May/June 2003
The Gift of the Spirit
by J. Michael Feazell
| The Spirit is not a prima donna, a showboat, an entertainer, a circus or a sideshow. The Spirit is God, and he is God with the Father and the Son and no other way. |
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).
Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit, described in Acts 2:2, as a powerful wind and flames of fire. It might be tempting to think about this "power" that the Holy Spirit provides as something we can use to make us stronger than others, wiser than others or more talented, healthier or wealthier than others.
But the Holy Spirit is God, not a genie in a bottle to grant our every wish. And God is not interested in making us healthier, wealthier and wiser-at least not in the way our natural human instincts think of those things. God is interested in making us like Jesus Christ.
Triune God
There is only one God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is no Holy Spirit, therefore, except the one sent by the Father and the Son to minister their presence with you and in you for your redemption. The Holy Spirit does not draw attention to himself, but leads us to the Son, who presents us to the Father (compare John 14:26; 16:13-14).
The Spirit does not have his own agenda, but only the agenda of the Father and the Son who sent him. That agenda is human redemption and salvation-the gospel agenda. The Spirit is not a prima donna, a showboat, an entertainer, a circus or a sideshow. The Spirit is God, and he is God with the Father and the Son and no other way.
Our heavenly Father is the Father of Jesus Christ, the Father who loved the world so much that he sent his Son to save the world (see John 3:16-17) and who, with the Son, sent the Holy Spirit so that he and the Son would always be with us and in us (see John 14:16-19). That means that any other idea you have about God-about him being mad at you, for example, about him being unsure about what he is finally going to do with you, about him not listening to you or not caring about you or not loving you-is nonsense.
The God who has revealed himself fully in Jesus Christ is the only God there is. He is the God who loves you, sent his Son to save you, and sent his Spirit to make you what you are in Christ. He is the God who will not be without you, and there is no other God but this one-Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That means that the Holy Spirit empowers you, not for human means and ends, but for God's means and ends, which have to do with conforming you to the image of Christ, not with providing you wealth, physical security and long life.
Baptism of the Spirit
To be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8) is to be baptized into the baptism of Jesus Christ. It is to enter into new life in Christ, the life of the kingdom of God. When Jesus was baptized in water, the Holy Spirit came upon him, and when we enter into Jesus' baptism, we enter the fellowship of the Holy Spirit who ministers to all the saints the things of Christ. Our baptism in water is a sign of the baptism we receive in Jesus, which is ministered to us from the Father by the Holy Spirit.
The gifts of the Spirit therefore (see 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; 27-31), whether tongues or healing or administration or teaching or whatever they might be, are for the benefit of the body of Christ, and not for personal acclaim or gain (1 Peter 4:10). They are not to enable us to stand out among people or appear to be closer to God than others. They are not to make us feel more spiritual or more saved or more righteous than others. Rather, they are to enable us to share in Christ's work of love and redemption.
If you are looking for riches, talk to an investment counselor. If you are looking for redemption and love, talk to God. He'll send you the Holy Spirit.
-J. Michael Feazell