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Particulars
of Christianity:
312
The Church Ethic
The Role
of the Holy Spirit (Part 1)
The Role of the Holy Spirit (Part
1)
The Role of the Holy Spirit (Part
2)
The Role of the Holy Spirit (Part
3)
The Role of the Holy Spirit (Part
4)
Introduction
(Note to the Reader: Arguments in this study presuppose
the conclusions established in our article series on the Charismatic
Movement as well as certain portions of our article series
on Spiritual Warfare. As such, we recommend reading those
series first before continuing with this study.)
The primary focus of this study is to determine what role
we can truly expect the Holy Spirit to play in our daily lives.
Included in this investigation will be such areas as the role
that the Holy Spirit might have in determining correct doctrine,
convicting us of sin, or showing us what decisions we should
make in particular situations of life that the Bible doesn't
speak to specifically. And, of course, along the way we will
also be identifying wrong perceptions of the Holy Spirit's
role in such matters.
In particular, we will be examining the extent to which certain
perceptions of the Holy Spirit's role might effectively replace
the Bible as the primary indicator for what we should do or
believe. There are many ways that this can take shape.
Perhaps most commonly, the Bible might be viewed as too complex
and confusing so that we cannot be certain about what it means
or teaches in practical terms. Or, the Bible might be viewed
as insufficient because it only deals with general items and
does not tell us what to do in specific situations like who
to marry, what to do for a living, where to live, or any of
the other specific decisions that we have to make throughout
our day to day lives. Since the Bible doesn't speak about
those specific decisions, we need a word or direction from
the Holy Spirit to govern these more specific situations.
Also, in some cases, the Bible might be viewed as "the dead
and dry written word" so that you need a "fresh, living word
from God for the now."
Of course, it should be said that we, the authors of these
articles, do not hold to any of the views described in the
paragraph above. These are simply articulations for the point
of laying out the task before us. Please take note that in
this study we will be treating inward leadings from the Holy
Spirit as hypothetical. As such, throughout this study we
will simply make references to "leadings from the Holy Spirit"
without placing disclaimers in the immediate context. Please
do not take the lack of qualifying disclaimers as an affirmation
of such leadings from the Holy Spirit. Please take them instead
as hypothetical, which is how they are intended.
One of the underlying issues here deals with the issues of
replacing objectivity with subjectivity in moral, doctrinal,
and practical day-to-day matters. So, at this point, it would
probably be a good idea to take a look at the definitions
for those two words. (Both definitions below are from The
American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth
Edition, 2000.)
subjective
ADJECTIVE:
1a. Proceeding from or taking place in a person's mind
rather than the external world: a subjective decision.
1b. Particular to a given person; personal: subjective
experience.
2. Moodily introspective.
3. Existing only in the mind; illusory.
4. Psychology Existing only within the experiencer's
mind.
objective
ADJECTIVE:
1. Of or having to do with a material object.
2. Having actual existence or reality.
3a. Uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices:
an objective critic.
3b. Based on observable phenomena; presented factually:
an objective appraisal.
The Bible is an object that exists outside of our minds. Its
contents, its words, its phrases, its composition, the underlying
original manuscripts - everything about it can be viewed and
analyzed by anyone and everyone. Conclusions about it can
be compared and evaluated based upon agreed upon criteria.
All of these factors make the Bible an objective means for
determining truth.
But the leading of the Holy Spirit is inherently subjective
in nature. Whether manifesting as feelings, words in our thoughts,
or strong impressions of some kind, the contents and meaning
of each prompting are experienced and evaluated only by the
individual recipient. Because these leadings occur in the
mind or heart of each individual, no one else has access to
the content or character of these leadings. And, therefore,
no one else can evaluate them or even perceive them. All of
these things make inward leadings of the Holy Spirit a subjective
truth standard, because the only access to them is in the
mind of each individual. And when a truth standard can only
be accessed in the mind of each individual, then each individual
Christian effectively becomes his or her own authority of
truth and morality.
As can be seen, the matters under investigation here are of
the greatest importance because these questions deal with
what fills the role of the Christian's authority in matters
of truth, morality, and even conscience. Are such things as
truth and morality determined by things that we hear and feel
in our hearts and minds? Or are these things determined by
what we read in the Bible? (Or perhaps a combination of the
two.) And which one should we turn to and rely upon first
and most often, what we hear or feel in our hearts and minds
or what we read in the Bible? Likewise, in seeking to answer
the question of what role the Holy Spirit plays in our individual
decision-making, we will also be attempting to understand
and reconcile the relationship between the role of the Holy
Spirit and the role of the Bible.
Organization
To some extent, it will be difficult to cover this topic systematically
largely due to the fact that the doctrinal concepts involved
are not systematically established. In the New Testament there
are passages describing the role of the Holy Spirit in drawing
all men, in the rebirth, in distributing the charismatic gifts,
in helping us testify of Jesus Christ, in teaching us truth,
and in helping us develop the fruit of the Spirit. However,
doctrines regarding how the Holy Spirit leads us inwardly
through words, thoughts, impressions, hesitations, feelings
of peace, desires, etc. are drawn from a variety of isolated
passages, often without drawing a broader, systematic connection
between them.
Of course, our goal is to be as orderly and systematic as
possible in our investigation. Since that is the case, we
will cover this topic in a manner consistent with the way
it these doctrines are often discussed or asserted.
To be more specific, doctrines regarding inward leading by
the Holy Spirit are often supported or conveyed in terms of
popularized phrases derived from similar phrases in scripture.
These phrases from scripture become technical phrases that
signify the entire underlying perception that has been attached
to them in modern Christian circles. For example, the phrase
"We are to be led by the Spirit of God" originates from similar-sounding
statements found in scripture. This phrase and the related
scripture then also function as the support structure for
the idea that Christians should be directed by inward leadings
from the Holy Spirit, without further consideration of the
context of the scriptural passages where such phrases originate.
Since this is typically the way in which such doctrines are
asserted and supported, we believe that the most efficient
and systematic way to examine this topic is according to the
common phrases typically used to sum up and asset them. This
will allow us to look at each various form of these doctrines
of inward leaning and to analyze their scriptural support
one by one and up close. Of course, along the way we hope
to not only discard anything that cannot be supported in scripture
but also to build up a sound understanding of what role the
Holy Spirit does play in the daily lives of individual believes.
Having said that, here are some of the most common phrases
and articulations used to assert and support the various formulations
of the doctrine that one role of the Holy Spirit is to guide
Christian decision-making with regard to moral behavior, doctrine,
and even practical living issues by means of inward promptings
of one kind or another.
1.) The Holy Spirit guides us through words of wisdom, words
of knowledge, and prophecy.
2.) The Holy Spirit gives us supernatural discernment.
3.) The Holy Spirit gives us the right words to speak.
4.) Let the Peace of God reign in our hearts.
5.) The sons of God are led by the Spirit of God.
6.) The Holy Spirit testifies to us inwardly.
7.) The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin.
8.) The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.
9.) Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
For simplicity, from this point forward we will refer to these
as our 9 constructs.
As we can see, all of these phrases contain a notable similarity
to familiar scripture passages. But does that mean the modern
doctrines that many people imply when they say these phrases
are true, just because they sound so similar to scripture?
That is a question we'll have to answer as we proceed ahead.
But, at least simply on the surface, we can see how any number
of these phrases seems to lend itself greatly to supporting
the doctrine that Christian decision-making about morality,
doctrine, and practical daily issues are to be determined
by inward leadings from the Holy Spirit.
We now turn our attention to examining these constructs one
by one and to examining the scripture verses that each one
reflects and appeals to for support.
Words Of Wisdom, Words Of Knowledge, And Prophecy
Construct No. 1: The Holy Spirit guides us through
words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and prophecy.
The primary implication of this first construct is that to
some extent our acceptance or rejection of individual behaviors
and doctrine as well as our response to certain people, circumstances,
and opportunities should be and can be determined by means
of words of wisdom, words of knowledge, or the operation of
a prophetic gift given by the Holy Spirit. Support for this
notion comes in two basic forms from scripture. First, there
are passages of scripture, which plainly teach about charismatic
gifts such as these. Second, there are passages of scripture
where we see these gifts in operation during a historic account
involving historic figures.
Instructions about these gifts can be found in the following
New Testament passages: 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12:4-9,
Ephesians 4:11-12, and 1 John 4:1-3. New Testament passages
recording specific events where these particular gifts were
in operation through historic figures include: Acts 8:29,
Acts 11:27-28, Acts 13:2, Acts 16:6-7, Acts 19:6, Acts 21:8-12,
Acts 22:21, and John's writing of the Book of Revelation.
Perhaps certain events and phenomena in Jesus' ministry as
recorded in the Gospels might also provide examples of these
gifts in operation.
Of all these passages, perhaps the most direct support for
this first construct comes from Paul's instructions about
charismatic gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.
1 Corinthians 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts,
but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations,
but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations,
but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of
wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the
same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another
the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the
working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning
of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another
the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that
one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally
as he will.
As we can see, the support for Construct No. 2 and the gift
of discernment comes from this passage as well. We will examine
that more in our next section, but for now we will focus only
on the phrases, "word of wisdom," "word of knowledge," and
"prophecy."
There is no argument with regard to whether or not such things
occurred in the early Church of the first few centuries. As
a matter of historic record, these gifts did occur at that
time. But, in short, the main problem with using this passage
to support the doctrine that the Holy Spirit leads Christians
in their decision-making today, is that these gifts stopped
occurring sometime during the late second or perhaps third
century AD.
We have established this conclusion in exhaustive detail in
our article series on the Charismatic Movement, so we will
not spend any time arguing those points again in this current
study. As such, reading and understanding the arguments presented
in our Charismatic article series is a necessary prerequisite
to this series. We strongly recommend reading those articles
first before continuing since the points addressed in this
study presuppose the conclusions of our Charismatic study.
Nevertheless, in the wake of the notable, widespread, and
documented absence of these gifts in the historical record
since the second and third centuries, a person cannot simply
assume that his or her own internal feelings and impressions
are manifestations of these long-absent gifts. First, a person
would have to explain how they acquired these gifts, how these
gifts were passed to them, and from whom. The inescapable
significance of such questions is also expounded in greater
detail in our Charismatic article series. And consequently,
assuming credibility to our own inner feelings and impressions,
without first considering these questions, would be unjustified,
ignorant, and hasty to say the least.
And not only is this the case concerning such gifts as healing
or other miracles, but it is even more an issue regarding
inward leadings from the Holy Spirit. At least a miraculous
healing or a multiplication of loaves and fishes, for example,
can be observed and verified by others. But whether or not
a person's own inner feelings or impressions are supernatural
in origin is entirely a matter of his or her own assessment
since no one else has access to the character or nature of
the inner leadings that each individual receives in his or
her own heart and thoughts.
Now, if the inner leadings were specific, could be expressed
in particular words, and were always 100 percent accurate
to the letter then we would have something that could be observed
by others and verified. But when the inner leading are merely
vague feelings or only partially accurate at best, then the
supernatural origin of these impressions is suspect and, furthermore,
whether or not it is supernatural is strictly a matter of
the individual recipient's own assessment. Unfortunately,
vagueness and inaccuracy typify the inner leadings that are
commonplace today.
And while passages such as 1 Corinthians 12 most certainly
demonstrate that members of the early Church did receive guidance
by the Holy Spirit through words of knowledge, words of wisdom,
and prophecy, that by itself does not automatically mean that
our own inner thoughts and feelings are supernaturally led.
The formulation that "The early Church received words of knowledge,
therefore, my own inner impressions should be accepted as
divine guidance from the Holy Spirit," is a completely unfounded
non sequitur. A non sequitur is a type of logical error whose
name is derived from a Latin phrase, which means, "it does
not follow." In this case, the idea that my own inner impressions
are from God does not follow from the simple fact that the
early Church received words of knowledge and such from God.
In short, it is nothing more than circular reasoning to assume
that your own inner feelings and impressions are authentic
manifestations of New Testament supernatural gifts and then
to appeal to New Testament teaching as evidence that these
inner impressions are supernatural. The bottom line is that
appeals to 1 Corinthians 12, and all of the other passage
where the supernatural gifts are discussed, do not in any
way substantiate a person's own assessment that their inner
feelings and impressions are the leadings of the Holy Spirit.
Nor do such passages provide any help in determining what
the role the Holy Spirit plays in our decision-making regarding
behavior, doctrine, and practical daily living during a period
of history when words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and prophecy
have passed away.
Furthermore, the use of the phrase "word of knowledge" and
"word of wisdom" with regard to these spiritual gifts strongly
indicates that those two gifts manifest in the form of words
from the Holy Spirit, which could be recorded clearly word
for word, as we see in such passages as Acts 8:29 and Acts
13:2. Because these 2 gifts are called "words," we cannot
use the existence of these gifts in the New Testament to support
the idea of being led through feelings or impressions. Instead,
we would expect them to be "words" or "statements" rather
than feelings or impressions.
Since references to the occurrence of words of wisdom, words
of knowledge, and prophecy during the first two centuries
do not, on their own, provide substantiation for modern doctrines
that our inner feelings and impressions can be considered
leadings from the Holy Spirit, we will move on to the next
construct, the gift of discernment.
Supernatural Discernment
Construct No. 2: The Holy Spirit gives us supernatural
discernment.
The main issue with this second construct is identical to
Construct No. 1. We could have easily included the concept
of supernatural discernment in the previous section. However,
we wanted to single it out so that we could make a few more
specific points concerning misunderstandings about this specific
supernatural gift.
Here again is the main passage articulating this spiritual
gift.
1 Corinthians 12: 4 Now there are diversities of gifts,
but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations,
but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations,
but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom;
to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To
another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of
healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles;
to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits;
to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation
of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame
Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
Once again, there are two types of passages regarding this
gift. There are passages such as 1 Corinthians 12, which provide
instructions about the gift. And there are other passages,
such as Acts 16:16-18 and even perhaps other accounts in the
Gospels during the life of Jesus, where we see this gift in
operation through historic figures.
In the modern context, this gift is used to assert that the
Holy Spirit guides us in decision-making with regard to people,
situations, moral behavior, and even doctrine by giving us
supernatural discernment in such matters. In other words,
by the working of the Holy Spirit we can know whether or not
a person, situation, behavior, or even a doctrine is good
or bad supernaturally without having to rationally investigate
or analyze the situation. It is suggested that this discernment
takes the form of some sort of inward prompting, feeling,
or perhaps even direct statements.
There are 2 problems with using the gift of discernment as
support for inward leadings of the Holy Spirit. First and
foremost, just like Construct No. 1, in the wake of the notable,
widespread, and documented absence of these gifts in the historical
record since the second and third centuries, a person cannot
simply assume that his or her own internal feelings and impressions
are manifestations of the long-absent gift of discernment.
The bottom line is that appeals to 1 Corinthians 12, and all
of the other passage where the gift of discernment is discussed,
do not in any way substantiate a person's own assessment that
their inner feelings and impressions are the leadings of the
Holy Spirit.
Second, it is inaccurate to call this the "gift of discernment."
Calling this gift by the title of "gift of discernment" implies
that a person with this gift could exercise supernatural discernment
with regard to a broad range of things. However, that is not
the most accurate title for the gift.
1 Corinthians 12: 10 To another the working of miracles;
to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits;
to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation
of tongues:
The real title for this gift is "discerning of spirits," just
as it is written in 1 Corinthians 12. This gift did not pertain
to supernaturally discerning all kinds of things like behavior,
human motives, whether or not a relationship or situation
would be good or bad, or even doctrine. This supernatural
gift dealt only with the ability to discern if a person or
a prophet was possessed by an evil spirit. From this fact
we learn several significant items.
First, in the New Testament, demonic possession involved either
one or both of the following characteristics. Either the evil
spirit would take over as the conscious operating will within
the body in a visible way or the evil spirit would manifest
some sort of long-term or debilitating illness, often including
seizures. (For more information about this, please visit our
study on Spiritual Warfare, which thoroughly establishes this
conclusion.) And because demonic possession in the New Testament
always involved at least one of these two traits, it is not
accurate to assert that someone is demon-possessed in cases
where neither of these traits is exhibited. Furthermore, because
the gift of discernment is about discerning evil spirits,
this gift does not provide support for the idea of supernaturally
discerning people's motives or character in situations where
the person involved does NOT exhibit one of these two traits
of demonic possession.
Second, since Christians are, by definition, filled with the
Holy Spirit and, therefore, cannot be possessed, there is
no way that the gift of discernment can be used to substantiate
alleged supernatural abilities to discern things about Christians,
including Christian doctrine, or even why Christians believe
or talk certain doctrines.
In closing this section, the clear conclusion is that nothing
about the gift of discernment of spirits substantiates the
modern doctrine that Christians can exercise supernatural
discernment regarding people's motives, other Christian's
motives, correct and incorrect moral behavior, correct and
incorrect doctrine, or whether or not particular relationship
or situations would be good or bad for us.
We will move on to the next construct, "The Holy Spirit gives
us the right words to speak."
Giving Us the Right Words
Construct No. 3: The Holy Spirit gives us the right
words to speak.
Because of overarching concerns regarding the Charismatic
gifts, we have chosen to deal first with constructs having
to do with appeals to passages about such supernatural gifts.
Having established the problem with appealing to the Charismatic
gifts to support modern notions about being led by inner promptings
from the Holy Spirit, we can now turn our attention to some
of the other ways such doctrines are asserted and supported.
As we begin to move away from constructs that directly appeal
to the charismatic gifts, one good place to start when investigating
the role of the Holy Spirit would be Jesus' own teachings
in the Gospels on this subject.
A quick survey of the Gospels reveals that the word "Spirit"
occurs 85 times. Of these 85 times, 11 of those times speak
concerning the Holy Spirit and the rebirth. Some of these
11 are teachings from John the Baptist, while others are from
Jesus. 4 verses declare the consequence of blaspheming the
Holy Spirit. Another 38 of verses are references to other
spirits and not the Holy Spirit. Among these 85, there are
15 also passages that describe specific actions of the Holy
Spirit in the life of Jesus, such as the incarnation or the
descent upon him in the form of a dove. Additionally, 2 verses
refer to prophetic statements made by King David by the Holy
Spirit, 1 verse refers to John the Baptist's father Zecharias
prophesying, 2 verses refer to John the Baptist being full
of the Holy Spirit, and 3 verses describe Simeon, the old
prophet who was told he would not die until the Messiah came.
There is also 1 verse about worshipping God in spirit and
in truth and 1 verse about Jesus' words being spirit and life.
That equals a total of 78.
This leaves only 7 verses in the Gospels where Jesus himself
teaches about the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of
individual believers beyond the rebirth. These instructions
from Jesus himself, including instructions about the rebirth,
form the basis of the apostles' later teachings about the
primary role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of individual
believers. This we intend to show in detail throughout this
study.
Of these 7 remaining verses, only 3 of them pertain to the
construct we are currently examining. We will return to the
other 4 verses in a later section of our study. For now, we
will focus on the 3 passages from the Gospels where Jesus
talks about the Holy Spirit giving us the right words to speak.
Matthew 10: 18 And ye shall be brought before governors
and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and
the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no
thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given
you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it
is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which
speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the
brother to death, and the father the child: and the children
shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be
put to death.
Mark 13: 9 But take heed to yourselves: for they
shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues
ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers
and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.11
But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no
thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate:
but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak
ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and
the father the son; and children shall rise up against their
parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
Luke 12: 11 And when they bring you unto the synagogues,
and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or
what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12
For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye
ought to say.
As can be seen, in these passages, Jesus instructs his followers
that when they are testifying before religious rulers and
political authorities, God will give them the words to say
by the power of the Holy Spirit. For the sake of argument
we will not address the question of whether or not these passages
refer to only the apostles or can be more broadly applied
to all of us. And while this can certainly be defined as a
role performed by the Holy Spirit in the life of individual
believers after the rebirth, it really doesn't provide any
support for the Holy Spirit's role in daily decisions regarding
morality, doctrine, or the practical issues of daily life.
The reason for this is simple. The role of the Holy Spirit
depicted in these passages does not in any way pertain to
our normal, day-to-day lives and the ordinary situations we
encounter in daily living. Instead, these passages describe
a role that the Holy Spirit would perform if we were to find
ourselves in the unique situation of standing before religious
or political rulers. Therefore, nothing in these passages
provides any instruction regarding the role of the Holy Spirit
in the ordinary affairs of the believer, including our decision-making
about moral behavior, doctrine, and the practical issues of
daily living.
However, these passages do clearly deal with the role of the
Holy Spirit concerning our offering testimony. The role of
the Holy Spirit in these passages is to aid us in testifying
before unbelievers, not to aid us in decision-making on any
level. So, even though these passages offer no support for
the idea of inward leadings from the Holy Spirit to guide
us in decisions about morality, doctrine, and daily living,
we can conclude from these passages that the Holy Spirit does
fill the role of providing us with the right words to speak
when we testify before rulers. (We will return to this point
later on in our study.) However, if this function of providing
the right words to speak occurred as part of certain charismatic
gifts such as words of wisdom, words of knowledge, or even
prophecy, then we should conclude that this ability is no
longer available to us at this point in time given the notable,
widespread, and documented absence of these gifts in the historical
record since the second and third centuries.
Since these 3 verses provide no support for the modern doctrine
that our inner feelings and impressions can be considered
leadings from the Holy Spirit, we will move on to the next
construct: Let the Peace of God reign in our hearts.
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