Spirituality and the Christian

1. Spirituality andthe Christian –19th
March2017
“Anddo not grieve the Holy Spiritof God,with whomyou were sealedfor the dayof redemption.”
(Ephesians4:30).
Spiritualityisabroadconceptwithroomfor many perspectives.Ingeneral,itincludesasense of
connectiontosomethingbiggerthanus,andittypicallyinvolvesasearchformeaninginlife. While
spiritualityandreligionremaindifferent,sometimes the termsare usedinterchangeably.Thislackof
clarityintheirdefinitionsfrequentlyleadstodebates. Whenasked,peoplemaydescribe aspiritual
experience as sacred ortranscendentorsimplya deepsense of alivenessandinterconnectedness.Some
may findthattheirspiritual lifeisintricatelylinkedtotheirassociationwithachurch,temple,mosque,
or synagogue.Still othersseekmeaningthroughtheirconnectionstonature orart or similar. Therefore
spiritualityandreligionare NOTthe same. Like one’ssense of purpose,anindividual’s definitionof
spiritualitymaychange throughout one’s life,adaptingto hisor herway of living. Itcan be sacred or in
some cases profane!
SpiritualityforChristiansisseekingandfindingGodandthusfindinggreatcomfortina personal
relationshipwithHim. Sadly,manywhoclaimtobe adherentsof Christianitydopractice Christianityasif
it were areligion.Tomany,Christianityisnothingmore thana setof rulesand ritualsthata personhas
to observe inordertogo to heavenafterdeath.Thatis nottrue Christianity.True Christianityisnota
religion;rather,itishavingaright relationshipwithGodbyreceivingJesusChristasthe Savior,bygrace
and throughfaith inHim.Yes, Christianitydoeshave “rituals”toobserve (e.g.,baptismand
communion).Yes,Christianitydoeshave “rules”tofollow (e.g.,donotmurder,love one another,etc.).
However,these ritualsandrulesare notthe essence of Christianity.
The ritualsand rulesof Christianityare the resultof salvation.Whenwe receivesalvationthroughJesus
Christ,we needtobe baptizedasa proclamationof thatfaith.We observe communioninremembrance
of Christ’ssacrifice.We followalistof do’sanddon’tsout of love forGod and gratitude forwhat He has
done. We can understandwhenwe read Hebrews 10:1, “The law isonly a shadowofthe goodthings
that are coming—notthe realitiesthemselves.For this reason it cannever, by the same sacrifices
repeated endlesslyyear after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”
Christianityrequiresones Salvationwhichis afree giftof God and availedforanyone whohasfaithin
JesusChristas onessaviour,repent - “tochange one’smind – froma sinfilledlife toseekingGodasthe
priority. Thisisa profoundchange…the oldisgone andthe new ishear as stated in2 Corinthians5:17,
“Therefore, ifanyone isin Christ,the new creationhas come:[a]
The oldhas gone,the new ishere! This
change overis knownasbeingbornagain.
Whenwe are born again,we receive the HolySpiritwhosealsusforthe dayof redemption.We can
learnthisfrom Ephesians1:13, “Andyoualsowere includedin Christwhen you heard the message of
truth, the gospel of your salvation.Whenyoubelieved,you were marked in himwith a seal,the
promisedHoly Spirit…”Jesuspromisedthatthe HolySpiritwouldleadus“intoall truth” as we learn

2. fromJohn 16:13, “Butwhen he, the Spiritof truth, comes,he will guideyou intoall the truth. He will
not speak on hisown; he will speak onlywhat he hears, and he will tell youwhat is yet to come.” Part
of thattruth is takingthe thingsof God and applyingthemtoourlives.Whenthatapplicationismade,
the believerthenmakesachoice to allow the HolySpirittocontrol him/her. Therefore true Christian
spiritualityisbaseduponthe extenttowhich aborn-again believerallowsthe Holy Spiritto leadand
control his or her life.
Withregards to Christianspirituality,we canlearnwhere the apostle Paul tellsbelievers:“Donotget
drunk on wine,whichleads to debauchery. Instead,be filledwith the Spirit”(Ephesians5:18).The
tense inthispassage iscontinual andtherefore means“keeponbeingfilledwiththe Spirit.”Beingfilled
withthe Spiritissimplyallowingthe HolySpirittocontrol usratherthan yieldingtothe desiresof our
owncarnal nature.In thispassage Paul ismakinga comparison.Whensomeone iscontrolledbywine,
he is drunkand exhibitscertaincharacteristicssuchasslurredspeech,unsteadywalk,andimpaired
decisionmaking.Justasyoucan tell whenapersonisdrunkbecause of the characteristicshe displays,
so a born-againbelieverwhoiscontrolledbythe HolySpiritwilldisplayHischaracteristics whichcall the
“fruitof the spirit.”
We findthose characteristicsin Galatians5:22-23, But the fruitof the Spirit islove, joy,peace,
forbearance,kindness,goodness,faithfulness, 23
gentlenessandself-control.Againstsuch thingsthere
is nolaw.”Thisistrue Christianspirituality,producedbythe Spiritworkinginandthroughthe believer.
These importantcharacteristicsare notproducedbyself effort.A born-againbelieverwhoiscontrolled
by the HolySpiritwill pride himself with aconsistentspiritual walk,anddecisionmakingbasedonthe
Word of God.
Therefore,Christianspiritualityinvolvesachoice we make to“know and grow”in our dailyrelationship
withthe Lord JesusChristbysubmittingtothe ministryof the HolySpiritinour lives.Thismeansthat,as
believers,we make achoice tokeepourcommunicationwiththe Spiritclearthroughconfession aswe
learnfrom1 John1:9, “If we confessour sins,he isfaithful andjust andwill forgive usour sins and
purifyus from all unrighteousness.”AsChristianswe shouldNOTgrievethe Spiritbysin because then
we erecta barrierbetweenourselvesandGod. We can learnfrom 1 John1:5-7, “This isthe messagewe
have heard fromhim anddeclare to you:God islight;in him there is no darknessat all. 6
Ifwe claimto
have fellowshipwithhimandyet walk inthe darkness,we lie and do notlive out the truth. 7
But ifwe
walk inthe light,ashe isin the light,we have fellowshipwithoneanother, andthe bloodofJesus, his
Son,purifiesus from all sin.”
Whenwe submitto the Spirit'sministry,ourrelationshipisnotinterrupted andtherefore we canlearn
from1 Thessalonians5:19, “ Do not quench the Spirit.” Therefore Christianspiritualityisa
consciousnessof fellowshipwiththe Spiritof Christ,uninterruptedbycarnalityandsin.Christian
spiritualitydevelopswhenaborn-againbelievermakesaconsistentandongoingchoice tosurrenderto
the ministryof the HolySpirit.