HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS TODAY (Article)

The Holy Spirit is often misunderstood, neglected, or even flatly ignored in some Christian circles. On the other hand, some churches hold views of the Holy Spirit that wander beyond biblical borders and stray into practices that contradict biblical teachings or fit more comfortably into New Age occultism than biblical Christianity. 

All biblical Christians confirm the role of the Holy Spirit in conversion and salvation. Likewise, little, if any, disagreement exists concerning the role of the Holy Spirit in sanctification, the continuing spiritual growth of Christians into Christlikeness. The apostle Paul tells us, [T]his is the will of God, your sanctification… For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.” (1 Thess. 4:3, 7). Immediately after in 4:8, Paul connects this growth to the Holy Spirit: “So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”

Sanctification is understood to be a synergistic work of both the individual Christian, who works to live out the Christian life, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, who works within saved believers of Christ. As one theologian put it, “[S]anctification demands our cooperation; the Holy Spirit is the ‘chief agent,’ and nothing happens without the prior work of the Spirit, but it is also true that sanctification does not take place apart from our cooperation with the Spirit.” [1] Sanctification is both an active and passive process of divine operation and human cooperation.

Little disagreement exists about these big ideas concerning God’s Spirit, but things become more debated as we attempt to work out the specifics. For instance, does the Holy Spirit guide the people he indwells in more direct ways? If he does, how? Does the Holy Spirit guide Christians through giving us feelings (such as an impulse to do something) or thoughts (such as bringing something to our consciousness)? Does he ever speak in audible words? In what ways, if any, does the Holy Spirit “speak” to us today? To put it another way, if someone stands in front of your church and speaks of “listening to” or “hearing from” the Holy Spirit, should you be concerned?

CONTINUATIONISM

To be clear, I am a continuationist and not a cessationist. I believe the miraculous spiritual gifts (such as miracles of healing and speaking in tongues) continue to this day. I don’t believe they ended at the close of the age of Jesus’ apostles. On the other hand, I also side with many cessationists who are rightly concerned with unbiblical practices concerning the miraculous spiritual gifts as seen in some Pentecostal and charismatic churches, from churches clearly ignoring the plain teachings of scripture (especially 1 Cor. 14) to all-out con artist “healers.” I consider myself a “cautious continuationist.” I am open to the Holy Spirit operating today in ways we see in the New Testament era; the Holy Spirit does as he wishes (John 3:8; Psalm 115:3), and we can’t put him in a box.

Much more could be said about this big topic of debate among modern Christians, but primarily I am a continuationist because of two biblical reasons.

First, in Acts 2:16–18, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit first comes upon Jesus’ followers to permanently dwell in them, Peter declares that this is a fulfillment of a prophecy in Joel 2:28–29 about “the last days.” We currently live in “the last days” as we wait for Christ’s return (Heb. 1:2). According to Peter and Joel (and other Old Testament prophets), this is an era marked by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on “all flesh,” both men and women, young and old, rich and poor, and the result will be a time of visions (including in dreams) and prophecy. Christians universally agree we are living in the last days, and I see no biblical warrant to believe this prophecy from Joel 2 has ended. We are still in the last days and will continue to be so until Christ returns, and this era is marked by the work of the Holy Spirit as described in Joel 2.

Second, 1 Corinthians 13:8–12 speaks plainly of miraculous spiritual gifts like prophecy and tongues passing away when “the perfect” comes. Though there are attempts to interpret it otherwise, “the perfect” refers to either Jesus himself or the culmination of the new heavens and new earth at Jesus’ return. If this is when the miraculous spiritual gifts will cease, then the plain implication is that they will continue until that time, which means they’re still active today.

If this is the case, I don’t see why the work of the Holy Spirit as we see it in the New Testament cannot or does not continue in the same manner to this very day as well.

PROPHECY & SCRIPTURE

One big pushback often given is the idea that if prophecy continues until this day, then that would mean God is still giving us new scripture. (For clarity’s sake: Prophecy doesn’t only refer to predictions about the future but includes any divine truth communicated through humans. The majority of scripture is not future-oriented prophecy.) This is a legitimate challenge. After all, all traditional, historical Christians agree that the canon of scripture closed with the death of the Apostles.

One way I’ve seen continuationists respond to this is to say the prophecy occurring today isn’t as authoritative as scripture. In rebuttal, cessationists rightly point out that all true prophecy is from God and, therefore, holds the same authority as scripture. Afterall, they’re both coming from the same place! If both are coming from the same divine source, how can one have a higher degree of authority than the other?

Instead, I distinguish scripture from prophecy in three ways:

1. Foundational – Scripture is unique to other prophecy from God because it was given to lay the foundations for the one, true faith. 

Keep in mind, not all past prophecies from God were written down. Both the Old and New Testaments speak of many prophets whose words were never written down. (For example, see 1 Kings 18:4 and Acts 21:9.) In other words, not all prophecy becomes scripture. What was recorded and preserved in scripture is considered foundational for the one, true faith of the one, true God.

2. Universal – Piggybacking on our first unique characteristic of scripture, since scripture is foundational, it’s also universal—meaning it’s meant for all Christians. As Paul famously writes,

 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:15–17)

Conversely, not all prophecy is universal. For the sake of illustration, let’s say I received a divine prophecy as I’m sitting on a public bus; the Holy Spirit says to me, “Steve, I want you to tell the woman sitting next to you, ‘Greg is safely home. God sees your struggle.’” (Again, keep in mind, biblical prophecy doesn’t just mean predictions about the future. A prophet speaks God’s truth on behalf of God.) In this hypothetical situation, the message I give the woman on the bus has just as much authority as scripture because both come from the same source—God. Yet, this message is just for her. These words are not foundational to the Christian faith nor universally meant for all Christians.

3. Certainty – All that being said, we also have to make room for error when confronted with anything claimed to be prophecy. We aren’t to be naive. We must “test the spirits” with godly wisdom (John 4:1, also 1 Thess. 5:19-21). Yet, scripture has already been tested, vetted, and confirmed. Scripture is a sure foundation against which we test all things. Clearly, no true prophecy could ever contradict scripture. No “prophecy” would ever lead anyone into any type of immorality or theological error. If so, it’s clearly not from God! 

Inseparable from the certainty of scripture is the apostolic authority of the New Testament, the fact that these writings can be traced back to Jesus’ original apostles or to those closely connected to them. Similarly, because the New Testament was written by Christ’s apostles, it is foundational to the Christian faith.

So, scripture is distinct from prophecy in that it’s foundational to the faith, universal to all Christians, and certain in that it has been tested and vetted and holds apostolic authority. 

In other words, all scripture is prophecy, but not all prophecy is scripture.

AMBIGUITY 

Another legitimate pushback from cessationists is that theologians who hold that the Holy Spirit still speaks to us today admit a certain amount of unclearness in those messages. As the title of a book from one cessationist proclaims: God Doesn’t Whisper! In other words, if God speaks, we’ll know it. This is something we have to seriously consider. When God speaks in scripture, whether in a narrative or through the writings of a prophet like Isaiah, there seems to be no question about whether it’s God speaking and what he is saying.

Yet, even in scripture we find a situation where the message from the Holy Spirit is disputed among believers. In Acts, Paul is compelled by the Holy Spirit to travel to Rome through Jerusalem, where it’s predicted that he will be arrested and put in chains (19:21, 20:22–24), yet other Christians “through the Spirit” were “telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (21:4). 

First, let’s contrast this to another interaction concerning the same situation. A prophet named Agabus binds his own feet and hands with Paul’s belt and says,

Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:11–12)

In the situation with Agabus in Caesarea, it appears Agabus received a divine revelation of Paul’s fate and then others not influenced by the Holy Spirit beg Paul not to go to Jerusalem. In other words, Agabus’ revelation is from God (and, thus, correct) but the peoples’ reaction to it is not from God. But this doesn’t seem to be the case in the earlier situation in 21:4.  It appears from the wording in 21:4 that Christians in Tyre are telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem “through the Spirit.” 

And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:4)

It appears the Christians in Tyre are misinterpreting what the Holy Spirit gave them. Since this is a short summary statement by Luke, the writer of Acts, perhaps we can understand it like the situation with Agabus in Caesarea: the Tyre Christians received knowledge of Paul’s future arrest “through the Spirit,” but then they responded not according to the Spirit. Yet, the plain reading of Acts 21:4 says they “were telling Paul not to go” through the Spirit.

As theologian Gregg Allison writes, “The church today is called to follow such Spirit-driven guidance while being open to differing understanding of such direction… this subjectivity is inescapable” [2]. 

Therefore, we must test everything against God’s “more fully confirmed” (2 Pet 1:19) written word:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21)

Therefore, every spiritual claim, including prophecy, must be tested against scripture. Simply put, any “prophecy” that is not in line with scripture is not prophecy. God will not contradict himself.

Gregg Allison and Andreas Kostenberger’s book The Holy Spirit give some helpful guidelines for analyzing prophecy today. I’ll summarize briefly:

1. Scripture: Is such guidance in accordance with the Word of God?

2. Christology: Does such directions exalt Christ?

3. Sanctification: Does such guidance stimulate progress in holiness?

4. Missionality: Is such guidance directed at engaging others with the gospel so that they may become disciples of Jesus?

5. Ecclesiology: Does the church community—especially those who know the person well—confirm this direction of the Spirit?

6. Pneumatology: Does such direction bear witness to the fruit of the Spirit and other Spirit-filled living? (Gal 5:22–23; Rom 14:17, 15:13; Eph 5:19–21; Col 3:12–17) [3].

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S GUIDANCE

So, how does the indwelling Holy Spirit “speak to” or “guide” believers? I propose that while the Holy Spirit 

(1) empowers believers to live the Christian life, 

(2) he, at times, guides believers in subtle ways, 

(3) but also, at times, he guides in more obvious ways—even, at times, clearly speaking. 

Romans 8:3–11 (specifically 8:4) and Galatians 5:16–25 (specifically 5:16) are where we get the language of walking in the Spirit. Additionally, Paul speaks of being “led by the Spirit” (Gal 5:18) and “keep[ing] in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). The context of both passages focus on the Holy Spirit’s empowering of believers to turn away from sin and overcome sinful desire. This also includes the Holy Spirit empowering us to develop and live out godly virtues, including “the fruit of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22–23). 

Take note, this isn’t just something Christians passively participate in. As I said earlier, sanctification is a confluence of both God and humans. Without God’s work in us we would utterly fail, but we’re also called to take an active part. “Walking” and “keep[ing] in step” with the Spirit implies an active participation. Even being “led by the Spirit” implies a willingness to follow. Further, in these passages, we see we’re to “set [our] minds on the things of the Spirit” (Rom 8:5), which again shows an effort on our part. Finally, if to “live by the Spirit” (Gal 5:25) is to display “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control,” we can assume these virtues are nurtured by the Holy Spirit in us while we, at the same time, strive to live out this “fruit” in our daily lives.

Similarly, we find talk in scripture of being “filled with the Spirit”:

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)

Like the Galatians 5 passage above, Ephesians 5:19–21 continues on to give examples of behaviors and demeanors that mark a Spirit-filled life. But what’s really interesting is the grammar of the phrase “filled with the Spirit.” 

The phrase “filled with the Spirit” appears in 

(1) the imperative mood, which means it’s a command to be obeyed;

(2) in the present tense, which means it’s an ongoing command (“keep on being filled with the Spirit” is one way to interpret it);

(3) but it’s also in the passive voice, so it’s not an imperative to action. Instead, it calls for an openness to something, a “receptivity or submission.” Thus, Christians are to “yield to the Holy Spirit…—pervaded or permeated—by the Spirit in all their ways, to consciously place themselves under the guidance of the Spirit moment by moment” [4]. Christians are to be open to the Holy Spirit’s influence—like a boat raising its sail for the wind.

When we also consider the language in scripture of grieving (Eph 4:30), quenching (1 Thess 5:19), and resisting (Acts 7:51) the Holy Spirit, we see we can even get in the way of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

How exactly does this confluence of God and man in regenerate believers work? To put it another way, where does God end and man start (or vice versa) in the Christian life? Why does the Holy Spirit at times guide in “stronger” ways (as we’ll see in examples from Acts below) and, at other times, guide in more subtle ways that can even lead to misinterpretation (as we saw above in Acts 21:4)? I don’t think we can answer that other than to say, the Holy Spirit does as he wishes (John 3:8; Psalm 115:3), and God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8–9).

THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKS

So, does the Holy Spirit actually speak to us? 

I have found when most Christians say the Holy Spirit “spoke” to them, they often don’t mean that they heard an audible voice. They’re using “spoke” in a more figurative sense. So, perhaps a better way to put it would be to say they felt “prompted,” “moved,” “influenced,” or even “compelled” by the Spirit of God. But by what means does the Holy Spirit do this?

First, does the Holy Spirit ever guide through feelings and impulses? In the following two examples, we see the Holy Spirit’s guidance but no details on how this guidance was received. 

The first example are words from the letter by the first Jerusalem Council:  

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28–29)

The second example concerns the travels of Paul, Silas, and Timothy:

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. (Acts 16:6–7)

How did the Holy Spirit communicate to the Jerusalem Council what was good? How did the Holy Spirit restrict the travels of Paul and company? The scripture doesn’t tell us. But what is indisputable is that the Holy Spirit guided these Christians.

So, do we have any evidence of the Holy Spirit ever guiding believers by speaking to them?

As I stated above, I don’t see any reason biblically (or otherwise) why the Holy Spirit would function differently today than he did in the New Testament era (nor any reason to confine the work of the Holy Spirit). When we look at the Book of Acts, we see examples of the Holy Spirit speaking:

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:29–30)

And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” (Acts 10:19–20)

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them (Acts 13:2)

Unless we take “the Spirit said” less literally to mean something like “the Spirit impressed upon Philip…” or “the Spirit influenced Peter…” or “the Spirit put this thought into the minds of the church members…,” it seems clear that the Holy Spirit, at times, speaks—as a plain reading of the passages above demonstrates. Whether the Holy Spirit speaks in words that are heard with the ears or with words received in the person’s mind, we cannot say.

Further, returning back to prophecy, we can’t ignore that the Holy Spirit regularly speaks through people. Whether a Spirit-filled Christian who is prophesying receives the message via

(1) images (which the prophet then puts into words) or 

(2) words directly dictated to him or her by the Spirit or 

(3) a confluence of both Holy Spirit inspiration and human communication guided by the Holy Spirit or 

(4) some other means, 

a prophet ultimately communicates Spirit-given ideas in Spirit-inspired words. As theologian Gregg Allison puts it, “[A]ccording to scores of biblical passages, when the Spirit comes upon people, they speak” [5].

 As this is plainly the case in scripture, why is it so hard to believe the Holy Spirit would not use human language to communicate to the people of God today?

[1] Against God and Nature: The Doctrine of Sin, Thomas H. McCall, Crossway, 2019: 376.

[2] The Holy Spirit (Theology for the People of God), Gregg R. Allison and Andreas J. Kostenberger, B&H Academic, 2020: 402-403.

[3] The Holy Spirit, 403.

[4] The Holy Spirit, 404-405.

[5] The Holy Spirit, 286.