The Difficulty of the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:3-13New International Version (NIV)

3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers,to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.1 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Unity and Diversity in the Body

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

I sometimes feel like the Holy Spirit is that distant relative that you know exists but is rarely spoken about for one reason or another.  We all know that God’s Spirit is apart of our faith and one third of the Holy Trinity but we really don’t understand it.  We know it exists but we rarely speak about it.  The Spirit is perhaps the most difficult aspect of faith to understand and communicate to others.  Is it a ghost?  No... well kind of.... We do call it the Holy Ghost, after all.  Is it like the wind?  Yes, it’s like the common wind that for whatever reason catches your attention.  Does the Holy Spirit give us these weird abilities that some people may think we need to be in a room with padded walls if we speak about them in public?  Perhaps.  What are these “tongues” we talk about in passing once a year?  Here are a couple questions I hope to shed light on this morning: How do we ourselves understand the Holy Spirit?  And how do we communicate to others what it really is?  

I think the Holy Spirit is God’s greatest mystery.  And I think it is by design... Our earthly minds and bodies will never fully grasp the vastness of God and I think the Holy Spirit is a large part of that.  It seems easy to use our lack of understanding as a reason to not have faith because we have grown to believe that this inability to explain something means that it doesn’t exist.  I do not find this true at all.  I recently read an article called “Science Has Disproved God” and the author talks about the burden of proof that Christians have.  For many, this burden proves too great to even attempt.  And for those who try, the Holy Spirit is on the short list of things Christians have the most difficult time communicating about.  The author of the article uses the example of the Microsoft Office.  Someone who is well versed in all the aspects of the many programs of Microsoft Office could explain the software to you.  And not only that, someone well versed in computer science could go into the coding of the software and explain how Microsoft Office programs are coded.  But the how does not explain who is behind it and why.  You could know absolutely everything about Microsoft Office and have no idea who built the software or why they did it.  We know that the who is Bill Gates and the why is to make a profit but the code of the software does not give us that information.  We only know the who and why because the creator of the programs has chosen to reveal that to us and we have paid close attention when given that information.

Now, take a moment to apply that analogy to all of the aspects of God.  Just like Microsoft Office has powerpoint, a word processor, a spreadsheet program, email and many other components as does God.  God has many different aspects to Him.  Some people are really good using the powerpoint aspect of Microsoft Office.  Some are really good at the Excel spreadsheets and others are way better using the word processor.  When applying this to God, some are way better at writing about God.  Some are awesome at verbally communicating about God to others.  Some are really great prayer warriors.  Some are good at noticing God in all the small things.  Some are great at worship and so on.  The point here is this: The fact that we do not know and understand something well enough to recreate it does not disprove its existence.  Luckily, I do not have to write a program every time I want to create a spreadsheet, send an email or type a word document.  The most difficult part is done and on a daily basis I have the ability to access those programs with ease.  I do not have to reinvent the wheel every time I get in the car.  

All of the Microsoft Office programs work well on their own but their potential is only fully reached when they work together to create an environment that allows the many different aspects of a business to run more smoothly.  I believe that to be the focal point of Paul’s writings in the scripture I shared with you this morning.  This idea of working together through diversity.  Unification through diversification.  Paul wrote, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”  But please do not think God limits gifts to those who write, speak, or sing well.  William Barclay has a great quote within the context of this scripture:

The fault of the Church, in modem times at least, is that it has interpreted the idea of special gifts far too narrowly. It has too often acted on the apparent assumption that the special gifts which it can use consist of things like speaking, praying, singing, writing--the more or less intellectual gifts. It would be well if the Church would realize that the gifts of the person who can work with their hands, are equally as special gifts from God. The mason, the carpenter, the electrician, the painter, the engineer, the plumber all have their special gifts, which are from God and can be used for him.  

I would add to that list farmer, teacher, coach, nurse, truck driver and many other vocations.  We shouldn’t allow our lack of knowledge to limit the greatness God is capable of within all of us.  We can apply this mentality to the lesser mentioned aspect of God as well.  The Holy Spirit is definitely a large aspect of the who and the why of God even if we don’t fully grasp it.  Pentecost is the celebration of God’s Spirit descending upon the disciples.  It was the true beginning of the Church.  A friend of mine said it like this “Happy Birthday Church.”  

It is that celebration of God revealing Himself differently than He ever had to his followers.  The Holy Spirit is what opens our eyes to see the goodness of people when we have to look really hard.  The Holy Spirit is that little nudge we sometimes need to get to church, to help those in need, to give of our time and money.  The Holy Spirit is what helps us see the beauty of God in sunlight, the laugh of a child, the sight of a rainbow, the growth of the crops.  The Holy Spirit is alive and it is at work in each of you even if you cannot explain it.  I hope I have helped you in my explanation of the Spirit but I know that some of you may be wanting to know more about this aspect of God.  I would encourage you to ask God about it and make sure you’re paying attention when He reveals it to you.   In closing, there will definitely be aspects of faith that are difficult to understand but this does not prove God does not exist or that these differing aspects aren’t applicable to our lives.  Instead of turning away from something you don’t understand, embrace it.  Enjoy part of the mystery and see where God and His Spirit leads you. Amen.