Whitsunday, 2003

Scientists feared that eventually Mount St. Helens would erupt. But no one expected the tremendous blast that shook the earth on May 18, 1980. After four weeks of tremors and small eruptions, Mt. St. Helens exploded with a force as great as 500 atom bombs. Nine miles away, trees were flattened by the force of the blast. Forests were buried beneath six feet of ash. A gray cloud rose miles into the air, darkening the sky. Nine hours later, after the smoke cleared, Mt. St. Helens was 1,000 feet shorter ­ the mountain had blown its top!

The loudest sound in history was caused by Krakatoa. This volcanic island in the Indian Ocean detonated in 1883. The sound of the explosion was heard by people 2,000 miles away. The crew on a passing oil tanker 100 miles off was affected terribly. The blast shattered the eardrums of every person on the vessel. Krakatoa's eruption also unleashed 100-ft. high tsunamis. Massive walls of water flattened many villages, killing 36,000 people.

Good things can come from volcanoes, too. The ash that settles on the soil is fertile. Crops grow more easily. And people are now harnessing the power of volcanoes. In Iceland, where there are several active volcanoes, heat from lava beds is piped into homes to warm them in the winter. Can the power of the Holy Spirit be compared to the power of a volcano? Perhaps.

Dunamis is the most common word for "power" in Greek. The English word dynamite grew out of the Greek word dunamis . When dynamite is detonated it blows things up because a very powerful force resides in it. Acts 1:8 states, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" That word for power is dunamis , and it is linked to the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles reinforces several times the Spirit-power connection. Once the Spirit had been poured out at Pentecost, we are told, "with great power ("dunamis") the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 4:33). Moreover, "Stephen, full of grace and power , did great wonders and signs" (Acts 6:8). Acts 10:38 declares that Jesus was "anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power ." A dozen other Bible texts support this idea that God provides the believer with dunamis , that is, power for living, and this power is tied to the Holy Spirit.

For this reason some people see the doctrine of the Spirit as essentially about power. God gives you and me the Holy Spirit's volcano-like force to do what we ought to do. Without that power we wouldn't attain victory over sin. Examples include saying no to sex, drugs, and overeating; as well as power to control our anger, to love the unlovable, be patient, speak out boldly for Christ, and that sort of thing. On our own we feel inadequate do these things, so the promise of power from the Holy Spirit is very good news on this Pentecost Sunday. Saint Paul claimed that very power when he said, "I can do all things in him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). Hence, power from Christ through the Spirit is a theme that should always be given prominence in the Church.

Having said that we must also be aware that this concentration can be abused. Some people come to see the Spirit as a kind of pep pill, or a light switch you turn on. One's faith automatically turns it on or turns it off. Exaggerating the power ministry of the Spirit also can lead to an inner passivity. Some people wait for God's power to carry them along without putting the effort into the battle that is necessary. Then, this theme can mar certain evangelistic methods. Once in a while, evangelists will offer up "power for living" as a lure for people to convert to Christianity. Unbelievers are promised that once they walk the aisle and commit to Christ they will have a special power they can harness and control. The Holy Spirit will equip them for any and every challenge.

There is a problem. None of this is realistic. It is in fact dishonest. Certainly at conversion God sometimes works wonders of sudden deliverance from this or that weakness, just as He sometimes does at other times; but every Christian's life is a constant battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. And the struggle to gain Christ-like habits of wisdom, love, and righteousness is not only grueling -- it is unending. There is nothing easy about attaining Christian holiness. More often than not, it is a knockdown, drag-out, desperate battle. The tremendous difficulty in following Christ should also be a part of the Gospel message.

[Much of this material is a sort of synopsis of J.I. Packer's book, Keep in Step With the Spirit . How an Anglican like Packer can write a book on the Holy Spirit and say so little about the sacraments is a mystery. It is likely he is attempting to reach a broad evangelical audience. Despite the omission, this is a great book for Pentecost.]

Let's consider on this Pentecost Sunday a couple other popular theories about the work of the Holy Spirit. There are both strengths and weaknesses in these positions. We'll conclude with a concept that truly hits at the center of the Spirit's ministry.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are another theme of Pentecost. The Bible suggests that every believer has gifts that he must exercise. The Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost on all who were gathered. Tongues of fire hovered above each and every believer, not just the apostles. They uttered tongues, that is, foreign languages. Pentecost thus reversed the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel. Henceforth, salvation would stream to all nations. Pentecost was thus a foretaste of Heaven where all "nations, tribes, peoples and tongues" will gather around the throne to worship the Lamb (Rev. 7:9). Another obvious point is this: every Christian has a gift or gifts to use in the Body of Christ. The more prominent gifts are preaching, teaching, helps, mercy, healing, and administration. Some gifts are exercised within the Church; others are exercised outside the Church in a multitude of vocations. It is unfortunate that the early and medieval Church gave short shrift to the subject of gifts. It was assumed that clergy alone had gifts for ministry. Prior to the twentieth century, only one book on the gifts of the Spirit had been written. That was by John Owen in 1679.

Restricting ministry to ordained clergy is called clericalism . Clericalism is bad. The Spirit is quenched when spiritual ministry becomes the sole responsibility of deacons, priests, and bishops. The Bible insists that ministry is for laymen too; every member in the Body of Christ can perform some ministry.

The doctrine of the Spirit that focuses on exercising spiritual gifts is no doubt a positive development. God gives gifts to everyone, and thus everyone serves in some capacity. However, here is another case where a good thing can turn sour. Magnifying lay ministry has led some laymen to undervalue the special responsibilities to which clergy are ordained. They forget the respect that is due to the minister's office and leadership.

Furthermore, something is deeply wrong when attention centers on speaking in tongues, as if this were the Spirit's main ministry. What is wrong with it? First of all, glossolalia, modern tongues-speaking, is not a foreign language like the original Pentecost. Rather, glossolalia is a natural reflex of the human body, like weeping, laughter, or hysteria. These are not gifts of the Spirit. What's more, people gung-ho about flashy gifts, tend to despise fellow worshipers, and tongues-speakers try to outdo one another in showing off their gifts. The Church at Corinth had this problem and St. Paul made it clear to them that they were behaving in an immature and carnal way (1 Corinthians 3:1-4; 5:1-13; 6:1-8; 11:17-22).

How else can a focus on the gifts be abused? It is possible for a person to become very successful in performing spiritual gifts, yet defective in attaining a Christ-like character. Certain people are very willing to run around and do spiritual gifts, yet unwilling to strive for what is much more important, that is, a humble, loving, and submissive Christ-like character.

Another teaching linked to the ministry of the Holy Spirit has to do with moral struggle, the yearning for purity and holiness. According to this perspective it is the Holy Spirit's job to impart holiness. Sanctification is gradual and progressive. The Holy Spirit enables you to mortify indwelling sin as you are changed "from one degree of glory to another" (2 Corinthians 3:18). This process of purification is an inward battle. Think of the desert fathers in their huts and caves, wrestling long hours in prayer, waging combat with demons, fasting austerely, and living simply. Like athletes in training, these ascetics dug deep, straining every spiritual muscle in order to put to death the deeds of the flesh. They sought the Holy Spirit's help to make themselves pure and undefiled. Is such endeavor proper? Of course it is! Sin is an irrational energy of rebellion against God, a lawless habit of self-willed arrogance, expressing itself in egoism of all sorts. God hates sin. It makes one dirty, unclean, before God. Therefore Scripture views it as filth that needs to be cleansed. Baptism is a symbol of that washing. Living in a decadent age, believers need the Holy Spirit's purifying activity more than ever. How does the Spirit purify? He purifies you by making you aware of sin, how horrible it is, and stirring you to purge it more and more from your life.

Nevertheless, even this fully scriptural emphasis has some potential pitfalls. Those who focus the Holy Spirit's activity exclusively on moral struggle tend to grow legalistic. They can sometimes take on a somber spiritual egoism. J.I. Packer gives a description of Christians concerned only for purity. Have you ever detected these traits in yourself or others? Packer says this about purity-obsessed people: "They make tight rules about abstaining from things indifferent, imposing rigid and restrictive behavior patterns as bulwarks against worldliness and attaching great importance to observing these man-made taboos. They become pharisaic, more concerned to avoid what defiles, and adhere to principle without compromise, than to practice the love of Christ. They become scrupulous, unreasonably fearful of pollution where none threatens, and obstinately unwilling to be reassured. They become joyless, being so preoccupied with thoughts of how grim and unrelenting the battle is. They become morbid, always introspective and dwelling on the rottenness of their hearts in a way that breeds only gloom and apathy. They become pessimistic about the possibility of moral progress, both for themselves and for others; they settle for low expectations of deliverance from sin, as if the best they can hope for is to be kept from getting worse." These are some of the possible consequences for Christians when they focus exclusively on the Holy Spirit's role of making them pure.

So far we have examined three facets of the Holy Spirit's ministry; all of them very scriptural and proper. These facets, however, can become disfigured when the action of the Holy Spirit is tilted toward one element alone. We need a balance. Furthermore, we have not yet mentioned the primary goal of the Holy Spirit. What is the principle and central activity of the Paraclete? The Holy Spirit points to Christ. That is it. The Holy Spirit points to Christ. Unlike the previous aspects, this one would be hard to exaggerate. It is an umbrella concept that covers all the other elements of the Spirit. Jesus, the original Paraclete, continues His ministry to mankind through the work of the Holy Spirit, the second Paraclete, and the second Paraclete always points to the first Paraclete. The Spirit makes known the personal presence of the risen and reigning Savior, King Jesus. Since Pentecost 2,000 years ago, this has been the essential and central duty of the Holy Spirit. He is leading the Church to Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives all the glory to Christ. Everything He does is in order that Christ may be known, loved, trusted, honored and praised. This is what the Spirit's New Covenant ministry is all about.

Pentecost is thus about Christ, because Jesus is the Person the Holy Spirit wants us to be concerned with. How does that play out in daily life? Many ways. The Spirit convicts you of sin so that you'll run to the Cross of Christ. The Holy Spirit empowers you for the purpose of greater Christ-likeness. The gifts He gives you are for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit purifies you to become more joyful in Christ. The Holy Spirit's illumination of the Bible is to make the truth of Christ clearer to your understanding. The suffering you pass through, the Spirit uses that to draw you closer to Jesus for comfort. The Holy Spirit's intercession of your prayers is to lead you to the Father through the Son. The work of regeneration in baptism is for the purpose of incorporating you into the Body of Christ. The Spirit's work in the Eucharist is to communicate the humanity of the risen Christ to you. From beginning to end, the action of the Holy Spirit brings you to Jesus. Come now to the Holy Communion. King Jesus prepares His royal table for you. Come up to His throne room in faith, and partake. Allow the Holy Spirit to bring about a Christ-like character in you.

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