Holy Spirit Fundamentals
“For we are the real circumcision who worship by the Spirit of Godâ€
(Philippians 3:3)
Due to the vast amount of published bologna in the field of devotional literature about the Holy Spirit, not to mention all of the popular pastoral pulpit theatrics, we submit the following fundamentals to guide our thinking about the Holy Spirit.
1. The Holy Spirit is not a silent partner in the Godhead today (see Heb. 3:7; 4:12; 10:15,29 Eph. 6:17).
2. Neither emotionalism nor religious experiences are positive proofs of the Spirit’s presence (Matt. 7:21-23; Col. 2:18-19; 1 Ki. 18).
3. Speaking in tongues ( + miraculous) was a temporary and non-normative feature of the early church (Heb. 2:3-4; 1 Cor. 12:29-31).
4. Evidence of the Holy Spirit in one’s life should reflect the New Testament pattern of Acts 2:38-39; 5:32 (initially at conversion) and Galatians 5:16-25 (subsequent to conversion).
Anymore, the Holy Spirit has come to mean practically everything or virtually nothing. When the New Testament documents are superseded by the subjective experiences of men, the will of the Lord via the word of the Lord is certainly marginalized (1 John 4:6; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:3).
– Robert M. Housby