Unhealthy Views About the Holy Spirit

December 12, 2023

There are devastating effects when we downplay the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit’s work is indispensable to the life and health of the church and each individual Christian. The list of things that the Spirit does for us is a long one, and to dismiss His work is quite dangerous.

And yet, some in the religious world go too far and ascribe things to the Spirit that are not according to the truth.  This is also quite dangerous.  For example, some groups place so much emphasis on the Spirit that Christ is overshadowed.  In such cases, worship assemblies are so Spirit-focused that Jesus and His work on the cross are almost forgotten.  This should never be the case.  Listen to the words of Jesus concerning the Spirit: “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” (John 16:14 NAS95)  We see here that one of the roles of the Spirit is to glorify Jesus.  The Spirit points us to Jesus and exalts Jesus.  Worship in which Jesus is overshadowed is not Spirit-filled worship.

In a similar way, to overemphasize the gifts of the Spirit in our worship or in our personal lives is dangerous.  There are gifts of the Spirit today, and those gifts are very important for the health of the body of Christ.  These gifts should be taught about, and we should be encouraged to use them.  But there is a subtle danger here.  We can overemphasize the gifts in a self-glorifying way and end up seeking the gifts of God over the humble service of God.  We can make the teaching about spiritual gifts all about us. “Look at what the Spirit is doing in me!”  Like the church at Corinth, we can fall into the trap of pursuing spiritual gifts to promote ourselves.  We can pursue spiritual gifts to the point of failing to pursue the most excellent way, which is love. (1 Corinthians 12:31)

There is another danger of holding unbiblical views of the Spirit, and it is a grave one.  There are many in the religious world today who say things like this: “The Spirit revealed to me…” or “The Spirit said to me in a dream that…” While I do believe it is quite true that the Spirit helps us to understand the word of God more deeply, it is very important to realize that the Spirit of God does not give us additional revelation today, and the Spirit will certainly not instruct anyone in contradiction to the word of God.  It is the Spirit who gave us the word, and it was given once and for all time.  As Jude wrote, “…I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (Jude 3b NAS95) God’s instructions to us were handed down once and for all through the apostles and prophets who were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  What spiritual danger we could find ourselves in if we listen to the words of someone who claims the Spirit told them this or showed them that!  No, we must hold fast to the word of God which was given by the Spirit of God!

—Scott Colvin

Leave a Comment » | 1 Corinthians 12:31, Holy Spirit, John 16:14, Jude 3 | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Scott Colvin

One Body, One Faith

April 5, 2022

Have you ever wondered why there are so many different religious beliefs and denominations in the world today?  One thing is certain, Jesus did not start many different religious denominations.  He started one church made up of people who have saving faith in Him.  God adds people to His one church when they respond in faith and are baptized into Christ.  This is what happened on the day Peter preached the first Gospel sermon.  The scriptures say, “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41, NASB) Only God can add souls to the church he established.

Just as there is only one church, there is also only one faith.  Paul writes, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6, NASB) The word faith in this passage is referring to the body of beliefs that the church holds in common.  As Jude writes to the church, “…Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (Jude 3, NASB). Notice that he does not speak of a faith, but the faith.  There is only one faith.  The one faith was once and for all handed down from God, and we need to be contending earnestly for it. Every belief, doctrine, and practice that we hold as a church should be rooted in God’s word and nowhere else. 

We need to be careful that we do not substitute the creeds, traditions, and doctrines of men for the truth of God’s word.  When we stray from the word of God, we end up with many various teachings that are not coming from God, but from man.  Of course, we may struggle in our attempts to correctly interpret the word of God, but this doesn’t change the fact that we should recognize that there is only one body and one faith.  I know that as we make sincere, prayerful attempts to honor the word and stay within the word, God will lead us into a better understanding and help us to properly apply His teachings.  There is one body.  There is one faith.  May God help us as we strive to hold to these precious truths. 

—Scott Colvin

Leave a Comment » | Acts 2:41, Christianity, church, Ephesians 4:4-6, Jude 3, truth, unity | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Scott Colvin