This episode spells out the superior age of the Spirit inaugurated by Christ, and it is all predicated on the personality of the Holy Spirit which Jews deny. Christ contrasted the best of the prior age in the person of John the Baptist with "the least in the kingdom of God." The least among partakers of the New Covenant in Christ are greater than the best of the Old covenant. (Matthew 11:11) Christ inaugurated the New Covenant in His blood, and the Holy Spirit applies the Covenant to the world, convicting people of sin, righteousness and judgment leading to repentance and faith in Christ. (John 16:8-11)(1 Corinthians 12:3) When one is subsequently born again, he partakes of the divine nature, becoming a temple of the very personal Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:4) Conviction, repentance, faith and regeneration all involve the PERSONAL role of the Holy Spirit. It naturally follows that rejection of the PERSON and role of the Holy Spirit, who applies the New Covenant of Christ to the unregenerate, results in condemnation. No one comes to the Father except through Christ (John 14:6), and no one calls Jesus Lord except through the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3 Salvation then presumes the personal involvement of each member of the Trinity aimed at reconciling the world back to that Triune God. Isaiah 48:16 says "the Lord God has sent Me [the Messiah}, and His Spirit." The singular essence and salvific purpose of the godhead consequently requires that rejection of either the Son or the Spirit MEANS rejection of the Father who sent them. For this reason, Christians and Jews (who reject Christ and the Holy Spirit) do not believe in the same God.
The Holy Spirit is Clearly a Person
This episode expounds on the testimony of the personhood of the Holy Spirit from the New Testament. While Jews affirm the deity of the Holy Spirit, they deny that the Spirit is a distinct person of the godhead, mostly claiming that references to the Holy Spirit are simply manifestations of God. But this "manifestation" rubric doesn't adequately do justice to the clear personal qualities attributed to the Holy Spirit, who can be lied to (Acts 5:3), tested (Acts 5:9), resisted (Acts 7:51), insulted (Hebrews 10:29), grieved (Ephesians 4:30), and blasphemed (Matthew 12:32). Rejection of the distinct personhood of the Holy Spirit therefore means that Jews do not believe in the same God as Christians.
“Mourn the Residing Power of Sin, not the Penalty”
Building off of the last episode, this program contends that "mourning" should be a common occurrence in the life of believers. The same Holy Spirit that convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11), leading to repentance and faith in Christ--well that same Spirit continues his convicting work in the life of believer. Though eternal destiny is settled for believers (position), seemingly endless adjustments are in order as the Holy Spirit conforms the saint into the image of Christ, as He addresses our condition. James 4:8-9 insists that believers mourn their remaining affinity with worldliness: "Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep.."
The Flesh Profits Nothing
This episode emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in weaning believers off their natural dependence on the flesh. Christ said that "the flesh profits nothing." (John 15:5) The prerequisite to embracing the power of the resurrected Christ is thorough conviction that the flesh cannot please God and is utterly inadequate in fulfilling the great commandments. The Holy Spirit is the indispensable helper Who enables us to keep God's statutes, AFTER convicting us of the bankruptcy of the flesh to accomplish any good. This sanctifying work of the Spirit helps us unite with Christ in the likeness of His death, abandoning all hope in the flesh, and then invites us to identify with Christ in His resurrection, so we might walk in the newness of life.
Affliction: When God Speaks Loud
This episode addresses the impasse that many believers discover in sanctification: they agree and delight with the Law of God in the inner man, but they're really not convinced that God's way is better. While many would give lip service to the Scriptural claim that sin leads to corruption (Gal 6:8), many are not really convinced. The apparent consequences of sin are ignored or considered tolerable. So unless God reveals that sowing to the flesh really does lead to corruption, we likely continue in sin. This dynamic is typical for every believer undergoing sanctification, and the answer to this predicament is the same as the psalmist in Psalm 119. "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word." (Psalm 119:67) Affliction is the God-given means to destroy the self-delusions that sin is tolerable and/or that sin is without painful consequences. And, affliction is God's answer to the psalmist's prayer that his ways be established to keep God's statutes. (Psalm 119:5) The Holy Spirit, who always intercedes according to the perfect will of God, pleads the same petition, sometimes resulting in pain in the lives of believers. Is it possible that believers' lack of conviction that God's way is better, requiring affliction as the remedy, is the reason why Paul declared "we do not know how to pray as we ought..?" (Rom. 8:26)
The Holy Spirit: Our Partner from Glory to Glory
This episode reviews and expands on the role of the Holy Spirit in every part of the believer's salvation journey, culminating in the beatific vision. "He CONVICTS the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment." (John 16:8-11) Christians CALL Christ Lord "through the Holy Spirit." (1 Cor. 12:3) The Holy Spirit CONFORMS believers into the image of Christ. (Rom 8:29) And He unCOVERS Christ's glory. (John 16:13-15) The sanctifying Spirit is our indispensable partner on the road towards the beatific vision.