Understanding the Holy Spirit

Throughout the Church, there seems to be much teaching and doctrine about the Father, and certainly the Son, but the work of the Holy Spirit is oddly neglected.  To be sure, it is challenging. For however many and eloquent words we might employ to depict and discuss the Holy Spirit, we are inevitably left using material and human words to describe an altogether un-human being.  This leaves us inclined either to dig deeper into the Scriptures for clarification or simply to ignore teaching about the Holy Spirit entirely for fear of doing Him injustice.  Needless to say, the latter is unacceptable.  Instead, we should look at the opportunity to learn about God, His Holy Spirit, with joy and energy.

At the onset, the Holy Spirit is unique to Christianity.  Only Christianity teaches that God Himself, in His Holy Spirit, will actually descend upon and indwell believers.  This should excite us to know that God desires to indwell us with His very person so as to guide, to teach, and to grow us from the inside-out.  Because we are discussing a Spirit, we should be sure to consider a couple of points of clarification: we are referring to the Spirit not a material substance; we are talking about One who indwells within believers not everyone; and there is an emphasis in the New Testament, particularly Acts, for a baptism of or being filled by the Holy Spirit.  These three basic assertions form a trifecta of foundations supported and supplemented by the Word, specifically the New Testament.

While the Holy Spirit plays a major role in nearly all of the New Testament works, none more so than that of the Gospel of John and Acts.  More than any other writing does John chronicle Jesus specific teaching about the Holy Spirit.  For starters, people are to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (John 1:33), which equates to be born of the Spirit (John 3:5).  This can seem both odd and confusing, and has sparked much debate over what amounts to this baptism.  Luckily, Jesus does not leave us without reference about this, as chronicled by Luke throughout Acts.

In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father, "He said, 'you heard from me; for John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'"  Jesus, quite clearly, tells the disciples that, though they had already been baptized with water and were believers, they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, just before Jesus ascends, in His final words to His disciples, He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)."  The event Jesus prophesied is Pentecost (Acts 2:4), accompanied by the physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit, namely speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Much destructive and unbiblical teaching has been done on this subject, to the effect that the Church seems polarized.  In an effort to keep true to the Scripture and reserved, we can point out a couple of clear things about this.  For one, believers are to be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit.  These being two things, they do not necessarily mean two separate occasions; they could be simultaneous.  Secondly, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the power of God.  If we do not have the Holy Spirit, we could believe all the right orthodoxy but never bear fruit.  In this far-too-normal scenario, we need to earnestly pray to receive the Holy Spirit who guides, counsels, teaches, helps us grow spiritual fruit and is the medium of worship (John 4:23; 14:15-18, 25-26; 16:4-15).

The other, and most controversial, aspect of the Holy Spirit that should not be neglected for fear of disrupting our denominational doctrines or sensibilities is in reference to the "sign" gifts: healing, miracles, prophecy, visions, and tongues.  In an effort to let the Word determine theology as opposed to the dire case of the reverse, it must be said unambiguously that these gifts are still in effect today.  We still live in the age of grace, and God still empowers believers who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit with these gifts and He still works in these ways today.

In the end, understanding who the Holy Spirit is, how He is received, and what He does within believers is essential teaching.  Certainly, it is challenging teaching that can convict and push us in unforeseen ways but this should not allow us to neglect it.  In closing, Paul indicates that the Holy Spirit "seals" our inheritance in the Father, and is a "guarantor" of our eternity (2 Cor.21-22; Eph. 1:13-14).  The purpose of this article has not been an exhaustive or comprehensive teaching on the Holy Spirit, but just a taste of the more important things that Christians need to be aware of.  Let us then pray to be baptized by the Holy Spirit so as to be empowered by God Himself!

Overcoming Temptations with the Word

There was nothing odd about this particular evening in the Davidson household.  Dad had worked a hard day at his job while Mommy had been home with their three children all day, doing the various things that three kids, ages 10 months to 5 years, demand.  It was dinner time and the couples' eldest, Jenna, was being naughty, throwing food across the table and hitting her little brother.  Finally, Mommy had had enough and sent Jenna to her room for the rest of the night, minus dessert.

A few hours later, well-after the dishes were done and the other children had been put to bed, Mommy went to tuck little Jenna in and kiss her goodnight.  Mommy walked into her five-year-old's room to see her daughter sobbing on her bed, looking sad and defeated.  Jenna looked up at Mommy and, with swollen eyes, asked: "Why do we do bad things, Mommy?"

Mommy, in as comforting tone as she could, answered, "Honey, the devil sometimes tells us to do the wrong things.  We need to listen to God to do the right things." To which a sobbing Jenna replied in tears, "But He just doesn't talk loud enough!"

Could we not all empathize with Jenna?  Often we know that what we are doing is wrong but the voice of the tempter, Satan, can seem so much louder than the voice of truth.  Temptations are something that is common to every human.  In fact, even our Lord and Savior, Jesus, faced severe temptations (Heb. 2:18, 4:15), as chronicled in Matt. 4:1-11, and Luke 4:1-13.

Jesus, following His baptism, is led by the Spirit into the wilderness.  After forty days of fasting and prayer, He is hungry but spiritually ready.  At this moment, Satan comes to Jesus and tempts Him thrice.  In each of Satan's ploys, he supports his temptations with Scripture, giving them the appearance of truth.  However, Jesus is not detoured, He overcomes everyone of Satan's temptations with Scripture that is applied expertly.  Two things stand out in this account that are instantly applicable to us.

The first is the need for recognition of interpretive heresy.  Satan supported his temptations with hermeneutical finesse that made each of his temptations seem not only acceptable but even condoned by the Word of God.  Notice, then, that Satan's voice sounds like truth though it is actually spurious lies.  Understanding and acknowledging the way that a counterfeit of Satan attempts to appear as a truth of the Lord is the first step to overcoming the temptations.

The second thing in this regard deals with Jesus' response to Satan's seductions.  Jesus counters with Scripture.  The difference between Jesus' usage and Satan's can be summarized as interpretive methodology.  While Satan pulled verses out of context to support his position, Jesus took the passages in context and applied from that context.  In this way, it can be easily concluded that Satan's application was wrong and Jesus' right, thus indicating that not every hermeneutic has the same worth. In fact, some interpretations may even be, dare we say, wrong.

Getting back to the sincere concern of Jenna, who fell to her temptations because, as she claimed, God doesn't speak loudly enough.  Jesus shows that hearing God's voice and responding to temptations in reliance upon His voice is directly related to how dependent we are on the Word and how committed we are to proper interpretive methodologies.  Needless to say, this requires disciplined and diligent study that is guided by a dedication to acceptable interpretations.  We should then work hard to interpret the Word the way it is intended to be, so that we can overcome every temptations of the enemy!

Courage in Christ

On a cold early spring day, April 19th, a relatively small band of poorly outfitted militiamen stood behind their worn muskets, facing nearly 1000 well-armed, well-trained Red Coats.  This moment in 1775 would mark the beginning of a war revolutionary for its struggle for freedom from the imposed tyranny taxation without representation and over personal human rights so refused by a detached aristocracy.  Even though the scraggly militia was nearly untrained and badly armed, they stood strong with courage.

The militia men were victorious with their worn muskets and ample courage.  But their victory fades in comparison with the victory we have have through Christ.  This victory is perfect and eternal.  We have merely to come to Christ in faith to draw from His courage stores in order that we may be perfectly courageous in any circumstance.

The biblical model of courage relies on the Lord alone as our source.  For instance, the book of Psalms says that we are to be strong and take heart when we are afraid and to place our strength in the Lord (Psa. 27:1, 31:24, 56:3-4). It is then clear that a christian's courage is derived, not in and of something from within ourselves, but is to be taken from the infinite and eternal well which is our Holy Lord.

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians reminds us that we are like the militiamen at Concord and Lexington facing down our enemy.  But unlike the poorly armed and poorly trained militiamen, we have perfectly formed armor and weapons to fight a battle which is not of the flesh but is if the Spirit.  Therefore, our courage is made sure and secure by Jesus who through the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling in our hearts arms us for every ploy of the evil one.  Let us then draw closer to Him so as to be equipped and courageous for any attack through faith in Christ Jesus!

Sanctification Described

God loves.  More directly, God loves us.  He loves us so much that He condescended to the form of a man who lived a perfect, sinless life and took on the sin of mankind by dying a horrific, sacrificial atoning death upon a cross to be raised again on the third day.  Now, by confession and belief in the work of Christ Jesus, we may enter into relationship with the Holy Lord Almighty through faith, known simply as conversion.  While this is the entrance into the Christian life, there is much more.

While there are many post-conversion components to the Christian life, the most important is continual sanctification.  Sanctification refers to the lifelong process of growth and repentance by which believers grow to be more in the image of Christ.  At the onset, it must be asserted that sanctification is an endeavor that requires both the prompting of God and the intentionality worship of the believer.

As for the God part in sanctification, He provides believers with every good and necessary thing for us to grow in maturity to all godliness and faith (2 Pet. 1:3-4).  This is called equipping. God equips us with every item needed to grow in righteousness.  This means that believers have, already in their possession, all of the necessary elements required for sanctification.  The challenge is that many believers either do not accept what they have or they simply do not know how to wield the tools of sanctification.

In the first sense, believers not accepting or believing that they already possess the tools for sanctification is a matter of faith.  When we have faith that God has truly saved us and we have faith that He provides with everything needed to grow in maturity, we will overcome our doubt and grow in sanctification beyond our plateaued stagnation.

The second sense, not knowing how to wield the tools of sanctification, is a different deal altogether and is what sanctification is all about.  The tools of sanctification can be summarized into four basic components: prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and service.  Each of these things need to be done with intentionality by the Spirit in truth, love, and faith but they are all necessary for true and continued growth in sanctification.  Many people become very good at doing one or two of these things and, because of that, they reach plateaus in growth.  Therefore, in order for us to continue growing, once we become adept at wielding one element of sanctification we should strive in pursuit of the others.

To be sure, sanctification is process that is both difficult and lifelong.  It is not without joy, the joy of growing in and to the Holy Lord is a beautiful proposition and a worthy pursuit.  Therefore, we should all seek Him first and pursue, in faith, to become more like Him in Him.  Luckily, God has already provided us with everything we need to pursue Him.  Let us then run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us!