This post, and the previous post, is the text of a presentation I made
recently at New Beginnings Christian Fellowship in Big Sandy, Texas. Written in
non-technical language, this two-part series may serve as an introduction to
the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. To read the material in its entirety (with
pictures!) click here.
In the previous post, we saw that the content of the Spirit’s coming at
Pentecost is Jesus! In this post, we examine the consequence of the Spirit’s
coming.
Communion:
Consequence of the Spirit’s Coming
As we have seen, the content of the Spirit’s message is “Jesus.” The consequence of the Spirit’s coming, however, is “communion.” The Spirit’s primary work is the creation of “fellowship.” Paul writes:
2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love
of God, and the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit be with you all.
In this passage, “grace” is attributed to Jesus and “love” is attributed
to God the Father. Fellowship,
however, is attributed specifically to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the mediator of communion (fellowship).[1]
The Holy Spirit mediates, or “creates,” communion in two directions: 1)
vertical and 2) horizontal.
Vertical Direction of Communion
Before the Spirit relates us to one another in love and sends us out
into the world in missionary outreach, the Spirit first relates us to God the
Father and God the Son in worshipping acknowledgement of who they are for us. The Holy Spirit brings us into a
vertical relationship, where we know
God the Father as “Abba” and Jesus as “Lord.” This is the “vertical” direction
of communion.
“Knowing,” as enabled by the Spirit, however, is not merely intellectual
knowledge “about” God. “Knowing” involves the whole person―mind, heart and
will. “Knowing” is participation in
the eternal communion of love shared by the Father, Son and Spirit. Thus,
“knowing” God includes the “acts” of devotion, worship and commitment.
“Knowledge” of God and “love” of God cannot be separated or divided. To “know”
God is to enter communion, fellowship and relationship with the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
Horizontal Direction of Communion
Believers
are the people who know God the Father as “Abba” and Jesus as “Lord.” When the
Spirit reveals the truth about our relationship to the Father and Son, the
Spirit also unites us in communion or fellowship with other believers. This is
the “horizontal” direction of communion. Returning to the Book of Acts, Chapter
2, notice what happened after Peter preached his sermon about Jesus on the day
of Pentecost:
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and
to prayer.
The consequence of the
Spirit’s coming upon the assembly at Pentecost was “fellowship” (or,
“communion”). The people devoted themselves to “fellowship,” expressed in
communal prayer and eating (“table fellowship”). We should not be surprised
that the Spirit joins believers together in love and fellowship, for the Spirit
is the eternal “bond of love” between the Father and the Son. Likewise, the
Spirit is the “bond of love” among believers.[2]
When
the Spirit unites us to Jesus Christ, and through Jesus to the Father, we
become members who “belong to all the others.” That is, the Holy Spirit unites
believers in a communion or fellowship of love. Paul writes:
Rom
12:5 [S]o in Christ we, though many,
form one body, and each member belongs to
all the others.
As a
fellowship or communion of believers who “belong” to one another, we find our
identities in relationship. To be a
“person” is to have our “being-in-relationship.” The Christian is not an
isolated “individual.” He or she is a member of a community.
As
theologian George Hunsinger notes, “Between the first and second coming of
Christ, the principal work of the Spirit is to form the community of Christ.”
The Holy Spirit gathers the community in faith,
builds it up in love and sends it out
into the world in hope.
A Community of Faith
Believers come together to form a community of faith. By faith, we know
God as “Abba” and Jesus as “Lord.”[3]
Unbelievers, on the other hand, do not have this knowledge―yet! The difference
between believers and unbelievers is a matter of “knowing.” We cannot say that
believers are “in Christ” and unbelievers are “not in Christ.” God has
reconciled “all things” to himself in Jesus. All humanity is included in the reconciliation accomplished in the
sacrificial life and death of Jesus Christ―yet, not all know it! As Christians,
we do not stand against the world; we stand for
the world. We are “for” the world because God is “for” the world (see John
3:16). God sent his beloved Son to save this world. We are sanctified (“set
apart”) by the Holy Spirit as a community of faith in order to bear witness to
the love with which God loves this world.
A Community of Love
The Holy Spirit brings together a variety
of people in order to unite them in a “community” or “fellowship.” The members
of the community of faith come from all nations, tribes and ethnic groups. They
come from different socio-economic, vocational and educational backgrounds. The
task of the Holy Spirit is to unite these different elements into a communion
of love. In holding together those who
are different, the Spirit fulfils his eternal role as the “bond of peace.”
As the “bond of love,” the Holy Spirit brings together the various
elements of the community in order to create a fellowship of love. The task of the community of faith
is to bear witness to one another that we are a fellowship of love.
After he had washed his disciples’ feet, Jesus said:
John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved
you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are
my disciples, if you love one another.”
As theologian Karl Barth argues, Christian “love” begins at the point where our fellow man becomes our “neighbour,”
thereby causing us [at least sometimes!] a “mortal headache,” because we cannot
withdraw from them, when, in fact, that is exactly what we would like to do!
The community of faith is a community of “sinners.” Therefore, it must be a
community of forgiveness. In the
community united in love by the Spirit, one sinner may love and forgive
another, despite their mutual sin. The one who is “filled with the Spirit” is
the one who is richest in love.
A Community of Hope
The Spirit does not unite the individual members of the Church into a
communion as an end (“goal”) in itself. The Church is called to witness; its service is the “service of
testimony.”
As he was about to return to the Father from whom he came, Jesus
commanded his disciples to go into all the world as his witnesses:
Matthew 28:18 [Jesus said] . . . go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 [Jesus said] 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.”
Christians are called out of
the world (in terms of conformity to it) even as we are called into the world (in terms of solidarity
with it). Our distinction in relation
to the world is a preparation for our
work in the world. God calls us “out”
of the world in order to call us “into” the world. God sends us into the world
to bear witness to the love with
which God has loved the world.
The mutual testifying of love and forgiveness to one another is the
Christian community’s “basic equipment” for witness to the world. The community
of faith is not an end to itself; rather, we are the community for the world. The Spirit sends us into
the world because God loves the world, and he has reconciled it to himself in
Jesus. God’s love for the world is
the basis of our commitment to the world.
If we turn inward upon ourselves merely to protect and preserve our
religious institutions, then we have nothing to offer the world, for we have
become a reflection of the world―not a light to the world.[4] The
world is full of institutions, cliques, parties, sects and special interest
groups who exist solely to serve their own interests. Jesus calls us to move
beyond self-interest, even our own “communal” interest, in order to take the
Gospel into all the world.
SUMMARY
The content
of the Spirit’s coming is Jesus. Jesus said, “When the Spirit comes, he will
testify about me.” When Peter preached his great sermon on Pentecost, he
preached Jesus! The Spirit frees our sinful minds, so that we may know God the
Father as “Abba” and Jesus as “Lord.” The knowledge of who we are in relation
to the Father and Son is the great gift of the Holy Spirit.
As the consequence
of the Spirit’s coming, the disciples were united in communion and fellowship.
They expressed their fellowship in communal prayer and eating. The Holy Spirit
is the mediator of communion. The Spirit lifts us up into communion with God,
where we participate in the Father-Son relationship by the power of the Spirit.
The Spirit unites believers into a fellowship of love and sends us into the
world to bear witness to the love God has for the world. The Spirit gathers the
community in faith, builds it up in love and sends it out into the world in
hope.
[1] A “mediator” is
one who brings people together in fellowship or communion. The Spirit creates fellowship or communion
among believers. In addition, the Spirit creates fellowship between believers
and God.
[2] When we think of
the Spirit as the “bond of love,” we must remember that the Holy Spirt is a
divine Person, not a “thing.” The
Holy Spirit is fully God. He is the “Third Person” of the Holy Trinity.
[3] “Faith” is the gift of God (Ephesians
2:8). “Faith” is specifically the work of the Holy Spirit.
[4] Critics say that evangelical
Christians have a “fortress mentality.” That is, they “hide” from the world
behind the walls of their churches. They appear to be so “heavenly minded that
they are no earthly good.” In other words, they seem so concerned with “going
to heaven” when they die, that they have little energy left to serve the world
that God loves.
