This past Sunday our congregation had the privilege of
working through three texts on the Holy Spirit. I should throw in the disclaimer that we only
had time to see the big picture and to hit the high points presented in each text. Here are the three texts:
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself
being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole
structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In
him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the
Spirit. – Ephesians 2:19-22
16 Do you not know that you are God's
temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If
anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is
holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for
you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
I made the statement that the greatest texts in the New
Testament about the Holy Spirit are “non-miraculous” texts. When the subject of the Holy Spirit pops up in conversation, most often the chat steers toward interest in the miraculous out-pouring of the Holy Spirit.
But, as I thought about the message of the above texts, I was
once again struck by the “activity” of the Holy Spirit in each one. Each text makes bold declarations about the Spirit's working in the kingdom and in the world NOW. They remind us that the Christian life is much more than a one-dimensional experience of discipleship
and living together as Christian community. The above texts from Paul remind us that the
Holy Spirit is working “right now” to bind believers together in unity in the gospel. We present to the world the most magnificent
temple humankind has ever seen. Coming
together as congregations in the Lord is no earthly enterprise. The Holy Spirit dwells among us and desires to
have his presence and work in the church
of Jesus Christ
As we worked through the great truths tucked away in these
great texts it awakened me to the truth that we live in the world of the Holy Spirit. We didn’t receive the Holy Spirit at baptism
like a gift that someone gives us which we in turn shelve a few days later. We received the Spirit like a new heart
transplant. He goes everywhere we go. It awakened me to our need to live in a consciousness of the Spirit’s presence
in our lives. The Old Testament
tabernacle/temple was a holy place because God made his presence known by the
pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. Our lives constitute holy places by virtue of
the Spirit’s presence with the exception that we are “mobile temples.” It awakened me to the truth that our preoccupation
with “this life” (saving our lives, controlling life, indulging ourselves) may
be due to the minimal amount of thought
we give to these great truths about the Holy Spirit. In
fact, the experience of faith and community that Paul laid before his first readers was built on an appeal to their need become more aware of the Holy Spirit’s working in their
lives and in their respective congregations. According to Paul, if we separate ourselves from a
consciousness of the Holy Spirit, discipleship is little more than a cold
manufactured experience that has a short shelf life.
We need to allow Paul’s words to come to life within us and within our congregations. When
we do, I think we will see more miracles - the really important kind. For instance, we will see more repentance and conversion in the
lives of those estranged from God. A large amount of the disease, fragmentation
and arrogance that plagues our congregations will be rooted out because we are "awake" to the magnificence, presence and working of the Holy Spirit. This will happen because this consciousness of the Spirit removes the blindness from our eyes and opens them to the truth that fellow believers aren't just "baptized" people who sit beside us on Sunday morning, members, chequered histories, and disagreeable personalities. We see each other as temples of the Holy
Spirit. And, our affinity for living life as a subjective experience laced with narcissism will surrender to the kind of discernment that leads us
in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.
We need this consciousness of the Spirit! We need it because it can bless our
churches. It can bless our families. It can bless our meetings. It can bless our bodies. It can bless those who come in contact with
us. For they have not met a mere
mortal. They have made contact with
someone in whom the Spirit of God is living!
Find something bigger than that on the planet. If you do, I want to know about it!
Randy Daugherty
AMEN!!
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