2026
The catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
I know I jumped a week ahead as you’ll confess this and the rest of the Athanasian Creed for Holy Trinity Sunday, saying in no uncertain terms that you believe in one God in three Persons, distinct yet the same God. I bring up this portion of the Athanasian Creed because today is a day set aside to acknowledge the work of one of the Persons in particular—the Holy Ghost—and when speaking of the work of the Holy Ghost, one cannot escape speaking of the work of God in three Persons; one, because He is one God always at work in all three Persons whether it is recognized or acknowledged or not; and two, because the work of the Holy Ghost is almost always behind the scenes, if you will, calling attention primarily to the Son and His work.
But on the day of Pentecost, particular attention is paid to the Holy Ghost, and His work is more overt and pointed out in the Scripture. Yet, even on this day, the purpose for which the Holy Ghost acted openly was to point to the One who was and is God-with-us and His work for your salvation.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus spoke of this day. It’s a short reading certainly worth hearing again:
Now, Jesus spoke a familiar lesson, one spoken to the Samaritan woman at the well. (cf. John 4:1-15) If you are thirsty, go to Christ and drink, and out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. This time, however, John explains that the Christ is speaking of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, if you thirst for righteousness, go to your Lord, and He will supply it and give you the Holy Ghost who creates and sustains faith.
Now, it must be said that this giving of the Holy Ghost that John wrote of in today’s Gospel lesson is the fullest measure of giving which, before the Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, had not happened. Certainly, the Holy Ghost was active in times before this, as “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21); even as was read this morning:
And again, it must be said, that prophecy is not simply a telling of the future, but the speaking of the Word of God. This gift of the Holy Ghost certainly happened before the Jesus was glorified, as Moses and St. Peter gave witness, and the Holy Ghost was at work to create faith in God in these times, but He was not given in those times as He was on that first Pentecost Day.
For on that day, the disciples who had added Matthias to their number, were all together in one place, and the Holy Ghost came upon them and “gave them utterance,” as it is written in the New King James Version. They were given the gift of prophecy, not to tell the future, but to speak “the wonderful works of God.”
Some supposed them to be drunk, but Peter rose and refuted it; He cited Joel as now being fulfilled in their hearing: “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”
What did Peter prophesy? He spoke the Word of God:
That is exactly the work of the Holy Ghost. He brings the Word to thirsting souls; or as Gary P. Baumler wrote,
When Jesus finished his work of salvation and entered into his glory, God’s Holy Spirit was poured out upon the believers in special measure. This happened on Pentecost when the Spirit turned loose the streams of water from the disciples, and the water of life has flowed through believers to countless thirsting souls in every age since.
Now, some suppose this gift of the Holy Ghost will produce in the true believer the mark of, well, true belief, as they define this mark. If one has been baptized with the Holy Ghost, they will say, then they should be able to speak in tongues. And by this they mean speaking in some unintelligible babble, the meaning of which is known only to the speaker and God, though, supposedly, every once in a while someone else may come along who can interpret this babble, or so they will claim. However, the content of this babble need not be anything important. Oh, they’ll point to Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 13 as proof that unintelligible babble is a gift of the Holy Ghost, but they’ll overlook the fact that what the disciples were doing was speaking the word of God in languages that could be understood by the foreign Jews in Jerusalem, not otherwise worthless unintelligible babble.
On the contrary, the work of the Holy Ghost is to produce faith in Christ and to sustain that faith; “God’s Holy Spirit leads thirsty souls to Jesus. He works the faith that drinks the refreshment Jesus offers.” In these latter days, He is always at work to do this, and He draws little attention to Himself. He certainly shares in the glory of the Father and the Son, as, again, will be confessed next week, but it is His glory to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people, even as the Reformers confessed, “For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel…” (ACV) His work is to point to the Son, sent by the Father, and the work He has accomplished for the salvation of the world. His work is to point to the cross of Christ, and there to cause you to see Jesus upon it as the sacrifice for your sins—to see Him as your Substitute.
So, yes, dear hearers, you have this gift, too. For hear something else that Peter prophesied on that first Pentecost Day:
You have been here, at this font or another, and have been baptized, and there your sin was washed off of you and onto your Savior, and the Holy Ghost was given to you to work in you faith, to give to you the forgiveness Christ won for you on the cross, and to secure you in the holy ark of Christendom—to keep you in this one, true faith. It wasn’t your own reason and strength that brought you to Christ your Lord, but the Holy Ghost who “leads thirsty souls to Jesus”; who “works the faith that drinks the refreshment Jesus offers.” There, in that most blessed flood, your Old Man was drowned, and a new man rose to live before God in righteousness and purity forever, because you were made to drink the living waters from Christ.
If some of those words sound familiar to those of you who have been catechized, they should. Today, the Nicene Creed is still confessed, whose words are similar and which meaning is the same as the Apostles’ Creed, in which Third Article is confessed,
This is most certainly true, dear Baptized! You have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, who has created and sustained the true faith in you, calling you by the Gospel, enlightening you with His gifts. This is most certainly true, dear Baptized! You have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, who has brought you to the well that doesn’t run dry so that you will never thirst again, having in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life. This is most certainly true, dear Baptized! You have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, therefore you are being kept with the whole Christian church on earth. This is most certainly true, dear Baptized! You have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and by Him you can tell of the wonderful works of God to a world thirsting for righteousness. This is most certainly true, dear Baptized! You have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and He has even today richly forgiven you for all of your sins! And so, you will be raised on the Last Day to eternal life. This is most certainly true, thanks be to God—the Father, the + Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
