Filled with the Spirit, Part 2 (Eph 5:15–21) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

The Holy Spirit is sometimes called “the forgotten member of the Trinity,” due to the neglect of discussion, teaching, and application on the Spirit. He’s relegated to merely a “force” behind the scenes or a “power” for an energy boost or an “optional” consideration for the Christian life or a “figure” in the liturgy. Yet that doesn’t square with the teaching of Scripture or with the understanding and practice in previous generations.

Martin Luther contended with the scholastic theologians who attempted to wring the life out of the Christian faith by spouting its sophistries void of Scripture. At aim with them was Holy Spirit-less Christianity. Luther insisted that “the Holy Spirit and his gifts are necessary for the performance of a good work,” rather than God leaving us to ourselves [Denis R. Janz, ed., A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions, 129]. Without the Spirit we cannot be Christians or live the Christian life.

John Calvin faced scholasticism as well, and their denials of the supernatural work of the Spirit in the daily life of the believer. Calvin explained of them, “But these conjure up a Christianity which has nothing to do with the Spirit of Christ.” Then he explained in experiential language, “Paul offers us no hope of the blessed resurrection unless we feel the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (Rom. 8:11)” [Institutes of the Christian Religion; “Essentials” edition, 202]. So serious was this neglect and denial of the work of the Spirit in believers that Calvin corrected it by questions. “What else do we do but cast doubt on the promises of Jesus Christ when we seek to serve him apart from his Spirit, whom he has said he will pour out on all who are his (Joel 2:28)? What else do we do but deprive the Holy Spirit of his glory by separating faith from him, since he is its very source?” [202] In other words, Jesus does not grant faith and He does not fulfill His promises for His people apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

But the generation of the Reformers was not unique in neglect, confusion, and opposition to the work of the Spirit. By the adversary’s shrewd designs, every generation faces its share of faulty teaching on the Holy Spirit. The late 19th and early 20th centuries, despite seeing close up the impact of spiritual awakenings in the 18th and 19th centuries, swallowed German rationalism and its denial of the supernatural elements in the Christian faith. Among mainline Protestants, the first half of the 20th century appeared to have forgotten the Holy Spirit altogether. That may account for the reactive rise of Pentecostalism with the early 1900s Topeka (Kansas) revival and Azusa Street (Los Angeles) revival in 1906, where speaking in tongues was identified as evidence of the so-called “baptism of the Holy Spirit” [Eerdmans’ Handbook to the History of Christianity, 618]. The effect of those revivals spread Pentecostal teaching that refocused historic doctrinal standards for a purely experiential religion. But the problem was that the experience lacked firm grounding in doctrine, with the central work of Christ neglected.

So, how did most churches respond? Did they dig into the Word and correct the doctrinal deviations? Instead, churches seemed to put their heads in the sand and hoped that the extreme, unbalanced teaching on the Holy Spirit would disappear. But it didn’t. It grew rapidly and continues to do so. The sixties witnessed the emergence of the charismatic movement among conservative, evangelical groups. Again, few churches returned to the Word to address its excesses and theological inaccuracies. They just further divided into charismatic and non-charismatic churches. Because many churches failed to return to Scripture for their belief and practice, fear on one hand, and error on the other, persisted concerning the biblical teaching on the Holy Spirit. This failure to teach on the Holy Spirit [...]