The Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, and the Children of God
I don’t know about you, but I’ve enjoyed thinking through these questions this week. Primarily, my posts have revolved around the question of how God gets our attention when we stop listening to him.
Every follower of Jesus – from time to time – either for a short time or perhaps even for a long time – will find it difficult to hear or to follow Jesus Christ. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that we are no longer in Christ or that we are no longer indwelled by the Holy Spirit or that we are no longer children of God. Instead, it means that we have hindered the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Scripture uses the language of “quench” or sin or transgress or disobey to refer to this same situation.
So, since God loves us, he does not want us to continue in this state. What does he do to get our attention to to help us return to him?
We are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. God can work directly in our lives to get our attention. But, of course, the problem is that we are already not paying attention to him. It’s possible that God can work in a different way in our lives to get our attention. But, it’s also possible that we will refuse to hear him in this new way also.
God also uses Scripture to get our attention – to show us where we have moved away from him. This means, of course, that Scripture would need to already be a part of our lives. When we are in a situation that we are not listening to God, it is not likely that we will begin to read Scripture. (Of course, it could happen.) However, if we have already been reading Scripture, then God can bring passages and stories and principles to our minds to draw us back to him.
Finally, God uses his children – our brothers and sisters in Christ who God has brought into our lives. If we have shared our lives with one another, then these people will know as we begin to ignore or neglect the work of the Spirit in our lives. They will know when we are not demonstrating the love of God. God can use them to get our attention and to help “restore” us to a state where we are listening to and following him again.
These three – the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, and the Children of God – are not distinct, of course. And, it is actually God working through the Scriptures and his children to do his work. So, we are always dependent on God to draw us back to himself. But, besides dealing with us directly via his Spirit, he also uses the Scriptures and his children.
You who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness
Over the last few days, I’ve been following a common theme, which I first examined in the post “When there is much activity, but very little progress.” For every follower of Jesus, there will be times when we think that we are obeying Jesus and following him, but, in reality, we are not. We may even be doing very good things – even “godly” things – but that does not mean that we are actually following Jesus in those things.
Even though we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, there will be times when we are not listening to him directly for various reasons. As I said in my post “Scripture as a mirror – a glimpse into love or a lack of love,” God often uses Scripture to show us where we are not following him or not allowing the Holy Spirit to do his work in us.
But, there’s another way that God works in our lives to get our attention when we are not following him. He also works through our brothers and sisters in Christ. The title of this post comes from a statement made by Paul to the believers in the region of Galatia:
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1 ESV)
Throughout this passage, Paul points out that he is writing to people who are in Christ and indwelled by the Spirit. (Although he is concerned about them if they move away from the true gospel of grace and back toward a gospel of works.) So, then, this verse is talking about people who are in Christ and indwelled by the Spirit of God and yet “caught in a transgression/sin.”
How does God restore them? Through “brothers and sisters” who approach them in gentleness. God works through his children to help others recognize that they are not following him.
Another great passage to demonstrate this principle is found in Hebrews 12:
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled… (Hebrews 12:12-15 ESV)
In this passage, the author is encouraging his readers to allow God to work through them to “restore” the drooping hands and weak knees of their brothers and sisters in Christ. If we recognize and acknowledge that God can and does work through others to point out when we are not following him, then we can also recognize why our fellowship with one another in the Spirit is so important.
When we keep others at “arm’s distance,” we are also blocking out one way that God uses to work in our lives.
Has God ever used your brothers and sisters in Christ to restore you when you had wandered away from him?
Scripture as a mirror – a glimpse into love or a lack of love
This week, I’ve been asking questions about how God gets the attention of one of his children when that person is not listening to him or following him. If that person is reading Scripture, then the Holy Spirit can use that Scripture like a mirror to help the child of God to examine her life to determine whether or not she is following Jesus.
For example, consider the characteristic of love. We know that Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God and love others. We know that love is a product of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.
Scripture cannot produce love. We do not love because we read Scripture, memorize Scripture, or meditate on Scripture. We only love because of the power of God working through us as we yield ourselves to his will.
However, Scripture can help us recognize whether or not we are loving – that is, whether or not we are yielding ourselves to the will of God and allowing the power of God to be demonstrated through love. If we approach Scripture as a mirror, God can use those writing to show us how we are currently living compared to how we live when we are submitting to him.
For example, even a cursory reading of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 can reflect how loving (or not) we are. Are we impatient? Then we are not demonstrating the love of God. Are we unkind? Not loving. Are envious, boastful, arrogant, or rude? Then we are hindering the work of God in loving others through us. Do we insist on having things our way? Are we easily annoyed or irritated? Do we enjoy it when others fail? Then we are not loving.
1 John is another letter that when read like a mirror can demonstrate whether or not we are hindering the love of God. Are we causing others to stumble? Do we prefer the things of the world instead of God? Do we love the other children of God around us? Are we willing to give up our lives for others? Do we share what we have with our brothers and sisters who are in need? If these things are not reflected in our lives, then according to John, we are neither loving God nor others – that is, we are not allowing God to produce love within us (regardless of what we think about ourselves).
Obviously, we can read these passages and miss what God is showing us. However, it’s also possible that God can use these passages (and others) to show us what is in our heart and lives.
And, Scripture is not only a mirror of the love (or lack of love) in our lives. That’s one important aspect of our life with Christ, however.
Has God ever used Scripture as a mirror to show you something about yourself (perhaps an area of disobedience)?
Helping a brother or sister who is struggling
In yesterday’s post, “Where there is much activity, but very little progress,” I asked a few questions about being busy with different things but not maturing in Christ. The problem, of course, is that we often think we are busy with the things of God – we think that we are following Jesus Christ. So, it can be difficult to recognize that we are not.
When I saw the video below, it reminded me of this scenario. Now, when you watch the video, it’s easy to point a finger at the cleaning lady and talk about how stupid she seems to be for not recognizing the problem. But, while you watch it, think about the people around her and how they respond (or do not respond) to her.
Of course, in my scenario, the person is not disconnected from Jesus Christ, but the imagery is similar.
In the video, at least two people notice her problem: the man who walks past her twice and the person who is recording the video. But, apparently, neither one of them help her.
Now that you’ve watched the video, consider this question: How should the body of Christ respond to a sister in Christ who finds herself in this situation (spiritually)?
Take teaching out of the general and academic realm and into the realm of life
I watched the young man sitting across from me swirl around the last of his coffee in his cup. I had first “met” him a couple of weeks before through email, when we contacted me and said he wondered if I had to time to get some coffee with him. He wanted to talk about some of the blog posts that I had written about fellowship and church.
For the last few minutes, he had talked about himself and his wife and their newborn daughter. I learned about his two part time jobs, his extended family in another state, and the joys and struggles of parenthood. I had just said, “So, in your email, you said you wanted to talk about some of my blog posts about church and fellowship? What did you want to talk about?”
This is when he paused and looking into his coffee cup while thinking silently to himself. When he looked up, he began apologetically, “I don’t want you to think that I don’t like my church or my pastor. I think he’s a great preacher, and his sermons are very inspiring and scriptural. I agree with everything that he says.”
He stopped again and looked into his coffee cup. “But, everything related to church these days is beginning to remind me of my college classes. I’m getting tons of information that may or may not pertain to me and my family. I listen to the sermons or Bible study lessons, and I leave very excited about what I heard. Then when I get home to a screaming baby in the middle of the night after a long day at work, I don’t really care. Oh, I care about God, and I can tell that he is with me, but all the lessons and sermons just seem so…” He didn’t say the word that he was thinking.
I think he was surprised that I was smiling at him. “What you’re describing,” I said, “is the kind of teaching described in Scripture. You can call it ‘discipleship’ if you want. It’s not the kind of teaching that is presented from a lectern. It’s the kind of teaching that is offered in the middle of the night when someone is helping you with a screaming baby. What you’re looking for is the kind of teaching that is intimately connected with fellowship in the Holy Spirit – real relationships between people who share their lives with one another.”
“That’s why I emailed you,” he said. “You kept writing about sharing our lives in Christ with one another and how everything else related to the church comes from that. I don’t even know what that would look like.”
“I don’t either,” I answered the question he didn’t ask.
“What do you mean? You write about it all the time,” he countered.
“I write about sharing my life with my brothers and sisters in Christ, and how they share their lives with me. I write about what God is doing through us and in us together. But, I can’t tell you what that will look like for you. While there will be some general consistencies, the specifics will be different.”
“But,” I continued, “it begins with your relationship with God and with sharing that relationship with other people who God brings into your life by actually inviting them into your life – even in the middle of the night when your daughter is screaming.”
When there is much activity, but very little progress
Have you ever seen a dog chase its tail? We have two dogs, and we are a foster family for the Franklin County Humane Society. So, we see dogs chase their tails all the time. Our Scottish Terrier in particular loves to chase her tail. She spins round and round and round, but never really gets anywhere… even when she catches her tail.
I thought about this a few days ago when my daughter and I were driving into town. The car in front of us decided to move over to another lane to make better time. Soon, the traffic in that lane slowed, and the car shifted back to our lane. In the next two miles, that car changed lanes more than 10 times. At the last traffic light before I turned off the highway, our lane-changing friend was right back where he started: directly in front of me.
Again, as in the case of the dog chasing his tail, that car was very busy – doing alot – but actually made very little (or no) progress.
This can happen in our walk with Christ, too. We can find ourselves very busy, with good things, things that God even wants us to do. But, when it comes down to it, we grow very little. We do not learn to trust God more. We do not find ourselves living in unity more with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We do not find the fruit of the Spirit more apparent in our lives.
Much activity… little progress.
This is the point at which I want to be very careful with this post. It is so easy to start a post like this, and then begin pointing to other people who have problems like this.
It is much harder to see ourselves in this position. But, it happens to all of us. It even happens when we think we’re following the direction of the Holy Spirit. We think we are exactly where God wants us, when, in reality, we’re simply chasing our tail – changing lanes back and forth without moving forward – doing much and go nowhere.
How would you even know it’s happening? What are some different ways that God might use to get your attention to this problem?
When you do recognize the issue, what do you do next?
But how do I return to church?
This post is part of a short series based on Jeremy Myer’s (from “Till He Comes“) book project “Finding Church.” Jeremy asked for contributions in the categories of Changing Church, Leaving Church, Reforming Church, and Returning to Church. As I worked through my own contribution, I realized that my story could fit into any of the categories. So, I’m writing a post based on each category.
This post describes my experience “returning to church.” This is the hardest category for me to write about, because my story fits into this category less than the others. This is how Jeremy describes the category of “Returning to Church”: “These are stories of people who returned to church after years of being away.”
Why is it difficult to fit my own journey into this category? Well, as I wrote in the other posts (“changing churches,” “leaving church,” and “reforming the church“), I have left the idea of church as organization, institution, or hierarchy – I’ve left any “church” other than church as God’s people gathered together. I am not returning to this kind of “church.”
Also, as I explained in the other posts, when I was saved by Jesus Christ, welcomed into God’s family, and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, I became part of the church that is the gathering of God’s people, the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit. I cannot leave this church, which means that I cannot return to this church either.
So, how is “returning” part of my journey at all? Well, there is one way…
While I am not returning to the organizations and institutions that are often referred to as “church,” I can return to the believers who remain part of those organizations. As I’ve written previously, these believers are my brothers and sisters in Christ just as much as those who are not part of the organizations and institutions. When I share my life with “one another,” that must include them, or I am the one being divisive.
Of course, there’s always the chance that those brothers and sisters in Christ will not want anything to do with me. They may not want to fellowship with me. They may decide to separate from me. There is nothing that I can do about that. Instead, it must be my desire to fellowship with them and live in peace with them. And, I must be ready and willing to “return” to them at any point they may be ready. Or, if I find that I have been the one separating from them, then I must be willing to humble myself, admit my own divisiveness, and “return” to them.
All who are in Christ are part of the family of God together. We are all part of the body of Christ. We are all indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Too many things historically, culturally, organizationally, etc. separate us from one another. It’s time to “return” to one another and, as Paul wrote, be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit.” (Ephesians 4:3 ESV)
Let’s return to our brothers and sisters in Christ… all of them.
Reforming the church… Reforming us all together
This post is part of a short series based on Jeremy Myer’s (from “Till He Comes“) book project “Finding Church.” Jeremy asked for contributions in the categories of Changing Church, Leaving Church, Reforming Church, and Returning to Church. As I worked through my own contribution, I realized that my story could fit into any of the categories. So, I’m writing a post based on each category.
This post describes my experience “reforming church.” This is the topic that I wrote about, and perhaps Jeremy will decide to use my submission. (This post is not my submission, but some thoughts about this topic.) This is how Jeremy describes this category: “Though many people have painful experiences in church, some people choose to stay at their church and try to work through them, reforming the church from the inside, and being the change they want to see. These are their stories.”
As usual, I have to put my own spin on this topic. As I’ve already explained in my previous two posts in this series (“changing church” and “leaving church“), church is not a building, or organization, or event, or hierarchical leadership. Church is the people of God – the body of Christ – the temple of the Holy Spirit – gathered together.
So, did I write about this topic because it is my goal to reform organizations or institutions? Absolutely not. Like I said, those things are not the church. If the organizations change to better facilitate the church (the people) involved, that’s fine. But that’s not my purpose, and it’s not the type of reform that I’m interested in.
What can of reform am I interested in? The kind of reform that Paul writes about in Ephesians 4 when he says that the entire body of Christ works together so that the body builds itself up in love – this is reforming the church. It’s the kind of reform that he also wrote about in Colossians 3 when he said that as we all teach and admonish one another as the word of Christ dwells in us all – this is reforming the church.
I’m interested in the kind of reform that Peter wrote about in 1 Peter 4 when he says that we speak to one another and serve one another in order to glorify God – this is reforming the church. I’m talking about the kind of reform that we read about in Hebrews 10 when the author exhorts his readers to consider how to stir up love and good works in one another – this is reforming the church.
This kind of reform is a mutual work as God works through each of his children to help each other grow and mature and love and hope and trust and serve and speak. This is the kind of mutual church reform I’m interested in.
Have you experienced this kind of church reform?
When you least expect it… Where have you found disciples?
In the temple… Riding in a chariot along a dusty road… In several synagogues… On the side of a river… In a prison… Among a group of philosophers…
These are some of the many places and circumstances we find in Scripture in which followers of Jesus Christ encountered other disciples. In the examples above, the people encountered where not yet following Jesus (they were “lost”), but after hearing the gospel proclaimed by Peter, Phillip, Paul, or someone else, and after being transformed by the Holy Spirit, they became disciples (they were “saved”).
In each case, the disciples of Jesus were expecting to find other people who were being drawn to God by his Spirit. And, they found these people in (what I would consider) unexpected places. I mean, they don’t seem unexpected to us right now because we know the stories.
But, today, do we expect to find new disciples riding along a road? On the side of a river? Among a group of pagan philosophers?
So, what’s the point of this post? Thank you for asking.
I talk to people every week – sometimes several times in the same week – who are desperate for fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. They recognize that God has created us to love him and love others and in to live in community with others who are in Christ. But, they are struggling to find people who are interested in that same kind of relationship.
So, what do I tell them? Well, I tell them to pray. And, I tell them to look around at the people that God has already brought into their lives. Are they expecting God to bring this kind of fellowship into their lives? It may be there already…
Sometimes, those brothers and sisters in Christ who God is bringing into someone’s life are not actually “in Christ” yet – as in the cases that I mentioned above. Other times, the people are already Christians and perhaps even recognize that something is missing in their walk with Christ without being able to recognize the lack of relationship with their brothers and sisters.
So, are you seeking fellowship in the Spirit? Look around. The Spirit may be leading you to people in unexpected places, situations, and circumstances.
Have you ever “found” a brother or sister in Christ in an expected place, situation, or circumstance? Can you share part of that story with us?
Equipped by Itinerant Servants of God
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Ephesians 4:7-16. After focusing on our unity in Christ in Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul turns to the great diversity among the body of Christ – all worked out by the Holy Spirit according to the grace of God.
But, as he comes to the end of that passage (Ephesians 4:16), Paul stresses that the diversity is not simply a demonstration of the myriad grace of God, it is also through all of the different (diverse) parts of the body of Christ that the Spirit works to build us all up – when we are all working together as God directs us and provides for us.
In Ephesians 4:11, Paul focuses on a few of the ways that God works through his children: as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. These people who have been gifted by the Holy Spirit and given by Jesus Christ equip the church for works of service. The evangelist, then, proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ, but also equips other believers to do the work of service of proclaiming the gospel, even those who are not gifted as evangelists. Those gifted at teaching and shepherding not only teach and shepherd others, they also equip other believers to do the work of service of teaching and shepherding as well.
But, what about the apostle? How does the apostle equip the church? Usually, I’ve heard it suggested that apostles equip the body of Christ by proclaiming the gospel, revealing the word of God, and teaching and shepherding. But, these are actually including in the work of the evangelist, the prophet, and the teacher and shepherd. What is distinctive enough about those gifted as apostles that would cause Paul to list them separately?
There is one distinction of those gifted as apostles: they are specifically gifted to travel from place to place serving God. In other words, while they may do many other things, the gifting of apostle is primarily to do the work of the itinerant servant.
So, how does the apostle – the itinerant servant of God – given to the body of Christ by Jesus to equip the church – actually equip the church as Paul instructs in Ephesians 4:12-13? What is the work of service that the apostles equip others to do?
Just as the evangelist equips others to evangelize, and the teacher equips others to teach, the itinerant servant (apostle) equips others to travel from place to place just as the itinerant servant does. I think we see a beautiful picture of how this kind of equipping (to be itinerant servants) worked itself out in the life of some believers in this passage:
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 ESV)
While the believers in Thessalonica (a city where Paul only stayed a few weeks) did not travel as far and as wide and as often as Paul and others gifted as apostles, they did travel enough to proclaim the word of God around their region and into neighboring regions. Paul – gifted as an apostle to travel from place to place as an itinerant servant of God – had equipped them (even in a short period of time) such that they were also traveling from place to place to proclaim the word of God.
How could you see itinerant servants working today to equip the body of Christ? What are some ways that others (not gifted as itinerant servants) could serve when equipped by itinerant servants?
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Addendum: Yesterday, on Facebook and Twitter, I linked to an older post that I wrote about itinerant servants. Several new comments were pertinent to this post, so I thought I would include a couple of excerpts here:
Eric writes: What I should have said is, “I would call those people ‘Christians’ or ‘Christ Followers.’ In one way or another I think it is what we’re all called to do and by making a distinction dismisses it to the role of a few.
Mark writes: Eric suggests that Christians should be itinerant in general, and I absolutely agree, but I hesitate to make that an absolute. I’m guessing there are many Christians around the world who never leave their village/town, and certainly the duration that someone feels led to stay/go will vary widely. But I think Eric brings up a great point that in general, Christians should be less tied to some tangible thing (house/job/preference) and be more tied to the leading of the Spirit, wherever and to whomever that might lead.
Greg writes: Looking over 2 millenia of the church, we also have a really messy macro trajectory, with very little scripture to back up anything we have done or built. And yet, histories pages are filled with the love and leading of Gods people, and His blessing on all of us.
And today, I’m genuinely jealous of my children who I suspect are going to see the glory of God like few generations in history.
Itinerant indeed!