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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:11:33 EDT
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Dear -----,

I'm glad to hear that you found Pastor Troxel's sermons helpful. You have permission to post them as long as the content is not changed and New Horizons is attributed.

Blessings,
Danny

The Rev. Danny E. Olinger
General Secretary of Christian Education
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
607 N. Easton Rd., Bldg. E, Box P
Willow Grove, PA 19090

Communion with the Triune God
A. Craig Troxel

Despite its obvious distortions and regrettable omissions, Peter Jackson's cinematic spectacle could not successfully suppress or alter every motif in the text of J. R. R. Tolkien's trilogy, The Lord of the Rings—like "the unbreakable ties of friendship and sacrifice."[1] In these books, the theme of close fellowship swells and recedes throughout the story like the tide of the ocean.

The plot finds its moorings in long-standing friendships among hobbits and a wizard. Then, as it sets loose from the Shire, it broadens to include new companions of Middle-earth with the forming of "the fellowship of the ring." Soon into their quest, the individuals of the fellowship shoulder burdens and experience joys in solidarity. Risks and rewards are shared by everyone in the group. Battles, trials, dangers, sacrifices, laughter, fear, and longings all serve to test the deepening bonds of their company. After every challenge is endured and all evil is overcome against all hope, their brotherhood proves faithful, united, and strong. At the story's end, each must go his own way, and yet we sense that they are inseparably joined in heart, memory, and even love.

This is the stuff of communion. And it doesn't just happen in fantasy. The fellowship of close friends in a common purpose embodies one of the most precious privileges that we cherish and long for in this life—whether in a strong Christian marriage, or with that friend who sticks "closer than a brother" (Prov. 18:24), or, ultimately, in our union and communion with God.


Communion with God

Communion with God is an intimate, mutual, covenantal bond between God and his people. The biblical word for "communion" (koinonia) refers to participation in a fellowship or association in which one shares or enjoys things in common with others. It conjures up such ideas as intimacy, familiarity, or closely walking with someone else in a close and trusted alliance. So, with respect to God, communion or fellowship suggests that we walk with God as friends, truly knowing him. This is not merely knowing things about God or knowing what the Bible teaches concerning him, but knowing God as a person. And, as in any friendship, this means listening and speaking, loving and longing, and striving and drawing closer together.

Of course, such communion is impossible between God and sinful humankind. Our race has fallen from the original innocent state in which we were created and is now marked by sin and misery. How can a sinful people commune with a holy God? "What fellowship has light with darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14). The Bible teaches that in this state people cannot worship God aright, have no regard for what God says, and do not seek after God or his intimate friendship. Rather, fallen creatures seek to distance themselves from God in a relationship of enmity and conflict (Rom. 8:7; Eph. 2:3). The breach between humankind and its Creator is so wide that it cannot be bridged—at least not by us.

But, by God's grace, what is impossible for man is possible with God. God has powerfully summoned us by the Holy Spirit, regenerated us, and enabled us to embrace Jesus Christ by faith as our Savior. Through our union with Christ in his death and resurrection, we stand before God in peace and in right relationship. Every barrier that once stood between God and us is now cast down by Christ. He has taken those who were covenant enemies and made them covenant friends. He has taken those who were far away and brought them near.

More than this, God invites us to draw ever nearer to him through Christ by the Holy Spirit and the means of grace (prayer, the Word of God, and the sacraments). And as we draw closer to him we are increasingly molded and renewed after the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, so that we mirror our God more and more, love what God loves, hate what God hates, and pursue what he commends.

Yet now that we see how this communion has been made possible, how is it lived out in actuality? What does it mean to have communion with God in three persons?


Communion with the Triune God[2]

All areas of our covenant relationship to God are triune. Our justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification are triunely planned, purchased, and applied. Our access to God is through Christ, by the Spirit, and to the Father (Eph. 2:18). The gifts of the Spirit are won by Christ and offered to the Father (1 Cor. 12:4–6). Our worship is through the mediation of Christ, by the Spirit, and presented to the Father. Our prayers are in the name of Christ, by the Spirit, and addressed to the Father. All that we have from God and enjoy with him is triune.

Our communion with God is uniquely related to each distinct person of the Godhead. Nevertheless, it is never exclusive to the individual persons or separate from the other persons in the triune counsel. In other words, even though we have unique expectations with respect to each member of the Godhead, we can never isolate our relationship with one member of the Trinity from our relationship with the other persons.

For example, our adoption into the family of God particularly describes our relationship with our heavenly Father and the love that he has lavished on us (1 John 3:1). Yet it is the Holy Spirit—"the Spirit of adoption"—who testifies to our sonship (Rom. 8:15–16). And it is Christ, our "elder brother," who won this grace for his "brothers" who will become his fellow heirs (Heb. 2:11–12; Rom. 8:17).

The same could be said of the work of creation, our redemption, our effectual calling, and so on. Scripture may attribute that work first or more particularly to one member of the Trinity, but it will never exclude the other members of the Trinity from that work. Every communication of grace from God is given to us triunely—distinctly but jointly, uniquely but unitedly. Our communion with God is communion with the entirety of the Trinity, and there is no communion with God that is not. We relate, then, to one divine counsel of three. And yet we relate intimately and uniquely with each person of the Trinity.

In the months ahead, we will look at how to understand our intimate and mutual covenantal bond with each person of the Godhead. We will consider how our communion with God the Father is distinguished by love, how our communion with God the Son is typified by grace, and how our communion with the Spirit is characterized by comfort. That is, we relate to the Father, from whom the gospel of love originates (1 John 4:9), to the Son, from whose fullness of merited grace we receive grace upon grace (John 1:16), and to the Spirit, who is the chief agent of our comfort (John 14:26). Again, although our communion with each member of the Trinity is unique, that does not mean that the other members of the Trinity do not share in the communications of love, grace, and comfort. It simply means that we look to each member of the Trinity for certain things.


How Important Is This?

God is one God in three "persons." He is not three entities or forces. We need to take seriously God's threefold personage, and learn to relate to him appropriately and practically with this in mind. We may be tempted to ask, "Is this really important?" "Is this just a theological detail that makes no real practical difference?" "Will this actually change the way I walk as a Christian or how I pray or how I think about God?" These are important questions. And the answer is that thinking about communion with our triune God is important, and that it can and should make a real difference in how we relate to God.

More specifically, it ought to make a profound and practical difference in our ability to enter into a closer walk with God. First of all, anything that is biblical should be practical, because the Word of God is useful for teaching us, rebuking us, correcting us, and training us in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). If this teaching on communion with the triune God is faithful to Scripture, then it ought to help us to obey and to enjoy more fully the fruit of God's command: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (Jas. 4:8).

Secondly, we must be careful not to fall into error when we seek to relate to God. On the one hand, we must not focus too narrowly on one person of the Trinity at the expense of the others. One group of Christians—the "Jesus Only" or "Oneness" movement—so stresses Jesus, as the summation and apex of the revelation of God, that he is to be adored above the other members of the Trinity. Some liberal branches of the church ignore the Son of God and focus on the loving Father of humankind. And some churches so severely understate the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit that he ends up being characterized as nothing more than a force. These are three examples of anti-Trinitarian thought or practice. Yet there are orthodox Christians who avoid God the Father out of fear, or bypass the mediating role of Christ in prayer, or avoid speaking of the Holy Spirit for fear of sounding like a charismatic. Christians can so neglect the distinct members of the Trinity that they become Unitarians in practice, even though such an idea would utterly repulse them in principle.

On the other hand, we must not think about our communion with God too abstractly or broadly. It is possible to consider our communion with God so theoretically, so abstracted from life, that it becomes merely an exercise in mystical contemplation. Our practice should conform to our preaching, and our life must reflect our faith in the triune God.

Perhaps it is helpful to think practically of communion with God in terms of how we as parents relate to our children. My children look to my wife and me as their parents, but they often look to her specifically as their mother or to me specifically as their father. In most matters, my wife and I present a "unified front." But there are those moments when my children need their mother or their father for what we uniquely represent, or for what we individually can give by way of affection, instruction, or emotional support, or for how we in particular can listen and talk to them. Summer camps exist for these special relationships, recognizing what every parent knows: some conversations are more ideally suited to the father as a father or to the mother as a mother.

The same is true for our relationship with God. We relate to the living and true God, who is one and who is also in three persons. We are right to look uniquely to the Father as his children in some matters, even as we look particularly to Christ for sympathy as the one who partook of our nature, and just as we look to the Spirit especially as the agent of comfort.

Understanding our relationship to God in this manner should bear the fruit of a closer walk with God. It should be a relationship in which we share in the sufferings and risks of knowing Christ. It should be a communion in which we grow in our desire for God. A friendship that is marked by mutual listening and speaking, loving and longing, and striving and drawing closer together. A fellowship that is typified by deepening solidarity—our standing for Christ and his standing with us. A walk that know the sorrows, joys, and rewards of an intimate bond with God and proves faithful and strong enough to endure every trial, battle, or illness. A bond of such goodness that it endures every challenge and overcomes every evil, against all human hope. A communion in which we enjoy "the unbreakable ties of friendship and sacrifice," inseparably joined to God in love for all eternity.


Endnotes

[1] Ralph C. Wood, "Hungry Eye: The Two Towers and the Seductiveness of Spectacle," Books and Culture, March–April 2003, p. 16. According to Wood, "Aristotle regarded spectacle as the last and least of drama's essential elements—a crowd-pleasing device that mustn't overwhelm the play's central moral and spiritual conflict" (p. 16).

[2] The basic insight of this section comes from John Owen's classic work Of Communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (1657).


For Further Reading:

Sinclair Ferguson, John Owen on the Christian Life (Banner of Truth, 1987), pp. 74–98.

Kelly M. Kapic, "Communion with God by John Owen (1616–1683)," in The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics, edited by Randall C. Gleason and Kelly M. Kapic (IVP, 2004), pp. 167–82.

Robert W. Oliver, ed., John Owen: The Man and His Theology (P&R, 2002).

John Owen, Of Communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in The Works of John Owen, edited by William H. Goold (Banner of Truth, 1980), vol. 2, pp. 1–274.

Carl Trueman, The Claims of Truth: John Owen's Trinitarian Theology (Paternoster, 1998).


The author is pastor of Calvary OPC in Glenside, Pa. This is the first article in a four-part series. Reprinted from New Horizons, May 2006.

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Communion with the Father in Love
A. Craig Troxel

My first "real job" after college, though short-lived, was working with physically and sexually abused children. If some of them were to see the title of this article, they would shake their heads with skepticism or irritation, seeing the words father and love appear in the same sentence. Similarly, for some Christians the title father recalls a painful past of neglect or abuse.

Other Christians resist the idea of God's loving fatherhood for other reasons. Some think of the almighty, sovereign, and holy Ruler of all the earth as so imposing and intimidating that any thought of him as accessible or caring is ruled out. Others are offended to hear God addressed with masculine terminology. Many ministers can testify to praying before a theologically diverse crowd of ministers and theologians, only to discover that the chill in the air was not a sudden draft in the room, but the bristling of mainline clerics at the offensively "chauvinistic" salutation.

Whether the idea of God as their Father repulses, frightens, or offends them, whether such thoughts are understandable or baseless, and whether the problem is psychological or theological, these issues create regrettable but real hindrances for some Christians. They may find it practically impossible to fellowship with God their Father in love. To put it another way, here is a good example of where doctrine touches life—or where it does not.


The Father's Love

In the previous article (last month), I defined communion with God as an intimate, mutual, covenantal bond between God and his people. It is participation in a living fellowship with the living God. Every aspect of that relationship pertains to God in three persons. Our justification, adoption, and sanctification are triunely planned, purchased, and applied, as are any other spiritual benefits that we have from God. Our communion with God relates distinctly to each person of the Godhead, but without that communion excluding the other members of the Trinity. Love is no different. Although it is a perfection that resides in each person of the Godhead (1 John 4:8, 16), we may particularly expect our communion with the Father to be distinguished by love.

Love especially defines the Father's actions. As the English Puritan theologian John Owen put it, this is the great discovery of the gospel. Without the gospel, the Father would be perceived as full of wrath and indignation. But the Father's love precedes the sending of his Son. By sending such a gift, he "showed his love among us" (1 John 4:9). And if the Father was willing to give us his own son—the greatest gift imaginable—then he will also "graciously give us all things" (Rom. 8:32). Through his Son's redemptive work on the cross, God demonstrates his love for sinners (Rom. 5:8), and through his Son's resurrection he assures us of eternal life.

Moreover, the "kind of love" the Father has for us evidences itself in that the Father freely and graciously adopts us, welcoming us into his family and calling us "children of God" (1 John 3:1). So tenacious is the Father's love for his children that no one can snatch us from his hands (John 10:29; Rom. 8:39). It is the Father's immeasurable affection for his children that conceives, propels, and guarantees our redemption, from its inception in the eternal counsel of God to its consummation in heaven (Jer. 31:3). To discover the solidity and certainty of our salvation, we need look no further than the Father's love.

The Son came to reveal the Father, as an emissary of his love—not to condemn the world, but to save the world (John 1:18; Matt. 11:27; John 3:16–17). The Father's love is the fountain and cause of the gospel. The Lord had to convince his disciples of this (John 16:26–27): "In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." Undoubtedly the disciples were convinced of Jesus' patience, compassion, and love toward them. But they may not have been convinced of the Father's love for them. Jesus says that although he may intercede on their behalf for many things, he does not need to intercede for them to receive the Father's love, because the Father already loves them.

Some would have us believe that not until the loving Son persuaded the Father did he relent from his previous wrath. On the contrary, Scripture teaches us that from the fountain of the Father's love flow the healing streams of the covenant of grace, in which the Father sends, sacrifices, and exalts his Son. Christ takes pains to comfort his disciples with this teaching. We should be consoled as well. Our Father assures us of his love every time we hear his blessing extended to us as public worship concludes: "May … the love of God … be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:14). Here is regular consolation that the Father does not condemn sinners. He loves sinners. But do we believe this?


Mutual Communion with the Father in Love

The Christian life is characterized by spiritual highs and lows (Confession, 14.3; 17.3; 18.4). In more pleasant seasons, when obedience and devotion seem more sincere and consistent, we think of our fellowship with God as better or sweeter. Of course, in one sense this is true. We take pleasure in the peace and joy that we experience during such times. But just as our right standing before God does not ultimately depend upon our obedience, so also is our fellowship with the Father in love not restricted to the whims of our obedience or only to the good seasons—as if our Father's love for us were that superficial!

Our heavenly Father wants us to commune with him during the unpleasant seasons as well—when we struggle with temptation, when our obedience seems marked by inconsistency, when we are ashamed or even afraid to turn to him. As a parent, when I see a guilty face on one of my children, I hope for his or her eventual unforced and forthright confession. I tell my children to come to me voluntarily and trust in my mercy, understanding, patience, and love. I also assure them that it is in their best interest if they come to me first, instead of withholding the matter from me. But, as Christians, we make the same mistake. When we sin, we feel guilty, ashamed, and hypocritical. So we do not go to God. We do not speak to him. We think that we do not deserve to approach him, or that he is unhappy with us, or that he will punish us (1 John 4:18). But that is precisely the time—our time of need—when we ought to draw close to God, so that he will draw near to us (James 4:8). We ought not to focus merely on his terrible majesty, holiness, or justice. We should also focus on his proven compassion, patience, and love.

We plead with the unconverted to stop running from God and to come to him for life, forgiveness, peace, and steadfast love. But why do we not listen to our own counsel? Our communion suffers because either we misunderstand who the Father is or we doubt what he has promised.

When we do this, we are not taking God's character seriously. The Father's love is essential to him as a divine perfection. We would never call into question the fact that God is eternal, unchangeable, almighty, holy, and righteous. So why do we call into question that the Father is loving? We fall into unbelief again and again, doubting the Father's avowed kindness toward us. Most of our friends would feel insulted if we doubted their loyalty and affection in the way that we doubt God's.

To be sure, the Father does discipline us fittingly for our rebellious sin. But Scripture clearly teaches that he disciplines us because he loves us, treating us like children to whom he is partial (Prov. 3:12; Heb. 12:5–6). Such providences and suffering work for our good (Rom. 8:28; Luke 11:11) and produce spiritual character and fruit (Rom. 5:3–4; Heb. 12:11). But he always measures and tempers his discipline, according to our infirmities and frailty, as any compassionate father would do (Ps. 103:13–14; 1 Cor. 10:13).

When we fail to trust the Father's love, we are not taking seriously the fact that our communion with God is a mutual fellowship, just like any other friendship. We must receive and rest in his love and respond to his love in mutual affection, if we are to have true fellowship with him.

We should look to the promises of the Father's love that are given to us in Scripture. They shine pure light on our mistaken beliefs and melt away our doubts and fears. Satan wants us to believe that God is implacable and harsh, waiting to crush us. But our Father wants us to believe what he has proclaimed, proved, and promised—that he loves us.

As his children, we must not draw back from God the Father in suspicion, fear, and unbelief. He loves us dearly, and we must love him with all of our heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:37). Here is the Christian's safe refuge in a hard, cold, vengeful world that is filled with hate. May our hearts be filled with this heavenly love in our fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. But may it especially enrich our communion with our Father in heaven. Not everyone has a great father. But every Christian does.


The author is pastor of Calvary OPC in Glenside, Pa. This is the second article in a four-part series. He quotes the NIV. Reprinted from New Horizons, June 2006.

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Communion with the Son in Grace
A. Craig Troxel

How easily we Christians fall into moments of skepticism regarding the vast riches of God's grace in Christ that are available to us, despite the overwhelming testimonials both in Scripture and in the pages of our life's experience. Although we have an unlimited line of credit in our fellowship with God, we wonder if his grace is really sufficient. We ask ourselves questions like these: Will God forgive me this time? Will he still love me after what I have done? When will he give up on me? Should I ask him for help again? Our communion with God the Son is in the abundance of his unlimited grace, but it does little good if we doubt and do not access the wealth of spiritual blessings that God has in store for those whom he loves.


The Grace of the Son

In the previous articles, I defined communion with God as an intimate, mutual, covenantal bond between God and his people. To commune with the living God is to participate in a living fellowship with him. In it, we speak and listen to him, draw near to him as he draws near to us, and grow in our knowledge and love for him.

Moreover, every area of that relationship, like all of our salvation and every spiritual benefit that we receive from God, is triunely planned, procured, and applied. Our communion with God is related to each distinct person of the Godhead in a unique way, but without excluding the other members of the Trinity. For example, as we grow in our communion with God the Son, it is chiefly and eminently a relationship characterized by grace, his unmerited favor, yet grace is also displayed by God the Father and God the Spirit.

We commune with God through the eternal Son of God, our Mediator, who now literally embodies all the fullness of divine perfections (Col. 2:9). From all eternity, Christ is God—all-powerful, sovereign, "most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious" (Larger Catechism, Q. 7). Nevertheless, although Christ is "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14; cf. Ex. 34:6), he was not yet "thoroughly furnished" to save us until he became flesh and took our nature upon himself (Confession of Faith, 8.3). Scripture teaches that this was necessary for our salvation. "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things.... He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:14, 17).

The communing of God the Son in our nature is what John Owen refers to as the "personal grace" of the Son. That the eternal Son would make himself nothing by "being made in human likeness" (Phil. 2:7–8 NIV) is truly gracious. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). If the eternal Son is a treasury of grace, and the Son becoming flesh is a manifestation of grace, then the Son's redemptive work is the outpouring of grace.


Union with the Son

The Word of God reflects upon our salvation as the redemption that Christ has purchased. Since by nature we stand spiritually impoverished or bankrupt before God (Matt. 5:3; 18:21–35), we need him to "forgive us our debts" (Matt. 6:12). To be sure, for such gracious condescension to take place, our sin must be covered, God's wrath must be quenched, and the requirements of the law must be satisfied. But someone must pay the price to free us from our spiritual indebtedness to God. Since our sin offends the infinite holiness and righteousness of God, only the priceless and "precious blood of Christ" is sufficient to ransom us from our former empty lives (1 Pet. 1:19). God justifies us freely, but he did not justify us for free. We pay nothing, but Christ paid everything. We were "bought at a price" (1 Cor. 6:20 NIV), and that price was paid by Christ, who came to "give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45; see also Ps. 49:7–9, 15; 1 Tim. 2:6). John Owen calls this the "purchased grace" of the Son.

The redemption that Christ has purchased for us and its benefits that the Holy Spirit applies to us are nothing less than the outpouring of God's riches—the riches of his kindness, glory, inheritance, and grace (Rom. 10:12; 11:12, 33; 2:4; 9:23; Eph. 1:18; 2:7). The abundance of God's love in Christ for sinners is revealed in the gospel as the "immeasurable riches of his grace" (Eph. 2:7) and the "unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8). In the gospel, Christ's perfect righteousness is imputed to sinners, that is, credited to our account (2 Cor. 5:21). The sealing work of the Holy Spirit is the "deposit" or "guarantee" of our "inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading," waiting for us in heaven (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 5:5; 1 Pet. 1:4; Matt. 6:20). Because of the many benefits that accompany or flow from our justification, adoption, and hope of future glorification, we are truly "rich" (2 Cor. 8:9; 6:10; Luke 12:21; Rev. 2:9). Even at the close of worship we are regularly reassured of our boundless privileges as the blessing of "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" is placed upon us (2 Cor. 13:14). So why do we so easily forget that these vast riches are available to us? We need to access the riches of God's grace in Christ as we seek to walk in obedient fellowship with him.


Communion with the Son

Christ himself is a vast treasury of grace. He came "full of grace" and "from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" (John 1:14, 16). We are constantly in need of this grace. Christ never encourages us to grow independently of him, but rather to grow in our dependence upon him. Apart from him, we cannot grow, bear fruit, or struggle successfully against the enemy (John 15:5; Phil. 2:13; Eph. 3:20; 6:10). In short, apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:4; cf. 2 Pet. 3:18). Otherwise we will run without progress, fight without victory, labor in vain, despair in feelings of guilt, and write checks that our lives cannot cash.

As we strive against sin, we need to avail ourselves of Christ's unlimited grace. Although sin cannot sever our union with Christ, it certainly disturbs our communion with him. When David sinned, he pleaded God's "abundant mercy," because God revealed himself as the God who abounds in love and hence forgives sin (Ps. 51:1; cf. Ex. 34:6–7). Christ abounds in grace for the forgiveness of sin (John 1:14). We need this grace. Ask anyone who has struggled with financial debt. It is a burden you cannot carry.

Our communion with God is an intimate and mutual friendship. If our relationship with Christ is truly going to be a living fellowship, then we must draw near to him in our weakness and neediness, and believe that he wants to draw near to us and supply us with his grace. As we seek Christ in worship, prayer, Scripture, and the Lord's Supper, what does he tell us that we will find? Scripture says, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

Because Christ is both God and man, we are confident that he is fully equipped to help us in our time of need. In him dwell both the fullness of divinity and the treasures of compassion. He sympathizes with us, and he knows what it means to be tempted (Heb. 4:15). He can and is ready to help us. His wealth is without measure, and his empathy is etched in fleshly wounds. He knows what it means to suffer in humiliation, but now he is in an exalted position to help us. He draws near to us by his Word and Spirit in order to strengthen, comfort, encourage, and convict us when we are tempted, distraught, discouraged, or indifferent (Heb. 2:17). He invites us to ask, so that we may receive. And yet so often our frailty and failure is due to the fact that we do not ask. And when we do ask, we do not ask in faith (Jas. 4:2–3).

Brothers and sisters in Christ, believe that God can supply all of your needs according to the riches of his glorious grace in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19). Believe that, though you sin, his grace increases all the more. Believe that, if you lack understanding, you will find in Christ infinite treasures of wisdom. Go to him with every problem, weakness, hardship, struggle, or sin, and you will find that his grace is more than sufficient. God has already made you exceedingly rich. Do not live as one who lacks resources. Your fellowship is with the one whose unlimited grace will abound all the more and forevermore.


The author is pastor of Calvary OPC in Glenside, Pa. He quotes the ESV unless otherwise indicated. This is the third article in a four-part series. Reprinted from New Horizons, July 2006.

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Communion with the Spirit in Comfort
A. Craig Troxel

Not since the great Perry Mason has Hollywood given us a defense attorney who could argue a case single-handedly. Since then television series have featured teams of lawyers from high-flying law firms who prepare and argue cases together for their clients. Putting aside whether or not this reflects reality, wouldn't you want more than one person defending you if your welfare or life depended on it?

Think of the advantages. For one thing, while one attorney argues your case, the other could be sitting at your side, quietly informing you of the significance of everything that transpires during the legal proceeding. He could assure you that the testimony just obtained is momentous, that the judge's ruling strengthens your case, and that evidence submitted bolsters your chances for a favorable ruling. Surely having more than one advocate has its advantages. Yet every Christian already knows this, because Jesus has sent "another counselor," the promised Holy Spirit, to aid us in our communion with God.

In the previous articles of this series, I emphasized that we walk in communion with God as intimate and mutual friends, in the covenant bonds of love. As we listen and speak to God, and as he speaks and listens to us, through the Word of God and prayer, we draw near to him and he to us. Moreover, with every communication of grace, with every benefit, and in every aspect of our salvation, we commune distinctly with a particular member of the Trinity, but not to the exclusion of the rest of the Godhead. In this article, we will see that although we receive comfort from each member of the Trinity, we commune particularly with the Holy Spirit in comfort.


The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Since God the Son ascended, God the Spirit descended: "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7 NIV). When Christ was exalted to the right hand of the Majesty, he "received" from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, which he poured out on his church as a gift on Pentecost (Acts 2:33). Christ "anoints" every believer with the indwelling of the Spirit, beginning at our new birth, when God replaces our sinful heart of stone with a renewed "heart of flesh" (1 John 2:20, 27; Titus 3:5; John 3:3, 5; Ezek. 36:26; Rom. 8:9). The Holy Spirit is the "seal" certifying that we belong to God now, in this life, and he is the "guarantee" of our full inheritance in the life to come (Eph. 1:13; 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Rom. 8:23).

Until that day, God's Spirit is continuously working sanctification in us, renewing us and enabling us increasingly to die to sin and to live for righteousness (Phil. 2:12–13; Eph. 3:20). Christ's resurrection power is at work in us through the Spirit, bringing forth the fruit of the new man (Rom. 8:11; Gal. 5:16, 22–23), transforming us with ever-increasing glory (2 Cor. 3:18) and carrying on the good work he began in us (Phil. 1:6). Thus, the church is the "temple of the living God" and his "dwelling place" forever (1 Cor. 3:16–17; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:22). So what does the work of the Holy Spirit have to do with "comforting"?


The Comfort of the Holy Spirit

Comfort assumes trouble—afflictions, difficulties, sorrows, disappointments, doubts, and dangers. Jesus said that we would face many troubles in this world (John 16:33). Sin clings to us (Heb. 12:1). Satan seeks to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). The flesh constantly battles against the Spirit within (Gal. 5:17). The world antagonizes us because it hates us (John 15:18; 1 John 3:13). Amidst such adversity, a Christian might become discouraged or intimidated. Yet Christ tells us, "Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27). This statement might sound insensitive or heartless. But Christ says this because he has sent someone to comfort us in the midst of all our troubles (John 14:16).

When do we call an attorney? When we get into trouble or face difficulties, we need wise counsel and a dependable advocate. So also the Holy Spirit consoles us as he brings the words and teachings of Jesus to bear upon our lives, amidst our stormy trials, to soothe us with a peace that this world cannot give (John 14:26–27).

Satan, his agents, and the world constantly attack us and try to unsettle us in our fellowship with God or shake our confidence in his love and forbearance. In order to repel their assaults, we might be tempted to reassure ourselves by reminding ourselves of our good works, by thinking of our growth in obedience, by contemplating our substantial holiness, or by complimenting ourselves on our growth in humility. But these are just different ways of trying to argue our own case. And, as most lawyers will tell you, serving as your own attorney is usually unwise and often dangerous. It's one thing to plead our case in a small-claims court, but it's another thing altogether to clear ourselves of credible-sounding charges prosecuted by the skilled and relentless accuser (Rev. 12:10).

A more promising source of comfort can be found in our communion with God the Spirit. Romans 8 reminds us that, since there are two prosecutors against the Christian (sin and suffering), God has provided two advocates (Christ and the Holy Spirit) to intercede for us. It is the Holy Spirit who uniquely intercedes within, comforting us, especially when we are in trouble over our heads.

When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, he said that he was sending "the Counselor" (John 15:26 NIV; cf. John 14:16, 26; 16:7)—someone who should be thought of more along the lines of an advocate or attorney than a therapist. Just as attorneys stand alongside us in court, so also the Holy Spirit works as our defense attorney, in conjunction with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jewish background to this type of counselor is that friend who has known you well and stays by your side to argue your case at the city gate.

When Satan, as a prosecuting attorney, brings evidence against our right to be called children of God, he cites the many times we have transgressed the moral law of God. He submits the innumerable instances when we have betrayed our family name. He argues, compellingly, that even our own conscience has arisen to testify against us. His case is strong. Who can refute his points? The courtroom of our heart is deathly quiet.

But then rises a counselor of renowned ability and great integrity. He argues on behalf of us, the accused. Without denying the fact of our sin, he confirms with infallible skill and unshakable testimony that we belong to God and that he will not let us go. He assures us that we are in a right relation with God and enjoy all the freedoms and privileges of God's children. He confirms that we have access to our loving Father in heaven. And throughout all this turmoil, he helps us with our weakness in prayer, making the case for us with "groanings too deep for words," but always "according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:26–27). The "Spirit of adoption" pours continuous testimony of God's peace, joy, hope, and love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5; 8:15). He recalls the promises of God and his gracious provision of an irreproachable substitute in his Son for the free pardon of our sin. And so he stops the mouth of our adversary with the Word of God and completely overpowers the prosecution's case.

This is the Spirit who testifies for us, and what he testifies in our hearts is that we are God's children (1 John 5:6, 10; Rom. 8:15). This is Christ's cocounsel, who quietly whispers in our ear how each stage of our trial is progressing. He reminds us that the evidence of God's love will prevail. He encourages us that the judge's ruling has decided our case favorably. He assures us that our vindication from all charges will come one day. The "father of lies" tries to subvert our faith, but the "Spirit of truth" comes to our rescue, confirming to us our justification, adoption, and every other benefit that we have in Christ (John 8:44; 14:17; 1 John 4:6). Christ's intercession is effective and final in winning our righteous standing before God. But for those seasons when we doubt it, when we are confused and without hope, when we are struggling and depressed, we have another counselor, who is at our side to help us through difficult times.

We are blessed beyond words to fellowship with God the Father in love and with God the Son in his abounding grace. But to help us in our earthly pilgrimage (and to fill our hearts in the life hereafter), Christ has given us the One who fellowships with us in comfort. It is for our good that Jesus went away, so that this Counselor could come and minister to us (John 16:7).

It must have been an amazing blessing for the first disciples to be in the presence of Jesus every day. But it is also an amazing blessing for every Christian to have the indwelling Spirit, today and forever (Rom. 8:9). Having more than one advocate really does have its advantages.


The author is pastor of Calvary OPC in Glenside, Pa. He quotes the ESV unless otherwise indicated. This is the final article in a four-part series. Reprinted from New Horizons, August-September 2006.

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