People's imaginations concerning 'receiving the Holy Spirit' (Example #4)

People's imaginations concerning 'receiving the Holy Spirit' (Example #4)

This post is written for the sole purpose of illustrating the ignorance of sound doctrine on social media these days. My aim is to emphasize the absolute necessity of studying the Bible for oneself and seeking answers from the source instead of relying on imaginations or opinions given by people, who may be sincere, but are as ignorant as the one who asked the question to start with. 

So, let's begin by stating the question that was asked in the beginning of a social media thread,

QUESTION: "How can Christians catch the Spirit?"

Below is the fourth of a few answers that were supplied to this question on social media. They appear to be sincere but are unfortunately completely false or have parts that are from the imaginations of men who have not sought out the truth in the Word of God. I add comments as to why the answer is wrong and what the Word of God actually says about it.

False Imagination #4

Christians can get the Holy Spirit by letting the love of God shine in their life each day. Love is key. Show love to everyone and the spirit of God will dwell in you!

My comments:

This is the fourth answer based on the above question.

One cannot fault this answer as love is the primary attribute of God, 1Jn.4:8; 1Jn.4:16, the first in a list of nine fruits of the Spirit, Gal.5:22-23, and the greatest attribute between faith, hope, and love, 1Cor.13:13. But, does the Bible teach that if we show love to everyone, then the Holy Spirit will dwell in us? Is this doctrinally correct and the right order of things? Can I produce love myself or does it come from another source? If love is key, how do I get love? Furthermore, what love must I show so the Holy Spirit can manifest? 

As you can see, a short answer like the above, can be negligent and generate more questions, quickly leading to a false doctrinal understanding if it is not searched out and confirmed from the Word of God. As believers, we must always realise that we have an immense responsibility unto the Word of God. The Word of God self-proclaims that it is a sharp double-edged sword that can cut deep, Heb.4:12. If one is irresponsible in how one uses it, it can harm believers as much as it can heal.

With this said, let’s search within our grace curriculum, the 13-epistles of Paul, and see what our King James Bible says about love in the context of this reply.

Where does love come from?

Before we get saved by the grace gospel, we are without God in this world, Eph.2:12, and since God is love, 1Jn.4:8, we can know that there can be no true love within us without God. We are incapable of ‘agape’ love, which is true, selfless, unconditional love. Furthermore, our foundational epistle, Romans, tells us that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us, Rom.5:5. The source of love is God, 1Jn.4:7-8; Jn.15:5, and without God’s love within us, all our actions are meaningless and vain, 1Cor.13:1-3.

It is only when we get saved (justified through faith in Jesus Christ) that love can start to enter our innermost parts through the Holy Spirit. Justification does not instantaneously produce love within us, but love can now start to develop in us as we partake of the Spirit of God through His Word, confirmed by the scriptures in Philippians and Thessalonians below. This contradicts what the responder to the original question mentioned, saying, “Christians can get the Holy Spirit by letting the love of God shine in their life” and “when they show love the spirit of God will dwell in them.” In both these statements it falsely implies that love comes first and then brings the Holy Spirit, whereas scripture teaches that love is formed because of the increase of the Holy Spirit within us as we grow in the knowledge and understanding of our doctrine in the Word of God.

Don’t overlook this important learning point. God’s Spirit increases within us through our knowledge and understanding of God’s Word. Notice what Paul tells the Philippians,

Php 1:8-11  For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.  (9)  And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;  (10)  That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;  (11)  Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. (See also Php.2:1-5: that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.)

Love is the fruit, or result, of obedience to our doctrine. Love is produced when we lay the desires of our selfish flesh down and become a living sacrifice, choosing to act according to the principles of our doctrine. Paul writes that the flesh is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit contrary to the flesh,

Gal 5:16-17  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  (17)  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

In Rom 7:18 Paul also writes, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”  The two are opposed to each other and if we do not have a foundation of truth in our doctrine and desire to obey it, we will never be able to walk in love. Paul continues to teach about love through the Spirit when he writes,

Rom 8:5-9  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  (6)  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  (7)  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  (8)  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  (9)  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you...

The Spirit of God dwells in us by getting our head and our heart filled with the Word of God, with our grace doctrine. It is by obeying it, Rom.6:16, doing what the principles of our doctrine teach, that produces the fruit of the Spirit and the increasing ability to love others unconditionally as we ourselves mature in our faith. 

Let me mention one last thing about this based on the following verses,

1Th_1:3  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1Th 4:9  But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 

The Thessalonians were an ensample for all the believers around them. They were mature in their faith and brought much joy to Paul because of their obedience to the faith and their level of maturity. If you consider the curriculum of Paul’s 9-church epistles; Romans being the foundational letter, Corinthians and Galatians, as the milk of the Word, addressed to babes and children in Christ, we continue to advance in the faith until we get to Thessalonians, the pinnacle of our curriculum, the meat of the Word, and addressed to mature believers who have passed through the ‘work of faith’ (knowledge of the doctrine), and who were active in the ‘labour of love’ (obedience to the doctrine), as they waited for the Lord’s appearing in the ‘patience of hope’. Notice how Paul did not have to write to them about love since he acknowledges that they were mature in their understanding of God's Word and the Spirit of love. 

It is the Spirit that produces love, not love that brings the Holy Spirit.

How do I know that love is forming within me?

Selfless, unconditional love is an attribute of God that develops within us as we grow in the knowledge of God’s Word. The words of God are spirit and life as Jesus taught, Jn.6:63; thus, when we spend time in the Word, we are filled with the Spirit of God and we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, Eph.4:23, transforming us in our thoughts, our actions, our speech and our responses in life. The evidence of this transformation is the fruit of the Holy Spirit according to Galatians, the first being love, which is the result of the Holy Spirit increasing and dwelling within.

Finally, coming back to the original question, “How can Christians catch the Spirit?”, it is clear that it is not by loving others first in order to get the Holy Spirit or have him dwell in us. It is through justification, believing the grace gospel, that we are saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit. However, we cannot just rest on those laurels, however amazing they are. Justification saves us from God’s wrath and a fiery hell, but it does nothing in the flesh and for this realm. In order to be profitable to God, to walk by the Spirit, to have love develop within you, and to have Christ formed within you, you have to start with the ‘work of faith’, which is the stablishment of the grace doctrine within you. It is the doctrine that builds you up towards maturity in that ‘labour of love’, the work of God within you to will and do according to His good pleasure, Php.2:13.

Conclusion

If you are one who is asking questions on social media, I implore you to be careful with the replies that you get. Most of the replies will most certainly be replies that are based on absolute ignorance and the imaginations of men. Whatever replies that come, do not receive them without weighing them up with what the Bible says. As the Bereans did, do your own searching of the scriptures to prove whether the advice is sound and according to our doctrine,

Act 17:10-11  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.  (11)  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

If you are a person that is posting a reply to someone who asked a question, I pray that the fear of God will be upon you as you write up your answer. The scriptures are a double-edged sword and can do as much harm as good. Make sure that you are sincere in your desire to reply and help the person. Then ensure that your replies are filled with confirming scripture references that validate your answer. James 3:1 tells us that masters (teachers) who abuse the office, shall receive greater condemnation than those who are hearers, and the same chapter tells of the power of the tongue which can speak both truth and lie in the same breath. Make sure of your answers and be sincere in leading people on the path of truth and reconciliation.