This upcoming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Let the obligatory commentary begin about how the Holy Spirit is always breaking down boundaries and how we stifle the Spirit's work.
Perhaps this isn't what many of you hear in your respective congregations, but it is what I tend to hear over and over and over again.
And for somewhat good reason.
The Holy Spirit was instrumental in the beginning of the Church. The first day the Spirit blew, 3000 people were added to the Church. That's quite an impressive feat. Not too many congregations I know of even come close to adding this many people in one day, let alone one year. (Heck, in my work here, we haven't managed 300 in almost 8 years.)
Throughout the book of Acts, the Spirit did all sorts of intriguing things--things which went against the grain of Jewish thought:
1. It led Philip to baptize an Ethiopian eunuch in the middle of the desert. (Eunuch's were not considered "whole" people and therefore were further from God.)
2. It gave Peter a vision of what is clean and what is not clean according to God, telling Peter to eat "unclean" food. Shortly thereafter, Peter was invited to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile who would have been considered "unclean." The connection was obvious.
3. It constantly led and guided the apostles in their journeys to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, oftentimes sending them where they did not expect to go.
Based upon such stories, some in the Church have come to see the Holy Spirit as the great annihilator of boundaries. The Spirit crashes through boundaries and offers freedom when we least expect it. Of course, many times, this working of the Spirit is applied to the challenging of certain doctrines in the Church from denomination to denomination. And, if someone dares challenge the challenge to doctrine, one is summarily labeled as closed minded and not open to the Spirit's promptings. As I said earlier: those who try to put the Spirit in a box.
While the Holy Spirit certainly blows where it may, and
While the Holy Spirit certainly breaks through boundaries,
It does not blow with complete impunity, and it is limited in the boundaries it does break down.
Am I putting the Holy Spirit in a box?
You are darn right I am, but it is not a box of my own creation. Let me explain.
It is most certainly true there is more than one spirit at work in the world. Not only does the Holy Spirit operate, so do evil ones. John himself wrote about this in 1 John 4:1: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The early Church developed a method for testing the spirits, and it is found in Acts chapter 15. You can read the chapter here if you like.
One notes how the Church tested the spirits in regards to the issue of whether or not Gentiles should become Jews before they became Christians:
1. Peter received a vision from the Holy Spirit and saw the Spirit fall upon Gentiles. He relayed this to the assembly. (Acts 15: 6-11)
2. Paul and Barnabas spoke about the signs and wonders God did among the Gentiles. God's power was moving in and among them. (Acts 15: 12)
3. They sought confirmation from the Scriptures, and the Scriptures agreed that such things would happen. (Acts 15: 15-18)
All three things were in agreement and consistent, so the Church invited the Gentiles in without first having to become Jewish. Boundaries were broken, but they were broken in a particular manner consistent with God's action and prophecy found in the Scriptures.
Part of the beauty of the Christian faith is the dynamic relationship of the Holy Trinity. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are constantly interacting with one another. They do not act independently of one another. In fact, we even state in the Nicene Creed the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (apologies to the Eastern Orthodox). As such, the Spirit is rooted in the Father and the Son, and the Spirit will not contradict the Father and the Son.
Which is a very important point we must consider. A very important part. For you see, the Father and the Son have defined themselves. They have revealed themselves to us throughout history, and people recorded their revelation in the Bible. When they have defined themselves, they set up certain boundaries. For instance, when Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me," Jesus drew a boundary--a box if you like. If someone comes along and says, "Jesus is not the truth and does not represent the truth. I will not put God in a box this way," well, then, we must reject this person's statement because it does not match with the discernment of the spirit test established by the early church, and it is not consistent with the trinitarian relationship.
Pentecost is a wonderfully exciting time in the Church. It reminds us of the power that flows and the wind of the Spirit that blows. However, Pentecost does not mean that anything goes.
Whenever you hear someone talk about the Spirit always breaking down boundaries this week, make sure those boundaries haven't been established by God the Father or Son. Discern which spirits are trying to break those boundaries lest you follow the wrong one.
No comments:
Post a Comment