May 11, 2010
Developing a Vocabulary of the Holy Spirit: Identifying Obstacles
When I speak of developing a vocabulary of the Holy Spirit, I’m referring to the practice of regularly speaking of the various ways that God’s Spirit works among us. Theologically speaking the Holy Spirit plays an absolutely essential role int he Christian life, but the language of most evangelicals lacks references to the third member of the Trinity.
Today I’d like to identify a few reasons why many Christians, especially my own evangelical tribe, have a hard time speaking of the Holy Spirit.
We Fear We’ll Sound Like Pentecostals
Most Christians are familiar with emotional and dramatic Pentecostal preachers who dance around their pulpits, strike people on the head, and send them flopping onto the floor. Whether or not all such preachers are to be trusted, they generally speak regularly of the power of the Holy Spirit in their ministries.
Perhaps there are some who are genuinely moving with the Spirit, while others are invoking the Spirit’s influence to validate a suspect ministry. That’s not for us to decide. However, Christians who associate such ministries with fraud can run the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water when it comes to the Spirit.
In the broadest sense, Christians will err by either favoring Spirit or truth. Some will focus on manifestations of the Spirit, but fail to work at the truth of scripture and the guidance of their traditions. Others will focus on truth, but neglect the direct influence of the Spirit. Both groups would acknowledge they depend on Spirit and truth, but their language, among other marks, suggests otherwise.
I’ve tended to belong to the side of truth over Spirit throughout most of my Christian life. It has taken me years to learn that God’s Spirit can work in very real and present ways among his people without making the mistakes of showmanship and manipulation that are often associated with the dark side of Pentecostalism.
We Fear We’ll Get It Wrong
Even if we are open to the Spirit working among us, Christians tend to fear speaking of the Spirit’s work because they don’t want to get it wrong.
We wonder things such as: Was that prompting I sensed really a work of God, or was it just my mind or emotions? Will I use that prompting to manipulate someone? Could I lead my family into trouble by mishearing the Spirit?
I’ve seen some terrible situations unfold because Christians were convinced they heard from the Holy Spirit, though every other Christian involved sensed they were wrong. Matters of pride and control often come up. In addition we have our limitations and fallibility to consider.
When I think of all the times I’ve misinterpreted the Bible, it’s a wonder that I’m still willing to read it and to reach conclusions that I’ll share in public. I spent several years listening to some pretty wacky fundamentalist doctrines. However, I’m still game for reading the Bible after all of my mistakes. Why should listening to and speaking of the Holy Spirit be any different?
Listening for the Spirit and moving according to the Spirit’s lead is a fallible, imperfect process. Get used to it. You’ll get better at it given some practice, and all of those Christians in your church are there to help you sort through things when you aren’t sure.
God Transcends Our Language
Even if we are open and willing to work with the Holy Spirit, many don’t know what it looks like for the Spirit to genuinely work among us. We aren’t sure how to apply the scriptures or how to speak of the Spirit’s work.
For instance, I know some folks think I’m positively out to lunch when I try to relate what I’ve learned over the past few years about spiritual warfare and the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. It sounds a bit far-fetched, and I struggle to put my experiences into terms that they’ll believe. Perhaps there are no terms that will resonate with those unfamiliar with the hands-on work of the Spirit.
Other times the Spirit sneaks up on me in ways that I can only describe in emotive terms. I once prayed over a youth pastor and his wife, and the presence of God just crashed onto all of us. I knew we needed to pray, but then God took over.
Something happened that day. I’m almost brought to tears whenever I think of that day, and I sense something stir within me. What is that all about? We don’t even know what God did, and we lack the ability to quantify it for others.
Tomorrow
Now that we know about the obstacles that stand in the way of speaking of the Holy Spirit, I’ll spend the rest of the discussing ways we can speak of the Spirit’s work among us, including the saving work of the Spirit, listening to the Spirit, receiving guidance from the Spirit, living in obedience, and a few other topics that will carry over into next week.
Hi Ed,
I think God is really wanting me to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in my life right now! I just read something the other day talking about the complementary nature of God’s word and the Holy Spirit, and how many Christians tend to overbalance with one or the other. Some are Spirit-oriented, emphasizing the gifts of the Spirit and the moving of the Spirit in their lives, while others are Word-oriented, emphasizing the teaching of God’s word and establishing strong biblical foundations. The article I was reading concluded that both are necessary – a life without God’s word lacks boundaries, whereas a life without the Spirit lacks power.
I have worshiped in both kinds of churches – those filled with people who are Spirit-oriented and those filled with people who are more Word-oriented. I have definitely been more Word-oriented throughout my life, so I look forward to reading your future posts on this issue! Hopefully I can not only develop a deeper Spirit-orientation, but perhaps I can develop the vocabulary to speak about it as well.
[Reply]
Thanks Jeremy. I’m glad I’m not the only one wrestling with this tension. I keep returning to John 4 when it comes to this topic.
Blessings!
[Reply]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by edcyzewski, edcyzewski. edcyzewski said: What are the obstacles that keep us from talking about the Holy Spirit? http://bit.ly/95Pgmq. [...]
You mention times when someone felt led by the spirit, and others around him sensed he was wrong. I think this gets to the heart of one of our problems: we see it individualistically rather within the community. Our piety has gotten in our way. We should be taking our nudgings to the community for prayer and confirmation, but often the community fails to engage. How can you argue when someone feels led by the Holy Spirit?
[Reply]
Heather, You’re hitting on something that has troubled me with this post. We need community so badly when we’re working on hearing the Spirit, but we need an engaged community that will help us listen.
Perhaps the place to start is in our own humility regarding what we have heard. I recently had a situation in which I was prompted more by guilt than by the Spirit, and my wife cut through that. It only worked because A. I remained open to her insight and B. She was brave enough and open enough to the Spirit to listen for her own word.
This Holy Spirit business only works well when we’re all in and we all take responsibility. I feel like this series will take me at least two weeks to cover in any kind of complete sense! Thanks for your perceptive comment. You’re right on the money.
[Reply]
Gosh, Ed, I feel like I could comment on this at book length. But to spare you and others, I’ll try to reign it in.
Regarding getting it wrong: your example of Biblical interpretation is spot on. We get lots of things wrong–it’s how we learn. the problem is not with the Holy Spirit or even the trial and error of learning his ways. The problem is human ego and pride. Paul says we see in part and prophesy in part. Moving with the Spirit requires humility and a teachable spirit, that’s the antidote.
The transcendent nature of God? If we can understand Him, we don’t really know him. So it is with the Spirit. But there is a *powerful* tendency to reduce Christian worship — or the faith in general — to something we can grasp. In my view “Systematic Theology” is an oxymoron. God is a Person, not a system. The scripture reveals his mind and heart, not his legal system. The issue of transcendence frequently comes down to unbelief, unbelief on the part of believers. One example: Acts 10 & 11 details the very first time the gospel was preached to gentiles. Look at the “crazy” role of the Holy Spirit in those chapters. In fact, in chapter eleven the church leaders draw their doctrine (the gospel is for the gentiles, too) from their experience (what the Spirit did).
Lastly, John 16: 5 – 15 essentially reveals that we are better off without Jesus, because He wants us to interact with the Holy Spirit. Isn’t hat wild?
Oh yes–Heather’s comments? They were awesome. I Corinthians 14 is all about the operation of the Spirit in a community setting.
[Reply]
Well, as a happy-clappy Jesus girl, you had to know I’d weigh in! I am a second generation Christian (my parents became Christians when I was an older child), raised in small, Word of Faith churches in western Canada. There was a strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit, but primarily from a physical manifestation standpoint (i.e. speaking in tongues in particular). Then I married a man that was raised in the American midwest that grew up in what he describes as charismatic-but-the-really-crazy-kind-yes-I-mean-exorcisms-were-performed kind of church. We have attended nondenominational churches, evangelical and (narrowly referred to as) spirit-filled churches our entire lives with a few exceptions. We’ve grappled with it from our standpoint – we are so hyper sensitive at this stage of our lives about any one talking Holy Spirit.
He/She/It is a huge aspect of my relationship with God. I do still speak in tongues and consider it a rich part of my life. BUT we both are skeptical because of the many abuses we saw growing up. I like to say now that I’m still a charismatic woman but without the culture that goes along with it.
I find it fascinating from my perspective that there are people who are unfamiliar with the Holy Spirit. I grew up with the language of it – we still speak very easily about “hearing from God” or “being led by the Spirit”. With all of the drawbacks, I’d rather the overemphasis that we experienced than the vacuum. In our recent years, we’ve started to pursue what you call the “truth” aspect, seeking balance to all of our “spirit”.
The crazy, the community, the miracles, the comfort, the peace, the tongues – all of it is so wildly untamed. And I have to admit, there’s still enough of a charismatic kid that prefers churches that meet in pubs and school gyms in me to love every aspect of Him/Her/It with my whole heart. I can’t imagine my life without this unbridled spirit of God.
[Reply]
Wow, Ray, you may need to write some of that out in book length.
Sarah, you’re right, it’s tough to imagine Christianity without the Holy Spirit. It’s slightly easier to imagine you as a Christian AND a Bruins fan… But pardon my silliness. Your comment stands well on its own and I appreciate you sharing so freely from your experiences. I have a lot to learn indeed.
Thankfully, I grow every time I interact with Christians from other perspectives.
[Reply]