We have been talking about the Spirit for a few weeks now. To be moved by the Spirit, we must ask for the Spirit, be ready to raise our sails to receive and be moved by the Spirit, and we must be willing to be led where the Spirit will take us. If the Spirit does not move, we do not go. The Spirit equips us with gifts to build up the church. The Spirit is the source of unity within the church. The Spirit transforms us into the image of God for the world. We carry the presence of God with us into the world. Finally, the Spirit is the unity between the Father and the Son that is the foundation of love we share between us as Christians. This unity in the Spirit supersedes any unity we might try to fabricate through “right” doctrine, political ideologies, racial and cultural differences, or socio-economic divisions.
We’ve spent most of our time focusing on the need to be open to the Spirit, raise our anchor, and lift our sails. Being open to the Spirit the first major step in the spiritual walk. This first step brings concerns of whether we are actually following the Spirit, another spirit, our own desires, etc. These are valid concerns and should be kept in the forefront of what we do when seeking the Spirit. Just because you feel strongly about something does not mean the Spirit is leading you. It seems as though the Spirit leads us into paths of greater faith, relinquishment of our own wants and desires, discomfort, and service of others.
John, in 1 John 4:1-6, warns us not to believe every spirit, but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. There are a lot of teachings from the world that are presented as teachings from the spirit, and we must recognize them for what they are. They are anti-Christ. There are teachings of the world that have divided the church because Christians have failed to keep close to the Spirit’s teachings. We have too readily cheapened the Gospel to what we gain from it and have disconnected it from the kind of life it calls us to. We want baptism without repentance, communion without confession, and salvation with discipline. These are the hallmarks of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls “cheap grace” in “The Cost of Discipleship.” We are called to discipleship, following the way of Jesus, and that is an active response on our part. It costs us everything because we have found the one thing that truly matters: the Presence of God.
To be led by the Spirit to follow the way of Jesus, we must develop disciplines that call us to deeper discipleship. This is not works based salvation. Salvation is a free gift given by Christ. But we are called to more. Jesus calls us to follow him. To walk as he walked. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see rhythms of prayer, solitude, quiet, and focus. He knew the heart of scripture and not just what it says. His whole ministry was guided by the Spirit, but this also took work on his part. Being guided by the Spirit takes discipline not to fall into the temptations of the world.
When Jesus began his ministry, after receiving the Spirit in his baptism, he went off to the wilderness to fast and pray. This communion with the Father through the Spirit is the model for the Christian life. When the tempter came and presented Jesus with easy access to power in the world (a summation of the temptations in Matt 4), Jesus drew close to the heart of scripture, which was written on his own heart. He had also been preparing for these temptations through the disciplines of fasting and prayer. He also had the Spirit to guide him. These are the same things we have to combat the temptations of the world.
The temptations did not end with Jesus’ time in the wilderness. They were present all throughout his ministry. After feeding the five thousand in John 6, Jesus “withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (6:15) because he knew they intended to make him their king by force. Why didn’t Jesus seize the opportunity to become their king and lead the nation back into greatness? Because he knew that his purpose was bigger than the worldly power they were willing to grant him. The Spirit’s guidance, knowing the heart of scripture, prayer, and the discipline of solitude and silence kept Jesus in line with the mission God had for him.
The spirit of this world tells us to strive for power so we can be in positions to bring the change we want to see in the world. The Spirit which guided Jesus led him to a greater power expressed through radical love for both enemy and friend alike so that the world would become the good world that God created it to be. Worldly power does not bring about this goodness. Only the love of Christ expressed on the cross can do that. He has called us to go and do likewise.
For your reflection:
Where do you see the spirit of the world leading the church in the ways of the world?
Where do you see the spirit of the world pressuring you in ways that do not look like Jesus?
Have you established a rhythm of disciplines in your life to draw close to the presence of God in prayer, fasting, the heart of scripture, solitude, silence, etc.?
What is keeping you from forming those disciplines?