The Giver of Life E-Book

J. V. Fesko

• Herausgeber: Lexham Academic
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: We Believe
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 647

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

God's Spirit unites believers to Christ, conforms them to his image, and equips them for witness and ministry. In The Giver of Life, J. V. Fesko reflects on the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the application of Christ's work for the salvation of sinners. Through a combination of biblical, historical, and theological study, Fesko illuminates the blessing of God's presence with his people. Written from a confessionally Reformed perspective in dialogue with the great creeds of the church, The Giver of Life provides a thorough and trustworthy guide to the Holy Spirit's role in salvation.

Leseprobe

THE GIVER OF LIFE

THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SALVATION

WE BELIEVE: STUDIES IN REFORMED BIBLICAL DOCTRINE

VOLUME 6

JOHN MCCLEAN AND MURRAY J. SMITH, SERIES EDITORS

J. V. FESKO

The Giver of Life: The Biblical Doctrine of the Holy Spirit and Salvation

We Believe, edited by John McClean and Murray J. Smith

Copyright 2024 J. V. Fesko

Lexham Academic, an imprint of Lexham Press

1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

LexhamPress.com

You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [email protected].

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are the author’s own translation or are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Print ISBN 9781683597490

Digital ISBN 9781683597469

Library of Congress Control Number 2023943146

Lexham Editorial: Todd Hains, Claire Brubaker, Mandi Newell

Cover Design: Joshua Hunt, Sarah Brossow

WE BELIEVE

STUDIES IN REFORMED BIBLICAL DOCTRINE

We Believe is a series of eight major studies of the Christian faith’s primary doctrines as confessed in the Nicene Creed and guided by the Reformed tradition. In each volume, trusted authors engage a major creedal doctrine in light of its biblical-theological foundations and historical development, drawing out its spiritual, ethical, and missional implications for the church today.

Dedicated to

James P. Wood,

Ray Walker,

and

Steve Farish

CONTENTS

Series Introduction

Preface

Abbreviations

A Prayer for the Study of the Holy Spirit and Salvation

Introduction: For Us and For Our Salvation

PART 1: BIBLICAL REVELATION

I.Covenant Presence

The Spirit and Creation (Life, Common Grace)

The Spirit in the Old Testament and New Testament: Continuity and Discontinuity

Eden

Tabernacle

Temple

Church

The Spirit and Christ (The Work of the Spirit in the Life of Christ)

The Spirit of Christ (The Spirit as the Gift, Presence, and Power of the Risen Christ)

The Spirit in the New Creation

Conclusion

Further Reading

II.Covenant Promise

Blessing

Sonship/Inheritance (Adoption)

Righteousness and Forgiveness (Justification)

New Heart (Sanctification)

Protection and Glorification

Conclusion

Further Reading

III.Covenant Life

Faith, Hope, and Love

Repentance

Faithfulness and Obedience

Worship and Prayer

Wisdom

Witness and Mission

Conclusion

Further Reading

PART 2: DOGMATIC DEVELOPMENT

IV.The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

Person of the Holy Spirit: Processions

Work of the Holy Spirit: Missions

Conclusion

Further Reading

V.Union with Communion with Christ in Grace

Biblical Data

Doctrinal Construction

Conclusion

Further Reading

VI.Justification

Nature

Elements

Active and Passive Obedience

Imputation

Faith

Righteousness and Forgiveness

The New Perspective on Paul

Conclusion

Further Reading

VII.Adoption

Adoption Foreshadowed and Fulfilled

Adoption Defined and Explained

A New Name

Spirit of Adoption

Fatherly Care

Privileges of Sons

Adoption and the Order of Salvation

Conclusion

Further Reading

VIII.Sanctification

Old Testament Background and Nature of Sanctification

Mortification and Vivification

The Relationship between Justification and Sanctification

The Law and the Christian Life

Good Works

Conclusion

Further Reading

IX.The Christian Life

Biblical Terms

Nature

Kinds of Faith

Acts of Faith

Degrees of Faith

Comparison with Other Views

Faith and Repentance

The Nature of Repentance

Repentance and Salvation

Conclusion

Further Reading

X.Assurance and Perseverance

Assurance

Perseverance

Conclusion

Further Reading

XI.Service in the Spirit

Gifts of the Spirit

Old Testament Background

The Gifts of the Spirit

Empowerment for Witness and Mission

Conclusion

Further Reading

PART 3: TRUTH FOR WORSHIP, LIFE, AND MISSION

XII.True Conversion

True and Counterfeit Faith

Second-Blessing Theology

Conclusion

Further Reading

XIII.Life in the Spirit

Enjoying God

Life in the Spirit

Faith and Repentance

Prayer

Maturity and Fruit

Conclusion

Further Reading

XIV.Witness and Mission

Continuation

Revelation?

Tongues?

Gifts of Miracles?

The Case for Cessationism

Prophecy

Speaking in Tongues

The Gift of Miracles

1 Corinthians 13 and the Perfect?

The Church’s Prophetic Witness

Conclusion

Further Reading

Conclusion: Twelve Theses on Soteriology

1. The new heavens and earth unfold in the same manner as the original creation, by the Father creating through the agency of the Son and the Spirit

2. In the pretemporal covenant of redemption (pactum salutis), the Father appoints the Son as covenant surety and mediator, and the Father and Son determine to send the Spirit to apply the Son’s work of redemption to the elect

3. The Father promises to equip the Son for his work of redemption by anointing him with the Holy Spirit, and the Son in turn anoints the church with the Spirit to redeem them

4. The Triune God executes the covenant of redemption through the covenant of grace

5. In the covenant of redemption God unites the elect to Christ their covenant surety and fulfills this decree in the covenant of grace, whereby God effectually calls the elect by the sovereign work of the Spirit

6. The Spirit unites the elect to Christ through the effectual call and gives them the salvific blessings of union with Christ, which are distinguished in the ordo salutis

7. God declares righteous those in union with Christ on the sole basis of the imputed satisfaction and obedience of Christ received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone

8. God adopts those who are united to Christ as his sons, and therefore they are treated and receive all the privileges of sons

9. Those united to Christ also receive the gift of sanctification, whereby the Spirit progressively conforms the redeemed to the image of Christ

10. The believer’s assurance of and perseverance in salvation rests in the immutable decree of God, the all-sufficient intercession of the Son, and the seal and guarantee of the Holy Spirit

11. The Holy Spirit equips believers through his gifts, which enables the church to carry out its mission of witness and ministry

12. Christ’s outpouring of the Spirit brings about the new heavens and earth, and at the second coming of Christ he raises the dead in Christ and glorifies them

Glossary

Bibliography

Subject Index

Author Index

Scripture Index

BIBLICAL EXPOSITIONS

Numbers 11:24–30

Joel 2:28–32

Luke 3:21–22

John 3:1–8

Acts 2:1–36

John 14:18–27; 15:26–27

Genesis 12:1–3

Psalm 103:1–19

Luke 18:9–14

Romans 3:21–26

Romans 8:1–27

1 John 1:5–2:2; 3:1–3

Galatians 5:16–26

Ephesians 4:17–24

Matthew 5:17–20

Matthew 6:9–13

Hebrews 10:19–25

SERIES INTRODUCTION

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105

The unfolding of your words gives light;

it imparts understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130

AN INVITATION TO CONFESSIONAL THEOLOGY

We Believe is a series of eight studies of the primary doctrines of the Christian faith as confessed in the Nicene Creed and received in the Reformed tradition. The series marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (AD 325) by re-affirming and advancing the Church’s confession.1 The title of our series is drawn from the first words of the Creed—the single Greek verb Pisteuomen—which introduces what has become the classic confession of the Christian Faith. Since the Church’s confession neither began at Nicaea, nor ended with its creed, We Believe examines the biblical foundations of the Church’s faith, traces its development (especially in the Reformed tradition), and applies its truths to the worship, life, and mission of the Church today. Since true theology begins in prayer and worship of the God who has revealed himself, each volume opens with a theme prayer, shaped by Scripture and the Church’s confession. Further, since even the deepest truths of the faith need to be simply expounded so they can be clearly grasped and faithfully lived, each volume closes with a series of theses, which summarize the doctrine covered in the book. We Believe provides a comprehensive and integrated biblical, theological, and missional treatment of the major doctrines of the Christian faith.

BIBLICAL REVELATION

The Church’s confession is rooted in and ruled by God’s revelation in Scripture. The Scriptures are “the Word of God written” and “the rule of faith and life” (Westminster Confession of Faith 1:2). The first part of each study, therefore, is devoted to a fresh examination of biblical revelation.

Fundamentally, our studies are tethered to the text of Scripture, and each volume in the series includes expositions of the primary biblical texts which form the doctrine under consideration.2 Moreover, since Scripture is the only “infallible rule” for its own interpretation (Westminster Confession of Faith 1:9), our studies seek to interpret Scripture by Scripture, initially by embracing the discipline of Biblical Theology.3 We begin—where God’s people have always begun—with the recognition that Scripture is God’s inspired and authoritative Word. We proceed by tracing God’s progressive revelation of himself and his purposes in the organically unfolding canon of Scripture, taking full account of its varied forms, while especially recognizing its fundamental, Christ-centered unity. This procedure is one we learn from Scripture itself. The Bible regularly claims that its revelation forms a single coherent narrative climaxing in the gospel of Christ, even as it also indicates that this narrative has many dimensions, and is revealed in a diversity of literary forms.4 Faithful Christian readings of Scripture—from Irenaeus and Augustine to Calvin and Kuyper—have, therefore, always recognized a fundamental unity within the rich diversity of Scripture—a unity which is conceptual (in that the Scriptures speak of the same God relating in consistent ways to the same created world), and narratival (in that the Scriptures narrate a single redemptive-history).5

In the first part of each study, then, we look for the organic unfolding of God’s revelation from its seed form in the Garden of Eden (Gen 1–2) to its full flowering in the Garden-City of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21–22). As Augustine said, “in the Old Testament the New is concealed, in the New the Old is revealed.”6 So we read Genesis in the light of the Gospels, Exodus in the light of the Epistles, and Ruth in the light of Revelation. We follow the rich network of citations and allusions—the “inner biblical exegesis”—by which Scripture interprets Scripture.7 We outline the primary biblical themes relevant to each doctrine—God’s kingdom and covenant, God’s creation and blessing, God’s Son and people, God’s Spirit and temple—together with their many related sub-themes, as they inform and shape the Church’s confession. We use Scripture’s own words and categories to trace the drama of redemption from creation to new creation centered on Christ.

Following this approach, we recognize that the Bible fundamentally structures its own unfolding narrative, and organizes all its major themes, around God’s two primary covenants with Adam and Christ (Rom 5:12–21; 1 Cor 15:22). Reformed theology came to characterize these as the “covenant of works” and the “covenant of grace,” confessing that, from start to finish, God has related to his people and his world by way of covenant (Westminster Confession of Faith 7:1–6).8 Scripture thus presents each of the major post-fall biblical covenants—God’s covenants with Abraham, Israel, David, and the new covenant—as successive administrations of the single covenant of grace: the covenant which was first promised in the garden (Gen 3:15), climactically sealed by the blood of Christ (Matt 26:28 and Mark 14:24 with Exod 24:8), and which ultimately will be fulfilled in the new creation when the triune God comes to dwell with his people at last (Rev 21:3).9

Above all—and consistent with the covenant theology we have just sketched—we take Jesus’s own word as our guide, and look for him, the Lord Jesus Christ, “in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Following Jesus and his apostles, we recognize that God “promised … the gospel … beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Rom 1:3–4; cf. Luke 24:44–49; Gal 3:8; 1 Cor 15:3–5; 1 Pet 1:12). Christ himself—his person, his work, and his kingdom—is the climax and goal of the triune God’s gracious plan to redeem his people and his world. Indeed, Christ is the very “substance” of biblical revelation (Col 2:17; cf. John 5:39; Rom 10:4; 1 Cor 10:4; 2 Cor 1:20; 2 Tim 3:15; 1 Pet 1:10–12). The grace of God in Christ was not merely foreshadowed and prophesied in the Old Testament; it was mediated in advance to the saints of old, by the Spirit, through the “promises, prophecies, sacrifices … and other types” given to God’s people in that period (Westminster Confession of Faith 7:5–6). We therefore affirm that the Old Testament is both Christo-telic (in that it points forward to Christ as its goal), and Christo-centric (in that its types and promises really mediated God’s grace in Christ, through the Spirit).10 Thus, with John Calvin, we are right to “seek in the whole of Scripture … truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.”11

In thus seeking Christ in all the Scriptures, we find that later revelation in Scripture interprets earlier revelation in ways that are consistent with its original meaning; the later revelation shows the “true and full sense” (sensus plenior) in light of the fulfillment in Christ (Westminster Confession of Faith 1:9). The New Testament offers no radical reinterpretation, much less correction, of the Old, but unfolds the full meaning of God’s inspired Word. As B.B. Warfield put it, the Old Testament is like a room “richly furnished but dimly lighted,” such that “the introduction of light [from the New Testament] brings into it nothing which was not in it before,” but “brings out into clearer view much of what is in it but was only dimly or even not at all perceived before.”12 As we read the Scriptures as the unfolding narrative of God’s redemptive purpose, we learn to see, again and again, that Christ is the center and substance of the Scriptures, and so the center and substance of the Church’s faith.

DOGMATIC DEVELOPMENT

The Church confesses not only what is “expressly set down in Scripture” but what “by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture” (Westminster Confession of Faith 1:6). The second part of each study in the We Believe series, therefore, is devoted to an account of the dogmatic development of the doctrine under consideration. Far from being opposed to each other, Biblical Theology and Systematic and Confessional Dogmatics actually need each other; there is a necessarily reciprocal relationship between the two.13 While both disciplines deal with God’s special revelation in Scripture, they analyze it according to different principles. The primary organizing principle for Biblical Theology is history—the organic unfolding of God’s work of redemption and his interpretation of the same in his inspired Word. The primary organizing principle of Dogmatics is logic—the rational organization of God’s revealed truth. As Geerhardus Vos observes, while Biblical Theology constructs a historical “line,” Christian Dogmatics constructs a logical “circle.”14 Thus, while Christian Dogmatics, including the Church’s creeds and confessions, generally follow the redemptive-historical shape of biblical revelation, they self-consciously set that redemptive history within the reality of the triune God and his relations to his world as these are revealed in all of Scripture.15 In the same way, while Christian Dogmatics fundamentally expresses itself using biblical language, it also employs extra-biblical language to summarize and synthesize biblical teaching, especially where Scripture uses a variety of expressions for the same reality, or where this is necessary to refute error.16 Since “the Word of God is living and active” (Heb 4:12), the God-given language of Scripture remains primary. Faithful Dogmatics rightly recognizes what John Webster calls the “rhetorical sufficiency” of Scripture.17 Indeed, since “the Old Testament in Hebrew … and the New Testament in Greek” were “immediately inspired by God,” the final court of appeal for all Christian Dogmatics is the words of Scripture in the original languages (Westminster Confession of Faith 1:8). Yet still, the same theological judgment can be expressed in a range of different conceptual and linguistic forms, and the faithful presentation and propagation of biblical truth sometimes requires extra-biblical expression.18

There is, moreover, a real history of doctrinal development to be traced through the ages of church history. As the very Word of the living God, the Scriptures possess an inexhaustible depth. As the Church reads and re-reads God’s Word in an ever-changing world, we find that there is always more to confess regarding God and his ways in the world, and always more to celebrate in the depths of his “being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth” (Westminster Shorter Catechism 4). Herman Bavinck states it well:

Scripture is not designed so that we should parrot it but that as free children of God we should think his thoughts after him … so much study and reflection on the subject is bound up with it that no person can do it alone. That takes centuries. To that end the church has been appointed and given the promise of the Spirit’s guidance into all truth.19

As each generation has read the Scriptures, confessed the faith, proclaimed the gospel, instructed children, discipled converts, and refuted errors, the Church—under the oversight of its living Lord, and by the enabling of his Holy Spirit—has deepened in its grasp of biblical truth.20 The Church has learned again and again that “the Lord hath yet more light and truth to break forth from His Word.”21 The foundational doctrines of God and Christ were fundamentally established in the Church’s early centuries, and codified in the ecumenical creeds, such that they received only incremental refinements thereafter. Other doctrines, however, no less crucial to the life of the Church—for example, the doctrines of Scripture and authority—received considerable development in the medieval, Reformation, and modern periods.

Doctrinal development, however—at least where it can be considered faithful—never moves beyond Scripture; it only ever penetrates more deeply into its truth. Faithful Dogmatics is thus not the imposition of a foreign grid onto Scripture, but a complementary means of interpreting Scripture by Scripture. In doing so, we make use of sanctified human reason. For while the Fall has corrupted the human mind (Rom 1:21–23; Eph 4:17–18), that same mind is renewed in Christ and by the Spirit (Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 2:10–13; Eph 4:23), and as such can play the role of servant in the task of theology. Thus Francis Turretin helpfully distinguishes between revelation as the “foundation of faith” and reason as the “instrument of faith,” which can serve to “illustrate” and “collate” biblical passages or arguments, to draw out “inferences,” and to help assess whether various positions agree or disagree with what has been revealed.22

The Church has been at this task for nearly two-thousand years, and there is a great deal to be learned from the wisdom of the ages. For this reason, each volume in the We Believe series provides a survey of the historical development of the doctrine under consideration. In charting this development, we give the Church’s creeds and confessions pride of place. For while Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Turretin, and Bavinck—among a host of others—have provided significant insight into biblical truth, the Church’s creeds and confessions reflect the official teaching of the Church as Church or—perhaps better—the common teaching of the Church’s elders, that is, the teaching of those appointed by the Spirit, and charged with guarding and promoting the apostolic gospel and, indeed, “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 15:1–35; 16:4; 20:27–28; 1 Tim 3:2; 5:17–18; 2 Tim 2:2; Titus 1:9).23

The Church’s teaching is always subordinate to Scripture. Scripture is the magisterial authority, the “rule that rules” (norma normans); the Church’s teaching is a ministerial authority, “the rule that is ruled” (norma normata). In the order of authority, “the Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture” (Westminster Confession of Faith 1:10). At the same time, in the order of knowing, there is wisdom in beginning with the Church’s confession. We rightly take the Church’s teaching as our guide in reading, interpreting, and applying Scripture. We learn the truth from our elders as they teach us the truth from God’s Word. This yields an iterative process: the Scriptures form our confession; our Scripturally-formed confession provides the lens through which we read the Scriptures, and; our further reading of the Scriptures further refines our confession.24

We Believe stands unashamedly in the Reformed confessional tradition, and seeks to defend and advance it. There are, of course, significant differences between the various Christian confessions. While the whole Church receives the doctrine of the ecumenical creeds (the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds, together with the definition of Chalcedon), the later confessions present divergent views on a host of significant matters. It is our conviction that the Reformed confessions, especially the Three Forms of Unity and the Westminster Standards, present the best—that is, the most fully biblical—account of Christian truth. That very tradition, however, has always aimed to contend for “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) and has thus championed a kind of Reformed Catholicity.25 Our approach in the We Believe series is therefore eirenic, and ecumenical. We write from the perspective of the Reformed tradition, but for the Church catholic.

Moreover, while the Reformed confessions of the sixteenth century are a high point in the development of the Church’s doctrine, they are not the end point. The body of Christ will not “attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13), until Christ fully unites us to himself by his Spirit, when he raises his people from the dead, and perfects us by his glorious presence (1 Cor 15:42–49; Phil 3:20–21). The bride of Christ will not be fully purified, “without spot or wrinkle,” until the Lord returns and presents us to himself “in splendour” (Eph 5:27; Rev 21:2, 9). The city of God will not be complete until God himself comes to dwell among us in all his fullness and illumine us with his light (Rev 21:3, 22–23). A Reformed commitment to the creeds and confessions is, therefore, not an end point, but a stimulus to further biblical exposition and dogmatic clarification.26 As a work in Christian Dogmatics, We Believe does not merely aim to retrieve or to repristinate the Reformed tradition, but to constructively develop it, always under the authority of God’s Word. If this series makes a modest contribution to the Church’s pilgrimage to maturity in Christ, it will have achieved its goal.

TRUTH FOR WORSHIP, LIFE, AND MISSION

The Church’s maturity in Christ involves far more than doctrinal faithfulness and clarity. The drama of redemption, which forms the Church’s doctrine, aims ultimately at discipleship and doxology.27 The third part of each study in the We Believe series, therefore, briefly considers the ways in which the doctrine under consideration shapes the Church’s worship, life, and mission. While the discussion here is necessarily indicative rather than exhaustive, we aim to demonstrate how biblical doctrine creates a moral vision for all of life. This includes, at the broadest level, observing the way in which the particular doctrine provides the basis for biblical principles for Christian worship, life, and mission, whether these are given explicitly in the biblical text (e.g. Matt 7:12 the “golden rule”), or summarized from biblical revelation as a whole (e.g. “the sanctity of life”).28 It includes, more sharply, consideration of the way in which Christian doctrine grounds the moral law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, and further summarized in the two great commandments of love for God and neighbor (Westminster Confession of Faith 19.2, 5; see esp. Exod 20:1–17; Deut 5:6–21; Matt 22:37–40; Rom 13:8; Gal 5:14; Jas 2:8). It also includes, further, consideration of the wealth of biblical examples which illustrate—both positively and negatively—the wisdom of life according to God’s law. Crucially, since Reformed theology has always emphasized the necessity of the work of the Spirit in enabling faith and renewing those who were lost in sin by uniting them to Christ, this section also considers the way in which each doctrine highlights the gracious work of God in enabling his people “to live and work for his praise and glory” (A Prayer Book for Australia).

Each of the authors for the series subscribes to one or more of the major Reformed confessions, and shares the general approach to Scripture and theology we have just outlined. At the same time, each author has approached the task in their own way, and—within the rich agreement just sketched—there are differences between us at the level of detail. We have deliberately assembled a company of authors who are experts in either Biblical Theology or Dogmatics on the conviction that in the Reformed tradition scholars must have a facility in both, even while maintaining their own expertise. The books aim to show the necessary integrity of Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology, to introduce students to biblical-confessional theology, and to help enrich and expand Reformed theology, while serving as a resource and reference for pastors, elders, and thoughtful Christians. We’re thankful to Lexham Press, and especially our expert editor Dr Todd Hains, for their partnership in this venture. Our hope and prayer is that these eight Studies in Reformed Biblical Doctrine might serve to ground the Church more firmly in the truth of God’s Word, that together we might “glorify God and enjoy him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism 1).

Almighty God, you are enthroned on the praises of Israel,

and all nations will worship and glorify your name.

Grant us counsel, instruct us, and reveal yourself to us,

that we would enjoy and glorify you in heart, soul,

and mind in this life and forever.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you

and the Holy Spirit, one God,

now and forever.

Amen.

John McClean

Vice Principal and Lecturer in Systematic Theology and Ethics

Christ College, Sydney

Murray J. Smith

Lecturer in Biblical Theology and Exegesis

Christ College, Sydney

PREFACE

I have been studying and teaching the doctrine of salvation for more than thirty years and am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the We Believe series. I am grateful to Murray Smith and John McClean for recruiting me to this series and for their editorial labors. I owe my thanks to a number of people who helped me along the way in the writing of this book, including my teaching assistant, Levi Berntson, and my colleagues Guy Waters and Blair Smith. I am also grateful especially for my family, my wife, Anneke, and my children, John Jr., Robert, and Carmen. You are a continual source of joy in my life, and you love me in spite of all my faults. You also uphold me in prayer, which is something I needed in great doses as I wrote this book. I had planned to work on this book in what was supposed to be a quiet summer in the midst of the Covid pandemic in 2021. “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD” (Prov 16:1). My father was diagnosed with cancer and six weeks later died, and then my grandmother died three weeks after that. A summer filled with changed plans, sadness, funerals, and mourning provided an unwanted but well-suited context for reflecting on God’s mercy in Christ through the Spirit. It’s one thing to write about the blessings of salvation and the hope of the beatific vision, and entirely another to hold your dying father’s hand as he enters into the presence of God to enjoy him forever. I pray that this book better equips Christians to know the depths of the riches of God’s love in Christ so that we all might glorify God and enjoy him forever.

I dedicate this book to three pastors who were a great influence in my life—men who continually pointed me to Christ. I was fifteen years old and sitting in the new members’ class when pastor Jim Wood wrote the TULIP acrostic on the whiteboard. I didn’t fully grasp what he was teaching for a number of years, but he planted the seeds of God’s sovereignty in salvation in my heart and mind that would later grow. Pastor Wood also helped me with writing my first sermon, which I delivered when I was sixteen years old for Youth Sunday. Pastor Wood’s humility left a mark on me that persists to this day, because when people thank me for preaching, I respond, “Praise God!” Pastor Steve Farish taught the Monday night Bible study and regularly mentioned R. C. Sproul, which stirred my interest even more. Steve patiently entertained my objections to God’s sovereignty in salvation by pointing me to Romans 9: “Read that chapter every day for the next month, and then come to me if you have any questions. But I don’t think you will.” I relented and admitted just three days later, “You, Lord, are the Creator, and I am but a creature. You are sovereign and I am not.” Steve watered the seed that Pastor Wood planted, and my TULIP grew into a garden in the subsequent years. Throughout my teenage years, another constant in my life was my youth pastor, Ray Walker. Ray spent countless hours with me and my brother at youth events, Bible studies, retreats, and movies, and in small group discipleship. Ray continually pointed my brother and me to Christ. Ray’s discipleship was a big factor, I believe, in our growth in God’s grace. He also set an example of godliness for us both. Once I saw his T-shirt wrap around the front wheel of his bike, and he flew over the handlebars, his arm and back skidding across the pavement. Despite the ensuing road rash and excruciating pain, Ray never once let a foul word fly. That type of consistent Christian walk in both word and deed left an indelible impression on me to this day. I give thanks to our faithful God to all three of you for pointing me to Christ, and so I dedicate this book to you. I pray that I can do for others what you have done for me and point people to Christ in word and deed. SDG.

J. V. Fesko

ABBREVIATIONS

AB

Anchor Bible

ANF

The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 1885–1887. 10 vols. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994

BC

Belgic Confession

BECNT

Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

BBR

Bulletin for Biblical Research

CNTC

Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries

EBC

Expositor’s Bible Commentary

FC

Fathers of the Church

GC

Gallican Confession

GTJ

Grace Theological Journal

HC

Heidelberg Catechism

Inst.

Institutes of the Christian Religion

JETS

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

NICNT

New International Commentary on the New Testament

NICOT

New International Commentary on the Old Testament

NIGTC

New International Greek Testament Commentary

NPNF1

The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1. Edited by Philip Schaff. 1886–1889. 14 vols. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994

NPNF2

The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2. Edited by Philip Schaff. 1886–1889. 14 vols. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994

NSBT

New Studies in Biblical Theology

NSD

New Studies in Dogmatics

PNTC

Pillar New Testament Commentary

SBET

Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology

SD

Studies in Dogmatics

ST

Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologica

TOTC

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary

TynBul

Tyndale Bulletin

VT

Vetus Testamentum

WBC

Word Biblical Commentary

WCF

Westminster Confession of Faith

WLC

Westminster Larger Catechism

WSC

Westminster Shorter Catechism

WTJ

Westminster Theological Journal

WUNT

Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

A PRAYER FOR THE STUDY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SALVATION

When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.

Psalm 104:30

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for your Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who has opened our eyes and given us faith, so that we might believe in Christ, stand justified in your sight, be ever more conformed day by day to his holy image, and look ever hopefully to our glorification. As we plunge into the depths of your saving work through Christ and the Spirit, we pray that you would grant unto us humility, ears to hear, and eyes to see the marvels and wonders of our salvation. We pray that we would look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

INTRODUCTION

FOR US AND FOR OUR SALVATION

The Nicene Creed historically defended orthodox biblical teaching about the person of Christ, that the Son of God is “begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.” These words have been professed for seventeen hundred years by the whole of Christendom, East and West, Protestant and Roman Catholic. As much as the Nicene Creed stakes out important christological truths, it also makes important claims about the doctrine of salvation, a Trinitarian doctrine of salvation no less. The creed confesses that all things were made through the Son and then says that the incarnation was “for us and for our salvation.” But Christ does not stand on the stage of redemptive history alone. The creed continues, “And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.” The Nicene Creed therefore sets forth a Trinitarian doctrine of salvation, where the Father sends the Son and the Spirit to create, as “through him” (Christ) “all things were made,” and the Holy Spirit is “the Lord, the giver of life.” The Son and the Spirit are also the ones whom the Father sends to redeem sinners and to create the new heavens and earth, as the Triune God brings about the “resurrection of the dead, and … life in the world to come,” where the Son rules over his never-ending kingdom. The Father, Son, and Spirit redeem sinners, those who constitute “one holy catholic and apostolic church,” and as the recipients of the grace of the Triune God, they take this message into the world so that others may know of the blessings of redemption. The people whom God calls to himself through the gospel are also a holy catholic church, a people set apart as those who have received “one baptism for the forgiveness of sins,” who manifest their salvation through the gifts of the Spirit and who worship and glorify Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This volume in the We Believe series unpacks the scriptural teaching of our Trinitarian salvation, though it does so from the perspective of the Reformed faith. Early Reformed theologians maintained that they were Reformed catholics and not sectarians; they agreed with the Nicene Creed. The Thirty-Nine Articles (1571) state: “The Three Creeds, Nicene Creed, Athanasius’s Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles’ Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture” (8). Likewise, the Gallican Confession (1559) and Belgic Confession (1561) make similar statements: “We willingly accept the three ecumenical creeds—the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian—as well as what the ancient fathers decided in agreement with them” (BC 9; see also Gallican Confession 5). The Second Helvetic Confession (1566) also approves and commends the councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, along with the Athanasian Creed (11). The Reformers believed that the Nicene Creed was biblical, which is why they included affirmatory statements about it in their confessions of faith. The Nicene Creed and Reformed theology, more specifically soteriology, go hand in hand.

This volume contains three sections. Part 1 treats biblical-theological themes relevant to the doctrine of salvation. Chapter 1 surveys the redemptive-historical foundations of salvation in terms of God’s covenant presence through creation and redemption. One of the chief goals of creation and redemption is for God to dwell in the midst of his people. Chapter 2 looks at the nature of God’s covenant promises—the blessings he imparts in salvation. Chapter 3 provides an overview of covenant life to show how faith, hope, and love underlie life in the Spirit to fuel the worship, prayer, witness, and mission of the church. Part 2 examines the doctrines of salvation by laying a foundation in chapter 4 with the person and work of the Spirit, which leads to chapter 5 and the union with Christ that the Spirit effects in the regeneration of sinners. The Spirit’s effectual call leads to justification (ch. 6), adoption (ch. 7), and sanctification (ch. 8). Chapters 9–11 investigate the nature of the Christian life in terms of faith and repentance (ch. 9), assurance and perseverance (ch. 10), and the gifts of the Spirit, which equip believers for service (ch. 11). Part 3 contains three chapters that explain the nature of true versus counterfeit faith (ch. 12), the pursuit of Christian maturity in the Spirit (ch. 13), and the way in which the Spirit’s prophetic revelation equips the church for its witness and mission to the world (ch. 14). The book concludes with summary observations about the Trinitarian character of salvation, a Reformed catholic soteriology that rests on the authority of Scripture and employs the insights of the Nicene Creed.

PART 1

BIBLICAL REVELATION

I

COVENANT PRESENCE

THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN CREATION AND REDEMPTION

One of the Scripture’s recurring themes is God dwelling amid his people, whether in the garden-temple of Eden, in the desert tabernacle, in the Solomonic temple, or in the hearts of those united to Christ in the Old Testament and ultimately God’s final temple and dwelling place in his people in the new creation. The most iconic expression of this reality comes in God’s statement to the Israelites: “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (Exod 6:7). This statement entails three key realities. First, God would redeem the Israelites from Egypt and make them his people. This redemption rested on the foundation of God’s covenantal promises to the patriarchs: “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Exod 2:24). Second, God would be their God—he alone would be the sole object of their worship and love, a dynamic captured in Israel’s covenantal charter: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut 6:4–5). Third, concomitant with the mutually encompassing relationship between Israel and God is the idea that Israel would know God. Exodus 6:7 invokes the covenantal name of God, Yahweh (indicated by the small-caps “LORD” in the English translation). The personal name of God, which he revealed to Moses on Mount Horeb, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exod 3:14) is a name of intimacy and familiarity, a name only for those in covenant with God. When God therefore told his people, “I will be your God,” his declaration amounted to a covenantally binding relationship, a marriage between him and his people.

But covenant requires presence and place. Where and by what means, then, does God fellowship with his people? The primary means by which God dwells amid his people is the presence of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This chapter traces this theme throughout preredemptive and redemptive history, from Eden to tabernacle, temple, and church. It then examines the connections between the Spirit and the Son. The chapter subsequently examines the Spirit’s role in the new creation.

THE SPIRIT AND CREATION (LIFE, COMMON GRACE)

The opening words of the Bible reveal the Spirit’s work in the creation: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen 1:2). The Spirit was an agent of creation, working in concert with Father and Son to create ex nihilo (Heb 11:3). Although some believe that the reference to the rwch 'lhym refers to the “wind of God,” later portions of Scripture reveal that the Spirit was present at creation: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the Spirit of his mouth all their host” (Ps 33:6, my trans.).1 The Nicene Creed captures the Spirit’s person and work when it calls him the “Lord and giver of life.” The psalmist repeats the idea when he writes: “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground” (Ps 104:30). Job attests to the Spirit’s role in similar fashion: “By his Spirit [brwchw] the heaves were made fair” (Job 26:13, my trans.). When Job describes his own creation, he echoes the creation of the first man, Adam. The Genesis narrative memorably states: “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [nshmt chyym], and the man became a living creature” (Gen 2:7). Job echoes this when he avers: “The Spirit of God [rwch 'l] has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life [wnshmt shdy tchyny]” (Job 33:4).2 But the creation of Adam and Job communicates more than divine agency. It conveys notions of intimacy and covenantal fellowship.

Genesis 2:7 tells us that God breathed life into Adam’s nostrils, but the synonymous parallelism of Job 33:4, which equates God’s Spirit with his breath, reveals that God indwelled Adam by his Spirit. God’s indwelling presence imparts life, but does so in an intimate way, not from afar but from within. At this stage in preredemptive history, Adam’s Spirit-indwelled creation foreshadows the Spirit’s work in the new creation. Evocative of Adam’s creation, Jesus performed a living parable when he breathed on his disciples: “ ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (John 20:21–22).3 The protological indwelling of the Spirit was the bond of covenantal fellowship, love, and was a gift that Adam was to share with future generations: as George Smeaton writes, “Adam had the Spirit in the state of integrity, not only for himself, but for his seed; and he walked after the Spirit as long as he stood in his integrity.”4 Adam forsook God, and thus sin disrupted his existence. He dissolved the intimate covenantal bond, but this did not mean that the Spirit ceased to uphold the creation.

In the fallen world the Spirit continued to carry out his work as the giver of life, but because of Adam’s apostasy the prospect of eschatological life was no longer a possibility, at least not by his labor. Eschatological life would only come by another, by the Son of Man. God exiled Adam from his garden-temple presence, and apart from the Spirit’s presence Adam was now subject to the deleterious effects of his sin. Thus he died. The day Adam sinned was the day he died, as God had threatened (Gen 2:16–17). Adam lived East of Eden in a state of exilic death (Num 5:1–4; 12:1–15; 2 Kgs 7:3–8). Adam’s exilic death naturally led to his physical death. Adam returned to the dust of the earth as God said he would: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). In the sin-fallen world, however, the Spirit still upholds the creation and all life even if fallen humans still live east of Eden.

Evidence that the Spirit upholds all existence appears in Job: “If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his Spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust” (34:14–15, my trans.). All humans still owe their existence to the work of the Holy Spirit, but in the shadow of the fall, such work serves a twofold end. First, the Spirit provides the creation a stay of execution—the final judgment has been postponed. Second, the postponement is not an ad hoc response to the fall but part of the Triune God’s foreordained plans laid before the foundations of the world. The judgment postponed provides the needed time to gather the elect, the bride of Christ, from every corner of the earth. Early modern Reformed theologians distinguished between the common and special operations of the Spirit to denote the differences between the Spirit’s general work in upholding the creation and the Spirit’s special work of redeeming Christ’s bride. The Westminster Confession, for example, speaks of the “common operations of the Spirit” but affirms that such acts are insufficient for salvation (10.4). Conversely, within God’s providence there is a “special manner” by which he takes “care of his church, and disposeth all things to the good thereof” (5.7). Chief among that special care is the Spirit’s work of effectual calling (10.1). In the nineteenth century, Reformed theologians such as Charles Hodge (1797–1878) called the common operations of the Spirit “common grace,” which Hodge describes in the following manner:

The Bible therefore teaches that the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, of holiness, and of life in all its forms, is present with every human mind, enforcing truth, restraining from evil, exciting to good, and imparting wisdom or strength, when, where, and in what measure seemeth to Him good. In this sphere also He divides “to every man severally as He will” (1 Cor 12:11). This is what in theology is called common grace.5

So even in a fallen world, the Holy Spirit is the author and sustainer of all life, the fount of every virtue (Gen 6:17; 7:15; Pss 33:6; 104:30; 139:2; Job 32:8; Eccl 3:19).6 But the Spirit’s work does not end with merely sustaining life in a sin-fallen world. Rather, the Spirit’s work in the creation has a telos in the new creation.

THE SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT: CONTINUITY AND DISCONTINUITY

Geerhardus Vos (1862–1949) makes two key observations regarding special revelation. First, all biblical revelation is progressive. That is, God does not immediately explain and unfold his plan of redemption but instead slowly, progressively, and organically unfolds it from Eden to the new creation. Vos writes, “That part of the knowledge of God which has been revealed to us is so overwhelmingly great and so far transcends our human capacities, is such a flood of light, that it had, as it were, gradually to be let in upon us, ray after ray, and not the full radiancy at once.”7 Second, God’s revelation is not merely words but consists of actions. This is what Vos describes as word-act-word revelation. First God gives his revelatory word, he acts in history, and then he reveals a subsequent interpretive word. A microcosmic example of this pattern appears in the creation account. God says, “ ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good” (Gen 1:3–4). God speaks, he acts, and then the subsequent revelation explains that God’s act was good: word-act-word.8 These two principles (progressive and word-act-word revelation) are the prerequisite concepts for understanding the nature of God’s presence by the Holy Spirit throughout preredemptive and redemptive history. There is a progressive, organic, unfolding revelation in both word and act that discloses that God’s presence through the Holy Spirit lies at the heart of his being the God of his people from Eden to the tabernacle, the temple, the church, and the new creation.

Eden

Naturally, tracing the theme of God’s presence through the Holy Spirit begins with the garden of Eden. In the past theologians as diverse as John Calvin (1509–1564) and Gerhard von Rad (1901–1971) characterized the garden of Eden as an ancient Mesopotamian farm.9 But more recent scholarship rightly notes that Eden is not a farm but the first earthly temple—the first meeting place between God and humans.10 All of Eden’s features point to its status as a temple, and as in subsequent temples, God is present by means of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, of course, appears in the opening scene of the creation narrative, as noted above. The Spirit’s presence continues in the drama in the creation of Adam as well, as he makes an appearance at the climax of the opening scene when God judges Adam and Eve for their sin. As Adam and Eve trembled because they heard God approaching, Genesis says they heard “the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the Spirit of the day” (Gen 3:8, my trans.).11 God came to his temple by the presence of the Holy Spirit to justify or condemn his covenant servant. The Old Testament notes the connection between the Spirit’s presence and judgment in several places. For example, the “Spirit of the LORD was upon [Othniel], and he judged Israel” (Judg 3:10). God put his Spirit on his servant, who would “bring forth justice to the nations” (Isa 42:1). In short, in Eden God created a microcosmic version of his macrocosmic creation temple. He established sacred space in the garden and entrusted its sanctity to Adam and the cherubim. Eden was a garden-temple, the place chosen by the Holy Spirit to dwell. The same Spirit who brooded over the chaotic waters of creation now made his dwelling among humans.12 Adam’s sin disrupted the covenantal fellowship between God and humans, but in his mercy, God promised to make his dwelling among his people.

Tabernacle

God heard the cry of his people as they languished in Egypt, and he redeemed them by a mighty hand by delivering them from their bondage. He led them into the wilderness to the foot of Mount Sinai, where he dwelled in their midst atop the mountain shrouded in dark, ominous clouds and attended by peals of thunder and flashes of lightning. The people were terrified of God’s presence, but in his mercy, God condescended by means of the desert tabernacle. While there were still procedures for fellowshipping with God, such as sacrifices and especially the protocols of the Day of Atonement (Lev 16), God dwelled amid his people.

God’s dwelling was the “tent of meeting” (Exod 27:21). Scholars note that there are verbal parallels between the creation account (Gen 1:1–2:3) and the instructions for constructing the tabernacle (Exod 25–40).13 In other words, the tabernacle’s design mirrored the macrocosmic temple of creation. The seven days of creation inform the speeches concerning the construction of the tabernacle (see Ps 104:2 //Exod 26:7; Gen 1:2 //Exod 26:33; Gen 1:6 //Exod 30:18; Gen 1:14 //Exod 25:31; Gen 1:20 //Exod 25:20; Gen 1:27 //Exod 28:1; Gen 2:1–3 //Exod 39:32, 43).14 Just as the Spirit hovered over the creation and appeared in the garden-temple of Eden, he also descended on the tabernacle on its completion: “The cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exod 40:35). The cloud was a visible revelation of the Holy Spirit that signaled both the Spirit’s dwelling in the tabernacle in Israel’s midst and his presence leading them through the wilderness: “Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out” (Exod 40:36; Isa 63:10–14).

In addition to the Holy Spirit being present in the temple, the Spirit also was involved in its construction. God told Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft” (Exod 31:1–6). The Spirit sovereignly distributed gifts to facilitate the construction of the dwelling place of God, the meeting place for God and humans. The Spirit’s work in this way makes another appearance in his work to make the new creation.

Numbers 11:24–30

Geerhardus Vos defines biblical theology “nothing else than the exhibition of the organic process of supernatural revelation in its historic continuity and multiformity.”15 In the progressive unfolding of supernatural revelation, earlier portions of revelation anticipate later portions. Numbers 11:24–30 foreshadows Pentecost and the descent of the Spirit, which evinces the organic continuity and multiformity that characterizes the progression from Old to New Testament. In this case, Moses is stationed at the tabernacle, the earthly dwelling place of God—the meeting place between God and humans: “Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it” (Num 11:25). The cloud presence of the Lord descends and enables the seventy elders to prophesy, but they eventually cease their prophetic activity, which indicates the temporary and provisional nature of the Spirit’s anointing.

In the wake of the Spirit’s temporary outpouring two men, Eldad and Medad, who did not go out to the tabernacle, nevertheless receive the Spirit and prophesy in the camp (Num 11:27). Joshua is concerned that they might undermine Moses’s authority and implores Moses to stop them (Num 11:28). Moses’s answer further reinforces the typological character of the Spirit’s outpouring: “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Num 11:29). In other words, Moses looks to the future, when God will democratize the outpouring of the Spirit. Note that this outpouring of the Spirit contains the basic elements of the later eschatological outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost: the anointing of the Spirit, prophecy, the Spirit’s presence revealed by a cloud, and the dwelling place of God.

Temple

Israel’s ambulation through the wilderness had a telos—the permanent inhabitation of the promised land. Israel would no longer wander through the wilderness and follow the Spirit’s cloud-presence; God would establish a permanent dwelling in Israel’s midst. Although King David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, God tasked Solomon with this responsibility. As God was progressively unfolding his plan of redemption, he told David he was fulfilling his covenant promises to him: “It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father” (1 Chr 28:6). This divine word clearly echoes God’s covenantal oath to David (2 Sam 7:13–15). God’s son would build the temple, but in order to carry out this task, God would anoint him with the Spirit. Once again, we must correlate the construction of God’s dwelling place with the Spirit’s inhabitation of the temple. Just as God gave Oholiab and Bezalel the Holy Spirit, who equipped them to build the tabernacle, so too God poured the Spirit on Solomon to equip him to build the temple. Solomon, for example, records God’s words to him: “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my Spirit to you; I will make my words known to you” (Prov 1:23, my trans.). God did in fact pour out the Spirit on Solomon and gave him great wisdom (2 Chr 1:11). Solomon’s wisdom was world renowned, such that royalty sought him “to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind” (2 Chr 9:22–23). David assured his son that God would be with him “until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished” (1 Chr 28:20). At the climax of the launching of the temple construction, Israel anointed Solomon king a second time (1 Chr 29:22). The Lord’s anointed, his Messiah, would build the temple. The anointing oil was symbolic of the anointing of the Spirit—the equipping of the king to carry out the temple-building project.

The temple harked back to both Eden and the tabernacle, God’s earlier dwelling places, in its design and architecture. At the completion of the temple, the priests bring the ark of the covenant into the holy of holies, God’s throne and symbol of his presence (2 Chr 5:7). When the priests retreat to the outer temple, the Levitical singers and trumpeters break out in song and thanksgiving: “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (2 Chr 5:13). As at the completion of the desert tabernacle, once again the Spirit of God takes up residence in the Solomonic temple: “The house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God” (2 Chr 5:13–14). In the midst of his address before the gathered worshipers, Solomon poignantly asks: “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth?” (2 Chr 6:18). As Solomon invites God to enter his “resting place” (2 Chr 6:41), “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple” (2 Chr 7:1). In all these events a number of different revelatory strands converge and set the stage for future events: the son, messiah, and king, anointed by the Spirit, building a dwelling place for God, the meeting place for God and humans, with God filling the temple with his Spirit, which is visibly manifest in both a cloud and fire from heaven.

Joel 2:28–32

God’s progressive, organic, unfolding self-disclosure continues in one of the more famous Old Testament passages that prophetically foretells of the Spirit’s outpouring. There is an organic link between Joel 2:28–32 and the earlier outpouring of the Spirit in Numbers 11:24–30.16 Hints that God would dispense the Spirit beyond the elders of Israel initially appear in that Eldad and Medad, though absent from the tabernacle, nevertheless received the Spirit. Joel reinforces this point when he writes: “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. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28–29). Unlike the earlier Numbers event, where the Spirit only fell on the elders (including Eldad and Medad), Joel’s prophecy is more expansive and reveals that cosmic perturbations will accompany the Spirit’s outpouring: “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes” (Joel 2:30–31). The eschaton is in Joel’s view, given that he sees the day of the Lord on the revelatory horizon; moreover, his cosmic language also suggests that this outpouring will bring both judgment and new creation.

Church