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Results
of the Spirit
No man has seen an
atom at any time.
We know a great deal about atoms. No man has seen God
at any time (John 1:18)
We know a great deal about God. No man has seen my
spirit.
Betty knows a great deal about me. You see the
principle? We understand the inner
workings of something by observing the effects of external forces upon it.
We reason backwards from the evidence.
It is a basic principle of logic that the inner workings are shown in the
outer effects. So it is with a man.
<Prov 27:19 As
water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.> And so it is with
the Spirit. The results of the
Spirit filled life are apparent in the actions of man. Paul put it this way to the Corinthians: You show that you
are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God,
not on tablets of stone but on
tablets of human hearts. ‑‑
2 Corinthians 3:3 (NIV) It remains for us to
see how the effects of the Spirit are shown in a Christian's life.
We will consider three areas:
1)
Different gifts for different people
2)
Tests of the Spirit filled life - and warnings about it
3)
Results in every Christian's life. Varying Gifts Paul put it this way
to the Corinthians (who seemed to have more than their share of trouble with the
concept): {4} There are
different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. {5} There are
different kinds of service, but the same Lord. {6} There are different
kinds of working, but the same God
works all of them in all men. {7} Now to each one
the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. {8} To one
there is given through the Spirit
the message of wisdom, to another the message of
knowledge by means of the same Spirit, {9} to another faith by the same
Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, {10} to another
miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between
spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still
another the interpretation of tongues. {11} All these are the work of one
and the same Spirit, and he gives
them to each one, just as he determines. ‑‑
1 Corinthians 12:4‑11 (NIV) This basic
principle, that each Christian gets differing gifts from the Spirit, is
essential to understanding the role of the Spirit. We each "have" the Holy Spirit (i.e., as a seal of
salvation - see verse 7) but the Spirit does what he wishes in each life.
This is the source of much confusion, as many twentieth century
Christians have concluded that their spiritual life is somehow not
"complete" without one of these miraculous gifts.
But remember the Old Testament? Were
the gifts all miraculous, or were some of them quite ordinary? In general, each of
us receives (remember the exceptions we pointed out last time) the gift of the
Holy Spirit at baptism: Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit.
‑‑ Acts 2:38 (NIV) There seems
therefore to be some distinction between receiving the Spirit and obtaining the
miraculous power of the Spirit: And with that he
breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
‑‑ John 20:22 (NIV) But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth."
‑‑ Acts 1:8 (NIV) SIDE NOTE:
SPEAKING IN TONGUES If there is a
dividing point in contemporary "Bible Believing" Christians, this is
it. Speaking in tongues has
provoked great debate. On one side
are those who believe that until you have spoken and interpreted tongues, you
are not a mature Christian. On the
other are those who staunchly maintain that (since there is no recorded instance
of this gift being passed on from anyone not an apostle) these things died out
in the first century. One reason
there is no such recorded passing on is that Acts records only the time of the
apostles. Another reason is that,
as we have seen last week, the Spirit sometimes gives tongues without the
apostolic laying on of hands. There is a danger,
however, to speaking in tongues. The
danger is extreme; it is blasphemy.
We usually think of the problem as fraud for gain (which can happen).
That's not the big danger. The
big one is for two (a speaker and an interpreter) to conspire to "tell
so-and-so what the Holy Spirit would want said to them anyhow."
The problem with putting words in the Holy Spirit's mouth is that this is
blasphemy. For this reason, Paul
gave the Corinthians rules for speaking in tongues: {22} Tongues, then,
are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.
{23} So if the whole church comes
together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say
that you are out of your mind? {24}
But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes
in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is
a sinner and will be judged by all,
{25} and the secrets of his heart will be laid
bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really
among you!" ‑‑
1 Corinthians 14:22‑25 (NIV) {27} If anyone
speaks in a tongue, two‑‑or at the most three‑‑should
speak, one at a time, and someone
must interpret. {28} If there is no interpreter,
the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
‑‑ 1 Corinthians 14:27‑28 (NIV) See the rules?
Do it to edify the body; do it to convict the believer.
Take turns. Don't speak in
tongues without an interpreter. The
danger was evident even then. No
wonder Paul admonishes us to "test the Spirits." Tests and
Warnings But what about the
Pentecostal position that mature Christians ALL speak in tongues?
How can I test whether the spirit I'm hearing is really the Spirit of
God? Paul gives us some very real
tests - particularly when we are dealing with Satan imitating the Spirit: Therefore I tell you
that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says,
"Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is
Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. ‑‑
1 Corinthians 12:3 (NIV) This is how you can
recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
‑‑ 1 John 4:2 (NIV) The Spirit ALWAYS
testifies to who Jesus is. Here is
the sticking point; here is the
point which Satan stumbles upon. Test
for it. Many Christians ask,
"How can I KNOW that I have the Holy Spirit?"
This is a prime motivation for wanting to speak in tongues.
There is one test of the Spirit filled life of the Christian:
not a pleasant one, but very accurate: If you are insulted
because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the
Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
‑‑ 1 Peter 4:14 (NIV) These are the
positive indicators of the Spirit, particularly that last one.
But those who have the Spirit are warned as well.
The Spirit is not "the Force" at our beck and call;
rather, we should be at the Spirit's call. Paul gives us some warnings about the Spirit: Don't you know that
you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
‑‑ 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV) Did you ever think
of your body as home to the Holy Spirit? It
is perhaps the ultimate meaning of the phrase "hospitality."
Hospitality is important! If
you had a guest in your home, you would go out of your way to make that guest
comfortable. I once described
hospitality (in a lesson based on Acts) as the "sacrifice of the pleasant,
the present and the private." You
have a guest in your body; make
that guest comfortable there. One
way to make that guest uncomfortable is by getting drunk (ever been at a party
where the host and/or hostess were roaringly drunk?) Do not get drunk on
wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with
the Spirit. ‑‑ Ephesians 5:18 (NIV) This passage (so
often used to justify abstinence as a spiritual law - but see Romans 14) brings
up that basic point that within us is the Spirit shaped vacuum.
It will be filled with something. But
even if we start with the Spirit, we can offend Him by drunkenness.
Indeed, if we are not willing to follow the Spirit's leading we can (as
the King James put it) grieve the Spirit: Do not put out the
Spirit's fire; ‑‑
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NIV) There is a
tremendous difference between the welcome guest and the guest you can't get rid
of. There is also a tremendous
difference between being the welcome guest and being the guest who doesn't want
to leave. Results of the
Spirit Filled Life When you ask most
Christians what the results of having the Spirit might be, they will usually
point you to Galatians 5:22-23 (the fruits of the Spirit).
We'll get there soon enough. There
are two other results which you might want to look for in your life: {4} There is one
body and one Spirit‑‑ just as you were called to one hope
when you were called‑‑ {5} one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
‑‑ Ephesians 4:4‑5 (NIV) Is that theological
argument (and this lesson should provoke plenty) so important that it must
fracture the body of Christ? Christ
prayed that we might be one, just as He and the Father are one - different
persons, same essence. So consider
carefully whether or not your desire to argue is to gratify yourself, defend
your prejudices - or what? When you
argue, are you careful of the unity of the Church? There is another,
familiar, result. It is the reading
of the Scripture. Paul describes it
this way: Take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God. ‑‑
Ephesians 6:17 (NIV) If you are a
practicing Christian - do you practice your spiritual warfare?
Do you read the word? Finally, we come to
the capstone passage: the Fruit of
the Spirit. But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self‑control. Against such things there
is no law. ‑‑ Galatians
5:22-23 (NIV) Space does not
permit a complete explanation of this passage (a several weeks study in itself).
Rather, a few thoughts: Love
is agape in the Greek. This
is the commanded, willed love. It
is the act not of passion but of determination.
This is not spur of the moment but planned love. Joy
is chara from which we get our word "charismatic."
Barclay puts it this way: "it
is the joy whose foundation is God." Peace
(eirene) is that tranquility
of the heart that comes from knowing God. The
Greeks used this word to mean the serenity which came from a well governed
society. By extension, it is our
peace that comes from knowing that God rules our lives. Patience
(makrothumia) means more than just resignation to the facts.
It might even better be translated "persistent waiting."
For that is what it really means; the
ability to wait upon God's time, not idly but also not fretting. Kindness (chrestotes) can also be translated
"goodness;" when used of
wine, it means "mellow." This
is the word that is used of Christ's yoke.
The basic idea is that of a goodness which is kind. Goodness (agathosune)
is a rare word in Greek; it can be
defined as "virtue equipped at every point."
Goodness will clean the Temple; kindness
will forgive the woman taken in adultery. Fidelity
(pistis) means simply trustworthiness.
Is your word your bond? Does
the Spirit convict you of promises made? Gentleness (praotes)
is, by Dr. Barclay, almost untranslatable!
It is used in three senses:
1)
submissive to the will of God (see Matthew 5:5, 11:29, 21:5)
2)
being teachable - not to proud to learn (James 1:21)
3)
being considerate (I Cor. 4:21, II Cor. 10:1, Ephesians 4:2) Self-control
(egkrateia) meaning self mastery. It
is used of the disciplined athlete; it is used specifically in mastery of sexual
desire by Christians (I Cor. 7:9). One
major use in political writings of the time is the idea of an Emperor who never
lets his private interests influence the government of his people. This is the new
self, then. These are its results.
In summary, we have
seen
1)
Different gifts for different people
2)
Tests of the Spirit filled life - and warnings about it
3)
Results in every Christian's life. The question is, are
you seeing these results in your life? Are
you passing these tests? If not,
remember Christ's words: If you then, though
you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask
him!" ‑‑
Luke 11:13 (NIV) |
 
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