common ground
According to the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit was supposed to be a blessing from the Father to unify His children. Consider three of the apostle’s exhortations.
to the corinthians – In his characteristic way of starting from the truths he shares with his readers, Paul reminds the Corinthians that the possession of the Holy Spirit is one of the main things that all Christians have in common. The divine presence of the Spirit should unite them, not separate them. Paul observes:
The body is a unit, although it is made up of many parts; and although all its parts are many, they form a single body. Be with Christ. Because we were all baptized by [or in] one Spirit in one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink. –1 Corinthians 12:12-13
note the alls in these verses. Despite all their differences, the Corinthian Christians had one thing in common, the Holy Spirit. All of them were drenched in the Spirit at their baptism and at that moment, all of them received the Spirit as if they drank it like a desert wanderer drinks water from an oasis well. As far as God is concerned, there is no such thing as a distinction between a “Christian” and a “Spirit-filled Christian.” All true Christians are filled with the Spirit according to this passage. He is what they all have in common.
to the ephesians – Paul urges the Ephesians to maintain the unity that God has achieved for them. He writes:
Strive to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the same hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. –Ephesians 4:3-6
The seven that the apostle enumerates, including the one Spirit, constitute once again what all Christians have in common. All of them, by the way, are gifts from God, not human achievements. Paul urges us to hold on to what God has already done for us. That is what he means by “keeping the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” His charge is not that we achieve unity, but that we hold on to what God has already accomplished for us through Christ.
to the Philippians – Following a similar line of argument, Paul insists that the Philippians recognize what they have in Christ and avoid disturbing or destroying their unity out of a desire for recognition or personal advancement. Based on the common ground they share (expressed by the Yeahs), Paul offers some practical wisdom:
If you have any encouragement to be united with Christ, if any consolation of his love, if any communion with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then complete my joy by being akin, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do not do anything out of selfish ambition or vanity, but humbly consider others superior to yourselves. Each of you should look not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. –Philippians 2:1-5
We could turn each of those conditions in the opening sentence into a question: Is there any encouragement in being united with Christ? Do we find any comfort in his love? Do we share in the Spirit? Do we experience tenderness and compassion as a result? The answer to all these questions is a resounding and joyous YEAH! Given all those gifts that we share from God, Paul calls us to have the attitudes and strive to maintain the unity that we must have as a logical consequence of our redemption.
Early Church Unity
The Book of Acts indicates that the early church experienced this type of unity. For example:
They dedicated themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to communion, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with astonishment, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone according to their need. Every day they continued to meet in the temple courts. They broke bread in their houses and ate together with joy and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to his number every day those who were being saved. –Acts 2:42-48
All believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions were theirs, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to bear witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon all of them. There were no needy people among them. Because from time to time those who had land or houses sold them, they brought the money from the sales and put it at the feet of the apostles, and it was distributed to anyone as needed. –Acts 4:32-35
Then the church in all Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. He got stronger; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they grew in number, living in the fear of the Lord. –Acts 9:31
The final passage in this series of quotes explicitly connects the unity of the first disciples with the Spirit, but the other two do so implicitly (see Acts 2:38-39; 4:31).
“What God Has Done”
We could summarize all this very simply:
- Christ died to redeem sinners, all sinners!
- He calls them to submit to Him as Savior and Lord.
- To all who respond with obedient faith He gives the same gifts:
- cleansing of sins
- His own justice to use.
- His Holy Spirit has a divine presence in the heart.
- Membership in the family and kingdom of God.
- Purpose of Living: Praise God through Christ
- Security for eternity: resurrection and inheritance.
None of us is better than anyone, since everything we have and are we have received from God (see 1 Corinthians 4:7). God’s Unity Agenda has divine power to fulfill his purpose to “gather all things in heaven and on earth under one head, Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).
Fractured, Splintered, Fragmented
However, the religious world has never been more divided than it is today. A website that tracks the statistics of world religions, Adherents.com, divides the churches of Christendom into Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Jehovah’s Witness, and Latter-day Saints, and each of these broad categories can be divided and subdivided again and again. Some estimate as many as 40,000 denominations and sects that claim to be connected to Christ and Christianity.
Neither did the rise of the Pentecostal movement (which began around 1900) and the Charismatic movement (also called the Neo-Pentecostal movement and which emerged in the 1960s) bring unity. Pentecostals themselves have splintered into the Assemblies of God, Church of God (Cleveland), Apostolic churches, and the United Pentecostal Church, among many others (Wikipedia lists 37 groups under “North American Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches”). In addition, there are hundreds of other sects that range in strength from one to a dozen or more churches. Charismatics remain within the mainline denominations, but often form distinct sub-fellowships.
This demonstrates an obvious disconnect between what God intended to be the effect of giving the Holy Spirit to all Christians and what actually happened, especially in modern times. Why is the Spirit a cause of division instead of the basis of unity? Why do some believers tend to ignore or avoid any discussion of the Spirit, while others seem to focus so much on the Spirit that they neglect other topics? What can we do to change the situation and achieve a spiritual renewal that includes a broad agreement about the Holy Spirit?
We need three things for this unity to happen. First, we need to recognize our common ground: all the spiritual blessings achieved for all sinners in Jesus Christ and applied to every obedient believer by the Spirit. Second, we must accept our responsibility to maintain this unity with the attitudes of humility and mutual respect that the Spirit stirs in our hearts. Third, we need to gain a deeper understanding of the Spirit through careful study of the Bible.
Options on the Holy Spirit
I believe that a large part of the biblical doctrine of the Spirit can be summed up in a series of questions from one or the other. Seeking and finding the answers to these questions will result in a significant gain in clarity regarding the biblical doctrine of the Holy Spirit, which in turn should lead to fundamental progress in how we can all harness the Spirit to achieve His purpose of uniting believers. and exalt the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some of these questions are:
- What is the effect of the Spirit: unite or divide? (this essay)
- What is the identity of the Spirit: person or force?
- What is the contact of the Spirit with our world: active or passive?
- Is the outpouring of the Spirit exceptional or habitual?
- The conduct of the Spirit: mind or feelings?
- Does the leading of the Spirit involve developing wisdom or “stripping” God?
- Does the Spirit come to each believer by grace or by works?
- Is the main work of the Spirit His fruit or His gifts?
- Was the test of the Spirit the tongues of men or the tongues of angels?
- Is the focus of the Spirit is Christ or the Spirit itself?
- Is the lifestyle of the Spirit to be satisfied or thirsty?
- Are the people of the Spirit spiritual or carnal?
- Is the deposit of the Spirit a present blessing or a future hope?
Series on the decisions of the Holy Spirit
In future essays, we will seek answers to each of these questions. To give you a preview, in each of these options, I believe the first is the correct answer rather than the second, and I will endeavor to demonstrate that truth from Scripture. Our study will span the entire Bible, because the Spirit is mentioned in the first paragraph of Genesis (1:2), in the last paragraph of Revelation (22:17), and hundreds of times in between.
God wants us to achieve unity in the Spirit, and if we can, then perhaps greater unity will no longer elude us.
Whose fault is it?
Conclusion: God intends that His Holy Spirit unite all Christians. If we are divided, it is our fault, not His. The starting point for that greater unity that He wants us to have is to find unity in terms of the Holy Spirit.
Do you want to go deeper?
I highly recommend the following books on the Holy Spirit and Pentecostalism:
Bruner, Federico Dale, A Theology of the Holy Spirit: The Pentecostal Experience and the New Testament Witness. Originally published: Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970. Reprints: Unicoi, TN: Trinity Foundation, 2001; Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006 (still in print from both sources).
Bruner is a non-Pentecostal who nonetheless documents the teaching of Pentecostalism from his own literature and then compares it with careful exegesis of Scripture.
Synan, Vinson. The Pentecostal Holiness Movement in the US Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971.
Synan has written several other books on the Pentecostal movement since this, his doctoral thesis, was published. One of the most recent is The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 1901-2001 (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2006). He is a lifelong student and historian of the Pentecostal-charismatic movement and is considered a leading Pentecostal theologian. He is Dean Emeritus of Regent University.
I will share more resources on the biblical doctrine of the Holy Spirit as this series continues.