The Creed - Part 12

The Nicene Creed

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.

We have already established:

1. The Holy Spirit is God (part of the Trinity)
2. He was a integral part of creation. 
3. He has always been present and active as the third member of the trinity. 
4. Access to him was limited in the Old Testament.
5. Jesus prayed to The Father and asked Him to send the believers the Holy Spirit. 
6. The Holy Spirit went from living among us to loving  in us.
7. The Holy Spirit produces good fruit in our lives.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Ephesians 5:18-19

…be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

Colossians 3:16

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. (God’s word) 

The Holy Spirit breaths life into God’s word and brings that word to life in us. 

Colossians 3:16-17

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

God wants me to represent Jesus? 

How am I supposed to do that? 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

The Holy Spirit gives us what we need to follow Jesus’ model of obedience and to be who The Father has called us to be. 

Disclaimer: 

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Back to the point

The Holy Spirit gives us what we need to follow Jesus’ model of obedience and to be who The Father has called us to be.

1 Corinthians 14:1

Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy.

The Holy Spirit gives gifts for 3 reasons: 

1. To strengthen the church
2. To witness to the world 
3. To glorify God

To strengthen the church

1 Corinthians 14:12

And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church.

To witness to the world 

1 Corinthians 14:22-25

So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers. 23Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. 24But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. 25As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

To Glorify God

1 Corinthians 14:25

As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed (Holy Spirit), and they will fall to their knees and worship God (joining with the church), declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 

The Nicene Creed 

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. 

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. 

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. 

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. 

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. 

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Fundamental Error

It’s not about the rules. 

It’s about the relationship. 

The Torah provided instructions on how to live as God’s chosen people, not how to become God’s chosen people.

Instead of following The Law in order to live as God’s chosen people, they used the law to try to earn God’s favor. 

Romans 8:28-31

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

I Have Decided…

…to ask the Holy Spirit to give me the gifts I need to be who God called me to be.