¤¤
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¤¤ >> Dear friend, thank you for
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choosing to watch
"It Is Written Canada."
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We are bringing to a conclusion
our series on the Trinity. We've
been talking about the
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oneness of God, yet in His
oneness, the three distinct
persons of the Father, Son, and
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Holy Spirit. Once again, joining
me in studio to help wrap up
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this series of programs, I want
to welcome Dr. John Peckham. Dr.
Peckham, welcome once again
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to "It Is Written Canada." >>
Thank you, Chris. It's a
pleasure to be here.
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>> Dr. Peckham, of course, is a
professor of systematic theology
at the Theological Seminary at
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Andrews University. He's
authored a number of books and
is now writing an additional
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book. If you're interested in
any of those books, you can go
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to Amazon or your local
bookstore, and there you can
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find those books. Dr. Peckham,
as we are going to bring to a
conclusion this series on the
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Trinity, we've been talking
about the Holy Spirit. We spent
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the last two shows understanding
that the Holy Spirit is divine,
the Holy Spirit is a person, the
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Holy Spirit has attributes,
where the Holy Spirit is doing
things that are of that hu-- I
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was gonna say human -- that
personal attributes. But here's
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the question. How do we know --
or how do I know -- what spirit
we're talking about?
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>> Yeah. So, in
Scripture, there's other
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spirits, right? There
is an enemy, there is a
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devil, and the devil has his
angels, and there is all kinds
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of spiritual deceptions. And
this is why we have counsel to
be very careful in Scripture.
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If we go to 1 John 4... 1 John
4, that same chapter where it
says God is love...
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>> As our viewers are turning to
1 John 4, I've often said that 1
John is almost, I feel, like
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sometimes the Reader's Digest,
condensed version of the
entirety of the Scripture --
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just 1 John, those five
chapters, just packed with an
understanding of God, the plan
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of salvation. 1 John 4.
What verse are we going to go
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to, Dr. Peckham? >> We'll
actually start with the last
verse of the previous
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chapter. The chapter divisions
are added later on, so this
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just, in the original
manuscript, would go straight
through. Verse 24 of chapter 3.
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>> Yes. >> "Now, he who keeps
His commandments abides in Him,
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and He in him. And by this
we know that He abides in us, by
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the Spirit whom He has given
us." So it's already in the
context of the Spirit who has
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been given to us, through whom
we may abide in God. And then
verse one -- "Beloved,
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do not believe every spirit, but
test the spirits whether they
are of God: because many false
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prophets have gone out into the
world." Then verse two -- "By
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this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the
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flesh is of God: and every
spirit that does not confess
that Jesus Christ has come in
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the flesh is not of God: and
this is of the Antichrist, which
you have heard was coming, and
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is now already in the world." >>
So, we see here clearly that
there is the Holy Spirit, the
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third person of the Godhead,
fully divine -- attributes of a
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personal nature. >> Yes. >> But
then the Bible talks about other
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spirits. >> Yes. >> So how do we
understand whether we were being
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led by the Holy Spirit or by one
of these false spirits? >> So,
the only way to know this
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is to go back to testimony that
we know comes from the Spirit of
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God. We saw in an earlier
program that the entirety of
Scripture is inspired by the
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Holy Spirit. >> Yes. >> The
Bible also says that God doesn't
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change. God doesn't contradict
himself. So if the Spirit is
giving testimony in Scripture,
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it's not going to be
contradicted elsewhere. Now,
some people might say,
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"Well, what about additional
revelation or new light?" Any
additional revelation from
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God, any new light, is going to
agree with what God has already
given to his people through his
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prophets and the apostles. Let's
look at one verse on this in
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John chapter 16. >>
Mm-hmm. >> John chapter 16.
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>> John 16:13. >> John 16:13.
Even starting in verse 12.
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Jesus says, "I still have many
things to say to you, but you
cannot bear them now.
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However when he, the Spirit of
truth, has come, he will guide
you into all truth: for he will
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not speak on his own authority;
but whatever he hears, he will
speak: and he will tell you
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things to come." Now, it is
true that the Spirit leads us to
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understand other things, but
this verse is specifically
addressed to the apostles, who
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were the ones who were to write
the New Testament. He leads them
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into all truth -- not that he
made them omniscient, that they
know everything, but he leads
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them into all truth that's
sufficient for the Gospel and
the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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And at the end of Jesus'
ministry, Jesus Himself is the
one to whom the New Testament is
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a testimony. It's the ultimate
testimony of the one who is the
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Son of God, who lived, died for
us on a cross, and rose from the
dead. If the New Testament
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witness is the ultimate witness
to Christ, it's by that witness,
by the New Testament, that all
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other teachings must be judged.
And when people come to me and
they say, "Well, the Spirit is
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telling me something different,"
the question is, is that spirit
telling you something that is in
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harmony with the Word of God or
not? If it's not in harmony with
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the Word of God, it's of a
different spirit. So that's why
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in the verse we just read, in 1
John 4, it says, "If somebody
comes to you and says, 'Jesus
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didn't really come in the
flesh,' that spirit is not from
God." >> That's right.
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>> Because the true testimony
about Jesus from God is that He
was fully God and fully human.
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>> And it would seem from that
text -- and I don't want to take
this too far, Dr. Peckham, but
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in 1 John 4, it would almost
seem that what the principle
there that John is teaching is,
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if we teach false
characteristics about God, that
it is not of the Holy Spirit.
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And so when we are trying to
understand whether we're being
led by the Holy Spirit or
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whether we are being led by
another spirit, it is clearly
the testimony of Scriptures that
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will guide us into that
understanding. >> Which is
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itself inspired by the Spirit,
according to 1 Corinthians 2.
And this is just one of the best
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principles of interpretation,
which we can find in Isaiah
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8:20. >> Yes. >> Let's go
there together. So, this is the
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principle to apply whenever we
are wondering whether some
teaching is of God or not.
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Isaiah 8:20. And it
says... "To the law and to the
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testimony: if they do not speak
according to this word, it is
because there is no light in
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them." What does that mean?
It means you compare any claim
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to any new prophecy or new
revelation or new teaching based
on the previous prophecies that
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truly come from God -- to the
law and the testimony, to the
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Scriptures. >> Yes. >> If
someone proclaims something,
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claiming to be a prophet or
otherwise that is not in harmony
with Scripture, there's no light
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in them. They are not from God.
They are not speaking from the
true Spirit of God.
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>> And that is why it is
fundamental that we must, as, I
believe, the Apostle Paul
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writes, "prove all things."
>> That's right. >> We go to the
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Scriptures, and the Scriptures
demonstrate -- and you used this
illustration. I've had it in my
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ministry, as well, where
individuals will come and say,
"I believe the Spirit is leading
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me to do this." >> Mm-hmm.
>> But what the spirit is
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leading them to do is completely
contrary to the Scripture, to
the revelation of God, and so we
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must -- There is no real option
to it in this society that is a
politically correct society, in
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this society where what's right
for you is right for you and
what's right for me is right for
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me. >> Yes. >> The
Scriptures are quite
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clear that, if we are moving
against the testimony of
Scripture, we are not being led
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by the Spirit of God. >> That's
right. >> Now, as we try to
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understand the Holy Spirit,
there are unanswered questions,
as there are unanswered
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questions about a number of
topics in the Bible. And,
certainly, we can talk about
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that's where faith comes and
whatnot, but why, Dr. Peckham,
do we not know more about the
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Holy Spirit? >> Yeah. There is
somewhat more of a mystery when
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it comes to the Holy Spirit than
the Father and the Son -- or at
least it appears that way to us,
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especially because Jesus became
human. We identify with Jesus so
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naturally, and we think we
understand Jesus even when
there's a lot of mystery there,
00:11:08.80\00:11:13.54
as well, because Jesus became a
human, whereas the Holy Spirit
does not take on a physical
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form. And so there's more
mysteries about what the Spirit
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is like and who the Spirit is,
but this is already hinted at by
Jesus Himself, going back to the
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Book of John -- John 3, this
conversation between Jesus and
Nicodemus in John 3.
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We remember that Nicodemus came
to speak to Jesus at night, and
Jesus teaches him about this
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new-birth experience, within
which He testifies about the
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Spirit. So He says to Nicodemus,
among other things, that you
must be born again, and
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Nicodemus thinks this is crazy.
"How could anyone enter into
their mother's womb and be born
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a second time?" He's taking
literally what Jesus means
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spiritually. And so then Jesus
comes out and tells him in verse
five, "Most assuredly I say to
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you, unless one is born of water
and the Spirit, he cannot enter
the Kingdom of God.
00:12:08.56\00:12:12.73
That which is born of the flesh
is flesh; and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit.
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Do not marvel that I said to
you, you must be born again."
And here's where this hint of
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mystery is there, because in the
next verse, Jesus is going to
talk about the wind.
00:12:21.40\00:12:25.71
But the word for the wind in
Greek is pneuma, which means
"wind" or "spirit."
00:12:25.71\00:12:30.08
>> Yes. >> And the Holy Spirit
is pneuma plus another word that
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identifies him as the Holy
Spirit. Now, Jesus isn't saying
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that the Holy Spirit is a wind.
He's using the play on words to
talk about this mysterious
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nature of the Spirit's
activities that are not
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predictable. Verse eight. "The
wind blows where it wishes, and
you hear the sound of it,
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but cannot tell where it comes
from and where it goes. So is
everyone who is born of
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the Spirit." >> Mm-hmm.
>> So, you see the effects of
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the wind, right? If you're
looking at a tree and its
branches, you see them
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moving. You don't see
the wind. >> That's right.
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>> You see the
effects of the wind. >> Yes.
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>> And this is the way it seems
to be with the Spirit. Now,
another reason why we don't
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know as much as we might like to
is because the Spirit -- even
though we've already seen
00:13:06.18\00:13:10.79
evidence of the Spirit in the
Old Testament, more things about
the Spirit are revealed later in
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the New Testament, in the order
of revelation, according to the
plan of redemption.
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So that there is a Son of God is
most explicit once Jesus comes
on the scene in the Incarnation.
00:13:20.16\00:13:26.23
>> Yes. >> He was already there,
but He comes on the scene, and
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He's explicitly revealed. The
Spirit takes on a new role, once
Jesus is going to ascend,
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which he explains to His
apostles in John 14 through 16,
and that happens to be near the
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end of the Canon of Scripture,
right? There's not that much
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left. >> No. >> So we enter into
this age where the Spirit is
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acting in this way, and it
probably would've been confusing
to say more about the Spirit
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than what was said earlier. This
is what some theologians call
"progressive revelation."
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God meets people where they are.
He doesn't tell them everything.
In fact, Jesus told the
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disciples, "There's so many
things I want to tell you, but
you couldn't receive them now."
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>> That's right. >> He gives us
enough information, and He adds
00:14:02.67\00:14:06.14
to that information in a way
that never contradicts what came
before, but as much as we need.
00:14:06.14\00:14:11.31
So we understand God more as
Scripture progresses. >> And,
you know, the analogy
00:14:11.31\00:14:16.99
of the wind -- I fondly remember
that my wife and I were in
00:14:16.99\00:14:21.26
Newfoundland. And there in
Newfoundland, we were attending
a Bible conference, meeting, and
00:14:21.26\00:14:28.86
we were sitting outside, and
it was probably about 22 degrees
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Celsius. And then, all of a
sudden, the wind -- You could
feel the wind shifting.
00:14:32.40\00:14:37.31
And as the wind shifted, all of
a sudden, the temperature went
from about 22 Celsius down to 11
00:14:37.31\00:14:42.44
Celsius in about less than
15 minutes. And, again, it uses
00:14:42.44\00:14:47.65
that analogy of, "You don't know
where the wind is coming from,
you don't know where it's going,
00:14:47.65\00:14:52.85
but you definitely can know the
effects and what happened," and
things of that nature.
00:14:52.85\00:14:56.79
And it's the same way with the
Holy Spirit. We can see clearly
00:14:56.79\00:15:00.26
from the Scriptures the divine
attributes of the Holy Spirit,
the personal attributes of the
00:15:00.26\00:15:06.13
Holy Spirit. Just because we
don't understand everything
doesn't mean that we can't
00:15:06.13\00:15:13.14
experience the benefits of that
belief. And we used the analogy
earlier -- I don't understand
00:15:13.14\00:15:16.81
everything about my car, but I
do know this -- when I put in
the key and I turn the ignition,
00:15:16.81\00:15:21.62
it's supposed to start. When I
go home and I turn on the light
switch, I know that the
00:15:21.62\00:15:26.99
light is supposed to turn on. >>
Mm-hmm. >> Just because I don't
00:15:26.99\00:15:31.29
understand everything about
electricity doesn't mean that I
can't enjoy the benefits of
00:15:31.29\00:15:37.00
electricity. >> Yeah, it's
almost as if Jesus is saying to
00:15:37.00\00:15:41.04
Nicodemus, you know, "There's a
lot of things you don't
understand about God. The new
00:15:41.04\00:15:45.44
birth -- you're thinking just on
human terms." >> That's right.
00:15:45.44\00:15:47.58
>> Right? But there's so much
more! >> Yes. And, so, speaking
00:15:47.58\00:15:51.48
of those benefits, we do know
some very clear things, and that
is to be born of the Spirit.
00:15:51.48\00:15:59.25
So, Dr. Peckham, how can one
be born of the Spirit? >> Well,
00:15:59.25\00:16:04.19
let's go to John chapter seven
because I think Jesus Himself
answers this question for us
00:16:04.19\00:16:08.43
about what it means to be born
of the Spirit. Okay, John 7:37.
"On the last day, that great day
00:16:08.43\00:16:19.94
of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried out, saying, 'If anyone
thirsts, let him come to me and
00:16:19.94\00:16:26.38
drink.'" Then verse 38.
"He who believes in me, as the
00:16:26.38\00:16:30.49
Scripture has said, out of his
heart will flow rivers of living
00:16:30.49\00:16:35.76
water." So the condition there
is to believe in Christ. Then
00:16:35.76\00:16:39.89
verse 39. "But this He spoke
concerning the Spirit, whom
those believing in Him would
00:16:39.89\00:16:46.57
receive: for the Holy Spirit was
not yet given, because Jesus was
not yet glorified."
00:16:46.57\00:16:51.71
So the way for any believer now
to receive the Holy Spirit is,
according to the text, to
00:16:51.71\00:16:57.15
believe in and receive Christ.
>> Mm-hmm. >> Then the Holy
00:16:57.15\00:17:01.58
Spirit will come in power. >>
And what does that then mean?
What does it mean when you're
00:17:01.58\00:17:05.19
born of the Spirit? What happens
in your life? What are some of
00:17:05.19\00:17:09.76
the things that you're going to
see manifest as you receive the
Holy Spirit? >> Yeah, let's go
00:17:09.76\00:17:14.83
to Galatians for that, these
fruits of the Spirit in the
lives of the believer.
00:17:14.83\00:17:18.00
Galatians chapter
five. Galatians chapter five.
00:17:18.00\00:17:24.04
Galatians 5, beginning in verse
22. "But the fruit of the Spirit
00:17:30.71\00:17:37.85
is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
00:17:37.85\00:17:47.40
gentleness, self-control:
against such there is no law.
And those who are Christ's have
00:17:47.40\00:17:55.14
crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires. If we live
in the Spirit, let us
00:17:55.14\00:18:01.14
also walk in the Spirit." Those
are what Christians call the
fruits of the Spirit that
00:18:01.14\00:18:09.05
are promised to every believer.
And they're wonderful fruits. >>
And, so, as we make a
00:18:09.05\00:18:15.29
decision to follow Jesus Christ,
as we receive the Holy Spirit
into our life, the fruit that
00:18:15.29\00:18:21.70
will come forth will be that
joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, love, goodness -- so
00:18:21.70\00:18:29.07
on and so forth. >> Yes. >>
Anything else we want to say
00:18:29.07\00:18:33.21
about being born of the Spirit,
Dr. Peckham? >> Well, in the
00:18:33.21\00:18:37.05
church, among Christians, the
Spirit also gives gifts that are
for the sake of ministry, for
00:18:37.05\00:18:41.08
the sake of the edification of
the church, and we find those
mentioned in a number of
00:18:41.08\00:18:44.69
passages. One of
them is 1 Corinthians 12.
00:18:44.69\00:18:49.46
1 Corinthians 12. We have these
gifts that are given by the
00:18:49.46\00:18:56.60
Spirit for the upbuilding of
the church. So 1 Corinthians 12.
00:18:56.60\00:19:03.71
Okay. Beginning in verse three.
"Therefore I make known to you
that no one speaking by the
00:19:03.71\00:19:10.11
Spirit of God calls Jesus
accursed." That goes back to
00:19:10.11\00:19:13.48
what we talked about before. >>
Yes. >> "And no one can say that
00:19:13.48\00:19:16.55
Jesus is Lord except by the Holy
Spirit. There are diversities of
00:19:16.55\00:19:21.39
gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are differences of
ministries, but the same Lord.
00:19:21.39\00:19:25.73
And there are diversities of
activities, but it is the same
God who works all in all.
00:19:25.73\00:19:30.43
But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to each one for
00:19:30.43\00:19:34.90
the profit of all. For to one is
given the word of wisdom through
the Spirit; to another the word
00:19:34.90\00:19:39.34
of knowledge through the same
Spirit; to another faith by the
same Spirit; to another gifts of
00:19:39.34\00:19:43.38
healings by the same Spirit; to
another the working of miracles;
to another prophecy; to another
00:19:43.38\00:19:49.08
discerning of spirits; to
another different kinds of
tongues," or languages, "to
00:19:49.08\00:19:53.99
another the interpretation of
tongues: but one and the same
Spirit works all these things,
00:19:53.99\00:19:59.73
distributing to each one
individually as he wills." And
then it goes on to talk
00:19:59.73\00:20:06.30
about unity in the body. The
Spirit is the giver of these
spiritual gifts for the
00:20:06.30\00:20:10.01
upbuilding of the church and for
the mission of the church. >>
00:20:10.01\00:20:14.48
Mm-hmm. And so, as we have, in
summary, talked about the Holy
Spirit, we have seen that the
00:20:14.48\00:20:19.95
Holy Spirit is divine, the Holy
Spirit is a person, the Holy
Spirit is active, the
00:20:19.95\00:20:26.05
Holy Spirit gives gifts, the
Holy Spirit brings the fruit of
00:20:26.05\00:20:34.46
the Spirit. And now, bringing
this all together, I'm going to
kind of circle back to where we
00:20:34.46\00:20:42.94
began. And where I will begin is
just with this question. When we
talk about the Trinity,
00:20:42.94\00:20:48.74
the Godhead, all that we've
talked about over the last seven
programs and now this being the
00:20:48.74\00:20:56.18
eighth program, we've answered
the question, "What?" >> Mm-hmm.
00:20:56.18\00:21:01.92
>> So, let me ask you this
question. So, what does this all
00:21:01.92\00:21:05.13
mean? >> Yeah. >> What's
the importance of all of this?
00:21:05.13\00:21:07.66
>> Yeah. The
importance is everything, right?
00:21:07.66\00:21:13.10
If God is the Creator of all
that is, the only things that
exist in the universe is God and
00:21:13.10\00:21:20.04
His creation. And God is the
Father, the Son, and the Holy
00:21:20.04\00:21:26.41
Spirit. Some people, because
they think of the Trinity only
as a doctrine about all the
00:21:26.41\00:21:31.15
things we've discussed about the
Father, the Son, and the Spirit,
they don't realize that, anytime
00:21:31.15\00:21:36.09
you're talking about Jesus,
you're dealing with the doctrine
00:21:36.09\00:21:40.36
of the Trinity. >> Yes. >> And
it's so important in so many
ways, but one of the ways
00:21:40.36\00:21:44.63
that it's very important for us
to understand is at the root of
00:21:44.63\00:21:49.30
salvation. Jesus could only be a
Savior to us if He was both God
and human. >> Mm-hmm.
00:21:49.30\00:21:56.44
>> The sacrifice that He had
made to atone for our sins is
one that could only be made by
00:21:56.44\00:22:02.05
God, who alone can forgive sins.
Only His atonement would be
sufficient to save us.
00:22:02.05\00:22:08.19
And yet, to have solidarity
with us, he had to become human,
00:22:08.19\00:22:14.76
fully human. This is at the
center of what we believe about
the doctrine of the Trinity.
00:22:14.76\00:22:19.20
In addition to that, if we think
of the atonement apart from the
Trinity, we might be tempted, as
00:22:19.20\00:22:24.67
some have thought, to think that
the Father sacrificed His son
as, say, a pagan sacrifice,
00:22:24.67\00:22:31.95
which would be horrible. But in
the Trinity doctrine, the
Father, the Son, and the Spirit
00:22:31.95\00:22:37.45
covenanted together. As we saw
in John chapter 10, Jesus
Himself laid down His life
00:22:37.45\00:22:42.29
of His own initiative. They
decided that, together, they
would reconcile the world
00:22:42.29\00:22:46.59
this way. So it's not that the
Father sacrificed His Son in a
00:22:46.59\00:22:52.53
way that He just sacrifices His
Son for us in kind of a pagan
way. It's that God decides to
00:22:52.53\00:22:58.51
take upon his own shoulders all
of the consequences of sin, all
of the wages of sin, and He
00:22:58.51\00:23:04.05
says, "I'm going to become
human, I'm going to take it, and
I'm going to pay the price so
00:23:04.05\00:23:09.22
that they can be saved." And the
second person is the one who
takes on that role in the
00:23:09.22\00:23:13.59
plan of redemption for the
entire Godhead. So it can very
00:23:13.59\00:23:18.16
true, what Paul says -- God was
in Christ, reconciling us to
Him. This is the work of the
00:23:18.16\00:23:24.07
entire Godhead. And we've seen
many texts about the work of the
00:23:24.07\00:23:27.50
Spirit, without which we could
not be born again, without which
the church could not be built
00:23:27.50\00:23:31.71
up, and many other things. So
the entire plan of redemption
really is the work of the
00:23:31.71\00:23:36.31
Trinity. >> And so I'm gonna ask
you the question that I began
00:23:36.31\00:23:43.42
with. Is the doctrine of the
Trinity biblical? >> Yes, it is
00:23:43.42\00:23:48.89
extremely biblical. Now, here we
need to step back and say that
00:23:48.89\00:23:54.36
there are some people who will
say the Trinity is not in the
Bible. Now, it's true that the
00:23:54.36\00:24:00.44
word "Trinity" is not in the
Bible, but the concept, the
teaching, the doctrine of the
00:24:00.44\00:24:06.44
Trinity is in the Bible, if, by
that, we don't mean what later
Christians said in systematic
00:24:06.44\00:24:12.48
theologies, necessarily, the
very words they used, but the
basic concept that there is one
00:24:12.48\00:24:19.15
and only one God -- we've seen
many texts about that --
Deuteronomy 6:4, James 2:19 --
00:24:19.15\00:24:26.83
that the Father is God, and the
Son is God -- John 1:1-3,
Colossians 2:9 -- and the Holy
00:24:26.83\00:24:35.24
Spirit is God -- Acts 5:3-4 and
other texts. And yet the Father
00:24:35.24\00:24:40.48
is not the Son. The Son died on
the Cross, not the Father. The
Son prayed to the Father.
00:24:40.48\00:24:43.78
The Father didn't pray to
Himself in Gethsemane, when He
said in Matthew 26:39, "If it is
00:24:43.78\00:24:48.75
possible, let this cup pass from
me," right? The Father is not
00:24:48.75\00:24:52.65
the Son. The Son's not the
Father. The Son is not the
Spirit. The Spirit is not the
00:24:52.65\00:24:57.09
Father. These are distinct
persons with distinct activities
in the plan of redemption, even
00:24:57.09\00:25:02.16
though they are all one in a way
that we don't fully understand
-- one being, one God working in
00:25:02.16\00:25:08.24
three persons. And we have
seen texts that actually show
00:25:08.24\00:25:14.04
evidence of each of these
points. So if there's only one
God, the Father is God, the Son
00:25:14.04\00:25:19.31
is God, the Spirit is God, and
those are three distinct
persons. That just is the basic
00:25:19.31\00:25:26.09
doctrine of the Trinity. >> And
then, in the last few minutes
that we have together...
00:25:26.09\00:25:35.53
The doctrine of the Trinity
is biblical. Why does this all
00:25:35.53\00:25:41.27
matter? Kind of bringing this to
summary and bringing it together
00:25:41.27\00:25:46.14
here, Dr. Peckham. >> Yeah. If
we think that the doctrine of
the Trinity doesn't matter, the
00:25:46.14\00:25:51.88
question would be where would
that kind of line of thought
00:25:51.88\00:25:56.22
end. If I was to say to my wife,
"I want to be in relationship
with you, but I don't know what
00:25:56.22\00:26:03.32
to know anything about you. I
don't want to know what you're
00:26:03.32\00:26:06.36
really like. In fact, tell me
some nice things, but don't tell
00:26:06.36\00:26:09.76
me anything else." Right? I want
to know everything I can
possibly know about my wife.
00:26:09.76\00:26:13.54
I want to know her in a way that
is extremely intimate. God has
revealed things about
00:26:13.54\00:26:18.07
Himself that tell us about
His very character and His very
00:26:18.07\00:26:21.64
nature. We started at the very
beginning of this series with a
text that says, "God is love,"
00:26:21.64\00:26:26.78
in 1 John 4:8-16. We saw that,
in order there for there to be
love, there must be
00:26:26.78\00:26:33.05
a lover and a beloved. Before
there was any world, there was a
00:26:33.05\00:26:38.33
love relationship between God
and His Son, Jesus, according to
John 17:24, that they already
00:26:38.33\00:26:44.43
experienced love relationship
before there was any world. So
you have this concept of the
00:26:44.43\00:26:49.10
Trinity, without which it
couldn't be true that God is
love apart from creating a
00:26:49.10\00:26:53.68
world. You'd have to say,
"Before there was a world, God
00:26:53.68\00:26:57.81
couldn't love." That's not the
case. God already loved. And the
00:26:57.81\00:27:01.38
entire history of Scripture, you
can see it kind of bookended. In
Genesis 1, you have the
00:27:01.38\00:27:05.05
creation. We've seen in John 1
that Christ is the agent through
00:27:05.05\00:27:09.02
whom all things are created, but
the Spirit of God is there
hovering over the waters in
00:27:09.02\00:27:13.83
verse two. At the very end, you
have the consummation of the new
creation, where the Father is
00:27:13.83\00:27:17.93
there, and Jesus is there, and
the Spirit is the agent of new
00:27:17.93\00:27:21.60
creation. And everything in
between is the testimony of
God's love in the plan of
00:27:21.60\00:27:26.64
redemption, where each one of
the persons is operating
together with one purpose, to
00:27:26.64\00:27:32.18
save as many as possible, to
defeat the kingdom of the enemy,
which is a temporary kingdom,
00:27:32.18\00:27:38.89
and re-establish the full reign
of God forever and evermore.
Nothing could be more central to
00:27:38.89\00:27:45.43
the Gospel if you really
understand what the Trinity is.
It's not just an academic
00:27:45.43\00:27:51.17
exercise in trying to understand
how one thing can be three in
one respect and one in another.
00:27:51.17\00:27:56.34
This is the living God, who
saves us through the activities
of the Father, the Son, and the
00:27:56.34\00:28:02.98
Holy Spirit for us. >> With
that, Dr. Peckham, we bring to a
close this series on the
00:28:02.98\00:28:08.18
Trinity. Would you pray for our
viewer, that they would accept
this divine love that the
00:28:08.18\00:28:15.76
Trinity has for each and every
one? >> Yes. Let's pray. Dear
Father in heaven, we thank
00:28:15.76\00:28:21.63
You. We praise Your Name
today for the fact that You have
00:28:21.63\00:28:24.97
condescended for us in the
person of Jesus Christ, Your
Son, whom You have sent, that
00:28:24.97\00:28:31.97
God has condescended to
reconcile us to Himself. And now
we ask that You will
00:28:31.97\00:28:36.91
open our hearts, that, through
Your Holy Spirit who sheds Your
love abroad, that You will shed
00:28:36.91\00:28:42.72
Your love abroad in our hearts,
that we might be drawn to You to
come into full communion with
00:28:42.72\00:28:48.49
You and, through that communion,
to show Your love to others. We
pray these things in Jesus'
00:28:48.49\00:28:54.20
name. Amen. >> Amen.
00:28:54.20\00:28:56.33
My dear friend, God loves you so
much that, in the three persons,
the Father, Son, and the
00:28:58.03\00:29:04.04
Holy Spirit, they're doing all
they can to save you. I hope
you've enjoyed this
00:29:04.04\00:29:09.38
series of programs. Today, I
want to offer to you the DVD of
00:29:09.38\00:29:14.72
this series. Here's the
information you need for today's
00:29:14.72\00:29:18.35
offer. >> To request
today's offer, just log on to
00:29:18.35\00:29:21.02
www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca.
If you prefer, you may call
00:29:21.02\00:29:26.66
toll-free at 1-888-CALL-IIW.
And thank you for your prayer
00:29:26.66\00:29:32.37
requests and your generous
financial support. >> Dr.
Peckham, thank you so
00:29:32.37\00:29:37.87
much for this series on the
Trinity. >> Thank you, Chris.
00:29:37.87\00:29:43.24
>> Dear friend, I hope you've
found hope and courage in the
plan of salvation and the divine
00:29:43.24\00:29:50.45
Trinity pursuing you with their
divine love. Please join us
00:29:50.45\00:29:56.59
again next week. Until then,
remember, "It is written: 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:29:56.59\00:30:02.10
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:30:02.10\00:30:06.30
¤¤
00:30:06.30\00:30:16.11