The Acts of the Holy Spirit

Acts 15:22-35

Introduction

When you are reading a story, one of the important steps for understanding is identifying the major characters. This is true whether you are reading William Shakespeare or reading a Superman comic book. It is also true when reading history. I have an interest in reading both ancient history and the history of the Second World War. I try to figure out who the major figures are so I can pay attention to the role they play in what is happening.

We have been reading through the book of Acts. So who are the major characters? Well, it is often called the Acts of the Apostles, so it must focus on the apostles. However, you will have a struggle to figure out details about Thomas and Andrew or most of the other apostles in this book. 

If Acts is about the apostles, it seems to be specifically about the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul. The book is broadly divided between their ministries. But there are also some significant sections on Stephen and Philip, neither of which were apostles.

Very often we miss the most important character in Acts and that is the Holy Spirit. The birth of the church takes place with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. When the Gentiles are brought into the church, it comes with the evidence of the Holy Spirit being given. When the Christians keep going in the face of the persecution, it is because they are filled with the Holy Spirit. Some Bibles make sure to print the words of Jesus in red. You cannot do that with the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is everywhere in Acts. It would not be incorrect to call this book, the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Let us take a look at how that worked out where we are at in the story and what that looks like for us.

The Spirit at the Council

We have seen that the church was facing a split. Gentiles were coming in to the church without first embracing the Jewish law. Some of the leadership was supportive of this direct connection to Jesus, others were demanding that the Gentiles become Jewish before following Jesus. A council was called and the issue was carefully looked at. It was decided that the Gentiles would not have to take on the law. However, they would be asked to follow just few basic regulations in order to keep the unity of the church. 

Obviously the Gentile Christians would have to be informed of this. A letter was written containing the decision and it was brought by some trusted Christians to Antioch, which was the greatest concentration of Gentile Christians.

None of this is surprising and this could be seen just as the natural conclusion to what we looked at last week. But there is something that is said in this letter that needs a closer look. The letter makes this statement: “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” What does that mean? It seems to be saying something more than a council looked at a specific issue and came to a particular conclusion. The letter is specifically saying that this is much more than just a human decision. But it is also something that is not often said in the New Testament. It is not as if when the leadership wants obedience that they stamp Holy Spirit authority on it so they can get their way.

We should ask why they thought the Holy Spirit was involved. I’m sure they had discussed and decided on many things previously, why include the Holy Spirit now?

This was a major issue that could have easily at best split the church and worst caused it to collapse. Organizations had crumbled over less contentious issues. We don’t get a sense that something passed by 51% and that most of the church was left grumbling. It looks as if people recognized that God was at work in the process that we looked at last week. The evidence of the Holy Spirit work was that they agreed to move forward in this way, even though I’m sure that many of the traditional Jewish Christians felt strongly about the Jewish law. God worked in this messy situation in such a way that the Holy Spirit’s fingerprints were all over the place.

The letter, presumably written by James could say “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” because that is what they really believed happened. This was a case not of people off doing their own thing or the Holy Spirit vainly attempting to get their attention, but of the leadership and the Holy Spirit coming together in agreement. This is a beautiful place to be.

The Spirit in Our Church

While there is part of me that longs for what James says here, there is another part that is scared. I cannot imagine saying to you from this pulpit: “The Holy Spirit and I are agreed that this is the way it should be.” There have been plenty of pastors and other leaders that have tried to use the Holy Spirit’s authority for their own agenda. The idea is: “Disagree with me if you want, but by doing so you are disobeying the Holy Spirit.” Such tactics are spiritual abuse.

So how can we avoid this and yet seek a unity between the Spirit and the church? Notice what didn’t happen. What took place at this council was not James going off in a room by himself and coming back with a word from the Spirit. Rather, the work of the Spirit was through numerous people and a variety of means. They sought out the voice of the Spirt by allowing people on both sides to speak. They included testimonies of how the Spirit had been active and how the Spirit had spoken through the Scriptures. Discerning the voice of the Spirit was much more complex than what some televangelists today often portray.

Have their been times in our congregation that we could say that it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us? I would hope that is what happened when this congregation was first organized and when it moved to this location. I think that is what happened a hundred years ago when a church split was healed and those who left came back. I suspect that is what happened when we decided to open our building for Out of the Cold.

I will be honest and say that my temptation is to just do what makes sense. And that works most of the time. we do not need a word from the Spirit to determine the colour of the carpet or the brand of coffee to use. But there are certain times that you need more than just a good idea and a majority vote of the congregation. Sometimes you need a long process in which we seek to come along side the Holy Spirit and bring ourselves in agreement. I can see in our rapidly changing world a great need for that. It won’t be one person hearing from the Holy Spirit but how the Spirit is working in and through all of us.

Conclusion

“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” What a powerful phrase. The early church could move forward from the debate they had been having because they were convinced that they had come to an agreement with the Holy Spirit.

What will that look like for us? I will tell you what it won’t look like. It won’t be a pastor telling you what the Holy Spirit wants you to do. It will be a much more complex process. We believe in the priesthood of believers, which means we all have equal access to God. We will face some major challenges in the coming years. But God has not abandoned us and his Spirit is at work among us. Let us work toward that place of discernment and agreement as we are led by the Holy Spirit as believers and parts of the this local church.