Pneumatological Reflections

Since coming to Sylvan Lake and beginning my internship, one of the topics that has come up repeatedly is that of the filling of the Holy Spirit. Admittedly, this is a topic that I have less knowledge of than I should. I think that the Holy Spirit is the most neglected member of the Trinity in many of our churches, as we want to make sure that we are not "too charismatic" or "too crazy." This is a most unfortunate oversight on our part. The church here in Sylvan is striving to be a "Spirit filled church that isn't crazy," which I think is a great goal.

This past week as I was reflecting on the topic of the Holy Spirit, I had a very simple yet profound revelation. While this revelation is nothing that I haven't known and believed all my life, the significance of it never really hit me until recently. And that revelation is simply this: the Holy Spirit IS God. The Holy Spirit is not a mere spirit such as humans possess, but the third member of the Trinity. I think that due to our frequent neglect of the Holy Spirit in our churches, we unconsciously diminish the power and deity of the Holy Spirit in our minds.

I think that when we come to truly recognize the full divinity of the Holy Spirit, we cannot help but be strengthened and emboldened for whatever tasks and purposes God has in store for us. Think about it: residing within every Christian is the very same all-powerful God who made the lame walk, who caused the blind to see, who cleansed lepers from their affliction, and who raised the dead. It is the Spirit of the same God who came "to preach good news to the poor...to bind up the brokenhearted...to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1). It is this God who abides with us, walking with us in our everyday lives. As Jesus ascended into heaven, He left His disciples with this promise: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Because of this great power residing within us, our task is simple. As one of the local youth pastors here put it, all God asks us to do is to obey - He is responsible for enabling us to follow His instructions. How simple yet profound!

However, we as humans are not devoid of responsibility when it comes to the filling of the Spirit and His working through us. In order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must first surrender our lives to God and His purposes. In his book "How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit," A. W. Tozer suggests that the filling of the Spirit is an ongoing process. He writes that the Spirit can only fill those areas of our lives in which we have fully surrendered to Him. As we surrender more and more areas of our lives, He is able to fill more and more of us. While there is a great deal regarding the filling of the Holy Spirit that remains a mystery, Tozer's explanation makes sense to me based on my own personal experiences.

So now I will leave you with this question as posed by Tozer:

"Are you sure that you want to be possessed by a spirit other than your own? Even though that spirit be the pure Spirit of God? Even though He be the very gentle essence of the gentle Jesus? Even though He be sane and pure and free? Even though He be wisdom personified, wisdom Himself, even though He have a healing, precious ointment to distill? Even though He be loving as the heart of God? That Spirit, if He ever possess you, will be the Lord of your life!"