Most of us here would acknowledge the Holy Spirit as the third person in the divine Trinity. As a church we uphold this belief when we state that we subscribe to the Nicene Creed. But more importantly, I think and hope that most of us here would have experienced the work of the Spirit acting personally in our lives. The more charismatic amongst us, I suspect, would have many instances of being filled by the Spirit, and encountering God in quite an ecstatic manner. Although I personally have never spoken in tongues nor been slain by the Spirit for example, I have definitely experienced the Spirit of God working in my life and around me, mostly through silence and through the experiencing of peace even in difficult times. I also encounter the Holy Spirit through God’s natural creation around me, through inner wisdom, wisdom down the ages, and through my interaction with people and relationships.
If we spent some time thinking of the work God has done, and is doing in our lives, I am sure we can probably recall some experiences which stand out for us, where we felt the Holy Spirit unmistakably with us. When compared to what others have encountered, we may discover that some of these experiences overlap and resonate with the narratives in the Bible. The Ezer cell group is presently studying the Book of Acts and during one of our recent sessions, we did a short study of the Holy Spirit, which features prominently in Acts. Some of our overlapping experiences of the Holy Spirit involved the giving of discernment and wisdom, peace and comfort, and also visible signs of God’s presence in our lives, an effect which was both empowering and transformative.
The Holy Spirit plays many roles, and we know from Genesis, was present since Creation. This morning, I would like to look at three key roles of the Spirit, as evidenced by the life of Jesus Christ, and the subsequent work done in us.
The roles are Regeneration, Anointing and Transformation, and are ideas taken from the book, The Giving Gift: The Holy Spirit in Person, by Tom Smail.
REGENERATION
In the Book of Luke, we learn that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
In Luke 1: 34 – 35 (NIV), it says:
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called Son of God."
Verse 35 affirms that the child to be born of Mary can be called the Son of God, because his coming to being or his generation is through the action of the Holy Spirit upon his mother, and not through the act of a human father. In this context, ‘Son of God’ means one whose human life has been brought into being by the direct action of God through the Holy Spirit.
By his coming, death and resurrection, Jesus has redeemed us from sin and brings into our lives that same Holy Spirit which was intrinsic to his generation. However, unlike Christ, we are generated by human parents, and the Spirit plays a regenerative role in our lives once we become Christians, making us children of God.
Romans 8: 16 – 17 says:
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
It is no small matter to be heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. It is a great calling, and we trust and have faith that the regenerative work of the Spirit in our lives will help make us be worthy heirs and children that will ultimately bear the fruit of the action of the Spirit in us. Regeneration is a process, as it takes a lifetime to become more Christ-like and to learn the heart of God. How does this happen?
John 14: 16 – 17, says:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
And later in verse 26:
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
The Holy Spirit is hence our teacher and Counselor, and is the Spirit of truth, giving us discernment and wisdom of God’s truth and teachings for us. A lot of us often pray for wisdom and understanding when we read the Bible and interpret Scripture but this teacher and Counselor, the Spirit of truth can also be found in our experiences, We should also look to our personal experiences to help us discern what God may be trying to reveal to us, through our thoughts, feelings and relationships with others.
One of the approaches to theology or “the study of God and what God is doing” employs four key areas to unpack understanding of the work of God in our lives. The key areas are Scripture, Tradition, Reason and Experience. FCC adheres to this approach as indicated in our Principles of Community Living, which can be found on our website.
Theologians have argued about the priority that each ought to be given and most Christians probably give Scripture the most priority. The work of our personal Experiences however should not be neglected.
In an article published in 1994 by ordained priest and psychotherapist, John McNeil, McNeil found that many gay and lesbian Christians have developed a deeper personal prayer life, learning to discern through their Spirit, so as to be able to hear what God is saying to them in their hearts, feelings and inner convictions. This includes learning to trust their discernment even amidst homophobic messages from around them, and is akin to developing a “new level of spiritual maturity”.
Perhaps many of us can identify with this. We have learnt to trust our inner convictions, our feelings of peace, comfort and feeling loved and accepted by God despite negative views by some of our sexual orientation.
Some of us have sensed our deep sense of calling, to change perceptions and attitudes, to bring about God’s justice and shalom to all marginalised peoples. I think that God, through the Holy Spirit as teacher and counselor, enables us to learn from, and trust our experiences and feelings, and to gain confidence in truths that God is revealing to us. Sometimes, this makes the crucial difference in a world of differing Scriptural interpretation and theologies.
Of course, I am not saying that Scripture, Tradition or Reason is not important. I am wondering however, how we can make spiritual attentiveness a discipline. How can we hone our affective or “feeling-life” more to discern truths the Spirit is telling us? I think the Spirit is trying to lift us up all the time, to regenerate us. But perhaps we have not learnt how to listen, or listen closely enough. Maybe we have not gained sufficient confidence in our spirituality, apart from religious knowledge.
And how can we discern as a community, and make sense of our experiences?
Perhaps we can start by sharing our experiences more with one another, by praying and meditating together, going for spiritual retreats, and learning how to access our feelings and make meaning of them. It would be wonderful if our church could have contemplation rooms and areas, if we could have opportunities to learn different forms and approaches to prayer, and even have a spiritual director/s we could tap on to walk with us through our journey.
ANOINTING
In addition to regeneration, the Holy Spirit also plays an anointing role in our lives, as it did in the life of Christ.
Luke 3: 21 – 22, says:
“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
The regenerating Spirit is hence also the Messianic Spirit. Messiah or Christ means ‘the anointed one’. What was Jesus anointed to do?
In chapter 4: 18 – 19, Jesus reads from Isaiah to state his vocation:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Jesus’ anointing as Messiah was not about power and might and kingly rule on earth, but about liberating servanthood and service. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the climax of this anointed messianic servanthood, which has set us free, so that we too may become God’s anointed servants.
Hebrews 9: 14 says:
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
As Christians, we derive our description from Christ, the anointed one who served. So as anointed ones, we too have to serve the living God, by serving others. That is our vocation; one we have accepted and promised to obey at our baptism. Our Christian life and ministry has its source in the same anointing work of the Holy Spirit as Jesus’ did.
This is an important reminder about what being Christian means. Often, the focus tends to remain on salvation but we miss the point, and lose the plot when we fail to understand our vocation completely. Our salvation being assured, we need to move beyond that to become Christ-like, to allow the Spirit to regenerate and anoint us. Some Christians however, move from salvation to asking for blessings, without asking or examining how they themselves can be a blessing to others. It is alright to ask God for blessings for ourselves, but perhaps more importantly, we should be asking and inviting the Spirit to regenerate and anoint us, and also to examine whether we are truly open to the Spirit’s work in us.
It sounds like a cliché to say that one of the greatest blessings is the opportunity to serve others but ask those in our midst who actively serve others in the community and many will have positive stories about how the act of reaching out has personally blessed them. Despite our own problems, unanswered prayers, we should reach out and serve others because that is what we are called to do and we do it out of obedience to God, following the example of Christ. Matthew 7: 16 says, “by their fruit will you recognise them”. By our fruit will we be recognised as followers of Christ.
We can be assured that the same Spirit that has anointed us to do God’s work will also give us the courage and wherewithal to act. Our teacher and counselor will also help us. There are many instances in Scripture where the disciples and other followers of Christ were empowered by the Spirit to act and to speak. They were emboldened, given peace amidst great uncertainty, and in some instances, supernatural acts also took place in their midst, such as prison doors being opened by angels, and being mysteriously transported from place to place, in what the Ezer cell group has termed a “Beam me up, Goddie” moment.
While we might not have had such dramatic experiences, or maybe some of us have! I’m sure we can testify to instances where we felt empowered by the Spirit, where we had strength or resolve to act which otherwise would not have been there. We as a church can also spur one another on to do good works, to serve each other and the wider community. Perhaps we have to hold each other accountable and encourage one another to get involved in our SafeHands’ projects, as well as share our experiences of serving communities outside of those the church is committed to. Doing so will sensitise us to the needs of others, highlight areas where social justice is required, and also enable us to support one another. It will also allow us to do praxis, which involves conscious reflection on the work we do, to ensure we are truly helping the people we are trying to.
There is another key narrative of being anointed by the Holy Spirit in the Bible, and that is the Pentecost event. Here, the early Christians experienced a supernatural event, an undeniable in-filling and anointing of the Spirit, as earlier promised to them by the Messiah.
Acts 2: 1 – 8 records:
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?” Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?"
>From these verses, it seems to imply that the Spirit acts in an inclusive manner. Despite being of different nationalities and speaking different ethnic tongues, those present each heard their own language being spoken by someone who would otherwise not been able to do so. This is perhaps a foretaste of the possibilities in the Spirit – where barriers despite differences will be broken down, where communication and understanding in spite of differences is possible, where amidst diversity, Christians can still come together and be community.
By the Spirit’s help FCC has managed to come this far and be church despite our differences, and by the Spirit’s help we will continue to evolve and develop. My hope is that we would invite this Spirit of inclusivity to work in a more radical way in this church, and beyond. I think it is through our worship together and as we invite the Holy Spirit to be with us, that we are reminded that we are the Body of Christ, and our liturgy – our work and offering to God which draws us as a Body closer, and closer to God is crucial in facilitating this inclusiveness.
When we worship with those who are against us or who misunderstand or do not understand us, then perhaps the Spirit of inclusiveness may be felt most present. Barriers come down and communication is made possible. The challenge I guess is how to get such Christians into our church in the first place or if perhaps they won’t come, then we can go out to them. And to a certain extent some of us already have. We are out in other churches who cannot or have difficulty accepting us being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. We worship together with these congregations and are one of them too. Maybe more of us who more confident and secure in our faith and sexuality, and who have good support systems should be returning to the mainstream churches and be witnesses for the GLBT Christian community. That would be our way of missions, of bringing God’s love, liberation and justice. And in, and with faith, we know that the Spirit of inclusivity will do its
work, changing hearts and minds.
TRANSFORMATION
Finally, the third crucial role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christ was the Spirit’s role in his transformation or his transfiguration after his death, resurrection and ascension. Before Jesus gives up his Spirit to others at Pentecost, he himself receives the Spirit afresh in a way that is distinct from his conception and baptism, or his generation and anointing. In connection with the completion of his saving work, his resurrection and ascension, there has been a new work of the Spirit in him, which results in the transfiguration and sanctification of his humanity in a new way and to a new degree.
In Acts 2: 32 - 33, we read that Peter addresses the crowd at Pentecost and says:
“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.”
The Spirit who has now been poured out on the disciples was first poured out upon the ascended Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15: 45, says:
“So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.”
The last Adam here refers to the incarnate Christ. Having fulfilled God’s purposes for the whole of humanity, he is full of the Spirit of divine self-giving that he pours out upon us his transfigured and fulfilled humanity, so that we may be changed into sanctified and fulfilled people.
Hence in addition to regenerating and anointing us, the Spirit also transforms us. Many of us can testify to the transforming work of God, through the Holy Spirit in our lives. Most of the time, this transformation is gradual, at other times, stark and momentous. Perhaps the question is how sensitised we are to the processes of transformation, and how open and receptive we are to them.
Transformation often forces us out of our comfort zone, and like Christ, it is often times accompanied by periods of suffering. We all dislike suffering and do our best to avoid it but suffering seems inevitable. It is also the crucial ingredient that plays a major role in transforming us to be Christ-like. This does not mean that we don’t do anything about alleviating suffering, eradicating injustice or bringing about healing. What I am trying to get at is our attitude towards suffering; suffering despite and in spite of everything we do to try and make things better. How do we cope, and how do we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit?
I recently came across an interesting issue of the Christian journal, Conversations which featured the topic of mysticism. In there, mysticism has been defined as:
- Kenneth Boa: Mysticism is an intuitive and heart-oriented approach to spiritual formation that explores the inner terrain of the soul’s journey toward God
- Henri Nouwen: Mystics are men and women of God who ardently desire to dwell in God’s presence, to listen to God’s voice, to look at God’s beauty, to touch God’s incarnate Word and to taste fully God’s infinite goodness
- Evelyn Underhill: Mysticism involves the establishment of intimate, conscious relation with the Infinite, or God; where both advancement on the mystical journey and commitment to practical social action is encouraged
- John Michael Talbot: A mystic is an ordinary person blessed by an extraordinary experience of God that transforms life in amazing ways. A mystic is someone who believes that there are realities to life that are beyond what can be perceived by our rational minds or described in words
- Tilden Edwards: Mysticism is a spiritual awareness that appears in the spaciousness before and between our thoughts, spaces we are not usually conditioned to value
>From the definitions offered, all Christians can be mystics too, and this was what the journal was advocating as well. This is a spirituality that helps us cope with life’s mysteries and complexities, with life’s suffering and accompanying feelings, and where we gain spiritual truths and understanding; all of which are integral to our transformation.
Ultimately, mysticism apart from religious knowledge, involves our feeling and heart-life with God, listening and being sensitive to the Spirit working in our lives; that small, inner voice, and our being still and sitting with God; co-operating with the Spirit, and allowing ourselves to be transformed.
Aside from the concepts that have been articulated this morning, there are also a myriad of other roles that the Holy Spirit plays in the life of Christians, and perhaps we become more aware of the Spirit’s presence when rationality and logic fails, when all human efforts have been expended and seem insufficient.
It is like the psalmist says in Psalm 139: 7 – 10:
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
It is the Holy Spirit that regenerates, anoints and transforms us, giving us the discernment, wisdom, peace, comfort and empowering knowledge that there is a God who is with us, who is waiting for us to continually come, taste and see.
Amen.
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