The Economy of the Holy Spirit

1. The Economy of the Holy Spirit The New Covenant in Jesus ChristMoe Bergeron 1 Sovereign Grace Fellowship

2. The Economy of the Holy Spirit – Session 1 • INTRO Before we undertake the task of addressing the new covenant economy of the Holy Spirit we have to lay a foundation that will serve to undergird the “why” as to its necessity. The following four passages should at the very least serve to crack open the door for us by providing evidence of God’s emphasis concerning the New Covenant. Mark 14:22-24 And as they ate, Jesus took a loaf and blessed and broke it, and He gave to them and said, Take, eat; this is My body. (23) And taking the cup, giving thanks, He gave to them. And they all drank out of it. (24) And He said to them, This is My blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many. Acts 2:1-4 And in the fulfilling of the day of Pentecost, they were all with one accord in one place. (2) And suddenly a sound came out of the heaven as borne along by the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. (3) And tongues as of fire appeared to them, being distributed; and it sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Hebrews 7:18-22 For truly there is a putting away of the commandment which went before, because of the weakness and unprofitableness of it. (19) For the Law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by which we draw near to God. (20) And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (21) (for those priests were made without an oath, but this one was made with an oath by Him who said to Him, "The Lord swore and will not repent, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,") (22) by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better covenant. 2

3. The Economy of the Holy Spirit • 2 Corinthians 3:4-18 And we have such trust through Christ toward God, (5) not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God; (6) who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit makes alive. (7) But if the ministry of death, having been engraved in letters in stone was with glory (so that the sons of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses because of the glory of his face), which was being done away; (8) shall not the ministry of the Spirit be with more glory? (9) For if the ministry of condemnation is glorious, much more does the ministry of righteousness exceed in glory. (10) For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. (11) For if that which has been done away was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious. (12) Then since we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech. (13) And we are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of the thing being done away. (14) (But their thoughts were blinded; for until the present the same veil remains on the reading of the old covenant, not taken away.) But this veil has been done away in Christ. (15) But until this day, when Moses is read, the veil is on their heart. (16) But whenever it turns to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. (17) And the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (18) But we all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord Spirit. 3

4. The Economy of the Holy Spirit • Pentecost: the law (rule) of the Spirit • “But if the ministry of death, having been engraved in letters in stone was with glory (so that the sons of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses because of the glory of his face), which was being done away; (8) shall not the ministry of the Spirit be with more glory? (9) For if the ministry of condemnation is glorious, much more does the ministry of righteousness exceed in glory.” It should be obvious then that the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day became the definitive completion of the revelation of Jesus Christ and the full realization of the announcements of the Old Testament fathers, especially those of the Prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, concerning a new, future covenant which God would establish in Christ and through an "outpouring" of God's Spirit "on all mankind" (Joel 2:28). Joel 2:28-32 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (29) Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. (30) "And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. (32) And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls. 4

5. The Economy of the Holy Spirit • However, this also means that a new inscription of God’s law "in the depths" of man’s "being", or, as the prophet says, in the "heart" (cf. Jer 31:33) is exactly what Paul spoke of in 2 Cor 3. By God’s grace we, God’s saints, have a "new law", or a "law of the Spirit", which we must now consider for a more complete understanding of the mystery of the Paraclete. Jeremiah 31:33-34 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, (32) not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. (33) But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (34) And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.“ 5