5 Ways We Misrepresent the Holy Spirit
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”
There's so much bad press on the Holy Spirit these days. Just like looking in the mirror and being honest about our errors, we should humbly embrace the need to be sharpened and shaped by Scripture. Here are five ways we misrepresent Him and the one solution that will lead to a proper view.
Number One - We Neglect His Work
On one side of the spectrum, you have reformed stoicism, which neglects His work by crippling people with the fear of being a crazy charismatic. So we neglect Him like the wicked servant. We bury the one talent we have and we put the Holy Spirit in a holding pattern in hopes of doing nothing wrong. This is understandable because people don't want to be in error. The other side of the spectrum is a hyped-up, man-centered ministry focus that emphasizes people, numbers, pragmatism, and feelings, all the while neglecting the truth. At least we feel the goosebumps, right? When the band hits the minor keys and plays our favorite song, we feel all the feels. This also neglects His true work.
Number Two - We Add to His Work
Whether this be legalistic rules for worship that the Bible doesn't at all encourage or chaos and sensationalism, both of these approaches put words in the Holy Spirit's mouth that He never said and attribute actions to the Holy Spirit that He does not do.
Number Three - Ignoring Him in Our Prayers
How often do we pray? I often reflect on the old hymn, "Cheer our desponding hearts, Thou heavenly Paraclete, give us to lie with humble hope at our Redeemer's feet." We so often include the work of the Father in our prayers and the work of the Son. But perhaps all too often we ignore the work of the Spirit in our prayers. He is the one who fills, gifts, bears fruit, illumines, and convicts. He enables us to glorify Christ. So, pray in line with His job description.
Number Four - We Forget His Nature
Whether we call Him an "it" or some other misguided view that demeans His divine nature and personhood, we misrepresent Him when we forget that He is fully and equally God and a person. He's active, He can be grieved, and He's working in the believer, even now, in a very personal way. When we understand His nature, we can relish in who He is, biblically.
Number Five - We Misunderstand His Goal
John 16:14 records Jesus describing the Holy Spirit's job description, saying, “He will glorify Me.” Capital "M" as in Christ. This reminds us the Holy Spirit doesn't exist to put on a show, put the spotlight on you, or make you feel all the feels and goosebumps. He exists to put the spotlight on Christ and help you bring glory to Him.
The Solution
The best way to turn from misrepresenting the Holy Spirit and to faithfully worship Him and appreciate His work biblically is to let the Scriptures be the authority of your pneumatology. That means the Bible dictates your doctrinal beliefs about the Holy Spirit, not your experiences, emotions, or opinions. Bow to the Word of God.
