April 5, 2023
Ephesians 1:13
Beyond The Covenants Of The Promise
Broadlands Bible Church
(Download Audio)
These notes are the same as the previous study, but the audio message is a continuation.
Thesis: The Spirit was given for good reasons.
Introduction: In our last few studies we considered the fact that there are not only
covenants of the Promise, but there is also a
Spirit of the Promise. My conclusion from that is that, in respect to mankind,
words from God
alone are insufficient for participation in The Promise. There
must also be a Spirit from God that is distinct from the spirit of man.
If the words of God and the spirit of man were sufficient to the experience of the Promise another Spirit would never have been given.
In the weeks to come we are going to consider the question of why the Spirit was given.
- I. Why Was the Spirit of God Given?
- A. To close the inadequacy gap. [Man's spirit was apparently inadequate for the experience of the promise].
- 1. What, specifically, is the inadequacy gap?
- a. It is not the inability to obey commandments and follow instructions.
- 1) Paul said of himself before he was indwelt by the Spirit, "...concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless..." (Philippians 3:6; Authorized Version).
- 2) Luke said of non-Spirit-indwelt Zacharias and Elizabeth, "... And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." (Luke 1:6; Authorized Version).
- 3) Mark tells us that non-Spirit-indwelt disciples went out and preached, cast out demons, and healed all manner of diseases [this apparently included Judas] (Mark 6:12-13).
- 4) The spirit of man is capable of doing anything/everything that has to do with merely producing actions through the body within the boundaries of the body itself (the spirit of man cannot empower the body beyond its limitations).
- b. It is the inability to either properly motivate or to accomplish any experiential result..
- 1) John says that only those who are both born of God and know God can love (1 John 4:7).
- a) Galatians 4:9 makes a distinction between these two experiences.
- b) Galatians 5:22 says that love is a fruit of the Spirit as opposed to the works of the flesh (which are produced by the human spirit).
- 2) Paul takes the issue of results completely out of the realm of the human spirit in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 and 2 Corinthians 9:10.
- a) Since the human spirit cannot maintain its presence in the body, it can not be credited with any results to the person that come from the actions of the body.
- i. This is not to say that the spirit is not responsible for the results of the deeds it sponsors [the law of the harvest is in place].
- ii. This is to say that the spirit cannot take credit for any beneficial impact that comes to the body for two reasons...
- 1) Since it does not love, it can not claim benefit to the person;
- 2) Since it cannot underwrite the enduring experience of the person, it cannot take credit for accomplishing any experience for the person.
- 3) Summary: the fallen human spirit is focused upon two things: getting credit and avoiding humiliation. This makes the inadequacy problem beyond remedy from the human perspective and establishes the absolute need for a new and different Spirit.
- a) Any focus on taking credit completely corrupts the possibility of the experience of the promise [this is the failure of love].
- i. The experience of the promise is the experience of the blessedness of God as He is.
- ii. God's identities as both Lover and Servant exclude any from the experience of His life who seek exaltation at the expense of others.
- iii. Only a Spirit Who has the capacity to create a human nature that is free from the credit focus can erase this part of the inadequacy problem.
- b) Any focus on taking credit completely ignores the reality that results are out of our hands altogether [this is the failure of power/adequacy].
- 2. How does the indwelling Spirit actually close that gap?
- a. By indwelling, He has access to the heart where motives are generated and His first actions involve the circumcision of that heart, thus creating a sensitivity regarding motives in respect to God and the issue of taking credit [Romans 2:29].
- b. By indwelling, He has access to the mind where convictions are generated and His actions involve renewal of the mind according to true knowledge [Colossians 3:10 and Romans 12:2].
- B. To close the distance gap. [God's distance from men was removed].
- C. To close the ignorance gap. [Man's finitude regarding Truth is eternal].
- D. To close the wisdom gap. [Man's ability to apply truth to specifics is corrupt without the Spirit].
- E. To close the motivation gap. [Man's loves are hopelessly corrupt without the Spirit].
- F. To close the confidence gap. [Man's faith is hardened arrogance and fuzzy insecurity without the Spirit].
