The Holy Spirit is the Soul of Christianity

by Letters Editor · October 18, 2017

John Lee, Johannesburg – Amen! To “All priests need a Timothy” – Stephen Selbourne’s letter on the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the authentic believer who knows Jesus Christ as Lord of his life.

This I appreciate more and more as my life in the Spirit grows and blossoms, since my first receiving the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit. This changed me from believing “about” Jesus to knowing that he is the Lord of all aspects of my life.

Diluting of Christian Power

Years of concentration on the secondary areas of the social implications of our faith have produced in many a distorted vision of what is essential. These secondary areas are often hostile to the foundation of Christian life — with many holding the “form of Christianity” but denying its power (see 2 Timothy 3:15; 40:1-5).

Communicating “values” of Christian morality without Christian power simply invites lives of frustration, resulting often in personal guilt, despair, or even outright rejection of the Christian way of life.

If it is to be Christian prayer at all, it has to be communion and fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, entered into through the very special way of Jesus himself. It comes from being “baptised” in his Spirit.

Spiritual Discernment

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world – 1 John 4:1

Discernment of Spirits, the ability to tell whether a certain impulse or course of action comes from the Holy Spirit, the inclinations of our own natures or the evil one, is essential if we are indeed to follow the Holy Spirit.

“Unless the Lord build the House” — it is the Lord himself, as we submit our lives to him, explicitly, and in a body, that builds us into a genuine Christian community.

The words of the apostle should be in every Christian heart. “For the love of Christ impels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14), “For woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

The true apostle is concerned about evangelism — it is the desired goal of every Christian involvement.

We desperately need the Holy Spirit. We need his fire and his presence. If we reject the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we reject him who sends the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very soul of the Church.