The Holy Spirit’s indwelling work of regeneration is a guarantee of our eternal security. Our destiny is certain! Another facet of the Spirit’s work in our lives that provides confidence in our eternal destiny is the Spirit’s Baptism. Being baptized with the Holy Spirit, we are placed into the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 says, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body…” When we come to faith in Christ, the scriptures teach us that we are baptized into the Holy Spirit. We are vitally joined to the Messiah. We become members of His body. It is absurd to think a part of Christ’s body could ever possibly fall off of His Body.
Jesus promised that he would send to us, in John 14:16, a comforter, another helper, who would abide with us “forever.” Earlier Jesus said of those who believed in Him, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). A believer cannot be snatched out of the Father’s hand because the believer, through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, is part of Jesus’ body. He is the hand, or the foot, or the eye, etc. We can resist the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and that always elicits doubts and fears. But when we actively surrender to the Spirit, it brings peace, assurance, and joy. Appropriating the truth of our security in Christ is not just a passive acceptance. It is an active submission to the presence of the Holy Spirit.
One of the primary names of the Holy Spirit is our “Comforter.” His work in guaranteeing our destiny in a sin-soaked world is not just a theological concept; it is true comfort. Again, quoting Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s Messianic Bible Study, “Eternal security means that once a person has undergone the real experience of salvation, has undergone a true regenerational experience, that person cannot lose his salvation, either by committing a specific sin, or by ceasing to believe. That which keeps the believer safe and secure is the work of the Holy Spirit and the work of God on his behalf, not his own works. That is the basic meaning of eternal security.” We need to not just acknowledge, but let the Holy Spirit have His way in our lives! Let Him be what He is, our comforter.
When we come to faith in Jesus, God sends the Holy Spirit to live within us. That Spirit takes up residence and claims our bodies as His sanctuary. Paul tells us that “… your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God…” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Spirit, living within us, begins His work of regeneration. We are declared to have new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states that all things have become new; Galatians 6:15 declares the believer to be a new creature or creation; Ephesians 2:10 teaches that believers have been created in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration makes one a new creation and creature.
One of the first things we like to find out about people is what they do for a living. When we think about people, we think about them professionally or occupationally. We like to put people in boxes that we can understand. Jesus was a carpenter. Robert Morey writes, “Those who grew up with Jesus in Nazareth assumed that He was, like his ‘father’ Joseph, a carpenter. And, of course, Jesus was a carpenter by trade for most of His life.” In Mark 6:2-3, the religious leaders were astounded by Jesus’ teachings and miracles, and they said, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” Carpenters don’t teach like that or perform miracles.
Jesus claimed to have existed before he was born in the flesh. In his great prayer to the Father in John 17:5, he says, “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” This doctrine is often called the “Pre-existence of Christ.” Morey says, “While the concept of the pre-existence of Christ does not require the deity of Christ, the deity of Christ does require the pre-existence of Christ. If His pre-existence is eternal, then His deity is established.” The Jews rejected Jesus on the basis of His claims, but they should have noted that the Messiah of the Old Testament was supposed to have been pre-existent.
Martin Lloyd-Jones says, “Because of certain exaggerations, excesses and freak manifestations, and the crossing of the border line from the spiritual to the scientific, the political and the merely emotional, there are many people who are afraid of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, afraid of being too subjective. So, they neglect it altogether. I would also suggest that others have neglected the doctrine because they have false ideas with regard to the actual teaching concerning the person of the Holy Spirit.”
When Jesus discussed His departure with His disciples, He made a promise to them—and to us as well. First, He said in John 14:1, “Let not your heart be troubled…” Then, in John 14:16, He told them that the Father would send someone to them who would fill the void of His absence. He would petition the Father, and the Father would “give you another Helper, who will abide with you forever.”
Even the most stupid of us have 20/20 hindsight. We often see our mistakes and wish we could do things over. Many of my problems in life come because I act too rashly and don’t think through the implications of my actions. And then, most often, I know I should have done things differently or not at all. Well, as Alexander Pope said, “To Err is human.” But to “make matters worse” is another human specialty. I can do that well. We’re usually better off just not doing anything. I had a friend once who said, “God and six months will take care of every problem you have.” When we act ourselves, we usually just make matters worse. Sarah and Abram learned all about making mistakes and then making matters worse. That’s the lesson we learn from Genesis 16:1 and following.
In Genesis 14, Abraham found himself in a war with neighboring tribes. Despite the odds, he managed to form a coalition that not only defeated the enemy but also freed the captives, including Lot and his family. However, this victory came at a cost. It left Abraham at odds with many of his neighbors. The situation was tense, and Abraham realized that if they were to come for him alone, without his allies’ support, he’d be in grave danger. He was afraid of the potential consequences. Adding to his worries was the fact that he had offended the King of Sodom. The King of Sodom wanted to share the spoils of war with Abraham, but Abraham refused. He did not want to be identified with the Sodomites. This could have potentially alienated Abraham from both his enemies and his allies.