Don’t Miss the Holy Spirit
Searching for the spectacular may cause us to overlook His true work
In the book of Acts, the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost comes audibly “like a mighty rushing wind” and visibly as “divided tongues as of fire” rests on the apostles (2:2-3). The greatest miracle, however, appears as men from every nation hear the gospel in their own respective languages, sparking repentance and faith for three thousand souls (2:41).
We read such scenes with longing curiosity. How amazing to have been there to witness such a clear inbreaking of divine power into the mundanity of our world! And Pentecost is only one such scene. Think of all the instances in the Bible when the Holy Spirit showcases his power—miracles, signs and wonders, resurrection! Most of us would trade an arm to witness such scenes.
If we’re honest, we’ve probably walked away from studying such accounts and wondered why our church services contrast so severely. Lacking the fire and the spontaneity, is the Holy Spirit absent when we gather? On multiple occasions I’ve heard people critique churches for not emphasizing the Holy Spirit enough. We long to witness the power of God’s Spirit, and since we see such powerful scenes in the Bible, we assume we ought to experience the same today. In fact, some even conclude their church is doing something wrong if it doesn’t curate such experiences.
To be clear, it is possible for a church to grow so mechanical that its people stop expecting the living God to show up. When a spirit of legalism sets in, for example, the Christian life easily gets reduced to behaviorism. Mechanistic and legalistic people do not look for the Spirit to show up. They don’t ask him to move. They’re content with the status quo.
However, most often, these sentiments are motivated by false expectations. When people critique churches for not emphasizing the Holy Spirit enough, often their criticisms prove that their theology of the Holy Spirit is too small instead of too big. They’ve convinced themselves that they are the ones eager to celebrate the inbreaking of God’s Spirit, but they miss the evidence of God’s Spirit all around them. Consider two points.
First, scenes like Pentecost are unique and unrepeatable. Often God accompanies key moments in redemptive history with powerful signs to validate his actions. When Moses leads God’s people out of slavery in Egypt, he does so with miraculous signs. However, expecting the ocean to part for you next time you vacation at the beach could be disastrous.
When Jesus comes preaching that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he attests to his words with signs demonstrating the power of his message. Jesus heals sicknesses and diseases and casts out demons. While Jesus certainly can miraculously heal your broken fibula, you probably need to get the surgery. Don’t miss the point of those signs. He healed then to signify a change in redemptive history—his kingdom was at hand. If he doesn’t heal you today, it’s ok. The big healing has yet to come, and none of his people will miss it.
Similarly, Pentecost marks the point in history when God’s Spirit came to permanently indwell God’s new covenant people. We should not expect to experience Pentecost every Sunday morning at church.
I’m certainly not saying that God can’t do signs and wonders today; he can do whatever he pleases. However, I think it’s important to realize that signs and wonders didn’t even happen every day during Bible times. In fact, these scenes were effective precisely because they were abnormal. In most of biblically recorded history, God’s people were seeking to live faithfully during seemingly mundane times. Most people throughout history lived and died without ever witnessing anything we today would label “miraculous,” and yet every single one of those people had direct access to the work of God’s Spirit.
And that leads to my second point: God’s Spirit is active if you have eyes to see. Twice in John’s gospel, Jesus explicitly details what we should expect the Holy Spirit to do when he comes (14:16-26; 16:7-15). Surprisingly, neither passage points to signs and wonders. Here’s the clearest statement Jesus makes: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (16:13-14).
When do we encounter the Holy Spirit? Every time we believe and obey the truth. How can we tell if the Spirit is present in a worship service? If Christ is proclaimed, believed on, obeyed, and glorified, then the Spirit is present. Want to know where the Spirit is? Find Christ. If the absence of signs and wonders makes you discontent, you may be the one missing the Holy Spirit.