I have discovered how to create a theological firestorm in an instant.
Put up a couple Instagram posts on the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and see what happens.
To my relief, the discussion was a civilized one. I was struck by how many people are prepared to dive into a deep theological pool. Some were responding to wrong views they feel are being taught on the subject. Several comments indicated there are people who, whether they realize it or not, aren’t quite sure what they believe about the Trinity.
Biblical scholars speak of the “kenosis” or emptying of Jesus. That word is derived from Paul’s statement to the Philippians that Jesus emptied himself (or “poured himself out”) when he came into this world. Some have misunderstood Paul to be saying that Jesus emptied himself of his divinity for the time he was on earth. But the text is not about Jesus laying aside his divinity. It is about Jesus taking upon himself our humanity. He made a conscious decision to enter into this fallen world in order to redeem it. For that to happen, he had to be both God and man. He had to enter this world as God, in order to stand outside the curse of original sin, yet he had to be fully human in order to live a life subject to temptation, yet without sin, in order to redeem us from the penalty of our sin.
Christian teachers spent hundreds of years trying to express exactly how Jesus could have been both human and divine. The word for “heresy” comes from the Greek word for a “part.” Heresy is a part of the truth emphasized at the expense of other parts. The list of heresies on this subject is a long one, but at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451 a conference of hundreds of Christian leaders wrote out a definition which has stood the test of time ever since. In summary, Jesus was fully God and fully man.
On entering this world, Jesus made the conscious decision to lay aside the exercise of his powers of divinity, and to make himself reliant on the Holy Spirit instead. That is why he said he did his miracles by the power of the Spirit. To have done otherwise would have lessened his humanity at the expense of his divinity.
This means we are dependent on the same Spirit Jesus was. Our relationship to the Spirit is different, yet the same power Jesus accessed is available to us today. And that is great news!
The role of the Spirit is to glorify both the Son and the Father, so the only grounds on which we can access the Spirit’s power is if we are willing to be taken up into his mission.
But if our goal is God’s glory, then Jesus’ words become our invitation: “Whatever you ask in my name, this will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Denying that the same Spirit, his person and his power, are available to us today is an insult to the Holy Spirit. Yet attempting to use that power for any means other than God’s glory is equally wrong.
And there you have an example of truth held in tension, where the whole must be taught, and not just a part.
It’s time that our churches repented of superficiality and started teaching deep Biblical doctrine, just like our predecessors did at Chalcedon, in the conviction that the Holy Spirit is capable of making the average person understand it.
To do otherwise is an insult to the Holy Spirit and to the average person. Let the Spirit do his work! The church will be far healthier for it.
CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH DAVID & ELAINE CAMPBELL IN HELPING TO SUSTAIN THEIR ACTIVE MINISTRY.
AWAKENING MINISTRIES // FOUNDATION of FAITH Project
Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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