The person of the Holy Spirit and the doctrine attending Him have suffered at the hands of Christian fanaticism. Such has been true in every generation. Some have the mistaken notion that to be under the control of the Holy Spirit one must exhibit bazaar or weird behavior. Some manifest animal sounds and flakey physical gyrations as an evidence of the Holy Spirit’s influence. Little wonder people looking on and witnessing such a debacle want nothing to do with that kind of religion. While some may exhibit weird behavior due to the influence of others who have told them such is a necessary evidence of the Spirit’s control, perhaps even extending to handling of snakes, they fall in line mimicking their role models from a sincere heart. Others engage the behavior from nothing more than the activity of the flesh, and God has nothing whatever to do with it.
A believer under control of the Holy Spirit does not forfeit his volition so is mysteriously dominated by the Spirit. First Corinthians 14 reminds us that the “spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, and God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” Yet, the Holy Spirit is assigned the source of the unbecoming behavior, and non-Christians who may be watching do not have any basis for discernment. It’s nothing new…God gets blamed for a lot of things He has nothing to do with. It’s another instance whereby God may suffer negative consequences from His friends as much as from His enemies.
What, then, is to be expected from believers who truly are under the influence of the Holy Spirit? How should they act? What is acceptable and God-honoring behavior from those under the control of the Holy Spirit? We are told quite clearly in Galatians 5. Those led and controlled by the Holy Spirit should produce the fruit, or the kind of activity, in keeping with the nature and ministry of the Spirit. We are not left to wonder what this is. The inspired apostle tells us exactly what should be the behavior pattern of the Christian who is led and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Look for “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and temperance.” These are described as the fruit of the Spirit or the character qualities the Holy Spirit produces. It’s also no coincidence these are the very character qualities demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ during His sojourn on earth. We can also confidently say these are the qualities, when exhibited by Christians, tend to draw others to them, not shrink back in avoiding them. The Christian who consistently manifests these qualities is, in his very behavior, a powerful evangelistic tool that makes the Christian faith attractive to non-Christians. What is more, this fruit of the Spirit in the daily life of the Christian is designed by God to be the norm, not an exception. Call it “standard operating procedure” if you will, and no one can call the exhibition of the fruit of the Spirit fanatical or bazaar or weird. Supernatural? Perhaps, and it is. The fruit of the Spirit is generated by God, the Holy Spirit, Himself, and He is as supernatural as there is.
CC-07-20
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