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THEODICY |
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Twelve Theses of the Holy Spirit My understanding of the person and
ministry of the Holy Spirit from scripture
Posted on: May 27, 2004 1) Paul, in
his letters, is constantly stressing the need to "live by the
Spirit." This is especially so in his letter to the
Galatians. Living by the Spirit and being controlled by the
Spirit is absolutely critical for living a righteous Christian life.
The Holy Spirit is the power that enables us to live a godly life.
(Ga 5:16-26) 2) Jesus, in
the Last Supper discourse in the book of John, tells his disciples that it's
a good thing he's leaving them! (To die, and be resurrected, then to
ascend to heaven.) The reason it was to their advantage was so that the
"helper" (Holy Spirit) would be sent to them. Jesus thought
it better for the disciples to have the Holy Spirit with them, than for
He, himself to stay. This is not just false humility on Jesus' part, he
honestly believed that it was better for the disciples to have the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit than for himself to continue leading and
guiding them. If Jesus thinks the impartation Holy Spirit is that important for believers,
then we can be assured that it should be a priority for us to know and
understand the Holy Spirit and his ministry. (Jn 16:5-16) 3) Neither
Paul nor Jesus explains exactly
how we are to live by the Holy Spirit. It is
assumed that believers will know how to do this. No practical
instructions for "living by the Spirit" are given anywhere in
the NT (though there are many guidelines for ethical
living). Because of the lack of instructions, we must figure this
out how to do this on our own, though we can certainly rely on the
Holy Spirit's help in the matter (Jn 16:5-16) 4) Despite the
lack of practical instructions, we do have a model, or standard, of what it
is to live by the Holy Spirit. This model is none other
than Jesus himself. All four gospels accounts show
us a perfect picture of what it is for a man to live by the power
of the Holy Spirit. And yes, it can be easily demonstrated that
Jesus did, in fact, expect his followers to live the sort of life he modeled
for them. But not only did he want them to be imitators, but to
exceed the example he gave. (Jn 14:12) 5) We also
have another model of what "living by the Spirit" is like
for believers: the entire book of Acts. It clearly
demonstrates that the early believers moved in the power of the Holy Spirit
and were able to do the same sort of miracles as Jesus. Though the book
of Acts highlights the ministry of key apostles, there is nothing in the NT
that limits the power of the Holy Spirit to apostles only. In
fact, from Paul's instructions to the Corinthians, it seemed as if the
charismatic gifts were distributed to a wide range of believers, regardless
of their position (1 Cor 12-14). 6) Two of the
four gospels, Mark and John, take it as their starting point Jesus'
baptism by John the Baptist and his subsequent baptism by the Holy
Spirit. Jesus did not do a thing, in terms of ministry, until he
received the water and the Spirit baptisms. While many people were
baptized at that time, it was only Jesus who received the gift of the Holy
Spirit in power. Later, in the 2nd chapter of the book of Acts, we see
how the Spirit was poured out upon the disciples after Jesus'
ascension. The pouring out of the Spirit enabled the disciples to
engage in the same sort of ministry Jesus did, and move in power, signs and
wonders. (Acts 2-5) 7) It is very
important to realize that Jesus was fully man (Phil 2:5-11). While
he certainly knew who he was, he did not claim any of the divine powers of
his position. We often get the mistaken notion that Jesus moved in
miracles because he was divine. But the truth of the matter is that he
emptied himself of all divinity, other than his identity. He
voluntarily chose to leave his divine power behind when he came to earth in
human form. He was absolutely a man just like us, with all of our
limitations, and had no more divine power than any of us do. He was
completely man, and had to be so to correct the mistake of Adam. So
where did his miracle working power come from? The Holy Spirit (and his
obedience to the Holy Spirit/Father). That is why his water/Spirit
baptism is the logical starting point of his ministry. When Jesus performed miralces, it was not
just to identify himself as the Messiah, although that was an important
aspect of the miracles (Jn 10:22-39).
But according to Jesus himself, the miracles were a sign that the
kingdom of heaven had come to earth (Mat 12:22-28). Hence, he authorized his disciples to move
in miracles as well, as a further demonstration of the power of the kingdom
of God (Mat 10, Luke 9 & 10). 8) The Holy
Spirit is promised to all who ask for it, the only prerequisite given is
belief in Jesus (Lk 11:9-12). There are examples in the book of
Acts of people receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit without even having yet
received water baptism. (Acts 10:44-48) 9) The NT does
not provide us with a standard, normative process for the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit. However, it usually occurs when someone prays for someone else
to receive it. (Acts 8:14-17) In all NT instances recorded
where people receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is accompanied by
signs and wonders. Those signs include speaking in tongues,
prophesying, visions, and so forth. There is nothing in the NT that
states that the Holy Spirit is automatically
given to a person who believes in Jesus. However, there are instances
where it appears that believers are, in fact filled with the Spirit upon
belief. But such instances are not the norm in narrative
accounts. (Acts 10:44-48, 11:15-18) 10) The Spirit
is also a teacher, and a guide. His main purpose: to lead us into
all truth (Jn 14:15-17, 14:25-26, 16:5-15). The teaching aspect of the
Spirit, and its miracle working aspect are complimentary. One
does not have to choose between one aspect or the other, both are available
to those who desire them. The best source of orthodoxy is the Holy
Spirit himself. If a believer lives a life abandoned to the Holy
Spirit's guidance, it is impossible for them to be deceived about the things
of God. Deception comes when the person and work of the Holy Spirit is
minimized, distorted, or ignored. (1 Cor 2:1-16) 11) Throughout
the NT epistles the apostles are encouraging believers to live by the
Holy Spirit. Why do they do this if the Holy Spirit is already present
within the believers? The reason has to do with the fact
that the Holy Spirit does not take control of a believer. The
believer is given absolute choice as to whether or not he wishes to live by the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, or ignore it. The Holy Spirit is not a
control mechanism, it is a truth
mechanism! We must everyday, and every minute of the day, consciously
choose to live by the leadings and guidance of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:1-17,
Gal 5:13-26, 6:7-8). 12) This
brings us back to the foundational issue of how to live by the Holy
Spirit. First, you must pray for the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit, not just assume it's present. You can even have
someone pray for you to have the Spirit's indwelling.
The Holy Spirit can work from the "outside" as well as the
"inside." Often people mistake the outside working as
indwelling. Secondly, you must listen for the
Spirit's guidance and direction, and know how to discern when the Spirit
is speaking, and when other voices (your own, evil spirits, etc., ) are
leading you. In order to learn how to listen, you must will yourself
to listen. This involves a whole different aspect of prayer than what
most of us are taught. This type of prayer is listening
prayer, also known by many other
names. In listening prayer, you literally tune into the Holy Spirit, and tune-out those
other voices that are speaking to you. The Catholic church has
a wonderful tradition of contemplative prayer, where one intentionally
focuses themself upon God, and waits in an attitude of listening,
expecting God to speak to them through the Holy Spirit. When you
engage in this spiritual discipline, you will
hear God speaking to you in your thoughts. You will be able to discern the truth. You will be able to know when God
is speaking, and when other voices are clamoring for your
attention. Listening
prayer--contemplation--meditation are absolutely critical
disciplines for a Christian of any denomination. But since these are
not explicitly taught or commanded in Scripture, they have become
the lost disciplines of Christianity. Yet without these disciplines, we
cannot know that still, small voice of God within. |
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