Pentecost 2021

Rev. Thomas Van Hemert

Pentecost – Whitsunday

John 14:23-31

May 23/27, 2021

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Trinitarian invocation—In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—names all three persons of the Holy Trinity. During the first half of the Church Year, from the First Sunday in Advent up until now, we’ve primarily focused on the person, work, and office of Christ. He was born in Bethlehem, He was revealed to be the Christ, God’s anointed on Epiphany with the appearance of the Magi, He performed miracles, He instituted the Sacrament of the Altar, He suffered and died, and then was raised from the dead. He has since, ascended to heaven. Now, He sends the Holy Spirit to us.

In my opinion, we’re more familiar with the first two persons of the Holy Trinity: the Father and the Son. Usually, we attribute the work of creation to the Father. This is how it’s laid out in Luther’s Small Catechism. Because when we say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,” what that means is, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that he has given me my body soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my sense, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this, He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy without any merit or worthiness in me.” Thus, we have creation, and the continuance and sustaining of creation as work generally attributed to the Father.

And the work we attribute to the Son is the work of Redemption. When we say that we believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, we mean that we believe in Jesus, “who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.” That’s how we’re redeemed. That’s how we are “bought back.” We’re made holy and righteous by blood. Christ’s blood. Not anything we’ve done. 

But today is the one Sunday of the year that we focus our attention on the Third Person of the Holy Trinity: the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, there are countless misunderstandings concerning the Holy Spirit. So that we might understand the Holy Spirit properly, we’ll take up the topics of I. Who is the Holy Spirit? II. The names of the Holy Spirit given in Scripture. III. What He does. IV. Why it matters.

I. Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God. He is eternal. For in the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, 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. So in the beginning, even at creation and prior to creation, the Holy Spirit was also there.

The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son. He is not made or created. Nor is the Holy Spirit begotten of the Father. Only the Son is begotten of the Father. The word we use for the Spirit, is “proceeding.” The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. And since the Holy Spirit is God, we can pray to Him. We actually have a hymn in our hymnal titled, “To God the Holy Spirit Let Us Pray,” number 768. 

The Holy Spirit is just that—a spirit. He is formless. Though sometimes He has taken on the appearance of certain forms. Such as, at Jesus’ Baptism: the Holy Spirit was seen descending like a dove, which came to rest upon Jesus. So also, Jesus was known to give the Spirit to those who would preach His Gospel—that is, the Apostles, and pastors and priests. John chapter 20, when Jesus appeared again to the Apostles, He said, “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. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

II. Names of the Holy Spirit

Now the Holy Spirit is not only called “the Holy Spirit” in the Bible. Certainly, that is the primary name we use for the Third Person of the Trinity. And of course, Jesus calls Him the Holy Spirit many times in the Gospels. But the Holy Spirit is also known by other names and it’s important we recognize this.

He is also called the Comforter. The word in Greek is very similar to an advocate. Here, the word means a man who’s the supporter of someone accused or blamed, someone who takes an interest in him to defend him and make amends for him, to serve him with help and aid, and to admonish and strengthen him where it is necessary.

Second, Christ also calls Him “the Spirit of truth.” He calls Him this because the Holy Spirit is a comfort for those who believe the Gospel, so that they know that the comfort they hear through the Word is true and genuine and does not lie or deceive.

III. What He does

The simplest explanation of what the Holy Spirit does, that is, the work given to Him, comes from the Small Catechism. In which, we confess, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the wone true faith. In this Christian Church, He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day, He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.”

First of all, no one can “accept Jesus into their hearts.” No one can, by their own human nature, understand the things of God or “make a decision for Jesus.” As St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them.” Because of our sinful nature, it is impossible to accept Jesus, or to love the things of God. But because of the Holy Spirit given in Holy Baptism, we receive a new heart—one by which, we do begin to understand holy things and the things of God. Because of the Holy Spirit given in Holy Baptism, we learn to love God’s Law. We begin to realize that the sins we commit are truly damning, that we need to repent, and that God truly loves us. He is not angry with us. He desires our repentance and He desires to feed us with His body and blood.

For it is the Holy Spirit who calls us by the Gospel. He calls us to Himself through Baptism. There, in those waters, we are enlightened and sanctified, that is, we are made holy. He not only makes us to be holy and beloved children of God and heirs of Christ Jesus, but in His Church—the Church that is His own creation—the Holy Spirit is the one who daily and richly forgives all our sins. The Holy Spirit testifies of Christ. He brings the forgiveness and atonement won by Jesus on the cross, and covers us with Christ’s righteousness. So that, come the last day, the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead. Not only that, but He will give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

IV. Why does this matter?

The Holy Christian Church, which includes all of us who are all beloved by God, saints of God, could not remain in the true, Christian faith if it weren’t for the Holy Spirit. He sustains us. He gives us strength and the ability to carry on. You need this Comforter. He’s called the Comforter because in this life, all the world is against you. The world hates you. The world hates Christians. The world and the devil hate what true Christianity teaches, not this watered down, less offensive, milquetoast, so-called moralism that passes itself off as Christianity. True Christianity is despised by the world. For Jesus Himself said, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. True Christian doctrine divides. It separates us from the sinful world. True Christianity teaches that Jesus is the only way to heaven, but the devil and the world point also to Buddha or Muhammad and anyone else except Jesus. True Christianity teaches that marriage is only between a man and a woman, but the devil and the world say, “Well, let’s just let love be love. Let’s ignore the order of creation.” True Christianity teaches that abortion is an abomination and a sacrament of the devil. But the devil and the world call it, “healthcare.” True Christianity is despised by the world. And for teaching this, and loving God’s Word, the world hates Christians. Even so-called “Christians” hate Christians.

Thus, the devil attacks you vigorously because you love God and are loved by Him. He says the worst about you with his poisonous and slanderous tongue. He will accuse and defame you before all the world as the greatest sinner there is. He will accuse you before the world and before God. He will claim that you aren’t worthy of God’s love or worth anything that Jesus would die for you. But the truth is, you are a sinner. You are guilty. You have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed. But the Holy Spirit comforts. He consoles. This Comforter intercedes for you before God. He reminds you of all that Jesus has said and then reminds the Father what the Son has done for you. Though you are a sinner, though you are guilty, you are declared to be sinless and guiltless. The Holy Spirit comforts and strengthens your heart. He brings you out of fear and despair and gives you a fearless and courageous heart—one that can withstand the devil’s lying tongue.

He’s called the Spirit of Truth as a further comfort for you who believes the Gospel, so that you know that the comfort you hear in the Absolution, that the words, “Take eat, this is my body; take drink, this is my blood,” is true and genuine.

Jesus gives the Holy Spirit the name “Spirit of Truth” in stark contrast to the devil. Because the devil is also a spirit, but he’s not a comforter, and neither does he speak truth. He is the father of lies, who misleads and ruins everything, both with false fright and false comfort, even under the appearance of truth. For that’s how he deceived Eve: “Did God really say…” he says. But the Holy Spirit, given in Holy Baptism, does nothing else than to truly comfort people through the preaching of the Gospel in Christ. He comforts distressed and timid hearts, who know their sins and guilt and are frightened by these things. He reminds sinners that God does not account them as sinners but as His own beloved children. And that God desires to give them every good thing. And in this life of faith, we pray to the Holy Spirit to bring us out of despair and guilt caused by our sinful nature. And He will. Thanks be to God.

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come. And He has. Thus, He gathers us from all nations, both Jews and Gentiles, both black and white, both male and female into one body—it’s Christ’s body. This is the Church. For we are in Christ, called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified. We are of Christ. And if we are of Christ, then we are of God. We are holy. We are heirs. We hear the Holy Law. It is good. We confess sins. We realize what we often do is wrong. But we hear the Gospel. We receive forgiveness, given by the Holy Spirit. What He says is true. What He does is true. It’s the only truth that can comfort us in this lying world.

In +Jesus’ name.