Staying Alive: The Church Living in the Spirit
In 2013 I saw the publication of my book Unfettered Spirit: Spiritual Gifts for the New Great Awakening (Energion). Very soon a second edition of the book will be published. As we are nearing Pentecost Sunday, I thought I might share an excerpt from the book that speaks to the way the church lives in the Spirit. The first edition is still available, but keep your eyes open for the revised edition from which this uncorrected version is taken.
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The two foundational principles of the Christian faith are
the commandments to love God and love neighbor. These are principles that Jesus
embodied fully, and when empowered by the Spirit of Love, we can join him in
embodying these principles, even if we do so imperfectly. Unless there is love,
everything done in the name of Christ comes to naught (1 Cor. 13:1-3).
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there (Ps. 139:7-8).
It would be nice if we could say that we’ve reached the
point where such a reality was fully present, but that’s far from the truth.
There’s too much of the “world” in the church, and not enough of the church in
the world. But, if we’re willing to give the Spirit room to move, then the
church, even with its institutional markings, can be transformed into a
community that relinquishes itself of its cliques and inward focus, and its
suspicion of all that is new. What is envisioned here has come to be called the
missional church, a church that not only engages in mission, but mission is its
very identity.
We start from the premise of Pentecost, that the Spirit of
God is already present in the church and the world. Although some might take
from Pentecost the idea that when the Spirit moves it’s with loudness and
spectacle, such an interpretation would miss the point. We don’t experience the
presence of the Spirit as either loudness or coerciveness. The Spirit may come like
a mighty wind, but the Spirit also comes as a gentle breeze, and in this
movement of the Spirit, gifts of service are shared with the church so that it
can touch the world. In addition, as we discover spiritual gifts, we begin to
recognize that every person in this world has something of value to offer to
the world. With the Spirit present, all things become new, including our
relationships with our God and with our neighbor. No longer will we look at
life from a human point of view (2 Cor. 5:16).
Later in this book, we’ll talk about how we can discover
spiritual gifts as well as working to focus them so we can engage in ministry
both inside and outside the church. For this to occur there must be a sense of
interplay between the Spirit and the community. For Christians, our
relationship with Jesus has both vertical and horizontal dimensions. If we’re
to love God with our entire being this will play out in our relationships with
our neighbors.
When Jesus was asked to identify the neighbor whom we’re
called to love, he told a parable about a Samaritan who showed compassion for
the man in a ditch. In doing this, he broadened the definition. It includes
family, co-workers, schoolmates, church members, and the person lying in the
gutter or the prison. Genesis 1 declares that we’re all created in the image of
God, no matter our gender identity, our age, our economic status, our
ethnicity, or our sexual orientation. Each of us bears the imprint of the
Spirit’s presence, whether we live inside or outside the Christian community. As
I consider the presence of the Spirit in my neighbor, I am mindful that my
neighbor may not “acknowledge” Jesus as Lord. My Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu
friends with whom I gather regularly to discuss matters of faith and the fate
of the world are all people of faith who desire to live as servants of God.
What then should my relationship with them be like? My consideration of this
question is fueled by my involvement in interfaith dialog coupled with a strong
confessional faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, personally and universally.
With this broader picture in mind, what how might we understand the nature of
the Spirit of God who animates and empowers the church and enables both
vertical (divine-human) and horizontal (human-human) relationships? What is
this life-giving force that’s present in our churches and our lives?
God is, we confess, spirit. God is without material form,
and yet God is more than an ephemeral wisp of smoke—as if to say, God is there
and yet not there. Mindful of the limits of human images and metaphors, we
confess that God is more than an impersonal force that can be manipulated for
human benefit. That is, God is something more than the “Force” of the popular Star
Wars sagas. In whatever manner we understand personhood, the Bible portrays
the Holy Spirit as the intimate presence of God in human life. As the immanent
presence of God, the Spirit remains a transcendent “determining subject” who is
free to act.[1] When
we experience the Spirit’s presence and activity, we do so with openness to the
unexpected. As Jürgen Moltmann writes, the Spirit is more than just one of
God’s gifts among others; the Holy Spirit is the unrestricted presence of God
in which our life wakes up, becomes wholly and entirely living, and is endowed
with the energies of life.”[2] The
Spirit is not a “force” we can manipulate using the appropriate words or
performing the proper rituals and expect the Spirit to act .
Grace Ji-Sun Kim
echoes Moltmann, writing that when we cry out “Come Holy Spirit”:
This does not mean we think God is located at some distance and that we are asking God to move. Rather, it expresses our hope that the universal presence of God will become more real to us. We want God to open us to the presence of the Spirit, so that we may be changed and transformed. We believe this will make us more truly alive. Life is more than just the physical body. It is the spiritual as well. The Spirit awakens us to the spiritual side of our being, which can get neglected at times.[3]
If the Spirit awakens us to the spiritual side of our lives,
to understand what that means we turn to Jesus, who helps define the person,
character, and work of the Holy Spirit.
In the gospel of John, we hear that the advocate will bear
witness to Jesus. Therefore, to know the Spirit is to know Jesus. We know what
the purpose of the Spirit is by looking to Jesus’ life, ministry, and
teachings. A good shepherd will not run from danger (Jn. 10:11ff). A loving
father welcomes home the prodigal with open arms (Lk. 15:11-31), the loving
person forgives without count. Enemies are embraced, persecutors resisted
gently but earnestly. You’ll know the true Spirit of God, and be able to test
those who claim to speak for God, because, as Fred Craddock reminds us, the
Spirit “does not speak apart from or contrary to the historical Jesus (John
16:12-15). Rather, the Spirit keeps the voice of Jesus a living voice in the
church.[4]
[1] On the contrast between the biblical
portrayal of the Spirit and that found in Star Wars see Stone, Faith and
Film, 134-35. See also Moltmann, The Spirit of Life, 286.
[2] Moltmann, The Source of Life: 10-11.
[3] Kim, The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Holy
Spirit, (Kindle Edition), 137-138.
[4] Craddock, Preaching Through the
Christian Year, 284-85.
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