1. What is the Holy Spirit ?

Today we observe together the very day of Pentecost. The church holds Christmas, Easter and Pentecost as the most important events of the year. Christmas and Easter are the birth and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ whereas Pentecost is the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ disciples.

“Pentecost” came form “pentēkostē ” in Greek, which means “fiftieth (day).” The word’s origin explains that the Holy Spirit descended on the fiftieth day after the Ascension of Jesus Christ, the event which changed disciples, formerly weak and cowardly, into courageous ones. After that crucial day they set to spread witnesses to Jesus Christ over the whole world. For example, as Luke reported, about 3 thousand persons accepted baptism by hearing and moved by disciples’ words (Luke 2:41)

The church considers Pentecost to be its foundation day. It is called also Whit Sunday (White Sunday) due to the color of closes which new believers of the early church put on for baptizement. Today this church baptized a young boy. He said in his confession that it was certain reflections upon the death that led him to the faith. Death is definitive and inevitable to humans. All of us are totally powerless in facing it. When he understood the fact he recognized the existence of the supreme will which dominates our fate. In other words he knew God. Then he thought that scrupulous conscience made him to feel fear of death. It might be true. But Jesus Christ freed us from fear of bodily death by offering his own life on the Cross. The new believer concluded his confession with this phrase :” I believe in Jesus Christ who died to save us and to forgave us.”

Even though he chose his faith in Jesus it should be the work of the Holy Spirit which led him to do. John explain the role of Holy Spirit this way ;- … when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.(John 16:13) ;- Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."(John 8:32)

The Holy Spirit had worked previously on today’s baptized person. Because it should be the Holy Spirt who had made him to contemplate the death, which made him to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who emancipates us from all earthy fears. We see the same effect which happened on the very day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. After arrival of The Holy Spirit Peter appealed and the crowd reacted this way ;- “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?"(Acts 2:36-37)

And they received baptism like our new member who was baptized here just now.

Today’s lecturing portion John 16 concerns the event. The episode commences from chapter 14 on the scene of the Last Supper. There Jesus repeatedly promises the Holy Spirit ;- I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.(John 14:16-17) , ;-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)

The disciples were filled with grief because of what Jesus had told them ;- “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’I have said these things, you are.(John 16:5)

“I am going to him who sent me” means he was ready to die on the Cross. Nonetheless, he said there was no need to be sad because his death was not a simple disappearance but had the precious meaning. Indeed significance of death must depend on how we understand it.

“The Counselor” ("the Helper” in New King James Version) and “the Spirit of truth” represent more exactly the Holy Spirit. Jesus says there must be no need for disciples to be worry about their future because they will have “the Counselor” who guides and suports them. The word “Counselor” is the translation of the Greek word “¦Ð¦Á¦Ñά¦Ê¦Ë¦Ç¦Ó¦Ïς (paraklaytos)” which means “one who pleads another’s cause before a judge”, in short, a pleader. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit as their pleader, who helps their preaching activities.

2. The descent of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirt will help them. But how ? Jesus tells ;- When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.(John 16:8-11¡Ë

The court suggested in the verses above is not that of humans but of God. To begin with Jesus explains what are sin, righteousness and judgement. Sin signifies not to believe in Jesus, the son of God. God sent the savior to save the world but humans won’t believe in him. That is precisely the sin. The definition given by Jesus is very different from what we think about . We, humans, understand sin as being hurtful or harmful towards others. In contrast, in the court of God sin is to reject the way into forgiveness and the salvation, which is accorded by God to humans. All evils should be generated from such an attitude. Therefore Jesus says;- And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.(Matthew 12:31)

Humans are sinful by nature. Even if we might be forgiven for sin and blasphemy against humans by repenting. But the blasphemy against divinity will never be forgiven. In God’s court, refusal of the faith and the salvation can not have any excuse.

Concerning righteousness, Jesus says it is proved through the Ascension. That explanation is also very difficult for us to understand. We think righteousness is being fair or honest with others. But ultimately it is God who determines what is righteousness. Isaiah said ;- But I said, “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.” (Isaiah 49:4)

Believers must not judge anything in accordance with human common senses because God only can judge, evaluate and estimate humans’ conducts. In consequence of that we can be encouraged and empowered to live, regardless of harsh underestimations or insulting criticisms of societies.

The last one is the judgement which points out the fact that “the prince of this world (earthy ruling power) now stands condemned.” Jewish authorities condemned Jesus to execution on the Cross. As a result God judged the world guilty and resurrected Jesus to show his glory. Thus Jesus, who had been judged, became the judge. The event of Pentecost revealed the truth. From that day, number of humans who repent and receive baptism continue to increase till today, throughout 2000 years.

Jesus’ words continues ;- But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.(John 16:13)

“The truth” is translated word from ”ἀ¦Ëή¦È¦Å¦É¦Á (alaythia)” in Greek, which means ” ¡ÈI am hidden.¡É (from wiktionary). The Holy Spirit unveil the truth which was hidden. More exactly the fact that our sin was forgiven and we have now eternal life after physical death thanks to Jesus’ death on the Cross. The Holy Spirit helps us to recognize the fact.

John wrote the passage as if he were in Heaven in looking down the world. It is important to understand that at one time many of Japanese thought ” the Sky”, synonym of heaven, knew whatever they did even if they could conceal successfully their sinful conducts from others. However, unfortunately, they lost such a way of thinking. Therefore most of them became easily unscrupulous. But Psalm tells us ;- Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? …..The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.(Psalm 2: 1-4)

Therefore we must learn to relativize earthy matters as old wisdom says;- ” let us break their chains,” “and throw off their fetters.” Because they are meaningless before God’s eyes.

3. To believe in Immanuel (see Isa. 7:14, 8:8; Matt. 1:23)

Today’s invocation verse is Psalm 23:4;- Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

We won’t fear any thing because God is always beside us. That represents exactly the Biblical faith, which is being inherited all through thousands of years. Recently I have impression that the majority of Japanese unconsciously seek a Immanuel, someone whom they can trust without condition. I tell you two phenomena which gave me such a remark. One is the Japanese greatest hit song in 2008, ” Always be with you.” * Its lyric sings “I will keep thinking about you anytime and everywhere.”

The second one is a big success of books of Sakuraba Kazuki, a Japanese light-novel writer. Almost all her works have the common theme, “familial love crushes children.” Stories are developed through disappointments in human relationship experienced by characters. They have painful feelings due to breach of trust or betrayals of family members. Profoundly hurt, they became seriously suspicious and concealed themselves inside self-cored loneliness.

As a matter of fact human relationship is fragile and often ends up in breakout. Because ;- As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;(Romans 3:10) Thus we really need to read the Bible. Men and women in the biblical universe believe in God who remains beside them as Immanuel, regardless of the time and place.

A Japanese pastor, Kitamori Yosizou, said that “On the Origin of Species” should be the last book he want read in his dying bed. It is not because he reject Charles Darwin’s theory because it can not tell us to where we go after the death. It explains merely form where we came to the life. Though, personally, I don’t see any conflict of contents between Genesis and the evolution theory I too won’t read the book in such a situation. What we need at the very crucial moment is to know where and what we will become afterwards, which no one or no book can tell us. Therefore it would be the best to trust our existence to God, in short have the faith.

To be honest, concerning the Holy Spirit I can not explain exactly what he is. However if I look back through my life till today I must recognize the power which fixed my destine . At the time when I decided to become a pastor, at the age of 50, I didn’t know the name of this Shinozakichurch. Furthermore when I was young I did never imagine to receive the calling. I must say that, regardless of my human thinking reflections, God’s providence worked every time to lead my life. And I think ancient people felt the same influential power as I did and called it “the Holy Spirit”. Once we accept the existence of such a power we won’t have fear of anything , even of death, because we trust all to the source of that power, God. I want to read Psalm on my last day and say ;- Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

Now I finish today’s lecture by giving thanks to God who gave us the Bible and the Holy Spirit.
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* You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M80XXxMKFWw
** ºùÄí°ì¼ù (in Japanese) http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ºùÄí°ì¼ù