THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A BUILDING BRICK

The majority of marriages nowadays may be characterised as castles-in-the-air.  The couple of lovers are enthralled by the wonderful ideas about marriages invoked by TV advertisements and the (commercial) world.  If they would just buy this or that article or commodity, they will experience a happy marriage.  The most wonderful objects, such as a loan for the dream house, a dream vehicle, financial security with a particular insurance policy, and so on, are conjured up as the key to a happy marriage.  And yet – the ruins of those “castles” lie scattered all around.  The only building material that lasts is God’s Holy Spirit.

THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

Another question that regularly pops up during consultations is:  “How do I receive the powerful working of the Holy Spirit?”  Regular churchgoers and believers confess to a lack of a visible working by the Holy Spirit in their lives.  Sadly, some theological views confuse people, and due to the lack of knowledge of the Scriptures they are not able to discern what the Word of God really says.  People mostly have a wrong concept about God’s Spirit, therefore they are unable to experience the power of the Spirit in their everyday lives and their fellowship with God tangibly.

SUPERNATURAL AND ACADEMIC?

As I see it, there are two extreme opinions concerning the Holy Spirit, which I would like to discuss only shortly, as I would rather elaborate on the involvement of the Holy Spirit in the marriage relationship. The first truth about the Holy Spirit, which is a stumbling block to many believers of Reformed convictions, is His actual involvement in every single facet of the everyday life of the Christian.  Most people see the Holy Spirit as but a theological aspect of their doctrine. Very seldom testimony is given of encounters with the Spirit, such as are related in the Bible.  The supernatural working of the Holy Spirit is but of academic interest.  As a matter of fact, the majority of traditional Christians are either critical or afraid of any supernatural appearance or apparition of the Spirit – which means that they are practising but a one-sided religion.  Little reaction is expected from God during services or other meetings, and every other spiritual experience is regarded with caution.  A large number of theologians are also of the opinion that the ways of working of the Holy Spirit as recorded in the New Testament were meant for the founding of the first churches only.  After that, certain workings and functions of the Spirit ceased to operate, such as speaking in tongues, expulsion of demons, healing through laying on of hands, miracles and signs, knowledge of the supernatural, as well as the duties of prophet and apostle.

MUCH MORE THAN SUPERNATURAL

On the other hand there are those who are obsessed with supernatural spiritual experiences or happenings.  Some of the Pentecostal orders hold that, if you do not speak in foreign tongues, you are not baptised in the Spirit.  They are incessantly seeking for a manifestation of some kind of the presence of the Spirit, either at their meetings or in the life of the individual.  They ramble from church to church in their quest of supernatural enraptures or ecstasies and are susceptible to new experiences of whatever sort.

THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE DOES NOT TAKE PRIORITY

In this case the spiritual experience enjoys higher priority than pure Scriptural teaching.  Practising righteousness, truth and love in the relationship with the neighbour is regarded as of less importance.  Consequently, one often experiences some spiritual pride and conceitedness among this “special class of Christians.”  Then, again, they may suffer immense self-condemnation, even to depression, when exposure to such experience dwindles or runs dry.  This then may deal a serious blow to their faith, resulting in confusion among Christians, much uncalled for strive and difference of opinion, with serious damage to the Kingdom of God as the result.  Others, searching for salvation, are thus confused and disheartened or even deterred!

A WONDERFULLY PRACTICAL BALANCE

But let us go back to the Word of God.  When we look at the work of God in His creation, we observe a wonderfully practical balance.  The ecosystem, as such proclaims a profound intellect giving every structure, organism and system its rightful place in creation.  Everything has its purpose and undergoes a cycle of living and dying.

In the same way God laid down laws and regulations for healthy spiritual growth of His children.  Marvellous:  the Holy Spirit is symbolised by a dove – a sensitive and cautious bird.  With both its wings and tail spread out widely, the dove can teach us quite a number of valuable truths.  The dove as such stands for the body of Christ, with Jesus as the head of the church.  Without a head the dove cannot live, not to say fly!

The two wings represent the gifts and fruits of the Spirit, as described in Galatians 5:22 and in 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 1:19, Colossians 1:29 and Romans 12:6-8.  The wings are the part of the body that enable the dove to fly.  If either does not function effectively, or if they are imbalanced, the dove won’t be able to able to seek food and stay healthy. The tail, again, represents all those who administer in the church, namely apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and ministers of the Word.  They have the same function in the church as the dove’s tail has, namely that of steering the body into the direction where it can find shelter and food.  And the two feet represent the Old and New Testaments – once again mark the importance of a balance.

THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME IN HIS PLACE

Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would come to earth in His place, to guide the church, to comfort His children, and to endow them with the power to act as His witnesses.  Apart from this, the Holy Spirit has many more tasks, such as convincing the world of sin, of righteousness and of the coming judgement.  It was through the working of the Spirit that the Word of God came to the world, and outside of the Spirit it is not possible for a sinner to come to Jesus Christ. Also, through the power of the Spirit it is possible for Christians to work miracles and healing.  Scripture says that the Spirit gives life – and it was through His Spirit that God worked Jesus’ resurrection from the grave.

DR KRIGE AND HOUSE REGENERATION

This adapted content was extracted from Make your Stand, authored by Dr Ado Krige, the Founding Director of House Regeneration, a South African drug rehabilitation centre offering a comprehensive discipleship training program. By applying principles of Biblical Therapy, using the Scriptures to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness, House Regeneration counsellors show anyone who has suffered from addiction how to fully understand why they do what they do and how to bring their belief systems in line with the Word of God.