The Intercessory Ministry Of the Holy Spirit

Readings: Mat 6:5-13
Rom 8:26-27

Introductory Thoughts

* We are in the middle of a long series of messages about the security of the believer.

* One of the reasons that many people think a true believer can be lost is that they do not understand the nature of salvation.

** Salvation is a permanent change of state

John 5:24 ""Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

** Salvation involves the personal reputation and actions of the Trinity

*** Salvation as a permanent change of state involves the determinate counsel, or plan of God

*** Salvation as a permanent change of state involves the Drawing ministry of the Father

*** Salvation as a permanent change of state involves the Revealing ministry of the Father

*** Salvation as a permanent change of state involves the Convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit

*** Salvation as a permanent change of state involves the Person and Work of Christ, the permanence and efficacy of His blood, once applied.

*** Salvation as a permanent change of state involves God’s Providence in protecting us.

*** Salvation as a permanent change of state involves God’s covenant promises to us.

*** Salvation as a permanent change of state involves the indwelling of the Spirit of God in us.

*** And Salvation as a permanent change of state involves the intercession of The Son and Spirit for us.

1. For a True Believer to be lost, the plan of God must fail.

2. For a True Believer to be lost, Christ must fail as that believer’s Mediator, His blood not being enough to save fully.

3. For a True believer to be lost, the intercession of Christ must be ineffective.

4. For a True Believer to be lost, the intercession of the indwelling Holy Spirit must also fail.

5. For only one True Believer to be lost, the Trinity must be defeated at every point.

1. The Holy Spirit And His Ministry To Us—"Likewise..”

a. Paul has had much to say in this chapter about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit, by His indwelling, communicates to us that we are heirs of Glory, so He has done many other wonderful things in us.


b. A review of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in Romans 8

(1) Christians are to walk in the Spirit—Rom 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

(2) Christians have minds that are Spirit-dominated. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

(3) Christians are indwelt by the Spirit— 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

(4) The Spirit’s indwelling guarantees our entrance to heaven. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

(5) The Spirit leads us in sanctification and growth in Grace—13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

(6) The Spirit lets us know we are adopted into God’s family. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

(7) The Spirit Gives us assurance of our salvation—16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

* So, just as the Holy Spirit has done all of these things, Paul now introduces yet another ministry of the Spirit.


2. Our Infirmity Interferes With Prayer—"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:

a. General infirmity

(1) Lost people have total spiritual infirmity, so prayer for them is an exercise in futility.

(2) Saved people have a saved soul and spirit in a body which is corrupted by sin and which must be disciplined away from sin.

(3) Saved people can and do become weak and weary, burdened down with sickness, and aged and infirm.

b. Infirmity of Mind

(1) Unbelievers really know nothing of Spiritual Truth.

(2) For believers, lack of discipleship and lack of understanding weakens our prayer life.

(a) Attributes of God

(b) The Way the Universe works

(c) Who we are in Christ

c. Infirmity of Will

(1) For unbelievers, their will is powerless to do anything beyond their nature.

(2) For believers, our wills fight against the pull of the remnants of sin in our bodies and minds. There is a genuine struggle

d. Infirmity of Spirit

(1) Unbelievers have no spiritual ability whatsoever.

(2) As believers, we are fighting in a spiritual warfare, of which many of us are ignorant.

(3) Sin causes spiritual weakness in believers

(4) Lack of Bible study, lack of prayer, lack of fellowship, lack of service, and neglect of God’s house of worship all cause spiritual weakness in believers.

(5) The attacks of the enemy are often fierce, and weaken us in our testimony.

e. Infirmity of Body

(1) We are tired and worn out often

(2) Because we think that we must have a certain posture and a certain length of time to pray effectively, we play into our physical weakness.

f. We Don’t Even Know What to Pray For—"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:

* We are not God

(1) We often don’t know what God wants us to do

(2) We have no insight into tomorrow, let alone the far future.

(3) We don’t know the long-term effects of what we do, or of what we pray for.

g. The Holy Spirit’s Helping Ministry— Likewise the Spirit also helpeth

(1) The word, “helpeth.”

“…is made up of three words, and each one of the three is important for our understanding of the teaching. The first word means ‘together’; it occurs in the first part of the English word, “symphony.” The second word means ‘over against’. And the third word means ‘to take.’ The idea is that of two people taking something over against one another. It means that one person gives a helping hand to another by taking hold ‘over against that person’ of the load that he is carrying. Think of a man struggling to carry some heavy load and almost at the point of collapsing. Suddenly someone comes along and says, ‘Let me get hold of the other end of your load. So that instead of the man having to carry the whole burden himself, the other who comes along takes hold of the other end, and now they together proceed to carry this load that was too much for one man acting alone. (Lloyd-Jones, Romans 8:17-39, page 132)

Luke 10:40 "But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.""

(2) We must still pray, we have a responsibility, but the Holy Spirit helps, He picks up one end of the load and helps us pray.

Phil 2:12-13 "…. work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."

3. The Holy Spirit Intercedes— but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

a. Himself, not itself—the word, autos, (autos) can mean himself, herself, or itself. Since the Analogy of the Faith is plain that the Holy Spirit is a Person, “Himself” is the proper translation here.

John 14:16-17 ""And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever; 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

John 14:26 ""But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

John 15:26 ""But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."

John 16:7-14 ""Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."

b. Groans, not tongues!

(1) We do the groaning, after His intercession.

(2) A groan is not a tongue!

c. Cannot be uttered—

(1) The word in the original means, “wordless,” or “without words.”

(2) We have deep needs and need to pray, but we don’t know what to say.

(3) We have a need to pray, and even if we know what to say, we don’t know how to say it.

d. The Intercession of the Spirit—

(1) The advocate in court does three things:

(a) Explains the proceedings to the client

(b) Tells the client what to say and how to say it.

(c) Speaks for the client

(2) Christ is our advocate IN the court, and the Holy Spirit is our advocate at hand. He helps us understand the proceedings, He helps us understand what to say, and He also speaks on our behalf.

e. The Trinity and Intercession— but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

(1) The Holy Spirit is our advocate at hand

John 14:16-17 ""And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever; 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

John 14:26 ""But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

(2) The Son Intercedes for us in Heaven itself.

Rom 8:34 "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."

Heb 7:25 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."


4. The Christian and Prayer

a. The manner of prayer

* Not for show

Mat 6:5-8 ""And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

b. The Lord’s road map to prayer

Mat 6:9-13 ""In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

(1) This is not the Lord’s prayer, it is the disciples’ prayer.

(2) It is not intended for rote repitition—

Mat 6:7 ""And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

b. The Lord’s example in prayer

(1) Frequent

(2) Private

(3) Very Specific—see John 17

John 17: “1…..Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You…”

5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. ….

9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours…”

11… Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. ….

15 "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one…..

17 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 1

20 "…I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ….

24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me…”

(4) “Thy will be done…”

c. Some observations about apostolic prayers

(1) Brief

(2) Definite and focused—asking for specific things for specific people.

Heb 13:20-21 "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

1 Pet 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

1 Pet 5:10-11 "But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

2 Pet 1:2-3 "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,"

Jude 1:24-25 "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen."

d. The Keys To Prayer Effectiveness—

(1) Knowing the God to Whom you pray.

(2) Connection to the Vine

John 15:7 ""If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

(3) Instead of being dominated by worry and anxiety, pray to God.

Phil 4:6-7 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

(4) Pray without ceasing—that is, be in an attitude of prayer and always ready to enter into prayer.

1 Th 5:16-18 "Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Applications

1. If you are a true believer in Christ, your salvation is secure, because it is the workmanship of God.

2. As a True Believer in Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit is your aid in prayer.

3. God commands you to be often in prayer.

4. Prayer is your spiritual lifeline.