By Rich Peterson, Church Relations
As we continue to answer the question, “Does the Holy Spirit of Christ reside in this church?” we remind ourselves of the three distinct characteristics which display the Holy Spirit’s presence in a church from our previous blog, and add three more characteristics in our current blog.
From Acts 2:42-47:
From part 1:
- When the Holy Spirit shows up in a church, there is Biblical Instruction (Acts 2:42). “They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching.”
- When the Holy Spirit shows up at church, there is a loving community (Acts 2:42, 44-45). “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”
- When the Holy Spirit shows up at church, there is living worship (Acts 2:42, 46). “They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread and to prayer…Every day they continued to meet in the temple courts.”
When the Holy Spirit shows up at church there is miraculous activity!
“Many signs and wonders were done by the apostles” (V. 43).
“Your life apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit may be spectacular, but it will never be miraculous.” -Ralph Smith
In other words, the church in Acts was a church where things happened!
- Things that could not be explained away from a human perspective.
- Things that could not be explained by good ministry programs, a strong budget, strong leadership, able members, beautiful facilities, choice church location, great children’s programs, style of music, or educational opportunities.
- Things that could not be explained were happening all the time because of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit of God.
William Barclay said, “If we expect great things from God AND attempt great things for God, great things happen. More things would happen if we believed that God and we together could make them happen.” It is oftentimes not because we don’t believe that God exists – it is that the God we believe exists is so SMALL.
When the Holy Spirit shows up at church there is winsome attractiveness!
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (v. 46-47).
A church where the Holy Spirit shows up is a HAPPY church. Gladness is present. A gloomy church is a contradiction in terms. The first disciples were people other people could not help but like. Real Christianity is a lovely thing. It is a beautiful thing. It not only IS good, but it LOOKS good – it has a winsome attractiveness about it.
Years ago, Charles Swindoll wrote an essay entitled, The Winsome Witness. Here is part of what he wrote:
“If you ask me, I think it is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray…or preach…or witness. But then – laughter is a witness in many ways. We have been misled by a twisted, unbalanced mind if we have come to think of laughter and fun as being carnal or even questionable. This is one of Satan’s sharpest darts and from the looks and long lines on our faces; some of us have been punctured too many times. Pathetic indeed is the somber Christian who has developed the look of an old basset hound through long hours of practice in restraining humor and squelching laughs.”
Winsomeness: When the Church has it, “People in general liked what they saw. Everyday their number grew as God added those where were saved!”
When the Holy Spirit shows up at church there is an ongoing and outgoing outreach.
“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (v. 47).
In his book, The Crisis in the University, Walter Moberly notes the failure of evangelicals to penetrate university campuses with the gospel. To the Christian community he writes,
“If one-tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are. It’s a rare soul who is interested in embracing a faith that doesn’t move the person trying to share it. The first Christians were not so preoccupied with learning and worshipping, that they forgot about witnessing. The Holy Spirit is a missionary Spirit who created a missionary church. Harry Boer, in Pentecost and Mission writes, “the church is governed by one dominant, overriding and all controlling motif. This motif is the expansion of the faith through missionary witness in the power of the Spirit…Restlessly the Spirit drives the church to witness, and continually churches rise out of this witness. The church is a missionary church, because the Spirit is a missionary Spirit.”
Conclusion
Biblical instruction, loving community, living worship, miraculous activity, winsome attractiveness, and ongoing, outgoing evangelism – these are the characteristics of a Spirit-filled church. If you want to be a part of a church where the Holy Spirit resides, these are the things you need to look for when “church shopping.”
Discussion Questions:
On Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram, write a response to this post.
- Read Acts 2.
- Have you ever experienced a church where the Holy Spirit’s presence was evident? What stood out to you?
- How does worship extend beyond Sunday Services?
- How do joy and gratitude impact the witness of the church?
- How can we personally take part in making our church a place where winsomeness is displayed?
- What step can you take this week to begin a habit of being part of a church that embodies joy, evangelism, gratitude, and belief? A church with a sense of mission.