In the Church Today
IN THE STUDY:
No study of the role of the Holy Spirit would be complete without an historical survey from the close of the New Testament Church to today. Throughout history there have been some references to the New Testament gift of the Holy Spirit, especially as it concerns the gifts of miracles, speaking in tongues, and of healing. Each of the following have historical records of their displaying these gifts of the Holy Spirit: Irenaeus (2nd C.). The Montanists (2nd C.); The Jansenists (17th C); Early Quakers and Methodists (18th C); and Presbyterians e.g. Charles Finney (19th C); and some followers of D.L.Moody (19th C).
It is generally agreed by historians that New Years Eve 1900 is the beginning of the contemporary Pentecostal Movement. Charles Parham in Kansas U.S.A. experienced speaking in tongues with a group of young Christians. Immediately the Movement spread across the United States and into Negro Churches. There have been no great personalities like Luther. Knox or Wesley in the Pentecostal Movement, but the laying on of hands of ordinary believers, one to the other, has been the means of transmitting the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In 1950 through the Secretary General of the World Pentecostal Fellowships David Du Plessis made overtures to the mainstream Churches within the World Council of Churches Fellowship. By 1960 all mainstream Churches had charismatic or neo-Pentecostal movements within them. The Roman Catholic Church in particular has seen rapid development of the charismatic movement. The main emphasis is not upon speaking in tongues, but upon the re-discovery of the Holy Spirit in the Church today.
IN THE STUDY:
In the first three Gospels there are few references to the Holy Spirit. There are four broad sections of teaching in the first three Gospels.
1. The inference of the Holy Spirit concerning the birth of Jesus. The Holy Spirit revealed the truth of the coming of Christ to Simeon (Lk 2:25-26). It was the Holy Spirit who gave birth to Jesus (Lk 1:35) and equipped Him for His ministry at the time of baptism (Matt. 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22).
2. It was the Holy Spirit who filled Jesus (Lk 4:1), who guided him at the time of his temptations (Matt. 4:1), and who empowered Jesus in His ministry (Matt. 12:28).
3. The Holy Spirit came into the lives of the followers of Jesus. He was to baptize them with the Spirit (Matt. 3:11). The Holy Spirit would give gifts to the believers (Lk 11:13), and would be with the Christian in time of danger ( Matt. 10:20).
4. In the first three Gospels there is mention also of the sin against the Holy Spirit. Many people have misunderstood this teaching. It will be referred to in this series later.
In John’s Gospel we have the highest teaching on the Holy Spirit of the New Testament. John has his own unique title for the Holy Spirit – the Paraclete (Jn 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). This word is often translated as helper, counsellor, advocate, or friend.
The Holy Spirit is God’s gift (14:15). He is in the abiding presence of the risen Lord (16:7; 14:16). Jesus had to return to the Father but the Holy Spirit would dwell with the believer in His place. The same is the Spirit of Truth (14:17; 15:26; 16:13). The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. He will unfold to the new Christian, truth of the faith, He will bring to our memory the teaching of Jesus (14:26). He will guide us in our future path (16:13). It is the Holy Spirit who will both witness to Jesus, convict men of their sin, and convince them of their need of righteousness (16:8-11).
FROM THE PULPIT:
I once read a brilliant sermon, which described the spiritual tragedy of the Church at Ephesus, where they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit, as “a tragedy that keeps on repeating itself”. There are many churches where the Holy Spirit is not liberated. Our Lord teaches in John’s Gospel that the Holy Spirit is given to live within the life of the Christian. In four great chapters (Jn 3, 14, 15 and 16) Jesus outlined the reasons for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
1. The Holy Spirit is to be our living companion. Five times in three chapters Jesus repeats that the Holy Spirit is to be our companion no matter where we are in His work. The comforter would abide with us forever. The Holy Spirit is not an influence or a feeling but a person.
2. The Holy Spirit is our living teacher. He was to bring to our remembrance the teachings of Jesus. The Holy Spirit guides us through the reading of the scriptures, through the memorisation of the teachings of Jesus, through the advice of a Christian friend, and through the seekings of the individual believer to keep on being filled with the Spirit of God.
3. The Holy Spirit comes to us as a living authority. He was to convict the world of sin, to convert the world to righteousness and to convince the world of the coming judgement. His role was to be the authority for the individual Christian.
4. The Holy Spirit comes to us as a living helper. The Paraclete was the word used of a witness to help in a law case, an advocate who argued your position, an expert who gave advice, a soldier who provided reinforcement and an encourager in a time of discouragement. The Holy Spirit is the helper of the distressed, the doubting and the discouraged. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit for the benefit of all Christians. What a tragedy that some Churches do not even know that He exists.
AMONG THE PEOPLE:
I had spent some time over a series of meetings helping the Governor General of Australia understand what it meant to be a Christian. He had been a regular viewer of my television program, “Turn ‘Round Australia”. He and she were close to the point of full commitment to Christ. Sitting in the Governor General’s residence, he lent over to me and said confidentially, “You have helped change our lives but now I am not sure. Last weekend we were in the country we had Sunday morning free and I felt like going to church – not officially but just as worshippers. No forewarning of the minister, just the security people and ourselves. My wife had seen a lot of cars pulling up outside our church so we decided to go there.”
“It was queer!” After an emotional and furious sermon in which there was not much intellectual content, people started to stream to the front. I have never seen anything like it in my life. People started falling to the ground and they just left them there. Others were babbling like demented people and others were yelping like dogs. I just said to the security man “Let’s get outa here!”
I knew exactly the situation. Here was a minister and congregation who lacked knowledge and wisdom. I had two troubled people who lost what faith they had and who never in the future seriously considered Christ again.