'THE INSPIRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE'

Rev. Dr. Allen Churchill

by Rev. Dr. Allen Churchill    

Founder of Good News Christian Ministries

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LINK to CFRA broadcast of Sunday, March 11^th, 2012:

http://accm.ncf.ca/images/12.03.11.wma

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Broadcast Notes:

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‘The Inspiration of the Christian Life’

The Bible says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God… truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘Ye must be born again’. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3: 3, 5-8)

INTRODUCTION:

The third article of the Apostles’ Creed introduces us to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. It is not because of merely stylistic significance that at this point we are invited to repeat the words, “I believe”, with which the creed opens. It is almost a new beginning in the Creed. A bridge, if you like, between that which has gone on before and that which follows.

What has gone before, in the first and second articles, is the declaration of who God is and what he has done in Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. What follows is the application of that to human life today. In this third article, then, what we are introduced to is the declaration that what God has done in Jesus Christ is relevant, that it can be experienced today, and that the agent who brings this about is none other than the Holy Spirit. It is not a matter of putting theory into practice, since God’s person, presence and work are reality rather than theory. It is a matter of application. By the Holy Spirit, God and Christ begin to affect human nature. Forgiveness is conveyed. A community of faith is formed. Hope is assured. What the third article of the Creed does is to take the objective facts of the gospel and point to the possibility (which is certainly part of the good news) that these facts can make a major impact upon us in certain particular ways. The objective facts can have a subjective influence of major proportions.

This means that in the Christian thinking and experience, the Holy Spirit plays a pivotal role. This is one of the reasons why the only sin for which there is no forgiveness is the sin against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29). He makes things meaningful. When the gospel remains no more than a recital of historical facts, the Holy Spirit can bring them alive into our consciousness. The penny drops. The light goes on. What we didn’t grasp before now becomes as plain as the nose on your face. Something or someone has opened things up. That which was formerly hidden and seemingly irrelevant now becomes personal and relevant. What was once a closed mystery now becomes an open secret. This is more than mere enthusiasm. More than another step in the process of being educated. Those who have experienced the Holy Spirit testify to the difference. They are able to distinguish between what they have learned by the exertion of their intellect or by listening carefully to a human teacher and what has come to them by spiritual intuition or inspiration. The latter is indispensable. And it has made non-believers, even very intelligent ones, very curious. Even Bertrand Russell used to go to listen to a particular preacher. “Even if I don’t believe in God, he does”, Russell said. I think we can attribute his action to a kind of holy curiosity. And there have been many others like him.

When the wind of God’s Spirit fell upon the little company of believers at Pentecost (Acts 2:1ff), it was not something entirely new. The Scriptures link the creation of the world to the Spirit (Genesis 1:2). So also, the incarnation, the coming of God as a human being (Matthew 1:18). The formation of the Church and the availability of new life in Christ are consequences of the same activity of God’s effective presence in the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew and Greek words for wind (ruach, pneuma) are the words used to refer to the Spirit of God. The word is well-chosen, for the wind is personal (it affects every individual it blows upon), authoritative (cannot be checked or thwarted), and all-pervasive (cannot be excluded from any corner). “Where can I go from your Spirit” (Psalm 139:7)? So distinct is the Holy Spirit that the Church has in her theology (Nicene Creed) affirmed the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity, to be worshiped along with the Father and the Son!

Let us consider the Holy Spirit from a variety of aspects.

1.  THE HOLY SPIRIT IN RELATION TO JESUS CHRIST

The birth of Christ is attributed in Scripture to the direct activity of the Holy Spirit. This is the witness both of Matthew (1:18) and of Luke (1:35). We should not be surprised that the Holy Spirit was involved in this special coming of God in human form. It was a part of the promise in the Old Testament. We are told (Isaiah 11:2) that when the Messiah was to come, the Spirit of the Lord would rest on him, giving him wisdom and understanding, counsel and power, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. We are told (Isaiah 42:1f) that the Servant of the Lord would bring justice to the nations and show compassion to the feeble because of the Spirit poured out upon him. The ancient prophet of Israel --at least the genuine ones, for there were many impostors-- received their ability and authority to speak a word from the Lord by virtue of having received the Holy Spirit (Numbers 11:29). The secret of the true prophet lay not in his own power, whether intellectual or otherwise, but by virtue of the fact the Spirit of God was upon him (Zechariah 4:6). Jesus could testify that He had been anointed by the Holy Spirit, even as the Old Testament bore reference (Isaiah 61:1ff), and that this Scripture had now been fulfilled in him (Luke 4:18ff). Jesus’ whole ministry was undertaken from this perspective. The Holy Spirit had come upon him at His baptism (Mark 1:10), and his attack upon the forces of Satan was undertaken in the power of the Spirit (Matthew 12:28). It was by exercise of such power that the Kingdom of God was now being introduced. And in the upper room, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit upon the Church (John 14:36; 16:13) to provide direction and encouragement.

Is it surprising, therefore, that the Spirit of God should have a special role in the introduction of Jesus Christ to the world? Behind all ministry, whether human or divine, lies the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He promises, and then He fulfills.

The Spirit of God is also involved in the act of God in serving mankind. Here is underlined the effectiveness of the Spirit. Behind the reality of God’s redemptive work lies the Spirit, “What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20f). The Spirit undertakes the work of God. He is God’s agent to bring about the plan and will of God. By the Spirit the demonic is checked. By the Spirit, new life is engendered in the hearts of men. “The Spirit gives life” (John 6:63). By the Spirit, the Kingdom of God begins to arrive (Matthew 12:28). The evidence of the agency of the Holy Spirit in saving humanity is found throughout the Church’s history. It is there in the once degraded life that now walks the road of victory. Wherever guilt and hopelessness and fear have been dealt with through the gospel and those who were once thought to be useless and unsavable are now putting together a new life through Christ, there is evidence of the agency of the Spirit of God in action.

The Holy Spirit is also the agent who makes the Word come alive. Here we witness the openness of the Spirit. He opens the channels of communication. The things of the Spirit are not easily discerned. When you are accustomed to living your life by a different philosophy, when you speak and think with a different vocabulary, when you have ignored God and ordered your life to go in an entirely different direction, you cannot be expected to grasp the possibility that there might be another way. Even the words of the Master fall on deaf ears. Are they not words echoing through the centuries from an age so long ago that they cannot possibly have any relevance for us today? Can the gospel really be good news?

Surely our modern knowledge has the answers to today’s dilemmas. How can we regress to believe that this Jesus of two thousand years ago has a message relevant to our needs today? To quote the Scripture: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). But when the Spirit pulls back the veil, we begin to see, and then to rejoice.

II. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE INDIVIDUAL

If Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, we are reborn by the Holy Spirit (John 3:8). Rebirth is simply the normalization of human nature and life (K. Barth: Church Dogmatics, IV.4,28). The Spirit of God is the agent in this process. He is the founder and initiator of the Christian life. When the individual is given a glimpse of the new centre of focus and power by which a creative and useful life may be lived, that is a moment of truth. And it can lead to commitment, renewal and the greatest adventure anyone could ever enter upon. It is not, as some say, a taking leave of one’s wits, in a burst of wild-eyed enthusiasm. Rather, it is the discovery of one’s true self. It is called ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit’ (Mark 1:8; Acts 1:5). There are at least five factors involved in this process of normalization. The first is the impact made upon us by Christ himself. Second, there is a change in perspective, attitude, heart and mind. One cannot experience God’s grace and not be changed. Third, there is an ethical demand that is recognized and obeyed, and an inner gratitude that is created. Fourth, life is no longer closed to others. There is a desire for fellowship. Fifth, there is an emergence into life and the beginning of a spiritual pilgrimage. I once heard Stanley Jones say that ‘Pentecost Christianity’ is normal Christianity! What he meant, I think, was that when the Holy Spirit begins to work in your life, you are beginning a process of becoming the real and therefore normal person God intended you to be.

There are some specifics of this normal life, of this Christian life, that we should underline as coming from the Spirit. For example, faith and faithfulness. The New Testament teaches that faith is not a human quality. That is, it does not originate in us. Rather it is a gift of the Holy Spirit working in us (1 Corinthians 12:3). The same thing is true of faithfulness. Human nature, before meeting the Holy Spirit, is generally fickle. It follows its own agenda. It is undependable. By the Spirit, we are lifted out of ourselves. Now we begin to live for God. And since God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9; 32:4), as is Christ (1 John 1:9), so we will want to be faithful, ourselves, in all things (1 Timothy 3:11). When we speak of faith and faithfulness, we are speaking of a miracle. I know alcoholics and drug addicts who have been freed from their habit. I have met men who were once rough and violent, but who today are gentle and serene. I am aware of women who used to carp and criticize, but who now only bless and encourage others. I have spoken with those who once were selfish and thought only of themselves, but who today are selfless and concerned only for the well-being of others. We are not talking social evolution here! We are talking spiritual transformation of a radical kind! Faith and faithfulness are gifts of the Spirit.

Or, consider hope and courage. The reason that Christians are hopeful is because we have the guarantee of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22). We are heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ (Romans 8:17). We are not alone in the universe. We are not ultimately subject to the whims of the warlords of the world. We have drunk from the springs of living water. Love has captured us. Christ’s love. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). We are survivors in him! Because He lives, we also shall live (John 14:19). And we are encouraged, because the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon us. It is precisely in the context of Jesus’ teaching on the Holy Spirit that He then goes on to say: “Let not your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27; 16:33). It is this faith and faithfulness, this hope and courage, that is central to the normalization of human nature and life. They are also characteristics of a life that is free (2 Corinthians 3:17). Christians are not in bondage!

III. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE CHURCH

The Spirit who was instrumental in the incarnation (Matthew 1:18) and in the redemptive transformation of each individual Christian is also the Spirit poured out upon the Church at Pentecost (Acts 2). In relation to the Church, the Holy Spirit has three functions. First, he calls us into a covenant relationship. He calls us to ministry and service. But, take note, the Spirit never calls the Church out of the world. Rather, he calls the Church to be the light and salt in the world. The Church is the community for the world. It is in the name of the Holy Spirit that the Church is sent into the world (Matthew 28:19). In the world, though not of it, we are called to confess the Lordship of Christ and to live His life.

Second, if we are to be the light, then we as the Church must ourselves be enlightened. A lamp cannot give light unless its wick is trimmed, there is oil for the burning, and a continuous spark to light us up again when we go out. To be light in the world, we must ourselves live in the light (Ephesians 5:8; 1 John 1:7). That is, not in our own wisdom. But in Christ’s, unveiled by the Spirit.

Third, we are to exercise the power of Christ. To stand against the forces of darkness and temptation. To do this, we need to be strengthened continually. Only as the Church is renewed through the proclamation of the Word and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, again and again, can we be effective in the task at hand.

IV. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN RELATION TO THE WORLD

There are three elements for which the Holy Spirit is responsible in the world. First, love. The Spirit does not despise the world, only her worldliness. The Spirit seeks her salvation. Second, creativity. The Spirit is the inspiration behind all genuinely creative art, literature, music, science and philosophy. Third, redemption. The Holy Spirit continually throws light upon the one Person who can redeem the world: JESUS CHRIST.

It is absolutely essential that the same Holy Spirit that hovered over the waters in those early moments of creation (Genesis 1:2) or that directs the course of history (Isaiah 40: 13-14) should be understood to reveal Jesus Christ to us and lead us into faith in Him (1 Corinthians 12:3). It is also absolutely essential that the same Holy Spirit who gives the world a new beginning and a new opportunity to be more than a mere collection of atoms should dwell in our hearts and accompany us in the grand adventure of the children of God as we move through various intersecting worlds of human experience, guaranteeing us the fulfillment of God’s plan for our lives. Do we have the Holy Spirit resident in our lives? Is He there, moving motivating, manoeuvring us into a new and better life as Jesus Christ becomes formed in us? We must go beyond believing in the Holy Spirit to actually experiencing Him.
And so, the Creed says, "I believe in the Holy Spirit".

Will you pray with me?

“Heavenly Father, we thank you for the life and work of Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord. We thank you also for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We cannot find, or have, faith apart from the work of the Holy Spirit moving into the interior of our lives, opening us up to the insight and power available to us in Christ. Move into your Church, we pray, and bring your Church back to authenticity and to effectiveness, strong in faith and empowering in love. Move also into the world and open the world to faith. Amen”

Dr. Allen Churchill

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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:

http://accm.ncf.ca/images/12.03.11.wma