Rev. Don Campbell
Acts 1-3
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2019
“THE SPIRIT AT WORK”
When the Spirit came like a mighty rushing wind on the Day of Pentecost and the apostles began to speak in tongues, it was not a moral influence, but a mechanistic one, as the Spirit took control of their tongues, enabling them to speak in languages they had not learned. Not all believers received this power (1 Corinthians 12:29-30). Nor, was anyone ever exhorted or commanded to be filled with the Spirit in this sense.
On the other hand, the Holy Spirit indwells all believers, morally, not mechanistically; metaphysically, not metaphorically. The word metaphysical means “of or relating to things that are thought to exist but that cannot be seen.” Jesus combined the metaphysical and metaphorical when speaking of the new birth. He used the wind to describe the metaphysical truth of the operation of the Spirit in the new birth (John 3:8). One cannot see wind, but only the results of wind. One cannot see the new birth, only the results of it.
When Jesus said that rivers of living water would flow from the hearts of believers (John 7:38), he was speaking metaphorically, because a literal river flowing from one’s heart is an impossibility. However, that metaphorical statement points to a metaphysical truth—a truth that John states: “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive.”
The flow of the Spirit from us depends on the flow of the Spirit within us. Paul wrote, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). “Be filled” is in the imperative mood, meaning that it is a command or direction. Using another metaphor, Paul said, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). The point is that we can hinder the Spirit’s flow into and from our heart in two ways: First by failing to be filled with the Spirit. Two by hindering the Spirit, whether through a lack of faith or through living in the flesh, which is like throwing dirt on the flames.
God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit will not invade our free will or break down the walls of our ignorance, but they will come in and sup with us, or as John says, have fellowship with us (1 John 1:3), when we open the door. However, many have closed the door on the Spirit, believing that the promised gift means only that the Spirit dwells in us through the written word. The Spirit within will always lead us toward, not away from the written word. However, many have filled themselves with the words of the Scripture without filling themselves with the mind of God. And some humble souls, who can cite only a few Scriptures and quote even fewer are clearly filled with the Spirit, as manifested by the fruit they bear. Paul accused his Jewish brethren of having the Law of Moses in their heads, but not their hearts (Romans 2:17-29). We can do the same with the New Testament Scriptures. 1. If an angel were to appear to you and tell you that Paul was in error when he said, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27), would you believe the angel or Galatians 3:27? (If you have trouble answering, read Galatians 1:8-9. 2. Are you hindering the work of the Spirit in your life by unbelief, sin, or indifference?
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