Читать книгу Holy Smoke! Unholy Fire! - Robert C McKibben - Страница 17

The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit is God. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is a person. When Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit in John’s gospel account, He never refers to the Spirit as an “it.” Jesus always speaks of the Holy Spirit as “He.” The Spirit is not a thing, a force, a theory, or even a ghost as we’ve come to understand them. Whoever speaks of the Holy Spirit as an “it” hasn’t been fully taught and perhaps doesn’t fully understand “whom” the Holy Spirit is. Some of you may have caught this error earlier in the chapter when I was sharing my introduction to the Spirit. I intentionally used the term “what” to make this point. The Holy Spirit is not a “what” but a “whom!”

Boy, did I learn that lesson the hard way. While still in seminary, I served a little church in Atlanta as a student pastor. On Pentecost Sunday I was preaching and teaching about the Holy Spirit. At the close of the service, I was standing at the door shaking hands with the folks, feeling quite proud of my effort behind the pulpit. Many were politely feeding my ego. But not Katherine. Katherine was an older lady with a unique personality. She was well read, intelligent, and didn’t mind sharing a bit of her mind, especially if it was different than your bit of mind. I have never forgotten what she said to me going out the door, and I will never stop thanking her for sharing her thoughts.

“Bob, you don’t know the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an “it,” He’s a “He.” You need to work on that one.”

I did work on that one and still am. I suppose I will still be working on that one when Jesus comes to take me to that place He’s prepared for me. But, the point is clear and important if you and I want to truly know who the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is God and the Holy Spirit is a person. To resist the Holy Spirit because of a lack of understanding is ruinous. To depersonalize the Holy Spirit for fear of wandering too close is tragic. To run from the presence of the Holy Spirit prevents us from knowing who God really is.

Inching closer to God and allowing our faith to disclose a fresh understanding of the Holy Spirit is not without difficulties. I feel your struggle and identify with your hesitancy. The most obvious problem we have is speaking of the Holy Spirit anthropomorphically. That big word simply means we run into trouble when we try to describe God with human attributes. If we’re not careful we find ourselves recreating God in our image instead of the other way around. But if you stop and think about it, what choice do we have? As human beings we are limited to using words and illustrations that are…well, er…human! Theologians tend to use words that are infamously deep and outrageously unclear, like anthropomorphically. To bring God down to our level, we often use object terms to depict the Holy Spirit. Then we are irreverently guilty of making God nothing more than a graven image. No wonder people are afraid to get close up and personal with the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit cannot be cramped by some deep theological uncertainty and will not be confined to the likeness of a carved statue. The Spirit is the living Person of God. He is the Comforter, remember? As Charles Swindoll puts it, “He is the inextinguishable flame of God, my friend. HE IS GOD.”TPD³DPT

Wander a little closer by slowly drifting down the following list. Take your time. Get your Bible and check these verses out for yourself – slowly, so you can get to know – I mean really know Who the Holy Spirit is.

 John 15:26 The Holy Spirit witnesses to Jesus.

 John 16:8 The Holy Spirit convinces (convicts) the world of sin.

 John 16:13 The Holy Spirit guides us to the truth.

 Acts 13:2 The Holy Spirit calls us into ministry.

 Acts 16:6-7 The Holy Spirit restricts our activities.

 Acts 20:28 The Holy Spirit appoints us to leadership.

 Romans 8:14 The Holy Spirit leads us.

 Romans 8:15-16 The Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit.

 Romans 8:26-27 The Holy Spirit helps us and intercedes for us.

 Revelation 2:7 The Holy Spirit speaks to the Church.

 Matthew 12:31-32 The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed.

 Ephesians 4:30 The Holy Spirit can be grieved.

 Acts 5:3-4 The Holy Spirit can be lied to.

Your short wandering down the list only scratches the surface of “Who” the Holy Spirit is, but it’s a start! The more you read the scriptures, the more often the mask comes off and God reveals His person. God wants a “personal” relationship with you, and has come in the person of the Holy Spirit to initiate that friendship. Don’t run. Hang in there and the smoke will begin to clear.