Made Wholeheartedly Willing and Ready

Pentecost is in a few days!

Jesus told His disciples/followers, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8 NKJV). The Greek word for power here is dunamis, where we get dynamic from. It is an active, transformative, and often experiential power that equips us for bold, effective Kingdom work (1).

New life in the Spirit is a Spirit empowered mission for life.

The beloved Heidelberg Catechism Question and Answer #1 includes this principle accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit: Therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

That is one of the amazing ways we are made new in the Spirit.

One of the most dramatic and dynamic shifts in Scripture regarding the Holy Spirit is found in Romans 7 & 8. In these chapters, Paul writes about the transformation from trusting and leaning on our own strength and understanding to trusting God with all our hearts, seeking and pursuing His ways and wisdom for us, and following His path with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 7:14-25 includes over 40 references to “me, myself and I”, including the oft quoted For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do, indicating our behavior when we live in the flesh instead of the Holy Spirit. Thankfully, that drastically changes in Romans 8 which probably includes the most intense section on the Holy Spirit in all of Scripture: there are about 20 references in this single chapter.

The power of the Spirit (fruit, gifts, helping us pray, revealing truth, etc. of the Spirit) working through God's beloved daughters and sons is one of the ways the Spirit helps the family of God flourish and thrive. 

The Reformed tradition tends to focus on how the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and gives us the fruit of Spirit. Some have even described Holy Spirit as the shy and the quiet member of the Trinity. All legitimate Biblical dimensions and expressions of Holy Spirit. Yet there is so much more.

Having a foot in both Reformed and charismatic camps for almost 20 years, what I have discovered, is a far more beautiful, deep and rich “both/and” that aligns and balances God’s principles and truths in profound ways. We shouldn't focus on some truths at the expense of others. 

From the Reformed camp, I get the concern for excessive emotionalism, seeking encounters for the sake of the experience instead of for God’s glory and the good of His Kingdom. But might this concern also give us permission to keep the Holy Spirit limited to a comfortable and convenient box that we can control? Safe, orderly, predictable and rational? 

I also get the concern from the Charismatic camp for quenching the Spirit, which Scripture specifically warns us about. Both ends of the spectrum of the expressions of the Spirit are harmful. On one end we have cessationism, the idea that certain gifts of the Spirit have generally ceased to function in the Church: God doesn’t speak to us anymore, miracles are limited and rare, prophecy has ceased in the Family of God. On the other end, we have sensationalism, anything and everything goes with very few guard rails, with excessive emotionalism and manipulative “God told me…”. 

God’s principle is a biblical balance. We can eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy (this is an entire discussion on its own), yet we are also called to test everything.

One of the debates between Reformed and Pentecostal was over the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Guess what? Both were right and both were wrong! It’s not limited to a one and done at conversion and it’s not limited to a second blessing. We have a continual filling of the Holy Spirit! The Greek is an ongoing present tense filling. HALLELUYAH! 

Being made new in the Spirit, flows from being made new creations in Christ, that with the help of the Holy Spirit, we want to and can do what's right, loving and kind, we are made wholeheartedly willing and ready to live for God even when it's hard and costly. When we do this, others can also flourish and thrive in their journey of faith, renewal, and a restored relationship with our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Thank You oh my Father, for giving us Your Son, and leaving Your Spirit, ‘til the work on earth is done. (Melody Green, There is a Redeemer chorus)

For God’s glory and our good!