Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?
It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.
Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.
We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.
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Introduction
In charismatic circles particularly, the "special" presence (which means the unusual, powerful attendance) of the Holy Spirit is a desirable thing. They believe there are situations where He is moving in a way that's more powerful than others.
The other side of this is those who believe that God is already omnipresent and has taken up residence in every believer, so there is no such thing as His unusual, situational nearness.
The root of this objection to the idea of His "special" presence is cessationism, the belief that the "supernatural" occurrences in the NT have passed away, which means any sort of contemporary mystical occurrence isn't actually possible. Indeed, for cessationists this would represent a direct assault on the doctrine of the Sufficiency of Scripture.
The Cessationist Perspective
A representative opinion from Stephen Kneale:
God’s special presence is always with believers. Jesus told his disciples that he was with us until the end of the age, that he would never leave nor forsake us. Given that Jesus is currently in a body, in Heaven at the right hand of the Father (and he made that promise just before he physically left his disciples yet they didn’t think he was lying), this is true by Christ’s union with the Spirit who now dwells within his people. But if that is true, what presence are we any more coming into than usual? The same Spirit that dwells within my heart on a Sunday morning in church is the same one dwelling within my heart when I walk to the shops, eat dinner with my family or do anything else. If Christ, and his Spirit – and God’s special presence – is with me all the time, what exactly are folk hoping will happen on a Sunday morning that is any different?
Unfortunately Mr. Kneale quotes no Scripture in this entire article, so it is not apparent what is the biblical basis for his opinion. Thus his answer is nothing more than a summary denial.
In addition, Mr. Kneale is answering a question that wasn't asked. Every Christian would already agree that Jesus is always with us, that He dwells within us, and His presence fills the heavens and earth. This does not address the issue. The issue is whether or not the Holy Spirit is ever present in greater measure.
Therefore, we would expect a direct response statement similar to, "The Holy Spirit is never "specially" present, and here's the Bible verses that tell us this..." Mr. Kneale doesn't do this, and in fact, we haven't found a cessationist who does so.
The Holy Spirit "Specially" Present
It seems clear that the acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit's abiding presence does not speak to the possibility of His "special" presence, so let's turn to examining what Scripture has to say.
We first note that the nearness of God is not assured:
Ja. 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.
He. 10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
"Come near" is the Greek word eggizó, approach -- approach, be at hand, come (draw) near... James represents this as a two way interaction, while the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to come near. Therefore it is possible for He and us not to be near, or, to be nearer.
We don't think this is a matter of physical proximity. We are dealing with the spiritual dimensions of a spiritual being. So coming near does not speak to His omnipresence, but rather His grace. Grace is frequently mis-defined as undeserved favor, but the biblically correct definition of "grace" is His desire to be near:
charis: ...preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is "always leaning toward them").
He desires to be near, which implies He isn't always near. It is quite clear the "distance" can vary:
Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Pr. 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
There is spiritual space between God and the unrighteous, yet He moves toward those with broken and contrite hearts.
There are spiritual benefits to seeking His nearness:
2Ti. 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
1Pe. 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
Be Filled
In addition, there is a spiritual status called "filled with the Holy Spirit." Peter, for example, was one of those who experienced Pentecost. One might think this manifestation of the Holy Spirit was the pinnacle for him. Yet we read:
Ac. 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!"
How is it possible that Peter could be filled with the Holy Spirit after experiencing tongues of fire? Well, because he wasn't always filled with the Spirit.
And what about Paul? The reader might remember in Acts 9 that Paul was struck blind in an encounter with the risen Jesus. Then a few verses later the Lord spoke to Ananias and told him to seek out Paul:
Ac. 9:17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord — Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here — has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Ananias' job was to heal Paul's eyes and for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So the scales fell off, Paul was baptized, and he took something to eat. After few days this transformed man was preaching with power. Yet a few chapters later we read:
Ac. 13:9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said...
So how could Paul be filled with the Holy Spirit when Ananias laid hands on him, but a few chapters later he is filled with the Holy Spirit again? Again, because he wasn't always filled with the Spirit.
Lest the reader think that this was unique to Paul's and Peter's experience, we find this this command:
Ep. 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Every Christian receives the gift of the Holy Spirit (Ac. 10:45), but not every Christian is filled with the Spirit. This is a separate occurrence, often needing continual repeating. Paul recognized this:
Ep. 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Paul, writing to Christians who have already received the indwelling Holy Spirit, prays for them to know Him better via the Holy Spirit.
Ask, Seek, Knock
Jesus Himself taught about the need to obtain more of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told a parable about a man who went to his friend at midnight to get bread (Lk. 11:5-8). The man was persistent, so the friend finally got up and gave him bread.
This sets the stage for ask, seek, and knock (Lk. 11:9). Jesus promises:
Lk. 11:10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Many Christians interpret this to be about salvation, but it's actually about something else:
Lk. 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
From the start of the chapter, the whole context is about persistent asking and receiving more of the Holy Spirit. Clearly we have available to us an additional "quantity" of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit ebbs and flows in our lives, and our spiritual responsibility is to cultivate His presence. The conditions for this include holiness, willingness, and desirousness. The humble man will know the presence of God.
We would therefore conclude that there is a dimension to the presence of the Holy Spirit that is above the "norm," if we could use such a word.
Holy Ground
Jacob's ladder:
Ge. 28:16-17 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
The burning bush:
Ex. 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
The cleft of the rock:
Ex. 33:18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” Ex. 33:19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.
And of course the temple:
He. 9:2-3 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place...
For centuries this place was the unique dwelling place of the Lord. And there were times His presence overwhelmed the people:
2Ch. 5:14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.
He is more than willing to show more of Himself to us.
Addendum
Paul was very clear there are times when the power of our Lord Jesus is present, implying that sometimes His power is not:
1Co. 5:4-5 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
We are not entitled to His power being present, but we also shouldn't think that there is no more available. Our doctrines cloud the Scriptures to the point where we cannot see, let alone understand, the clear teachings of the Bible.
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