XIII — THE HOLY SPIRIT

XIII — WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE GREAT SENDING TO THE SENDING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

In the great sending of John 20:21-23, Jesus spoke of receiving the Holy Spirit for the mission. In Luke 24:49, Jesus referred to sending the promised “power from on high.” In Acts 1:8, Jesus spoke again of the power when the Holy Spirit comes to empower the believers’ mission of witnessing to the ends of the earth. In John chapters 14-16, Christ speaks at length about the sending of the Holy Spirit with references such as “Counselor,” “Spirit of Truth,” “Teacher of all things,” and “Guide.” The Holy Spirit lives with and in the believers. The Holy Spirit is connected to the Father and the Son and is connected to the church. He is a Divine resource of the Missio Dei for the church, through which He speaks and does His work. 

57. Hebrews 9:14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

58. Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

59. 1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

60. John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

61. John chapters 14-16

(For further study see the Third Article, The Apostle’s Creed, Luther’s Small Catechism.)