“The multitude came together, and were confused.”
This was true at the foot of the wrecked Tower of Babel on the Plain of Shinar, and now it was true of the multitude assembled in the house in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost.
At the Tower of Babel they were confused because they were unable to understand each other. Now they were confused because they could under-stand each other.
O blessed confusion! At the Tower of Babel, the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit said, “Let Us go down and confuse their language,” so that they could not make their way up to God by their own works and doing. But on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came from the Father and the Son and used the various human languages to proclaim “the wonderful works of God,” the Gospel.
They heard “each in their own language” that they couldn’t make their own way to God but they had a Savior, Jesus Christ, for whose sake people of all nations are justified and saved, not by works but through faith alone.
We have this blessed confusion too: befuddled by the grace of God, who treats us not as our sins deserve but continues to pour out His Holy Spirit on us to call us by the Gospel, enlighten us with His gifts, sanctify and keep us in the true faith, daily forgive us all our sins, and bring us to eternal life.
According to our tradition on these major festivals, let us now rise and sing together the festival hymn verse, for this festival of Pentecost:
Hymn: “Holy Spirit, God of Love”
WHAT DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT DO? HE CREATES THE CHURCH
Sermon Text: Ephesians 2:19-22, 5:18-19. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God through the Spirit. … And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth; Your Word is truth. Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle in us the fire of Your holy love! Amen.
This portion of the Nicene Creed is expounded in the sermon, with the Bible text:
And I believe one holy Christian and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the Life of the world to come. Amen.
Fellow redeemed in Christ, who, because of His great love for us, pours out upon us His Holy Spirit, who gathers us into the one, holy, Christian and apostolic church: Grace and peace be multiplied to you. Amen.
When you say, “I believe one holy, Christian, and apostolic Church,” it’s part of saying: “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” With these words we’re saying: “I believe that the Church exists. I believe there is one holy Christian church.” It’s saying you believe that what the Holy Spirit does is true and real.
He creates the church, that’s what He does. The Holy Spirit does this by creating individual Christians and gathering them. The word congregation means “gathering.” This is how He creates His Church. The word “church” – ecclesia in Greek, similar to iglesia in Spanish – means to “call out of.”
He calls us out of the world, away from sin and Satan, into God’s own embrace. He calls you to believe in Jesus, so you won’t perish but have eternal life. He calls you to believe the Gospel and be saved. He calls us one by one. He creates faith in one person, then another; that’s how He gathers.
But we struggle to think of this the right way because of what we see. We naturally turn around this “gathering” into the opposite of what it is.
We think of “gathering” as something we do – since we make an effort to get out of bed on Sunday morning when the rest of the world sleeps in.
We think of faith as something we do – since faith is a struggle, it’s weak sometimes and stronger sometimes, we don’t trust as we should and we are tempted to doubt or to listen to false beliefs, and so we must work at it.
We also may talk in terms of what we must do to “grow” the church. Is our church here because the first pastors and many volunteers worked so hard, and will it continue because we do everything just right so it grows?
While the work we do in these areas, the effort we put forth, is work God wants, it’s actually being done by the Holy Spirit. The visible part is what we’re doing: going to church, trusting and believing the Word, serving in some way. The problem is when we put our trust in what we do.
This isn’t a small sin – because it involves the doctrine of grace, that everything the Holy Spirit does in calling us by the Gospel, giving us faith, preserving us in faith, and keeping His Church, is a gift. When you turn this gift into your work, it’s rejecting the gift and demanding to be judged by your works. St. Paul says this is falling from grace. This is what our sinful nature does. It should trouble us how casually we sin against God in His Word and worship, in taking His work and turning it into our work.
But here we find that the Holy Spirit really is all about grace. His only thought and all His work is to save you from this, to give you the right faith, and to bring you the forgiveness for all these sins that Christ won.
He still does His work, the invisible part, in spite of your sins. This is grace! You can’t see Him working. You can’t even see your faith, you see the results of it. You don’t work up your own repentance, but there it is, you feel crushed by your sins – the Holy Spirit did that. You can’t struggle yourself or convince yourself into believing, but there it is – you believe that Jesus died for you. You say Amen to it. Nobody forced you to.
The Holy Spirit does these things by the power of His Word. To say the Church is “apostolic” is just saying it’s Biblical. It refers to “the apostles’ teaching,” it’s shorthand for the whole Bible. In working through the Word, the Holy Spirit is again doing the invisible part, creating faith and strengthening your faith – even when you can’t feel it —as you hear His Word, and as His Word guides you, even when it isn’t a conscious thing.
The end of the Nicene Creed – “I believe one, holy, Christian and apostolic Church. I believe one Baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and life of the world to come,” – speaks of things we can’t see.
You can’t see the one holy Christian Church. You can’t see people’s faith, and that’s who the Church consists of. There are many churches, but it’s only the people in them who believe the truth who are in the one church. It consists of people you can’t see, some live halfway around the world, some speak other languages. When our daughter attends church in Wichita, Kansas, 600 miles away, we are together in the one church.
You also can’t see how holy the Church is. We mostly notice its flaws. You see your own sins, and the sins of others. You get offended. We make a mess of it! But through the forgiveness of sins – which is what the church is for, to deliver God’s forgiveness! – the Holy Spirit sanctifies each person: makes each person holy and clean from all sin, through Jesus’ blood and by His Word – and He does this for all. He cleanses His Church. It’s holy! But you can’t see it with your eyes. We believe His Word is doing it.
Then with baptism, you see the baby, you see the water, you hear the words. You don’t see faith being created; however, you see the little person growing up believing in Jesus, loving Jesus, praying to Him. This creed beautifully zeroes in on the chief blessing of baptism: it isn’t a work we do, it’s “for the remission of sins.” You don’t see the sins going away. But they do, by the Holy Spirit and the power of His Word, the word in the water.
Finally, you also don’t see anyone go to heaven. We don’t see anyone reach the life everlasting. But the Holy Spirit preserves their faith so that in the moment of death, the Lord brings their soul to heaven, saved by faith.
The Holy Spirit does this for individuals. “The righteous shall live by his faith” (Hos 2:4). But as the Spirit does it for this person, and that one, He is building the Church. That’s the picture we get in Ephesians.
It says that the Church is “the household of God.” It’s a house, but also it’s a household, God’s family. It says “Jesus Christ Himself” is “the Chief Cornerstone,” the stone on which the whole structure – His Church – is built. The Church (and the Spirit’s work) is to have you, to have us all, resting on Jesus. It’s His Church! Also, that “the apostles and prophets” – the Bible, God’s Word that the Holy Spirit inspired – is “the foundation” of this building. God’s Word is to be your Foundation that your life is built on, It’s the Church’s foundation: you know you’re in the one Church if God’s Word is being spoken and taught in its truth and purity.
But what he’s also saying is that you – yes, you! – are part of the building, if you’re in His Church. “The whole building is fitted together.” He puts you together with everyone else who believes in Jesus. Don’t think you don’t fit in! He fits everyone together. Paul says “you” – as in “y’all”– “are being built together for a dwelling place of God.” God dwells in you through faith. He is among His Christians. When we come to church, we are in God’s presence. We as His Church are “a dwelling place of God.”
Who’s the builder? It says it’s “through the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit builds His Church. He puts you in it and keeps you in it. He did this through “Baptism for the remission of sins.” He keeps you in it so you not only will come to eternal life, but will always – in hope – “look for … the life of the world to come.”
He brings us to confess this faith together in this Nicene Creed. It’s your own confession, and at the same time you confess it with others, not only here at Hope, but with all Christians around the world. This binds us together. It gives us solidarity with each other. It tells you that you belong, He fits us together. Don’t forget, Ephesians also tells us as we sing hymns, and set forth His most worthy praise – this Triune God whom we know – and “make melody in your heart to the Lord,” we’re “filled with the Spirit.” He comes and fills you. He dwells in and with us as His Church, the Church He creates: the one, holy, Christian and apostolic church.
The closing words of the creed tell you, no matter what you think you’re looking for all the time, by the Holy Spirit’s doing you are looking for the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come, where you’ll meet everyone you’ve been confessing these words together with, all this time. You’ll know them as family, members of the household. What joy! Amen!