WHO HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
One of the great problems of the western church this century has been the division caused by different understandings about the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not the presence of spiritual gifts that is the main problem, but the significance of them. The ‘haves’ have tended to look down on the ‘have nots’, who are regarded as not quite equals. The ‘haves’ have, after all, experienced a special outpouring of God’s Spirit since becoming Christians. They have, after all, experienced what they call being ‘baptised in the Spirit’ whilst the ‘have nots’ haven’t.
“You won’t get any further in the Christian life until you have had an experience of the Holy Spirit.”
This was said to a young Christian who was active in her church. She was upset. How should she respond? Should she attend meetings where such experiences are looked for? Her protestations that she had a real experience of being forgiven by her heavenly Father and that she undoubtedly did long to please her Saviour were of no avail. The evidence was there - she did not enjoy ‘Spirit filled’ times of worship and prayer and not only did not speak in tongues but appeared to have little interest in doing so.
Surely however doctrine must come from the teaching of Scripture, ‘the very words of God’ (Romans 3 : 2), and there is no ambiguity there! All who belong to Jesus have been given his Holy Spirit.
Titus 3 : 5-7
5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (NIV)
In this section Paul reminds Titus and the new Christians in Crete of the basis of their salvation. Our acceptance by God is solely on the basis of what God has done. It is because of His kindness and love that he saved us, not because of any merit we might have had. Salvation always has two united aspects:-
The forgiveness or washing away of my sin
An empowering to live a new life for God.
Paul stresses these two in this section. “He saved us through the washing of newbirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Any true Christian has God’s Spirit - all of him (not ‘it’ as some mistakenly say). Note the tense and the extent in verse 6. The gift is very generous and has been given once for all.
This gift of the Holy Spirit is not distinct from our salvation, but very much part of it. He was ‘poured out’ through Jesus Christ our Saviour. By using the words ‘so that’, in verse 6, Paul emphasises again that the result of this pouring out is our justification, and that is the beginning of the Christian life. How do Christians know that they have God’s Spirit? We have an assurance that we are secure with God, that we will receive eternal life. We will also have a longing to become like Jesus, to be his heirs, to devote ourselves to doing what he considers is good, as verse 8 emphasises.
“This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.” Titus 3:8
In Paul’s letter to the Galatian Christians, he makes several points about the work of the Holy Spirit. He again stresses that all Christians have God’s Spirit as the direct result of putting their trust in Jesus.
Galatians 3:2
“Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?”
Christians clearly receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when they first put their trust in Christ. Subsequent experiences may vary but the Holy Spirit is given when we are saved.
Galatians 3 : 3
“Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
This is stressed again in verse 5. It is when people first believe in Jesus, right at the beginning of their Christian lives, that they receive the gift of his Spirit. There is no suggestion that there is ever anything more to come later in terms of spiritual resources even though our experiences will differ.
Galatians 3 : 14
“He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (NIV)
Again the context is redemption. The blessing given originally to Abraham and his descendants was now to be given to all the people of God. It was through their faith in Jesus that this privilege was open to the gentiles. The ‘we’ at the end of this verse must refer to all Christians, both Jews and Gentiles who could receive the promised Spirit through trusting God’s one and only son.
Galatians 4 : 6
“Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’" (NIV)
The significance of this verse is clear. There can be no doubt that God has given his Spirit to all his sons and daughters. The proof of his presence is that sense of belonging to God, our heavenly Father. We have an assurance that we are members of God’s family, that we know Him, and even more importantly, that we are recognised and known individually by God himself.
Galatians 5 : 24-25
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (NIV)
Here Paul defines a Christian as someone who has the Spirit and lives by the Spirit. We become a Christian by asking the Spirit of Jesus Christ to come into our lives. Obviously the person of Jesus cannot be in our lives as he is in heaven! If we have received the new life that is in Christ by receiving his Spirit, then we need to live in step with the Spirit. This means living in tune with him, sharing all that goes on in our lives with him.
There is always a danger of Christians becoming conceited, feeling that we have or are something better than others. The effect of this is to irritate others, and to promote discord. Some will even become jealous of what they think others have. This problem seems to be at the root of many of the splits in churches that occur over charismatic gifts. No wonder Paul adds, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other”. We all have different gifts though we have the same Spirit, and we need each other very much.
Our heavenly Father longs for us to be secure. It is this sense of belonging and the knowledge that whatever happens to us on this earth we are safe in our Saviours hands that gives us the confidence to go out boldly, living the way he lived and sharing the good news of forgiveness to all who will listen. This is what Jesus did. No wonder that when Paul wrote to the Ephesian church he starts the letter by reminding them that they, in spite of all their imperfections and problems lack nothing from God.
Ephesians 1 : 3
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (NIV)
This must include the gift of the Holy Spirit which they received when they first responded to the Christian message, as a little later he writes,
Ephesians 1 : 13-14
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-- to the praise of his glory. (NIV)
Again it is this experience of belonging to God, the confidence that whatever happens to us we are secure, that is a major proof that we have God’s Spirit.
Romans 8 : 9-10
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. (NIV)
There can be no doubt about the significance of this passage either. All true Christians have the Spirit of Christ in them. If the person does not have the Spirit, he is not a Christian. The first test as to whether a person has the Spirit of Christ is simple, “Does God’s Spirit control me?”. Am I determined to live, not according to my old self-centred nature, which aims to please me, but to live for Jesus the Christ? If we have that God-centred priority, it is because God has given us his life giving Spirit. The battle still goes on in each Christian and it is only by living closely in tune with God’s Spirit that we can hope to overcome our sinful nature.
The other evidence that we have God’s Spirit is that sense of belonging to God that is given to those who have God’s Spirit as verse 16 makes clear. This reinforces the teaching of Galations 4 : 6.
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.” Romans 8:16
One of the great misunderstandings in some Christian circles is the belief that the Spirit of God can only be appreciated in the emotions. Thus at some prayer groups you can see Christians trying to ‘blow their minds’ by repeating certain musical ‘mantras’ or talking nonsense reverently to help them feel the presence of God. The Bible teaches however that the Spirit works through the intellects of His people. This same passage in Romans makes this abundantly clear.
Romans 8 : 5-7
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. (NIV)
It is the minds of us Christians, and through them our behaviour, that the Spirit of our Saviour wants to control.
There has been a criticism of some Christians that they are too cerebral. If they mean that the Christians interest is only academic, without a concern to obey what God teaches, then the criticism is valid. But if they are trying to divorce the intellect from the Spirit, then they are decidedly wrong. One of the chapters that is widely used to encourage people to seek experiences is 1 Corinthians chapter 14. However when this chapter is read carefully through, it is very clear that the apostle Paul is trying to correct the practices that were going on in Corinth, and to redirect them into more wholesome practices that others, including non Christians, could relate to.
1 Corinthians 14 : 14-17
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. (NIV)
God does want our worship and prayer to be intelligible. He also longs that our priority of worship should be to communicate the message of God’s love in Christ.
Part of the fruit of the Spirit in a Christian is self-control (Galatians 5 : 23) and this must include the times of prayer when we are talking with our heavenly Father.
To be spiritual is to hear the teaching of Jesus and put them into practice. That is what it means to be spiritually wise, to build our lives on the rock!
Matthew 7 : 24
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (NIV)
Jesus longs that his people should direct their lives according to the Word of God and not from experiences.
BVP
