A True Work of the Spirit (Part 1)
January 29th, 2007
(By John MacArthur)
How can a true work of the Holy Spirit be distinguished from a false one?
From a careful study of 1 John 4, the great theologian and pastor Jonathan Edwards was able to identify five distinguishing characteristics of the Holy Spirit’s work. In short, a true work of the Holy Spirit: (1) Exalts the true Christ, (2) Opposes Satan’s interests, (3) Points people to the Scriptures, (4) Elevates truth, and (5) Results in love for God and others.
The following material is condensed, adapted and excerpted from Jonathan Edwards’s The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God.
It Exalts the True Christ.
“By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” (John 4:2-3)
When a ministry raises people’s esteem of the one true Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin and was crucified — if it confirms and establishes their minds in the truth that He is the Son of God and the Savior of men — then it is a sure sign that it is from the Spirit of God. If the spirit at work among a people convinces them of Christ and leads them to Him; if it confirms their minds in the belief of the history of Christ as He appeared in the flesh; if it teaches them that He is the Son of God to save sinners; if it reveals that He is the only Savior, and that they stand in great need of Him; and if it begets in them higher and more honorable thoughts of Christ than they used to have; if it inclines their affections more to Him — that is a sure sign that it is the true and right Spirit. This is true even though we are ultimately incapable of determining whether anyone’s conviction or affections reflect real saving faith.
The words of the apostle are remarkable. The person to whom the Spirit testifies must be that Jesus who appeared in the flesh — not another “christ” in His stead. It cannot be some mystical, fantastical “christ,” such as the “inner light” extolled by the Quakers. This imaginary christ diminishes their esteem of and dependence on Jesus as He came in the flesh. The true Spirit of God gives testimony for that Jesus alone.
The devil has a fierce hatred against Christ, especially in His office as the Savior of men. Satan mortally hates the story and doctrine of redemption; he never would go about to stress these truths. The Spirit that inclines men’s hearts to the Seed of the woman is not the spirit of the serpent that has such an irreconcilable enmity against Him.
(To be continued tomorrow)
“The devil has a fierce hatred against Christ, especially in His office as the Savior of men.” That is manifested in movements that want to be seen as Christian. Watch what they do with the gopsel and you will know them. In the Emergent we find authors like Donald Miller who says, “If we hold that Jesus wanted us to ‘believe’ certain ideas or ‘do’ certain things in order to be a Christian, we are holding to heresy.” So, believing the gospel of the Savior is “heresy.” This is true of all the cults. They attack the biblical Christ.
In Chirst,
Phil Perkins.
I needed to hear that today. My campus ministry has a bible study hosted by a Roman Catholic and I was asked to join, but I cannot because he denies the truth. He points to Rome’s tradition in addition to the Sacred scriptures. I have to participate in civil disobedience in my campus student fellowship because the leaders are emergent, there is a catholic and a mormon bible study leader, and one of the protestant leaders believes you don’t have to believe in Jesus alone to get to heaven (aka a sincere believer in anything will go to heaven). Even though I seem like a fundementalist, I can’t violate my conscience any further by going there (unless I think I can do good). I can’t wait to get out of college and attend the Master’s Seminary!!!
I’m sorry this post about “the perfect” is late coming in. I worked on it off and on over the weekend as I could.
I believe it is instructive to list the various effects or characteristics of the imperfect and perfect for study.
The imperfect or partial is described as:
1. For WE know in part…
2, …WE prophesy in part.
3, (by analogy) …I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:…
4. …now WE see through a glass, darkly;…
5. …now I know in part;…
(CAPS added)
The perfect is described as:
1. …but then (we will see) face to face: (parenthesis added)
2. …then shall I know even as also I am known.
As you can see, every aspect of the imperfect and the perfect in these lists concerns us. Our knowing, our prophesy, our speaking, our seeing, all refer to the effects upon us of the imperfect and perfect states. Not one single one of the things listed here has to do with the completion or canonization of the Bible.
I would say that knowing in part, etc. is not the imperfect state itself. Rather, it is the effect that the fallen, corrupted and imperfect state we are in has upon us. The same is true for the perfect. The perfect state does not merely consist of seeing face to face and having complete knowledge. When we are in the perfect state in the new heavens and the new earth, and in our glorified bodies, and one with the Father and Jesus (Jn 17:21) then the effect on us will be that we can see God face to face and know completely as we are known by God among other things. The connection between seeing in I Cor. 13:12, “…but then face to face:…” and Rev. 22:4, “And they shall see his face;” is too obvious to ignore. What Moses could not do in his fallen flesh, “…Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” Ex. 33:20, we will be able to do in our glorified bodies.
The NASB says, “when the perfect comes.” I Cor. 13:10 What then is “the perfect”?
I believe the phrase “the perfect” is a specific and definite eschatological term that means more that just a “somewhat more perfect state” now or “the completion/canonization of the Bible” in the past. The definite article exists in the Greek “το τελειον-the perfect” and I believe it is significant. In a similar way the Greek “τω πονηρω – to ponero - the evil” which also includes the definite article refers not just to evil in general but more specifically to “the evil one” I John 5:19 NASB In a similar way “the perfect” refers specifically to the ultimately perfect state that the Bible tells us is coming.
The only thing in the text that refers to the Scriptures at all is the word “glass” (mirror). This is the same type of the Bible being compared to a glass or mirror that is seen in James 1:23-25 where, “beholding his natural face in a glass” is compared to, “whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty…”. And it’s also seen in II Cor. 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord…” where we see God’s glory face to glass rather than face to face.
(By the way, it is interesting to note that the Bronze Laver in the OT in which the priests would wash was made of the brass looking glasses of the Israelite women. Ex. 38:8 Now we experience the “washing of the water of the word” Eph. 5:24 and the Word is compared to a glass. It’s an interesting connection of types.)
You will notice that in none of the NT texts does it say anything about the glass/mirror/scriptures being incomplete or imperfect. James specifically says that it is perfect. The text in I Cor. 13:12 simply states that we see through the glass/mirror/scriptures darkly at this time. Notice it doesn’t say that the glass itself is dark which would imply something imperfect about the glass. It is our ability to see and perceive that is dark or obscure. The word translated “darkly” is “αινιγμα - ainigma” (an obscure saying (“enigma”), that is, (abstractly) obscureness: - X darkly - Strong’s) The Amplified has this verse as, 1Co 13:12 “For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God].” You notice that it’s talking about something imperfect or incomplete in us that is being made perfect, not something in the Bible. When we look in the Bible and read about God and His glory it doesn’t floor us like John on the isle of Patmos. The glory doesn’t come through like that. We couldn’t stand it in these bodies. The glory is dimmed so we can handle it. We don’t yet see the glory of His face directly but when “the perfect” comes for us and we are like him (in our glorified bodies) then we shall see him as he is face to face. I John 3:2 and Rev. 22:4
To a certain degree you could say that when a Christian dies and goes to heaven he will begin experiencing “the perfect” in heaven. So in a sense the perfect has come for him, but the perfection is not complete yet because he’s not yet in his glorified body. That doesn’t happen until we meet Jesus in the air in the rapture. (There will be a rapture regardless of when you think it’s going to occur – I’m not going to get into that in this forum) The coming of the perfect state will not be totally complete until the coming of the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwells righteousness II Pet. 3:13. No sin, no sun, no moon, The Father and Jesus are the light. It’s going to be really different. All the imperfect things listed are going to change one way or another.
Some try to say that, “now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” only refers to being able to read a competed Bible now. That’s seems very inadequate to explain “…then shall I know as I am fully known.” This surely refers to more than that. It’s talking about us knowing to the same degree “even as” that God’s knows us. It simply hasn’t happened yet but I’m looking forward to it.
As to the specific question about when the gifts cease or pass away I believe it hasn’t happened yet. The perfect hasn’t come yet. Knowledge would include the gift of “the word of knowledge” (I Cor. 12:8) and prophecy is also one of the gifts (12:10). These gifts clearly don’t pass away until the perfect comes so there isn’t much justification for saying any of the other gifts like speaking in tongues are going to cease before that same time either. I’m talking about the gifts of the Spirit given to the Body of Christ in I Cor. 12. The specific sign gifts given to Jesus and the 12 Apostles aren’t being done anymore because they aren’t around anymore to do them. The Body of Christ is still around and the gifts of the Spirit given to the body should still be around also until the perfect comes. All the gifts are frankly are like crutches in a sense to help us deal with the imperfect state we are in. As long as that imperfect state continues the gifts should continue also. In other words as long as sickness exists gifts of healing should exist also. So, I am a continuationist.
As I have pointed out before, the words for cease and done away don’t contain a time element in and of themselves. It is to be obtained from the context. There is only one contextual timing for all these gifts to cease or be done away and that is when the perfect comes. Consider this question. Would the coming of the perfect cause speaking in tongues to cease? Certainly. Speaking in tongues is unknown according to Ch14 both for the speaker and the hearer. It is obvious and down right guaranteed that speaking in unknown tongues will and must cease when the perfect comes and we have complete knowledge like God’s - “know as we are known.” Complete knowledge and unknown tongues simply cannot exist simultaneously. So I think speaking in tongues will cease and other gifts will be do away (in their present imperfect state) when the perfect comes. As someone has said (I may not be quoting this exactly), “If the plain and obvious sense makes good sense why seek for any other sense.”
Yours in Christ,
Riley
Riley,
Thanks for your comment. I would like to respond to just one point:
You said: I’m talking about the gifts of the Spirit given to the Body of Christ in I Cor. 12. The specific sign gifts given to Jesus and the 12 Apostles aren’t being done anymore because they aren’t around anymore to do them.
This is a significant statement, and one that we will look at later in our series. It is our persuasion that the gifts in Acts and the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14 are the same. It seems to us that to acknowledge that some of the miraculous phenomena (of the apostolic age) are no longer in operation is to affirm the central tenet of the cessationist argument.
But we’ll look at that more later. Thanks again for your comment.
Those are five good points of the Holy Spirit’s work.
Thanks for this post.
Rejoicing in, and speaking the truth in love, with a heart of humble gratitude for his own salvation, is a sure sign of a disciple of Christ.
Actually the first way to tell if it’s a true manifestation of the Spirit or not is whether it lines up with a manifestation recorded in Scripture or instead mocks it.
Tongues, for example, being literal languages not gibberish. Also anyone possessed by spirits that make them fall all around and laugh uncontrollably and make animal noises and mimmick giving birth? Clearly ungodly, as the fruit of the Holy Spirit includes self control and it is only the demon-possessed in Scripture who are recorded as being possessed and acting out like that.
In other words don’t overlook the obvious before getting into the minutia.
[…] Part 1 - It Exalts the True Christ. […]
So often i here so many in my church say to me “you sure could feel the Spirit moving today”!So many times i want to say “what does the Spirit feel like”. It’s been a long time since i have seen the Spirit move or”dramaticly change someone’s life”. My concern is deeply troubling and I need some prayer.
shane,
I’ll pray for you. Remember that Christ is the sovereign King, and He is surely building His Church, and nothing can stop Him, and that He will have the final victory.
You may be in a place as Jeremiah was. So it’s alright to be troubled. Be encouraged in Christ’s love, and His promises for you.
The Holy Spirit fills us with wisdom, joy, and peace. He comforts us, and convicts us. Feelings and the Holy Spirit is quite q broad subject to be sure.
I believe much of what is said to be the Spirit is most likely an adrenaline rush. And there’s nothing wrong with a rush, if it’s from worshipping God the Father in Spirit and truth.
The Lord bless and lift you up. Amen.
Riley,
I appreciate your taking the time to share you opinion and insight into the word.
Unfotunately, I have to strongly disagree with you on the point of the perfect.
The “perfect” will do away with knowledge and prophecy. Please notice what is missing. If tongues should be included by a simple reading, then it must be concluded that the tongues referred to in this passage are equated with prophecy and therefore would be tongues with interpretation.
I believe that this one verse speaks volume to the issue of tongues as a private payer language.
I’ll leave with a question: How does a private prayer language edify the body? 1 Cor 12 says that the gifts are for the body, Ephesians 2:20 state the positions are for the building up of the body.
[…] Part 1 - It Exalts the True Christ. […]