Breath of God,
caressing my soul
with silk much
lighter than air, fluid,
warm from your mouth...
Breeze of God,
animating,
stimulating growth
and action, whipping
up joy in the morning...
Wind of God,
blowing strongly
out of Eden!
Trees and humans bow
before you, praising you...
Gale-force winds,
hurricanes, tornadoes,
wrath of God??
His cleansing breath??
(Not for trifling with!)
We study you,
know reasons,
consequences, but
we cannot tell when,
how you will come next...
Like windsocks,
we wait, are lifted
by your Spirit, showing
who you are to watchers,
and where you are at work.
“We are like windsocks”! We can only reveal the truth about who God is, who our Rescuer and Lord Jesus is, by being filled with his breath: his true Spirit. That breath pours life into bodies and brings empowerment to those who believe in Jesus. Then, like windsocks, our lives can show how he is at work—the windsock cannot hang limp when the wind is blowing into it! It is easy to write these words, but they require much digging into.
In many churches all over the world, this past Sunday was celebrated as Pentecost, the day that the Holy Spirit was given to Christ-followers in a powerful new way that could not be missed. He had been present before, showing up in the Old Testament to work through various prophets and chosen servants., as well as active in the whole implementation of the incarnation and Jesus’ ministry. But now he was filling these believers with the ability to speak in other languages so that the Good News could be understood by all the people who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, also called Pentecost (from the Greek name, “fifty” weeks after Passover). The disciples that were gathered together received this awesome gift, all at the same time. The group included the eleven disciples, the women who had followed Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers, and other believers—about 120 in all! Then a crowd gathered to try to figure out what was going on; it was made up both of Jews and of converts to Judaism, and no matter what their native language was, they understood the Message. Peter explained it in detail and about 3,000 believed and were baptized (see Acts 1:12-2:41)! They all received the gift of the Spirit as well.
From that time on, being filled with the Spirit accompanied each new conversion and baptism that was done in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit. It was definitely a key moment in the building of Jesus’ Church, his Family. They obeyed Jesus’ command and took the Good News to Gentiles who did not yet know about him. He had said:
therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Matt. 28:19 NIV)
So why does this historic event get ignored in some of our Bible-preaching, truly solid churches? I think one reason is a lack of appreciation for its importance. It was a key moment when the Spirit’s indwelling of true believers was made visible as well as God’s desire to reach across all language barriers. Another thing that seems to hold some back is a reaction to “Pentecostal” believers who have gone to extremes, preaching that a person only has the Spirit if they have spoken in tongues.
I wondered about this myself when I was a teenager, truly devoted to Jesus and longing to grow deeper spiritually. I was a missionary kid at a boarding school attended by kids from other missions as well, some of which were more charismatic than our Baptist one. My questioning reached a critical point when a guest speaker at our mission’s annual field conference was a pastor from one of those missions, filling in for the one originally invited who had had to cancel. One day he offered to pray specifically with anyone who came forward for prayer for healing, empowerment, whatever. I watched the line grow long. Then when it was finishing I turned to Dad, sitting beside me, and told him I wanted to go ask for prayer to be filled with the Spirit. He nodded and accompanied me. I knelt before the pastor and told him my desire. He laid his hands on my head and prayed aloud.
I waited, then felt a new kind of peace filling my heart, and there was an almost audible Voice that spoke to me: “Hon, you already have me!” I knew it was true! I stood up, thanked the pastor, and went away happy.
What Jesus had said about the Father’s gift of his Spirit resonates:
Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk. 11:11 NIV)
I had been asking, begging my Lord to help me to know him better. He had heard and had been at work. I just had not had that name for it: being “Spirit-filled”!
About 8 years later I was with a woman friend very dear to me, a sister in Christ whose faith was dynamic. She asked me if I had ever really experienced being filled with the Holy Spirit—I knew that she spoke in tongues, and suspected that she wanted to be sure I had as well. When I told her about that prayer event when I was fifteen, she just smiled and became silent.
It has been through study of the Word that I’ve learned that the Spirit comes to dwell in us when we truly believe, but we need to let him do his work in us—producing fruit that comes through his Presence:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22 NIV)
And there are other gifts that equip us to do the ministry our Lord has chosen for us. We form a body, with different parts having different responsibilities and capabilities. He makes sure that the body can be healthy, fully equipped:
But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? (1 Cor. 12:1 24-30 NIV)
Not every believer speaks in tongues! It is up to the Spirit to determine the way gifts are distributed:
3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Heb. 2:1 NIV)
However, we are truly wrong to ignore or minimize the essential truth that God sends his Spirit to dwell in us. We need him! That is why Jesus told his disciples that he would not be leaving them alone, ever—he would be sending them the Counselor or Advocate:
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (Jn. 14:25-26 NIV)
And then later, he underlined the unity of God the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” (Jn. 16:1 NIV)
So to know the truth more and more deeply, we must be receiving instruction from the Spirit. And all three Persons of the Godhead are One, a perfect unity that we are all invited to portray. Jesus’ prayer tells us more than we can fully understand, but we need to believe it and open ourselves to it. He made sure that what he was saying was not just for those disciples present with him:
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one– 23 I in them and you in me— so that they may be brought to complete unity. (Jn. 17:1 NIV)
He lives in us through his Spirit. And the unity of Father, Son and Spirit makes it possible for us to also “live in” them! I appreciate the NIV Study Bible’s explanation of how we can “live in” God: It is that organic connection that Jesus had just laid out for them, the image of the Vine and it fruitful branches. When we believers are firmly attached to God, we are strengthened to produce the fruit that he desires. A key part of that is demonstrating unity, attachment to each other through love.—we are all branches attached to the same Vine. And the Spirit produces love in us, an essential element (1 Corinthians 13).
We’ve dug up a lot of rich soil here! There is more to think through. But this week, let’s take Jesus’ instruction seriously and let his Spirit infuse us with what we need to accomplish his purposes, in unity with him. With the Breath of God in us, we can actually be like windsocks, blowing in the direction that he wills, revealing his work to others.
As Jesus said to Nicodemus, talking about a person who is born again:
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (Jn. 3:8 NIV)
Pentecost reminds us that this is for all who truly believe. As he breathes in us, bringing health and guidance, our lives should be indications of his indwelling work in us!
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