The tendency in stumbling into the hyper-charasmatic mania which has swept through much of the church in recent days is rooted, in my estimation, to the anemic theological condition of the local church. The syncretistic nature of fusing eastern animistic culture with western hollywoodized spirituality has bred a false sense of the Spirit in the life of the believer. The impulse in longing for the Spirit that is divorced from the trinitarian nature of the Godhead is a common mishap that is present within the current trend of spirituality. This type of functional theology is mounted on an "experiential Christianity" that gives limited regard to sound doctrine.1 Again, the emphasis is upon the experience rather than the systematic gathering of biblical data—better known as doctrine.Worship in Spirit and in Truth:
Jesus was clear on His description of the type of people God was in search for. The Creator "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:24). This dynamic is nothing further from the truth. The clear expressive nature of those who would seek after God would be grounded upon the genuine cry of the spirit which is saturated in truth. The commentator, DA Carson, expresses this notion rightly in saying, "There are not two separable characteristics of the worship that must be offered: it must be 'in spirit and truth', i. e. essentially God-centred, made possible by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and in personal knowledge of the conformity to God's Word-made-flesh, the one who is God's 'truth', the faithful exposition and [fulfillment] of God and His saving purpose."2
Worship is more than thinking biblically,
but never less.
Therefore, the experiential component to worship must not be devoid of truth. Worship is more than thinking biblically, but never less. The art of biblical thinking is interwoven into the tapestry of worship which grants it substance and depth. Thinking (theologically), then, serves the heart in feeling emotions that are built upon eternal truths which are "yes and amen" in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20).
What We Mean When We Say "God":
It is no secret that the trinitarian formula of the God-head is complicated to say the least. For some of us (if not all), the math does not seem to add up. Simply put, three Persons; one God. Three distinct Persons sharing in the one divine nature. Robert Letham is helpful in articulating this reality when he writes,
God is one being, three Persons, and three Persons, one being. The indivisible Trinity consists of three irreducibly distinct Persons. Their distinctness or difference is in no way whatever erased, obliterated, or eroded by the union. But the union is real, eternal, and indivisible. The three are one identical being.3Therefore, when Christians speak of God they are inherently speaking of the trinitarian God of the bible. God, for Christians, is grounded in the three Persons which is made up of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If God is, like Letham claims, indivisible; when we call upon the Christian God we are calling upon God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God, for Christians,
is grounded in the three Persons
which is made up of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Historical Fallacy of Modalism:
The inability to hold conceptually the indivisibility of the triune God has led to, within church history, many heretical views. One of which came during the early patristic era in the form of modalism. Modalism, according to Gregg Allison, "held that there is one God who can be designated by three different names—"Father," "Son," and "Holy Spirit"—at different times, but these three are not distinct persons. Instead, they are different modes (thus, modalism) of the one God."4 The modalist conceives that God is one while displaying Himself in three different forms or modes; namely "Father," "Son," or "Holy Spirit."This fallacy came under fire and the early church sought hard to think biblically about this topic. Establishing a foundational understanding of God was imperative in setting the precedent of worship and belief in the life of the church of Christ. Though opponents rose up to question the trinitarian nature of the God-head and the deity of Christ, God preserved His people through the establishment of the councils and creeds. Justin S. Holcomb articulates this truth in saying, "The Nicene Creed is perhaps the most famous and influential creed in the history of the church, because it settled the question of how Christians can worship one God and also claim that this God is three Persons."5
Practical Engagement with the Spirit:
All this to say, the theological framework that has been formulated above is to give guidance to the practical application of the trinitarian understanding of God. Our thoughts of God, when submitted to the revelatory work of Scripture, will inform our belief systems in such a way as to bleed into the fabric of every day life.
Our thoughts of God, when submitted to the revelatory work of Scripture, will inform our belief systems in such a way as to bleed into the fabric of every day life.
If, then, God in trinitarian understanding is indivisible in nature, the hyper-charismatic desire to focus solely upon the work of the Holy Spirit is misguided and ill informed. To strive for such a nuance is to fall prey to modalistic tendencies. In order to operate within trinitarianism one much understand that the ministry of the Holy Spirit will in turn magnify the work of Christ in the hearts of believers which will lead to the honoring of God the Father. The engagement of each Person of the God-head will in turn employ the remaining members. For example, embracing the Son will grant access to the Father who will send the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the pursuit of the Father will give rise to the Son who in turns give the gift of the Spirit. Michael Reeves articulates this trinitarian relation well in saying, "[The Persons of the God-head] are who they are together. They always are together, and thus they always work together."6
Renew the Mind:
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*footnotes
1. Frederick Dale Bruner. A Theology of the Holy Spirit: The Pentecostal Experience of the New Testament Witness (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publisher, 1976), 21.
2. D. A. Carson. The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publisher Company, 1991), 225.
3. Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2004), 466.
4. Gregg R. Allison, Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 235-236.
5. Justin S. Holcomb, Know The Creeds and Councils (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 33.
6. Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith (Downers Grove, IVP Academic, 2012), 34.
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McYoung Yang (Mdiv, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the husband of Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (8), McCoy (7), McColsen (5), and DeYoung (1). He has recently accepted the position of Associate Professor of Theology at Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN and will begin teaching in the Fall of 2017. He is currently serving as a Youth Counsel member of the Youth Ministry of the Hmong District in the C&MA. He hopes to use his training and platform as a means to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens. McYoung enjoys reading/writing, sports, and playing with his children.
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