By John A. Huffman Jr.
He accepted an invitation from several friends to take a walk a mile or two into an open field beyond town. They sat down and entered into a deep conversation centering on the Holy Spirit. He related how his friends obviously knew more about the Spirit than did he. They were anxious to lead him into a deeper understanding. Their sincerity and love impressed him. Their personal touch with God was real. They spoke at length about the immediate leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives — a concept which was new and exciting to him. They spoke of death to self, of rebuking Satan and asking guidance of the Holy Spirit for every detail of life. His longings for a closer walk with God increased. The next day, another friend, several years older, took him aside and warned him not be become too involved with these people who were putting such an emphasis on the Holy Spirit. This friend then opened the Scriptures and explained in clear and decisive terms the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual believer. He pointed out that much of what the other group had said was true, but it was being carried to an extreme, which made it warp the truth.
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Dave Howard described his confusion. Both sets of friends were so sincere. They seemed so right in what they had to say. One night, after tossing restlessly in bed for several hours, he rose, dressed and went out to walk the streets. Passing the home of a godly pastor, he decided to rouse him and share his struggles. The minister came downstairs in his bathrobe and invited him into the house. In a balanced and gracious way, he opened the Scriptures for this searching young man, helping him to see what they really say about the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. He said, "Dave, whenever you hear someone who talks constantly about the Holy Spirit, you have reason to doubt that he really knows the Lord the way he should." Startled, the young man could scarcely believe his ears. How could anyone who talks about the Spirit be deficient or in error in his knowledge of God.
To back up his statement, the pastor turned to John 16:13-14 and read: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
With that, Dave Howard, as a young man, discovered a biblical principle which is helpful for you and me today. The work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ, not himself. The spirit bears witness to the Savior. Jesus Christ is central. The ministry of the Holy Spirit, in its authentic expression, points to the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
Isn't it interesting that what David Howard discovered over half a century ago is precisely what Eugene Peterson is emphasizing in the article published in The Christian Century several weeks ago? Contexts are quite different. The message is the same. On the one hand, beware of any discussion and emphasis on the Holy Spirit in which the Holy Spirit himself becomes primary emphasis. This speaks to the kind of super-spirituality of a distinctly Christian nature that can emerge when the person of Jesus Christ is de-emphasized and the person and work of the Holy Spirit becomes the end in itself . At the other extreme is the kind of vague spirituality that is so pervasive in our culture today that calls us to minimize the importance of Jesus Christ, seeing Him only as a transient, historical figure who, in His own way, followed God and had His own kind of spirituality. This kind of spirituality takes great offense at claims for the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. It sees all roads that claim to be spiritual leading in the same direction. It attacks the claim that Jesus made for himself when He said, "'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him'" (John 14:6-7).
