Why don’t Christians talk more about the Holy Spirit? So asks Dan Edelen in a blog post from early last year. He wants to know why Christian blogs, bookstores, and churches are full of talk about just about every imaginable topic… but seem strangely silent about the third person of the Trinity.
This question came up indirectly at church earlier this month when a long-time member of my congregation finally made an official profession of faith after decades of attending and participating in church life. He cited a decades-long personal struggle over the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as one of the reasons he had hitherto felt unable to publicly profess his Christian faith.
That, and Dan’s post above, really stuck with me, because they made me realize how little I talk (or even think) about the Holy Spirit compared to the persons of God the Father and Jesus the Son. And I can’t think of a compelling reason why this is the case. I certainly believe in the Holy Spirit and Christian teachings about His role. But somehow talking about the Father and the Son comes more naturally to me when discussing my faith.
Have you noticed this relative silence about the Holy Spirit in your church or in the blogs and books you read? Does the phrase “Holy Spirit” conjure up too many uncomfortable images of snake-handling charismatics and other fringe movements? Or does the average Christian struggle to understand the role that the Holy Spirit plays in the grand spiritual scheme of things? Does the Holy Spirit feel more “impersonal” at first glance than the Father and Son? What do you think?
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January 30, 2008 at 18:53
Andy,
Thank you for expanding on my post from over at Cerulean Sanctum. I appreciate what you have to say.
No, your experience is not unusual. Evangelical churches are oddly silent on most “supernatural” aspects of the faith. We have a static pneumatology that fails to advance study of the Spirit and His role in the Trinity. Our demonology is deficient. We gloss over the miraculous in Scripture and act as if it was relegated to a less advanced age. We shy away from nearly every aspect of the invisible realms while at the same time adamantly declaring we believe them to be real (or more real, as Lewis notes in The Great Divorce). It’s all very strange.
Thanks for bringing up this issue. It’s a serious one that requires frank discussion.
Blessings.
January 30, 2008 at 21:28
I really think it really depends on which tradition you were raised in. I was raised in the Assemblies of God and had no trouble recognizing and worshiping the presence of the Holy Spirit in my daily life. Certainly there has been problems with excess in some church’s emphasis on the manifestations of the Spirit but I think we should at least recognize that the Spirit’s work is a major part of the book of Acts.
January 30, 2008 at 22:51
I don’t think we know the Holy Spirit because the whole subject makes us nervous. But in reality, while on earth Jesus performed all his miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. The very fact that the first picture you thought of was “snake handling Charismatics” shows your uncomfortableness with the whole subject. Yet, most demographers calculate that 25% of Christians in the world are pentecostal. Or 250 to 500 million. These are people who emphasize the fullness of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, the activity of the Holy Spirit in the world today. And of course most of the revival activity in Africa and Latin America is pentecostal or charismatic.
Jesus said it was important that he leave the earth because He would send another “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” The Holy Spirit is always a person, a HE. He does things, He speaks, He distributes the gifts of the Spirit like miracles, healing, speaking in tongues, etc. etc….the things that really make us nervous. But also the things associated with the greatest revival the world has ever seen. Luke says, “Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, reveals our secrets (1st Cor. 14) and clothes us with power which makes us do foolish things like appearing drunk at 9 in the morning (acts), witnessing like crazy and praying for healing. No wonder He makes us nervous.
January 31, 2008 at 05:34
Perhaps because the Spirit prays with us and for us, works within us, but is not usually addressed in ordinary prayer, except in the great doxologies to the Trinity. Praise and thanksgiving are usually addressed to the Father, through the Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
January 31, 2008 at 10:59
I was just recently thinking about this. I was praying to God asking Him to help me understand and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit and it dawned on me that I was “talking about the Holy Spirit as if He weren’t there,” (which is, as you know, considered to be poor manners). I realized that subconsciously I was looking at the Holy Spirit more as an impersonal “power” of God, which is heretical. This view was partly enforced by the fact that in my church you will never hear the Holy Spirit addressed directly, although it is common to address parts of prayer to either the Father or the Son.
January 31, 2008 at 13:07
Yes, we should talk and think more about the Holy Spirit. However, just as John the Baptist did not attract attention to himself, but to Jesus, I believe the Holy Spirit does the same thing. He draws attention to the Father and the Son.
Many times I am not aware of His working, at least not at the time. I do often ask Him to pray for me when I do not know how to pray.
January 31, 2008 at 16:05
Yep, thanks for bringing it up… I don’t think I’ve heard much spoken about the HS for the last few years. I feel this has happened across the board. I only really noticed 3 or 4 months ago. I wonder what (if this is the case) God is teaching us, and where he wants to take the community next? Perhaps we will learn more about the character of the HS, after shedding some of the conceptions developed over the last few decades.
I like the thought pattern of the previous commenter’s.
January 31, 2008 at 18:19
Regarding Sheryl’s comments I want to make one minor point. It is not that we ask the Holy Spirit to pray for us, He prays through us. Our spirit is joined to the Holy Spirit. In 1st Corinthians 14 Paul talks about about praying in the spirit “For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying. Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.”
In Romans chapter 8 he elaborates further. There are times when we just don’t know how to pray for a thing. We’ve prayed in our understanding about a situation but we feel we don’t know the whole story and we are still burdened. It is then that “the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” While what we utter may be groanings or unintelligeble to our understanding, the Father hears and answers.
Jude also encourages us to build up our faith saying “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
The devotional practice of praying in tongues, or praying in the spirit, is of great value in making our prayers more precise and powerful and building our faith at the same time. It was of great value to Paul. He says, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.” The Corinthians in their enthusiasm were praying in tongues outloud in public meetings and causing confusion. They needed to understand that this is primarily a personal, devotional gift. He closes chapter 14 of Corinthians saying, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.”
February 1, 2008 at 00:04
This is such a strange question to me. The doctrine of the Trinity is that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all ONE GOD. When I talk about God or about Jesus, I mean both or either of them nearly all the time and I assume that they are in full possession of the Spirit. I don’t see them as being separate from each other, regardless of what words I use, except perhaps in subtlties of function. The Spirit, by virtue of being Spirit, is part of both God and Jesus, but with the added function of being IN ME. You might say He is a part of me, too. The part that makes me a part of the family. When I pray to Jesus, God, Father, I EXPECT that the Spirit is there working to enable my words to adequately express my need and my heartfelt emotions. Sometimes, my own words seem so inadequate that I can only ask the Spirit that is in me to convey the desires of my heart to the Father & Son. I don’t pray to the Spirit because the Spirit is a part of me, and if I feel that the Spirit is lacking, I ask Jesus or the Father for more of him. The idea that I might pray to Heaven and ask to solely speak to God’s Spirit would seem to me like asking to speak to God’s heart or his brain or his hands. In other words, silly. Maybe I am odd in that I have no problem with the supernatural aspects of my faith even though I am definitely not charismatic by inclination. I have witnessed “praying in tongues” on two separate occassions, both of which were very private and holy. The other Gifts are less dramatic and supernatural seeming but are given a higher Biblical ranking. I don’t believe the Holy Spirit shows off in order to make the worship service more exciting so I would expect that His Work would often go without mention.
I don’t think this adequately expresses my beliefs but I can’t seem to articulate it any better.
February 1, 2008 at 00:22
Having moved between different denominations (Episcopal, Baptist, E Covenant, Friends, Presbyterian) my observation is that each of these traditions seem to have boxed in the HS where they describe it. They seem to say, “We don’t know exactly what to do with this but we know it’s like this, and not this.”
As I’ve read the church fathers and mothers, especially those from ancient and Catholic traditions, I’m amazed at how there’s a oneness in their expressions and experience of the HS in their lives.
February 1, 2008 at 08:28
We just spent the month of January teaching on the Holy Spirit followed up by prayer meetings on the Sunday nights. Things went great. It’s funny how we don’t spend much time speaking about the One who convicts of sin, lifts up Jesus and empowers us for ministry. When it is done properly how can you lose?
February 1, 2008 at 14:19
I Love Rick’s Comments they were right on the mark. I belive people only want to hear that God is a Loving God and he is just that. But what about in Romans 8:9 if you have not my sprit you are none of mind that is the same loving God.
People are not being taught about the Holy Sprit it is a gift from God and why don’t we want everthing God has for us. Yes you will speak in other tongues as the sprit give’s that is where people get anger so they don’t talke about it.
Did you know this same Holy Sprit that raised God is the same sprit that will raise us when the Rapture takes place? Some don’t even know about the rapture. The Holy Sprit is so much more deeper than we know or think I love having it if I were anyone who did not have it I would not want to be caught dead without it. I know people belive different things but if your heart is right and you really want to know him in his fullness ask him to open your understanding and he will he Love’s you more than you know.
February 1, 2008 at 15:16
Thanks for posting that! I went to a church that rarely talked about the HS. I rededicated my life through that church, served there but I never understood who the HS was and His role in my life during my 5 years there. Their explanations of the Trinity had theology jargon all over it. I moved away & God taught me abt Himself as the Holy Spirit through J. Meyer. I now worship in a non-denom church,where the leadership recognizes the Holy Spirit’s active role & is led by Him. We don’t wail and speak in tongues or cast out demons on the stage. But there definetely is life!My church is not perfect but I see the fruit of God’s presence there. It’s hard to explain. I agree that God is One. We also need to understand even a little of what the HS’s role is so that we can be effective and grow. The bible says: “Be filled with the HS”. If you do not know what that means, how will you grow? Not being aware of the HS is not a sin but how much more can we be if we know what the Holy Spirit’s role is in our lives? Though my 1st church grew in numbers, and we “served”, there was no life in it. Whatever was missing we filled with programs and service activities, but we never did anything big as a church. The church was afraid that people would take the gifts of the Holy Spirit too far. So they hardly mentionned praying, living & being led by the HS. They forgot that fear of anything else (other than that of the Lord)will not allow you to experience God fully. God’s anointing in my current church is so evident-we have programs but they actually make a difference in the community and in the world. There’s life there; it’s hard to explain. I know we will never fully comprehend God but I’ll take what I can get!
February 2, 2008 at 13:57
I was a charismatic dissatisfied with poor Bible teaching. Through marriage I grew in the Bible with our church’s excellent Bible teaching: —but no spirit filling. Earnest Christians explained away Paul’s “I am glad that I speak in tongues more than you all.” and “Quench not the spirit” and “Forbid not to speak in tongues”. Great men of god condemned Paul himself if he dared to prophesy in church since 100 AD. Nobody gets it right. FEAR = IGNORANCE = FEAR We should not be afraid of spirit-filled people. We should not ignore the Bible’s teaching on God the Holy Spirit. We should expect Christ Jesus’s Holy Spirit working in people’s lives. (This is as opposed to the Holy Spirit not working in people’s lives. You judge.)
February 3, 2008 at 05:24
Televangelists have stolen the Holy Spirit for use as a money making tool and have lined their pockets and turned Believers into customers rather than sheep. Pat Robertson has made this game into an artform.
February 4, 2008 at 15:03
Andy – this is a good post and very thought provoking. It’s an issue that we evangelicals need to consider well, as much of what takes place in your typical church meeting on Sundays could happen almost the same in the absence of the Holy Spirit. I doubt that you are implying this at all, but perhaps it should be pointed out that there is a big difference between people who embrace the present day working of all New Testament gifts of the Spirit (one very good definition of the term “charismatic”) and “snake handling charismatics”.
For instance – I have heard atheists slam Baptists for the actions of Fred Phelps – the military funeral protesting pastor of Westboro BAPTIST church. The fact is that Phelps and Westboro are Baptist in name only – no major grouping of Baptists would accept them. I almost wonder if Phelps and his cronies represent a sort of spiritual “false flag” attack on Christianity.
Similarly snake handling charismatics are at the very fringe of Christianity, and most charismatic groups do not embrace them at all. Sadly, if you were to ask me why so many charismatics embrace many of the uber wealthy televangelists on the airwaves, I’d be hard pressed to come up with a good answer for that.
Solid charismatics (using my first definition above) include:
Theologian Wayne Grudem
John Piper
Martyn Lloyd Jones
John R. W. Stott
J.P. Moreland
This post and the comments after it represent a good and needed dialog – well done!
February 6, 2008 at 14:41
Luke 3:16
“John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
John 1:33
“I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’”
Acts 1:5
“For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Perhaps many believers don’t discuss the Holy Spirit because they haven’t been born of / baptized with the Holy Spirit. Maybe the real question for us is, as Paul asked some disciples, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? (Acts 19:2-6)”
February 7, 2008 at 12:51
Let’s stop beating around the bush. The Holy Spirit isn’t mentioned in some of our churches because we have dying churches!
Many mainline churches and others have substituted the power of what they know instead of experiencing the power of Spirit, which they may not understand.
As a pastor, I’m always searching out the Spirit, witin and in the world around me, to see what God sees and experience what God experiences.
I agree with the comment I once heard that, “The Holy Spirit is not an it, and if your church leaders don’t understand why, time for a new church.”
The Spirit is the functional part of the Godhead that gives us life more abundant. We can do nothing without the Spirit’s power and conviction, which is why we were given the gift in the first place.
February 8, 2008 at 13:33
I believe and has been somewhat my expeience”, that, “the average Christian”, is not totally aware of whats available to them as far as the Holy Spirit. I grew up with many religeons surrounding me, but christianity stood out as the dominant in my family.
But as I grew as a Christian, I ended up in a penticostal church. All other veniews of christianity can tell you there is something about them. And it’s how they observe the Holy Spirit! They don’t deny God of his complete purpose for this part of His Trinity.
But the Holy Ghost is first in your life as,”a still small voice.” That is the important part, the seedling of sorts. The more you grow in Christ,the more is revealed to you.God has many gifts for us, but you have to realize that they are there in order too use them. they are always there in front of us,we just need to tap into them by studying the word.
I could not have realized this without the lifes journey that God put me on And I’m plenty thankful for his blessings!
February 21, 2008 at 07:31
The Holy Spirit is the actual power of Jesus and The Father at work in our lives. The Spirit inspires, convicts, leads us to Bible passages, reveals, in-fills, moves,teaches, and comforts. I feel extremely that through the Holy Spirit I have a direct line to the Father and the Son. Without that connection the communication couldn’t be omnipresent. C.S. Lewis explained that the Holy Spirit is the love that flows between the Father and the Son, making them One in Spirit. Just as a company, a church, a sportsteam or a group can have a communal “spirit”, so is the Holy Spirit within the definition of the Trinity.
Spirit in all these cases, albeit invisible, is emotionally tanglible. If your team is pumped up and hyped you can feel it, the excitement is palpable in the locker room.
The Holy Spirit in the Trinity therefore is Pure Love, it is the essence of Father God’s and Jesus’s relationship. Love by definition is Light, within which there can be no darkness and therefore no hate, no deceit, no pride… The Holy Spirit makes people uncomfortable because His purity is so overwhelming, so Godlike, that it simply knocks you off your feet and moves you to tears. Luckily I’ve had “Holy Spirit” moments, when I was moved in the Spirit and all those around me witnessed Him moving in me and there was not a dry eye in the house.
The Holy Spirit, in my opinion, is actually the most present facet of the Holy Trinity within our lives while on Earth. To not recognize that fact is to withhold one of the most incredible and wonderful aspects of Christianity from your life, and to simply put, make your life less wonderous and special.
God bless, and I pray that all who read this have an infilling of the Holy Spirit. It is truly Amazing Grace!
February 21, 2008 at 07:39
P.s. I just wanted to add that there was not a dry eye in the house, because the Holy Spirit moved me to thank God for all that He had given me. That all people are precious in His sight, and that everyone is worthy of His love. If you pray to the Spirit to speak through you and to give you the right words at the right time to help the Kingdom of the Lord, you will be blessed by what you will be given a front seat to witness.