of faith Bible Church, as well as equip you in matters of the Christian faith.
  
  Jared Millican 0:38
  Welcome, Jerry, good afternoon,
  
  Dan Jarms 0:39
  and we're going to do two parts on the New Covenant ministry of the Holy Spirit. Testament means covenant. So we have the Old Testament, which is the Old Covenant, we have the New Testament, which is the new covenant, what's exciting to you, Jared about who the Holy Spirit is, and what he does and our lives. Now that we're in the New Covenant era, from
  
  Jared Millican 1:01
  a theological approach, the reason I'm excited about the Holy Spirit and what and why I think anyone should be excited about the Holy Spirit has a lot to do with what God's story of salvation has, has always been about. Scripture has always foretold that there would be a time where God's people would learn how to walk with him better and be more faithful to him. And then Jesus promised that I would that he would, he would then send the Holy Spirit so that that was more possible. And then we even seen revelation 22, that there will be a day when the power of the Spirit goes throughout the city of God. And as a result, everyone loves and adores and worships and walks and walks with God. And what's really cool about knowing that is, believers can have the confidence that that having the Holy Spirit right now means we actually get to experience that in a very real way. We have the presence of Christ with us, in the Holy Spirit. And I think that's extremely exciting to know that we can have that even even now in this present life.
  
  Dan Jarms 2:02
  Yeah, maybe one way to say it, then is because of the Holy Spirit, we can have fellowship with the Triune God, short and sweet. Yes, yeah. Jesus makes it possible to have restoration. But the Holy Spirit makes it possible for ongoing fellowship. That's pretty amazing.
  
  Jared Millican 2:18
  Yeah,
  
  Dan Jarms 2:19
  we're gonna jump back to the old covenants, promises, on the new to New Covenant, or at least, the Old Testaments predictions. This is Deuteronomy 36. And I'll start in 24. And read through 26 says, I will take from you, I will take you from the nations and gather you from other countries and bring you into your own land, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness. And from all your idols, I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and to be careful to obey my rules. That's all the way to 27 Actually, what stands out to you about that during the same
  
  Jared Millican 3:08
  thing that stands out in Deuteronomy 30, that it's God doing all these things, I will do this, I will do this, I will do this, I will do this. Here's the result. You'll have new hearts, you'll have my Jeremiah wood talked about my law written on your heart. And what I think is really fascinating about that, and very hope giving about that is if you were to go back to Deuteronomy 10, verse 16, God actually commands the people through Moses circumcised, therefore, this foreskin of your hearts can be no longer stubborn. How on earth do you do that? How am I supposed to circumcise the foreskin of my heart? I can't do that. And then Deuteronomy 30. God says, I'm going to do it. And then he says, again, in Ezekiel 36, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do I'm going to do it. So it's God fulfilling His covenant promises, which is the only way any of this goes right. Yeah.
  
  Dan Jarms 3:59
  And just as a quick review, a covenant is a solemn set of promises, and commitments between two parties, two groups, the Abrahamic covenant, God makes a set of promises that are unilateral. He just promises to do it. In order for Abraham or any of his offspring to enjoy the benefits of it. They have to have faith, to have to step into the covenant. God's still doing it, but to participate, you have to have faith, the new covenants the same, where God makes a promise, and it's unilateral. He's going to do it. If we want to be blessed, then we step into it by faith. The new covenant promises so powerful, and one way to say is wonderful, like it causes us on wonder, is because God actually helps us also have the faith. So he gives us that new life in the faith so he actually is fulfilling both sides, his side and our side. And so let's jump to a couple passages we want to look at in the New Testament. Let's let's, let's jump into the Gospel of John, Jared. And Jesus prepares us for what's going to happen in the new covenant. And we're going to see that get fulfilled and Pentecost in a minute. What are some of the hallmark things that Jesus prepares his disciples with?
  
  Jared Millican 5:22
  In John seven, and John 14 through 16, Jesus gives these very hope giving promises that though he's, he's leaving them, and He promises but I'm going to send, I'm going to send to help her I'm going to send someone to, to recall to mind the things I've taught you, just as I have declared the Father's word to you, you are going to be those that declare my word to others. How's this going to happen? It's going to happen through the helper, which is, which is the Holy Spirit. So those are really great promises, because here their teacher is leaving physically. And yeah, he tells him, but I will be with you. And you can imagine if, if your rabbi of three years was departing, that would be really, really exciting news to hear. No,
  
  Dan Jarms 6:12
  it'd be the worst when Sinclair Ferguson, it's got this marvelous chapter. And he says, So which would you choose? Jesus in front of you, or the Holy Spirit in you. And he's like, they're sitting there listening to Jesus, clearly thinking, I want you with me. And we understand that. But part of it is because we don't realize when Jesus gives himself through his Spirit, how great that is. But one of the things that Ferguson points out the word another, is not the word headrace. That's another way of saying another, another of a different kind, this is the last one of the same kind. So I'm gonna give you a helper just like me. And the way Ferguson says, It is so powerful, everything that Jesus was in front of them, will be in them. That's amazing. And that's an amazing, exciting thought about what we get with the Holy Spirit. Here's the,
  
  Jared Millican 7:11
  in a sense, the the sequence of events are that are the logical logical flow of what it looks like to have fellowship with the Trinity, because because of the the role of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says he's teaching in John John 15. And, and leading up to this, he's essentially showing the disciples God spoke his words to Jesus, Jesus says, anything I've spoken hasn't been my own words, it's been God's, I've communicated them to you. When we believe God, and Jesus, by faith, that's when we receive the Holy Spirit. And when we demonstrate our belief, through loving obedience, we're then walking according to the spirit that we've been, we've been given. So by doing so we're becoming like Christ. And we've been saved to magnify. And when that's happening, we're experiencing like John 17, even shows Jesus asking the Father for we're experiencing fellowship with the triune. God. And I think that's, I just think that's incredible.
  
  Dan Jarms 8:07
  One of the things out of John 14 that I really like is, is this promise 1426, he says, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to you remember, it's all that I have sent to you. Jesus couldn't teach everything that he wanted to teach the disciples because they just weren't ready. They, they, they had no mental categories for the kinds of things. post resurrection, Jesus would be like, they just couldn't imagine him dying and anything like that. So he said, He'll teach you more things. But he'll also help remind you of everything that I said, I think, in part why we have a New Testament, and four different accounts of the Gospels is the fulfillment of that promise, they were all reminded. And then whether it was Matthew that wrote it down, or Luke that wrote it down, or mark or John, they were reminded of the things that Jesus said, The Holy Spirit does instruct us. So the Holy Spirit works, we often call that the Ministry of illumination, when we have God's word. And then we we prayerfully seek to understand the Holy Spirit helps us understand that. That's the doctrine of illumination. He promises that here, that's that's part of what's going on to understand and apply what is true.
  
  Jared Millican 9:26
  Yeah, I just think that's neat to know that that the Holy Spirit's role part one of its roles, his roles, I should say, is to to illuminate to teach and cause us to understand the eternal truths were being taught because isn't that exactly what Jesus did for his disciples when he was on that on the planet? And then we learned that oh, that's the Spirit's role as well, which I think if you if we were to read Second Corinthians three and you know, read closely, John seven and then 14 through 16, you you would see why that is, is because the spirit is Jesus. I'm sending you myself, essentially. And so what you've had this whole time that I've been here, you're going to continue to have through through the Spirit. And so I think that would be a great comfort to the disciples of the time. And that's a great comfort to me to know, I'm actually being instructed by Christ, and illuminated by Christ as I read his words.
  
  Dan Jarms 10:19
  One other thing that I find really precious about Jesus words is the Holy Spirit's also called our comforter. And that's picked up in Second Corinthians, where you have the God of all comfort, Christ, the Holy Spirit, who comforts us, I do want to look at the fulfilment of these promises. So one of the places then that we always look to when we're thinking about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, or what, what the Holy Spirit does is in Acts, chapter two is the day of Pentecost. And Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until He poured out His Spirit acts chapter 220. People are in an upper room praying as the picture that we get. And the outpouring of the Spirit happens. We don't have time to read the story, which is all by itself, just riveting. But the Holy Spirit comes on them, and he appears over them as flames of fire. It's a little picture fulfillment of what John the Baptist said it was going to happen with fire and the Holy Spirit. So there's this tongues of fire and the Holy Spirit's coming. And all of these people are able to speak in languages that they did not know. So you have 120 people, mostly from Galilee, some from Jerusalem, and Judea. And all of a sudden, they're speaking in the language of the Medes. And the Persians and Rome, Greece, there's, they're speaking in these languages. And the there's that sound of rushing and all of a sudden, there's a massive crowd around them. And Peter stands up. And he quotes Joel to which was, Hey, these are the times a judgement is about to come, but before it comes here, the word of the Lord, that is your salvation. And Peter quotes, that that same passage, in the last days, it shall be God, God declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy or young men and your shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, even on the male, female servants. And what he said, what he says, Now, this promise has been fulfilled. All of these people are now filled with the Holy Spirit of God, the New Covenant has broken forth. And this is the beginning. And we often call this the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is where the whole of the Christian community is now immersed into the whole Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit washes and cleanses and starts a new, new work. So something has happened. And now everyone can speak for God. And the fundamental difference between the old covenant and the New Covenant ministry of the Holy Spirit is not so much in what specific things they do, but the extent or how it mushrooms. Now, all of these people are speaking these foreign languages and all the foreign language listeners, many of them are getting converted, and they're going to take this home. So the extent not it's just not just for Israel, but it's for the world. And similarly, and Joel, all these people will be speaking for God. So we have this, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the new covenants inaugurated by two events, the death of Christ for the forgiveness of sins, proven affected by the resurrection. And this the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So Josh Gilchrist, I think is going to join me to talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And this will be a critical passage to understanding that last one we want to look at is Second Corinthians, do you want to read for us that
  
  Jared Millican 14:01
  second Corinthians three, four through six, such as the confidence that we have through Christ toward God, not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us. But our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a New Covenant, not of the letter of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
  
  Dan Jarms 14:22
  What was lacking under the Old Covenant was the sufficiency of its members to to handle it and, and now, under the New Covenant, the members aren't sufficient, but now they're empowered. So our sufficiency comes from God. So the Holy Spirit makes us sufficient to be adequate proclaimers of the New Covenant ministry. But then he uses two things, not of the letter, but of the Spirit for the letter kills, and the Spirit gives life what's the what was the trouble with the old covenants law?
  
  Jared Millican 14:57
  Ever? I think verse nine answers that question. For, for if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the Ministry of righteousness must have far exceeded and glory. The trouble with the old covenant is that mostly brought condemnation. Yeah,
  
  Dan Jarms 15:11
  trying to obey the law just brought more condemnation, because they couldn't do it internally. So the old covenant was a ministry of death, the letter kills, not because there's anything wrong with the law, the law is perfect and righteous and holy. That's, that's what the Apostle Paul is gonna say in Romans one of the laws, great, it's perfect. The problem isn't with the law, the problem was with the human heart. So the old covenant was administered by the law. The New Covenant is administered by the Holy Spirit. What does that mean?
  
  Jared Millican 15:44
  The Spirit does what the law can't do. The Spirit actually revives the soul and makes it dead heart alive. I think one of the really awesome things that I noticed, I'm going to jump back a little bit. But one of the awesome things I noticed from from John chapter seven, is Jesus's language of the pouring out the the pouring out of the living waters, that's going to happen. That same language is in Ezekiel 47, that the pouring out of the waters comes from the temple and from the throne of God. And here, Jesus is standing in the temple, saying, I'm going to pour out the Spirit on you. And if if you were to look at it, at a zekiel, 47, everywhere that water went, whether it was to the forests, or to the cities, or to wherever we went and went east, it went south and went everywhere, everywhere it went, it gave life to everything it touched. And so it's the same thing with the spirit of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. It revives what was dead, it replaces what was a stone and makes it flesh and the law just kind of do that.
  
  Dan Jarms 16:46
  Right? All the law could do was say, here's what God says you should do. That's all. That's all it could do. It gave us the right things to do. But it couldn't actually empower us to do it. And the other new covenant promise that's so important to us is the one in Jeremiah 32, where he will put the law in our hearts. So it will be internal, this this new law and this instruction. So final thoughts, how do we live in light of these realities,
  
  Jared Millican 17:22
  if we know that, that the perfect state of things is going to be one day that we're with God, we see Jesus and because we see him or like him, we're able to, we're able to be like Him. If we know that that's what the state of perfection in the state of fulfillment is going to be like one day, then to set our mind on things above is to do everything we can to live that reality right now, to put off what I look like and put on what Jesus looks like. That's what walking in the Spirit is. It's walking according to what God has made clear in his word. What God has, has very clearly laid out as obedience, you see it in the fruits of the Spirit. You see it in the one another's, you see it in the Sermon on the Mount, you see it all over the place. Here's what your life has to look like. And if you're looking for a summary statement of what that looks like, look at Jesus. What do we do in our Christian life, we do everything we can on a consistent basis, to behold Christ, to be reminded of how glorious He is not just in His holiness, but also in his obedience to the Father. And we ask the Lord's help to put off our sin and to fight the battle with the flesh that still exists. And we identify specific areas that we want to work on, to fight. And then we seek to replace that with Christ's likeness. And whatever way it relates, it's
  
  Dan Jarms 18:41
  good in 318, it says, and we all with unveiled face, and it's a comparison to Moses, who had to cover his face up after he saw the Lord, because his glory would diminish, but we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image, as the Lord Jesus, from one degree of glory to another for this comes from the the Lord who is the spirit. So it's by the power of the Holy Spirit, we become like Jesus. For next time, we're going to, we're going to talk about the Holy Spirit's role of showing us Jesus, because that's a major thing that the Holy Spirit does. We're going to talk about filling and illumination. If you have any questions about this for us, we would we would love to hear questions about the Holy Spirit. So you could you could email us at info@fbchurch.org or or ask Jared, any question that you want.
  
  Jared Millican 19:39
  I have all kinds of questions. 
  
  Dan Jarms 19:43
  Yeah, who doesn't? Right. Thanks, Jared.
  
  Jared Millican 19:44
  Thank you. This was fun.

Dan Jarms

Dr. Dan Jarms is teaching pastor and team leader at Faith Bible Church in Spokane Washington, as well as associate dean at The Master's Seminary in Spokane. He has been married for over 30 years to Linda, and has three adult children. He earned his B.A. in English at the Master’s College, B.Ed. at Eastern Washington University, M.Div and D.Min in Expository Preaching at The Master’s Seminary. His other interests include NCAA basketball, woodworking, and art.

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Jared Millican

Former college pastor at Faith, Jared and his family are currently preparing to move to the Czech Republic and work as global outreach partners in 2024. He and his wife, Claire, have three children.

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