The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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attention is deflected toward God the Father and God the Son. Therefore we are most truly of the
Spirit when we are least aware of the Holy Spirit and most aware of Christ. Michael Green has
warned that Christians “must not do for the Spirit what He does not do for Himself and that is to
seek the limelight.” Arrogance and haughtiness have no place in behavior that is Spirit-led. The
Holy Spirit always speaks with a voice of humility.
The second test is: A Love for Truth as Revealed in the Bible. Word and Spirit must go
hand in hand. The Bible is the greatest protection the Holy Spirit has given to the church. Because
the work of the Spirit is subjective it is vital that there is an objective standard to test the subjective
experience. The Bible is that standard. True spiritual experience, therefore, will not contradict
anything taught in the Bible. Since it is the same Spirit who inspired the Scriptures and illuminates
it, Word and Spirit always agree and work in unison. Any mystical experience that lessens our love
for truth and makes us less dependent upon God’s Word is not of the Holy Spirit. Any revelatory
experience that makes us feel superior to the revelation of the Bible is automatically suspect.
The third test is: A Love of and Commitment to Each Other. That which unifies and
strengthens Christian community is of the Holy Spirit; what destroys it cannot be. “Where the
Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (II Cor. 3:17). Christians are either under liberty or under
law, and those led by the Spirit have liberty. Paul, however, made it clear that there can be no
liberty without restraint, no self-fulfillment without self-denial since freedom is always a means to
extend one’s life for the community. Freedom is limited only by our life together. Since “the love
of Christ constrains us” (II Cor. 5:14) our freedom is a freedom that frees us from selfishness and
self-centeredness and leads us to do only that which promotes health, strength and vitality to the
body of Christ. It is only in the company of others that our experiences in the Spirit can be
confirmed and verified.
The fourth test is: A Love of Righteousness, a Heightened Sense of Sin, and a Turning
from Evil. Does the Spirit of God bear good fruit in our lives? Does He promote love? Does He
inspire us to selflessly reach out in service to our neighbor and to the world? Does His work make
us more comfortable in sin or more aware of our sinfulness and thus increase our hunger and thirst
for righteousness and our hatred for any kind of sin or evil. The Holy Spirit inspires a holy zeal for
the things of God and a hatred for any kind of sin or evil. The Holy Spirit inspires a holy zeal for
the things of God and a hatred for anything that would be contrary to God’s holy will. 84
So often Christians are either naive and gullible and eager for that which is sensational, or they
are cautious, conservative, critical and cynical. Neither of these positions are right. We are to be
“discerning believers.”