“Trinity – The Unifier”

Scripture: John 16:7-15; Matthew 12:30-32

In striving to understand the Trinity a little better, we have already considered the first two Persons – the Father and the Son, and today, we consider the Third Person – the Holy Spirit, who Augustine saw as the power of unification. As we previously discovered, the Three, even though they have unique responsibilities, they exist within a common purpose, with a common goal, and proclaiming a common truth. None of them lives outside any of the others (John 14:15-17), and what one does, the others comply with, so that the message is enabled and reinforced.

But not only do they have an inward focus with each other, they also have a common outward purpose - one that is placed firmly on humanity. Augustine wrote in his “Confessions”, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.” That, I believe, is the Spirit’s unique purpose – that of reminding us that we are made for the Lord, as well as instilling within us that sense of “restlessness” that leads us into the eternal rest of Almighty God.

As we have discovered in our Tuesday morning Bible study, the Greek word for Spirit, found primarily in John’s gospel, is “Paraclete”. The word has a very wide and encompassing significance, even though biblical translators seem to focus on only a couple of its meanings – such as Comforter or Advocate. But Paraclete means far more – it denotes one who exhorts, who encourages, who comforts, consoles, helps, and appeals to and for others.

So in this regard, let’s see how the Spirit is also a force for unity.

Read John 16:7-15

This passage is part of Jesus’ teaching at the Last Supper. John’s treatment of that time is far more extensive than the other Gospels – 4 complete chapters, versus a few verses of a single chapter in the others. And in this passage, Jesus tells his friends that his impending departure must be seen as a good thing. And his leaving shouldn’t surprise anyone – after all, if he hadn’t died on the Cross, he would surely have died of old age within a few more years.
But the goodness that is inherent in Jesus’ death and return home is not so much in his leaving as it is in the ability of the Spirit, the Paraclete, to come to the disciples, and us, for the remainder of human existence.

Jesus had come to present the truth of God. He exposed the ways of earth, including the Law of Moses, as futilely inadequate as a means to righteous living. But in his humanness, he was limited in the number of people he could reach, and even in that small number, there were only a handful who would accept his teaching. A permanent, godly Presence would have to be established among the people of earth if the Lord’s lessons were to remain in our minds and hearts.

And in verse 8, we read that the Spirit, the Paraclete, will convict the world of guilt in regard to three things - of their sinful condition, in the way to true righteousness, and in the judgment that is upon all who have not chosen to follow the ways of Christ Jesus. And John’s writing explains the basics behind each of these – first, that sin reigns in our lives unless we give ourselves totally over to Jesus; second, that righteousness comes to us because the Lord has completed his work among us and has returned to Glory; and third, that judgment is already upon Satan, the prince of the world, and will also, one day, be on those who follow the devil, either intentionally or inadvertently.

It becomes quite clear, then, that the Holy Spirit’s responsibility is to continue the ministry that Jesus began by keeping all that the Lord did and taught in a fresh and vibrant way within our lives. But note that the Spirit introduces nothing new to the ministry! There may be new ways and new opportunities to introduce the ministry to people of the world, but the foundational principles, the complete truth that the Spirit enables, is absolutely in tune with the heart of both Jesus and the Father.

And this leads to one more name and purpose for the Spirit – that of “Guide” for our lives. This isn’t in a new way, however, but continues to be in the truth and way of Jesus. The Paraclete will guide us to know and remember all that Jesus is for the life of humanity. And just so we don’t think that we will be learning anything new, we are told that the Spirit knows nothing and says nothing that he doesn’t hear from Almighty God.
But he will “tell what is yet to come”. This, too, will not be new, will not be prophecy, will not necessarily be of our future. Remember that this word comes before Jesus’ death, so it may very well be referring to an understanding of what his death, as well as what the Spirit’s coming, will mean for us.

Just as Jesus’ purpose was to bring glory to the Father, the Spirit’s purpose is to bring glory to Jesus. Isn’t it interesting that neither Jesus nor the Spirit seeks any glory for themselves – that all glory passes through them to the Father - the One who has initiated all that is. The very work of the Spirit proves that there is unity within the Triune God, and that nothing can disrupt it.

Read Matthew 12:30-32

In Matthew’s gospel, we begin to see another aspect of unity in the Spirit – that which is to exist between God and humanity. Jesus begins his thoughts by making the point that “If you aren’t with me, you’re against me.” The Lord tells us that there is no middle ground, no fence-sitting, when it comes to faith – either you believe, or you don’t. And the corollary to faith is that if you aren’t focused on unity in God and with each other (Luke 10:25-37), (in that order!) then you are divisive and are making your own way in life.

And the Lord discusses forgiveness, in the context of unity. He tells us that, through repentance, all things that are said contrary to him, can be forgiven. The condemnation that comes from every sin (action) and every word (blasphemy) that is against him can be forgiven. The assumption is that the sinful ways and hateful words in our life before Christ, before we began to learn his ways, before we understand the life he promises, before we hear of the difference that exists between the ways of earth and the ways of God – these can be forgiven through the atonement that Jesus offers.
But it appears that once we have learned of his ways and his plan for eternity, and still reject the leading and guidance of the Paraclete, forgiveness becomes a thing of the past.

Why should there be such a difference? Isn’t the Spirit completely in synch with Jesus?
William Barclay, in his Commentary on Matthew, (Vol. 2, Westminster Press,|Philadelphia, 1975, pg. 44), wrote:
“Why should that sin be unforgiveable? What differentiates it so terribly from all other sins? The answer is simple. When a [person] reaches that stage, repentance is impossible! If a [person] cannot recognize the good when he sees it, he cannot desire it. If a [person] does not recognize evil as evil, he cannot be sorry for it, and depart from it. And if he cannot, in spite of failures, love the good and hate the evil, he cannot repent; and if he cannot repent, he cannot be forgiven, for repentance is the only condition of forgiveness.”

If we merge Barclay’s thoughts with Augustine’s, we begin to see that abject refusal to accept the truth of the Holy Spirit is paramount to rejecting the unity that is the very basis for all that the Spirit is for us. And as Barclay wrote – if we won’t recognize goodness and truth when we see it, then there is no hope that we will ever turn away from that other life.

We need to understand that the sinfulness that we continue to commit, even after we come to Christ and his promises, is not what this passage is referring to. Blaspheming of the Spirit is a total rejection of all that the Spirit stands for and all that we are called to know. Rejection of the Spirit and his truth is a rejection of God.

But when we allow the Spirit of God to work and correct and speak and live within and through us by faith in Jesus Christ, all things are possible (Philippians 4:13), including unity with each other, and especially unity with the Lord.

Praise the Lord.