Evangelicals often like to define God’s presence as an established reality of the believer’s position in Christ. However, they should remember that biblical words, like words in other dimensions of human speech are polyvalent; their meaning is contextual. When we speak of Spirit as the presence of God, we are speaking of the power of God, which varies in manifestation within our setting in time and space. The anointings of God are specific. The Scriptures consistently illustrate this principle, particularly with regards to the vocational anointings of the Spirit in the writings of the Judges and Chronicles. It is also illustrated in the life of Jesus, wherein we read how in specific instances, “the power of the Lord was with Him to heal” (Luke 5:17). So the presence of God must be approached paradoxically. On one hand the Spirit is everywhere as the presence and power of God. Yet on the other hand, we are to believe for and seek the presence and power of God in our life in Christ, and even more- to move toward His presence and power as the Spirit of God. There are times in life, sometimes often in life, we are come to a designated altar before God.
This brings us back again to the dialectical tension we must maintain between Spirit and Word. While the Word is objective and speaks of order, the Spirit is subjective, elusive, and speaks of free spontaneity. Both dynamics should shape our worship and life. Paul sought to apply the principle of this tension- the tension between free spontaneous response to spiritual encounter, with the objective ordering of the Word- to the needs of the Corinthian Church. Christianity is a religion of encounter; it is inherently experiential. Barth sought to restore this to modern Christianity- the human encounter with the Word, and it was to his credit that in doing so he nurtured a dynamic understanding of the Word. But I think Brunner was on a better track when he accentuated Barth’s direction as a relational encounter, which God personally brings humans to with Himself.
The experiential dynamic, which the Spirit causes, is not antithetical to contemplative disciplines or traditions; it is there also, even within the discipline of silence. “I will give you the treasures of darkness” is the promise of God who at times brings us into the darkness of His presence and reveals Himself to us in darkness. The objective is still the experiential infusion of God’s love. People should therefore be encouraged to seek a Christ-centred experience in the presence of the living God. Now inevitably, this encounter leads us to points of decision that summon us to the Lordship of God. Experience that touches the emotions is therefore not antithetical to either reason or spiritual authenticity; neither is reason antithetical to experience. Word and Spirit belong together. Both dimensions are integral to authentic biblical spirituality. This is why God gave us emotions; He made us emotional, that we may affectively know the presence, power, and love of God.
Monte Lee Rice (© copyright February 2007)
Bibliographical referencesBarth, Karl. The Doctrine of the Word of God. Vol 1.1 of Church Dogmatics. Trans. by G.W. Bromiley.
Edinburgh, UK: T. and T. Clark, 1975; Emil Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of God, Dogmatics, vol. 1, trans. Olive Wyon (London, UK: Lutterworth Press, 1949).
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