Glorification of Jesus Christ

Driving home: But always in the wake of wildfire and no fire is spiritual death.

Martin uses the analogy of 'no fire' and 'wildfire' to describe the extremes people fall into regarding the Holy Spirit's work, both leading to spiritual death, emphasizing the need for biblical balance.

Over the past few months, in the evening particularly, are aware that we are presently engaged in our normal course of study in a consideration of the biblical doctrine of sanctification. However, due to a number of practical and mainly pastoral reasons, I have broken into that series after continuing some 20 weeks in it to consider a few facets of the teaching of Scripture relative to the person, but particularly relative to the work of God the Holy Spirit. Anyone who is half awake and aware of what is going on in our own day is conscious that clustered around this matter of the work of the H...

0:01 - 1:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Approach the subject of the Holy Spirit with the basic principle of interpretation that teaching portions of the Bible must regulate our understanding of historical portions.

Martin quotes a man's degrading description of his Holy Spirit experience as 'vodka in his orange juice' to illustrate the blasphemous way some speak of God the Spirit, contrasting it with His divinity.

He is God. You don't get him for tingles. As I quoted last week, the man who said, his experience in the Holy Spirit was like vodka in his orange juice.

6:37 - 6:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He recaps previous studies, highlighting the need for a proper attitude (dependence, teachableness, investigative spirit) and a clear interpretive principle (teaching portions…

He uses the analogy of building a house to explain the necessity of the Spirit's work: the Father lays the foundation, the Son erects the superstructure, and the Spirit puts us in the house, showing His essential role in salvation's application.

No. Would there be any salvation without the Spirit's powerful application to our hearts? No. Just as much as we need the purpose of the Father to lay the foundation of salvation, just as much as we need the purchase of the Son to erect the superstructure, so we need the work of the Spirit to put us in the house.

7:36 - 7:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the fourth principle: the Spirit's primary focus is the glorification of Jesus Christ, expounding John 16:7-15 where Jesus predicts the Comforter's coming and…

Martin asks listeners to imagine being one of the disciples hearing Jesus say it's better for Him to leave, highlighting the initial confusion and the eventual understanding that the Comforter's coming would be for Christ's glorification.

Therefore said I that He taketh of Mine and shall declare it unto you. Now can you feel the mood of this thing? If you were sitting there as one of the twelve or one of the eleven at this juncture, I'm not sure if Judas was still there,

13:10 - 13:26 Read in full sermon

The point: When evaluating supposed movements of the Holy Spirit, ask: How much of the truth about Jesus Christ in His person and work is known, loved, and believed?

He describes an ecumenical charismatic conference where Roman Catholics and Protestants claim common experience in the Holy Spirit, despite fundamental doctrinal differences like the Mass, to illustrate a supposed movement of the Spirit that fails the test of glorifying Christ's once-for-all atonement.

Now, mark me, mark me, the very men who stood on a Sunday and pronounced their English or Latin words over the chalice and over the wafers, and have said that by virtue, of the succession of apostolic authority, our Lord is offered up on that blasphemous altar of Rome. These men are coming together and saying, it is the Holy Spirit who has given us all this common experience in the Holy Ghost. And because we can all speak in tongues, God the Holy Ghost has united us in Christ. Now, in all fairness, that is not true of all tongue speakers.

27:18 - 28:01 Read in full sermon

The point: When evaluating supposed movements of the Holy Spirit, ask: To what extent are people drawn into submissive, loving, trustful obedience and attachment to the Christ of Scripture?

Martin references Latimer and Ridley going to the stake rather than approving the blasphemy of the Mass, contrasting their Spirit-led conviction with modern claims that the Holy Spirit makes the Mass 'more precious,' to show how some movements contradict foundational Christian doctrine.

And when the Holy Spirit is testified to their hearts of their absolute wretchedness by nature and of Christ all sufficient as a Savior by His once-for-all death upon the cross, and Christ is their only ground of hope, who by one offering perfected forever them that are sanctified, I say the same Spirit of truth is testified to them of Christ who is testified to me. But when there's some so-called work of the Spirit that bypasses the basic doctrine of the atoning work of Christ, I reject it out of hand as being something of the other spirit. And so Roman Catholics who are getting the so-called...

30:16 - 31:20 Read in full sermon

The point: When evaluating supposed movements of the Holy Spirit, ask: To what extent is the moral image of Christ being reproduced in men (meekness, gentleness, boldness, zeal)?

He critiques some 'Jesus freak' movements in California, suggesting that many testimonies reveal an 'existential substitute drug experience' rather than genuine attachment to the Christ of Scripture, questioning the authenticity of such Spirit-led work.

He is unfolding the truth about Christ's person and work, and He's drawing men into loving, trustful submission to the Christ of Scripture so that when they repent and believe and give themselves to this Christ, they are not having some kind of a mystical, existential substitute drug experience that's making them a Jesus freak. They're not getting high on Jesus. They're being brought low to the feet of Jesus to rise new creatures in Christ Jesus from henceforth to walk under the dominion of Jesus. You see, there's much that's supposed to be the work of the Spirit, so-called great movements, th...

35:52 - 37:19 Read in full sermon

The point: When evaluating supposed movements of the Holy Spirit, ask: To what extent is the moral image of Christ being reproduced in men (meekness, gentleness, boldness, zeal)?

Martin criticizes testimonies in 'Voice magazine' (Full Gospel Businessmen's Association) for their focus on personal experience and pride ('I, I, I'), contrasting it with the Spirit's work of producing humility and focusing on Christ's glory.

Meekness, gentleness, boldness, zeal in the Father's work. To what extent is this being produced? And I've been very close to some so-called movements of the Spirit, where people were all the time taken up with describing in great detail their ecstatic coat-of-many-colors experiences, and almost reeling with the heady wine of their own pride, while they were talking about their experience in the Holy Ghost. I get the Voice magazine, official organ of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Association.

38:00 - 38:38 Read in full sermon

The point: When evaluating supposed movements of the Holy Spirit, ask: To what extent is Christ central, not magically or sentimentally, but doctrinally, in the preaching of this movement?

He compares intimate dealings with God to intimate dealings with one's wife, suggesting they are private and not for public display, emphasizing the humility produced by the Spirit rather than boasting of ecstatic experiences.

And if God is pleased to give us unusual experiences, we'll say with Paul, I've heard things not lawful to utter. Your secret and most intimate dealings with God are like your secret and most intimate dealings with your wife. They are secrets between the two of you. How much of this meekness, humility, is being produced?

39:08 - 39:40 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin applies the principle to powerful preaching, using 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 to show that Spirit-filled preaching is bound to God's testimony, centered on Christ crucified, and…

Martin imagines someone advising a weak, trembling Paul on how to appear more 'Spirit-filled' and 'sharp,' contrasting this worldly image with Paul's Spirit-wrought humility and dependence, to illustrate what true Spirit-filled preaching looks like.

I say, you've got a different Holy Ghost from Paul. You come to Paul. You see him come into car and perhaps there are circles under his eyes. And when he goes, first of all, into the synagogue to begin to witness, he's stuttering a little bit.

47:34 - 47:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let His name forever live, let my name perish, let the names of all men perish, but let His name live forever.

He recounts Spurgeon preaching on Christ's glory, so filled with the Spirit that he concluded, 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let His name forever live, let my name perish... but let His name live forever,' then sinking 'half dead' into his chair, illustrating how the Spirit magnifies Christ through powerful preaching.

Oh, brethren, without that, preaching is plain, but with it, it's the most glorious experience outside of probably seeing the Lord face to face. To be conscious, that between you and men there's an operation of divine power, and to know that their response is not to you, but to Him. I meant to bring the book The Forgotten Spurgeon to close with a beautiful illustration of this from the life of Spurgeon, so I'll spoil it by just giving the best I can from my memory. Spurgeon had been preaching on one of those texts focusing on the glory of Christ, and at this time, God was pleased to so fill hi...

51:18 - 52:46 Read in full sermon