Thursday, July 29, 2010

Got Spirit?

Recently, I was asked why we don't celebrate the Holy Spirit more. Why do some movements within the Evangelical church not have holidays like Christmas and Easter for the Holy Spirit (i.e. Pentecost)? Let me offer one possible explanation. The Spirit, by His vey nature, tends to shy away from attention. His role in the Trinity is often to magnify the first two persons. I’m not sure He would want a holiday for Himself, although to honor Him is certainly not unbiblical.
An example of the Spirit’s role is seen in Galatians 4:6
“Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, ‘Abba’, Father.” Note what the Spirit does once He is in our Hearts; He points to the Father and causes intimacy.
But the church universal has different views on this. For example, the Charismatics, in my opinion, tend to focus disproportionately on the Spirit while the“high church” rarely teaches on Him at all. I think there is a balance between the two extremes. Several years ago, I actually took a prayer retreat and spent the entire time talking to the Spirit. I thanked Him for the great work He had done in my life. As Sanders puts it, He is often the "silent Partner" of God's providential movement in our souls. It certainly couldn't hurt to thank Him for such marvelous grace from time to time.

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