 | Rev. Patrick Notley is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church located at 525 N. Broadway in downtown Wichita. Reverend Notley received an MA in Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. Born in Denver, CO and raised on the East Coast, Reverend Notley along with his wife, relocated to Wichita in 1997 to join the church, where he is responsible for Evangelism Educational programs. You can reach Reverend Notley at (316) 263-0248 ext. 22 or by email at pwnotley@firstpresbywichita.org |
Religion
2004-02-01 09:19:00
What does it mean to get the ‘Holy Spirit’?
: What does it mean to "Get the Holy Spirit?" Why do some religions believe in this and others do not? Is this the same as speaking in tongues? Why can the average person not understand it when someone is speaking in tongues?
ANSWER: In the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians, The Apostle Paul writes to the Christian community in Corinth that there are varieties of gifts given to people by God. Among those gifts he lists the ability for some to speak in tongues and the ability for others to interpret what is being spoken. So the simple answer to he question of why the average person is not able to understand when someone speaks in tongues is that it most likely, is not a gift that they possess. However the reason for Paul writing to the Christian Community in Corinth as well as to the Christian communities in Galatia and Ephesus (Galatians and Ephesians in the New Testament) about this issue of the "Gifts of the Spirit" was to suggest that their practice of trying to determine who was the best Christian by what or how many of the gifts they claimed to possess was inappropriate. Thus Paul's statements in I Corinthians 12:4-6 "Now there are varieties of gifts but the Same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone." And later in Ephesians 4:12, Paul writes that the purpose of these various gifts are, "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ…"So why do some religions believe in these practices and others do not? I suppose the simple answer is that this may be a particularly Christian issue, so it may simply not be an issue for other religions. As far as the Christian community is concerned I do not know of any particular denomination that would not agree that there is, at least a possibility, that such practices occur and that they are in fact a gift from God. Some denominations will place a greater or lesser importance on their existence within their particular community as a sign or witness to God's presence in that community. In other words, God is greatly present in this community because of the great number of persons who speak in tongues and interpret those tongues. Regardless of the importance a community places upon these various gifts, I think that it is important to hear again Paul's warning that these gifts, in and of themselves, do not make a person a better Christian or a more faithful person than one who does not possess these gifts. These "Gifts of the Spirit" are just that; gifts. They are given for the purpose of building up the community, not for the purpose of separating it into the haves and the have-nots.
