Recently I had a conversation with a Jehovah’s Witness who stopped at my front door. I appreciate that people in this non-Christian religion are fervent in their belief, and I want to help them understand the Christian faith. One of the topics we discussed while standing on the front porch was the Holy Spirit. The JW actively believes that the Holy Spirit is a force, and not a person. Later while looking into this topic online, I discovered this understanding is widespread * in the Christian faith as well: a poll result found that 59% of Christians see the Holy Spirit as a force.
It came as a shock, and it was a little aggravating. After all, if someone said something about me publicly that was not true, I would want the truth to be known. As Christians, we need to understand that the Holy Spirit is a Person. I found an article by noted author and Preacher Daniel Henderson. The article discusses some of these ideas and refers to his book on the subject Transforming Presence: How the Holy Spirit Changes Everything—from the Inside Out (Moody Publishers, 2018).
His article also suggested a bunch of phrases which we should reconsider in our prayer life and worship. My list is a shortened version, but it has given me pause to “think on these things”. Some expressions are words I may uttered myself. At the heart of this, I am aware that my own awareness of the Holy Spirit needs to refocus.
| Instead of: | More accurate/ Much better: |
| “Lord, we welcome You.” | “Lord, we are grateful for Your indwelling presence,” or “Thank You for welcoming us at the cross; now we give You praise for the glory of the gospel.” |
| “We just want to soak in the Holy Spirit.” | “Lord, enable us to honor and obey the indwelling Holy Spirit.” |
| “The Holy Spirit came.” | “The Holy Spirit worked powerfully in our lives.” |
| “We seek Your manifest presence.” | “We surrender completely to Your indwelling presence,” or even, “We ask You to use us in one another’s lives as we obey the Holy Spirit.” |
| “Release Your Spirit.” | “We pledge ourselves to obey Your Holy Spirit, that He might work powerfully in and through us.” |
| “Holy Spirit, fall.” | “Holy Spirit, fill, control, and dominate our lives.” |
| “Pour out Your Spirit.” | “Spirit, take charge of our lives.” |
| “Fill this temple.” | “Indwelling Spirit, we give You control of our lives.” |
| “God showed up.” | “The Spirit worked powerfully in us and among us.” |
| “Welcome to the house of the Lord.” | “Welcome to this gathering of God’s people.” |
| “Thank You that we can come into Your presence.” | “Thank You that Your presence has come into us.” |
| “Flood the atmosphere.” | “Take control of our hearts.” |
Selah
When I wrote this article my previous reference source said 56%. In October, Christianity Today is saying 59% (How Shocking and Sad). Its a TRINITY, not a DUO.
