The holy spirit and emotions

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND EMOTIONS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
O BIBLE.ORG
The Holy Spirit and Our Emotions
Emotions are an ignored reality in much of the Evangelical Church, but it is not so in the
Bible. Within the Bible’s pages the Trinity manifests a rich emotionality. Within the New
Testament the Person of the Spirit not only manifests rich emotions Himself, but is given to
the believer to profoundly influence her or his emotional life. As we cooperate with the
Spirit and sound spiritual principles, we shall experience an increasingly rich emotional
life. The health of our emotions is a critical category of our spiritual life. The why and how
of that is explored.
The Significance of Emotions
Why spend our time on the Holy Spirit and emotions? First, emotions are closer to us than
air. They are the everpresent current within us: they define the inner world and give us
continual commentary on the outer world. Awareness of life even starts with emotions. Life
demands an understanding of emotions. Setting aside the biblical realities and the
evangelical scene, simple existence demands an understanding of the place of emotions.
They are closer to us than our skin, than the air we breathe. Emotions are as constant and
present as the weather surrounding us. We need to understand and manage them.
Second, emotions come with great intensity. Most of us struggle with our emotions. A
thought may be put out of the mind; it is not necessarily so with a fearful emotion. When a
person is filled with dread, the source may be a fearful thought or situation, yet the force of
the emotions is what makes the individual preoccupied. We cannot flee from our feelings;
therefore, we must deal with them.
Third, the evangelical’s approach to emotions may be the weakest part of our “system” of
spirituality. Note just the differences between charismatics and the Bible movement with
reference to emotions. Time after time all of us have heard the biblically-oriented
evangelical question the validity of emotions. At the same time the charismatic often
elevates emotional experiences to the level of definitive spiritual reality. We desperately
need clarity in the area.

Fourth, not only is the place of emotions a significant issue in the evangelical movement,
but the place of the emotions is a significant issue within the pages of the Bible. For
example, as we shall see, the management of the emotions is critical to the spiritual life.
One of the ministries of the Spirit of God is to mold the human ability to have emotions
into an instrument for the display of Christ’s character. A very practical understanding of
the Holy Spirit’s role relative to our emotions will lead to a deeper understanding of the
spiritual life.
Fifth, with the counseling revolution going on in our circles, clarity is needed concerning
the place of emotions. The doorway to the inner life is not the world of dreams as it was
with Freud, but among contemporary counselors it is the experience of emotions. Since
emotions are where the counselor begins, a proper understanding of them will help define
the relationship between the pastor and counselor.
Sixth, whether the counseling revolution occurred or not, pastors in their teaching and
leading need to understand the function of emotions. Many view pastors as having nothing
to say about the world of emotions. We will see that pastors of all people in the helping
professions should have the most to say. The pastor is not playing a pivotal role, however,
in the church’s understanding of emotions. Many believe that more evangelicals with
significant emotional problems are going to Christian and non-Christian counselors rather
than their pastors.
According to researchers about one out of twenty pastors still counsels and another one out
of twenty trains disciples. Every pastor does counsel in preaching—often very directly—
and therefore, also should counsel and disciple individually. In fulfilling these roles he
should know intimately the biblical role of emotions. No reason exists that the professional
counselor should have a monopoly on the understanding of the world of emotions. The
concepts and the material regarding the place of emotions are not that difficult to
understand. Freud himself believed that no need existed for the psychiatrist to have a
medical degree. In fact, he suggestedthat the intelligent and insightful lay person could do
as well as the medically trained. In the same way pastors can just as easily master the world
of emotions. This is especially true because the contents of the Bible constantly address the
world of emotions and sometimes address the world of the unconscious.
Seventh, effective preaching demands a clear understanding of emotions. A misconception
exists in many places that a deeply emotional sermon striking the congregation with power
is, on the face of it, suspect because “it is emotional.” That may be a mistaken
understanding. Deeply emotional sermons and a strongly felt response may just mean that
the preacher has communicated clearly. The emotions exist because both the preacher and
the congregation apprehended the perceived existential greatness of what was being taught.

Finally, emotions do not authenticate truth; emotions cannot verify the historicity of the
resurrection of Christ or other historical and theological realities. Emotions, however, do
authenticate our understanding of the truth. A happy heart is the greatest evidence of the
apprehension of spiritual truth. In the Bible, truth is supposed to strike the life with
positive emotional force. Truth without effect is an unknown within scripture.
Given the significance of emotions I contend that the Holy Spirit has a fundamental role to
play in the emotional life of the Christian. To appreciate this role, three factors must be
examined and understood. The first is that we as humans are an analogy of the divine. The
reason that we have emotions is that God has emotions. We are made in the image of God,
an image that includes a key component of emotions—in short, his emotional image. When
we speak of God having emotions, this is not anthropopathic language. We are not saying
we are making God in our image. Instead we are in his; therefore, we feel and want.
As we proceed, we will examine the source of our emotional life—God himself. Second, we
will see that with the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives, a richly emotional presence
has entered our person. Finally we must learn how to cooperate with this person for our
emotional well being.
The Trinity—The Source of Our Emotions
Where do these amazing things called emotions come from? Feelings are the bane and
blessing of our existence: a blessing, for example, as they create a profound joy within us as
we look upon our children; or a bane as we experience times of grief and loss. At those
various times our emotions match the delights and disasters of life. The source of emotions
is a surprising place. This ability to feel comes from our being made in the image of God.
A short while back I had a frighteningly interesting experience (more frightening than
interesting) of having an ophthalmologist operate on my eye. The procedure was
complicated so the operation was at a hospital in an operating room. Stretched out on a
gurney I was waiting outside the operating room. Then, an anesthesiologist came over to
check on me. We ended up in a conversation. I told him that having a series of eye
problems had led me to appreciate how wonderfully our two eyes work together to create
the sense of depth. I did not want to lose that, I said.
Then he replied, “Isn’t evolution fantastic because a million years ago we had one eye in
the middle of our heads, and then it migrated down to our face, and on the way it split in
half.” Gesturing he placed two hands together on his head and then he slid each hand down
to each eye. “That’s how we got two eyes,” he stated.
Please understand I had been in pain for several weeks and had experienced high levels of
stress. I am not as unsubtle as I will now appear.

“That is so stupid,” I replied, “that I’m almost forced into believing that God did it.” He
got the best of the argument because shortly thereafter I was unconscious.
What is true of our bodies is true of our emotions: God did it! Our bodies are repositories
of wonder. Within our frame is an unimaginably complex set of abilities. From whistling a
tune, to thinking up the splitting of the atom, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Yet
the greatest wonder of all is, all of this is expressedby a moving and flexible pile of
chemical and electrical activity. Such is so wonderful that it makes the existence of God
reasonable. Not only what we can bring forth is a marvel but what is within is also. Inside
of us is a world of emotions, appetites, and imagination.
Our ability to do things without and sense things within exists because God molded clay
into an electricochemical masterpiece that makes the complexity of the most advanced
computer laughable. What was his model in doing so? The answer is himself. We are flesh
and blood expressions of the divine; we are made in his image. If that is so, than the
contemplation of ourselves is in some way a basic introduction to deity.
God does have the ability not only to think and to will, but also to feel. The language of the
Bible expresses it this way. God is said to have two qualities: he is spirit and he has a soul.
The classic statement is John 4:24, “God is spirit.” The Greek construction is anarthrous
(without the definite article) and emphasizes spirit as a quality. A way of translating the
phrase would be, “God as to quality is spirit.” Spirit implies self-awareness, reflection, and
will. The Hebrew and Greek words for spirit are commonly connected to terms of
reflection, intellect, and intention.
God is also described as having a soul. Soul implies sensation, feelings, and appetites. Since
he is a sensate being, God has what can be described as a soul. Some erroneously take the
language revolving around the word soul and almost turn it into some substance within
God or man. I am not suggesting that the soul is a “thing”; rather the soul is best
understood as a category of language and psychological observation and not a substance.
Jer 15:1—“Then said Yahweh to me, ‘If Moses and Samuel were standing before me, my
soul would not be with this people.’”
Isa 1:14—“Your New Moons and appointed Feasts my soul hates. They have become a
burden to me. I am weary of putting up with them.” Note how the strong aversion or
dislike is connected with the soul.
Isa 42:1—“Behold, my slave whom I am holding fast, my chosen one. My soul delights in
him. I have placed my spirit upon him.” In this verse the soul senses delight.1

Notice the collocations or the terms that are found around the word “soul.” They are
emotionally rich terms like delight, hate, burden, etc. The soul is connected to the
experiencing of desiring and feeling.2
By its very nature language can generate confusion; this is one of those instances. It is easy
to presume that soul and spirit imply substances, a spirit substance and a soul substance.
Yet Christians generally understand that God is incorporeal, or is not a body. Instead of
God having substance, soul and spirit, these terms may be describing processes within a
person. Soul implies that the person has desires and emotions while spirit implies that the
person can reflect and be self-observing.
God as the archetype of personhood is therefore the source of emotions. At the center of all
reality is a being who feels and thinks. We are a reflection of that deep and wondrous
reality. Since the Bible says that we are made in his image, we too feel and think.3
Being made in his image is the reason for our emotions and our thoughts. Menand women
are similar to animals in having flesh and soul (man—1 Cor 2:11; animals—Gen 7:22; Eccl
3:21-22), but the critical difference is that we are made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-28).
The totality of our personhood including our psychological make-up has been molded to be
a reflection of the divine. Animals are a whimsical poetic expression of God’s artistry; we
are expressions of his nature.
Everything about us is a reflection of the deity: we are an analogy of the divine. Yes, we
have a soul like God but that is only a part of it. And indeed we have a spirit like God, but
it is more than that. Everything about us is an afterthought from and about deity.4
Since the Godhead possesses emotions and feels emotions, it is simple deductive logic that
the Holy Spirit has emotions. In some senses the Holy Spirit is the emotionally rich member
of the Trinity5 insofar as he is the primary agent of personal interaction with us as human
beings. Since the Spirit of God has emotions and is said to interact with humans and be
affected emotionally by human activity, that makes our emotional life evenmore
significant.
Lastly the Spirit of God has a direct ministry to our emotional life. This ministry is critical
to the quality of the spiritual life. Indeed the implications for the spiritual life and the
practice of Christian counseling are endless.
The Emotional Life of the Spirit of God
The emotions that exist within us do follow the pattern of the emotions of God. But God is
more than emotions: God is the infinitely deep love and relationships shared among the
Three in One. In a number of ways the process of living a godly life is designed to make the
believing heart aware of the Trinity. We are called to relate to God as a Father; the Son is

the one who saves and protects us. The Father sent Jesus Christ from heaven to earth.
After the departure of Jesus Christ to heaven, he sent another Comforter who would be in
believers. Those first two persons, in a real sense, are external to the life and consciousness
of the believer. It is to our advantage that the Christ outside of us left the disciples, so that
the Holy Spirit would come to reside inside of us. Jesus said, “But I tell you the truth, it is
to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not
come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you”(John 16:7). The third member of the
Trinity is the one who emphasizes God’s ministry to our inner life. Far more so than any
other member of the Trinity, the ministry of the Spirit of God is uniquely connected to the
emotional life of the believer.6 Concerning this Jesus also said,
Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him.
But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.
It is the Spirit who directly influences our inner life. Jesus outside a believer is not as
effective as the Spirit of God inside a believer. This one conforms those who have trusted
Christ to the character of Christ. Such character has a richly emotional component.
It is fascinating that not only does the Spirit of God address our inner life with its never-
ending stream of emotions, but the Holy Spirit’s experience within us is deeply emotional.
Not only is the work of the Spirit emotional; the New Testament emphasizes his emotions.
One can see by various portions in the New Testament that his existence among us involves
deep responses. This is indicated by his personal reactions.
a. Deeppain. Ephesians 4:25-32 contains Paul’s admonitions about effective and godly
communication, and the abandonment of poor patterns of communication. As he gave his
advice, he taught how to deal with strong and powerful emotions. He gave a long list of
things that should not be done and one of those is not “paining the Holy Spirit.” The Holy
Spirit is pained when Christians negatively communicate with each other and when they
refuse to forgive each other. Paul uses the term lupevw (lupeo„), defined by BDAG as
“grieve, pain” and which in our popular parlance may be translated “deep pain” to
describe the Spirit’s experience in response to our sinful behavior. It occurs in the
description of Christ’s suffering in the Garden (Matt 26:37), “[he] became anguished
[lupei'sqai, lupeisthai] and distressed.” In a sense, we can say that Jesus the Messiahhad
his passion in the Garden and on the cross, but the Holy Spirit has his continual passion
within us.
b. Desire. In Jas 4 the author contrasted the life lived for the flesh and the life that was to
be lived for God. In v. 4 James forcefully told believers that friendship with the world is a
form of adultery. Then I would understand the next verse as a question and an
observation: “Or do you think that the Scripture speaks for no purpose? The Spirit that he

has made to dwell within us jealously desires us” (Jas 4:5). The Holy Spirit has a strong
longingto control the believer’s life. The term is used often for the longing of one person for
another who is absent (Rom 1:11; Phil 1:8; 2 Tim 1:4). Even though the Holy Spirit is
present in our lives, we sometimes go into the dark world of the flesh far from his
fellowship.
c. Jealousy. The Holy Spirit experiences jealousy as he sees how the believer is caught up
with the world (Jas 4:5). Jealousy is an intensely painful and powerful emotion that the
conduct of the believer elicits from the Spirit of God.
d. Unutterable Groaning. Chapter eight of Romans is Paul’s fullest development of the
Trinity’s ministry within a believer. In this fascinating chapter, spiritual life is described as
that which bears the believers through the weakness and sorrow of a fallen world. Romans
8:14 describes what it means to be a Spirit-led individual: the mature believer in Christ is
identified by his or her ability to respond to the prompting of the Spirit. This prompting
might be emotional inclinations and insights. Over time the believer learns the ability to
surrender calmly and expectantly to these impressions. After describing that aspect of
maturity, Paul goes on to describe how believers will have to endure sufferings in this life.
A large part of maturity will be the challenge of going on in the face of the hurts, harms,
and damage caused by others. In doing this Paul points out that a vast network of affliction
is going on and the Spirit of God is involved in this symphony of expectant pain.
Romans 8:
8:22 “the whole creation groans” because it has been made pointless and ineffectual due to
the rebellion of man.
8:23 “we ourselves groan” as we expectantly await the glorification of our bodies so that we
indeed are liberated from the limitations and weaknesses of this life.
8:26 “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.”
One of our weaknesses is that we do not know how to pray. So to help us out the Spirit of
God intercedes for us. This intercession is unspoken because the Holy Spirit is in deep pain.
The same term is used in Acts 7:34 for the children of Israel groaning under the oppression
of the Egyptians. The word is the noun-form of the verb found in vv. 22 and 23. The
groaning of the Spirit is voiceless so that the one who continually searches the hearts (God)
has to know what is the perspective of the Spirit. Romans 8:28 gives the result of this
process that all things are worked together for the benefit of the child of God who loves his
Father.

As he listens to our prayers the pain is so intense for the Spirit of God that he is reduced to
voiceless pain. This again is the passion of the Spirit of God. With great emotion, he who is
among us suffers because of us.
The Spirit and Our Emotions
Since the presence of the Spirit is internal, the work of the Spirit of God is emotional. One
example will illustrate the point. As the believer is involved in the exercise of faith, the
Spirit of God, for example, will supply joy and peace. In the details of a particular text,
Rom 15:13, the Spirit is not the only member of the Trinity relating to the Christian. Paul
related the believer’s emotional life to two members of the Trinity, the Father and the
Spirit. The God of hope is supposed to fill (the same word as used in Eph 5:18) the believer
with every variety of joy and peace in the process of believing. All of this is to be done by
the inherent power of the Holy Spirit. The process of generating these emotions is
completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit’s work.
Galatians 5 is a longer example of the same reality that the Holy Spirit is involved in a
ministry to our emotional life. In Gal 5 Paul has contrasted the dispensation of the Spirit
with the law, or more exactly, a corrupted version of the law embraced by the Judaizers. In
developing how the believer is to participate in the life of the Spirit, he stated that
Christians must walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16). “Walking,” in this context, means to
organize our existence around the qualities from the Spirit. This is opposed to making the
flesh one’s life principle.7
As the life is organized around the Spirit, one will also be positively prompted by these
qualities (Gal 5:18). These promptings should be followed. As they are followed they will
produce wonderfully positive emotions and inner abilities in the life, as indicated by the
accompanying vocabulary connected with the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control …” (Gal 5:22–23).
Spirituality is a life normally dominated by primary emotions—primary in the sense that
these are what Christian existence is founded upon. Note how each term of the fruit of the
Spirit carries an emotional connotation.
The work of the Spirit of God in the fruit that he produces is in stark contrast to the works
of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21): “…hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries,
dissensions, factions, envying, … and similar things. The contrast to the fruit of the Spirit
may be negative and sinful but it is also deeply emotional. The result is that the fruit of the
Spirit replaces an emotionally powerful set of opposites. The work of the Spirit is obviously
in the arena of the emotions.
This evidence of the emotional impact of the Spirit of God is also found in Eph 5:18 where
Paul tells the believers in Ephesus to not get drunk with wine resulting in dissipation and

instead to allow the deficits to be filled up by spiritual qualities. These result in singing and
gratitude and mutual submission. Both of those experiences have to be profoundly
emotional.
Filling emphasizes applying the resources of the Spirit of God to our individual
weaknesses. In Eph 5:18 the condition of drunkenness has to be changed to joy and a
disciplined life through the filling of the Spirit.
How to Minister to our own Emotions
We now turn our attention to scripture to consider more specifically the outworking of this
ministry of the Spirit looking generally at Pauline teaching and concluding with a more
detailed examination of Col 3:1-12. This section is important because it underscores the
reality that many factors within our lives and the entire Trinity is involved in the Spirit’s
positive impact upon our emotions.
The management of our emotions involves our imagination (how we reckon; Rom 6:11),
our mind (how we set our perspective; Rom 8:5-7), and our ego or self (how we relate to
God and people). The terms fall naturally into that order because how we relate to people
and to God is based on how we imagine the world to be and God to be, and how we analyze
what life presents to us.
Management of our emotions is a by-product of a number of such factors. In New
Testament terms the “by-product” nature of emotions is illuminated by the use of fruit and
tree imagery. Matthew 7:15-20 and Gal 5:22 underscore the fact that character, the proper
use of emotions and our inner life, is a product of a healthy set of spiritual processes or a
healthy tree. Seemingly the healthy tree is the identity, perspective, and relationships of the
righteous person. This makes the entire process more holistic and fits the biblical and
psychological realities well.
What we have to do to gain and maintain spiritual health is as follows:
A. We have to recognize or differentiate what is going on within our emotional life and in
the management of our appetites (Gal 5:16-24). This gives us information as to where we
are starting from, either with spirituality or carnality.
B. We reckon on how God views us; we control our imagination. This reckoning becomes
the basis of our relationship to God as a Father.
C. We have to set our minds on our relationships above; we control our thinking (Rom 8:1-
6; Col 3:1-3). The terms used in both Rom 8 and Col 3 refer to perspective.
D. By reckoning we relate to God personally instead of to our appetites (Rom 6:11-12). The
focus of a person’s inner life can either be the God on the outside or the appetites on the

inside. Sadly our appetites many times have far more impact on many of us than God does.
The focus of our inner person has to be on God the Father, and our identity before him as
found in Christ, and not in our appetites. So no matter the level of pressure from our
inward desires, we must freely approach and share ourselves with God.
E. By reckoning we control our memories (Phil 4:8-9). Believers are enjoined to take the
positive blessings God brings into our lives and use them as our personal definition and
assumption as to what reality is. Oftentimes the fearful and anxious person selectively takes
from experience only those things that can be linked to the past trauma and dread. One can
just as legitimately take the positive, noble, and happy experiences and have them as the
definition of the core of reality.
F. As a result, we experience the primary emotions. Love, joy, and peace can appear and
become the stabilizing force in our personality and relationships.
Probably the clearest example of the interplay between emotions and our ability to picture
God’s view of our identity with Christ, manage a perspective, and relate to God and people
is Col 3:1-12. What is of great importance is to notice the sequence of transitional words
and phrases that show that the sections of the passage are interconnected and
interdependent:
v. 5: “Therefore…”
v. 8: “But now [you also]…”
v. 12: “Therefore…”
Each new section’s application is dependent upon the practice of the preceding portion’s
principles, with the result that the commands of the third and fourth sections are based
upon the practice of all the preceding parts. Notice in the diagram that section D or the last
verse is dependent upon the practice of what is in the preceding verses. So the cumulative
effect of practicing verses 1-11 allows for the compassion of verse 12.
Colossians 3:1-12
A diagram of this text is as follows:
Process
Results
3:12

D
Allows us to become an other-centered individual that can start a life of ministry.
3:8-11
A+B+C = The Ability to Do D
We put off the qualities that negatively affect relationships.
Frees of the pain that keeps us from seeing the life and sufferings of others.
3:5-7
A+B = The Ability to Do C
Putting to death the inward negative moods and appetites that destroy inner peace and joy.
Undercuts the inward atmosphere that negatively affects our relationships.
3:1-4
A = Ability to Do B
Reckoning God’s picture of reality
Using a heavenly perspective and Pursuing the heavenly relationship.
Creates a proper foundation to manage moods and appetites.
The entire ethic starts with a picture of the believer’s identity with Christ. At the same
time, we are to pursue a perspective that is built around heavenly realities and
relationships.
Verses 1-4. The believer is encouraged to seek the things above; those things are peace
(1:20), reconciliation (1:22), our completeness (2:10), our identification with Christ before
God, and holding fast to the Head (2:19). This is very similar to the statement that every
variety of spiritual blessings exists for the believer before the Father in heaven.8 We are to
set our perspective around these realities because we have been identified with Christ.
This is an identity hidden from the world but the important reality is that the hiding is
God’s choice. The all-important one, God, not only intimately knows this identity, he is also
the one who has chosen to hide our identity in relationship to him. At the proper time when
Christ is revealed to the world, so will our identification be revealed(v. 4). What should
control our perspective is the picture that God has of us. In Greek the commands of this

section are in the present active indicative. That means that these should be a continual
part of the believer’s life. We should not allow this exercise to slack, but instead pursuing
God as defined by these realities should be continual with us. As we do this, a door will be
opened to the management of our inner life.
Verses 5-7. As the relationship to the Father is pursued, we can deal with the moods and
desires that are an ever-present problem on this earth. We can actually put them to death
as they course through our members. This can only be done though as the previous
relationships are sustained and used. We do this by taking the mood or appetite into the
Father’s presence, and relating the feelings within to him. In doing this we can transition
from unbridled appetite to self-control. We can go from great anxiety to great peace. Our
identity in Christ gives us permission to be richly personal concerning our internal
struggle: seeking the things above deeply affects the way we perceive things and therefore
changes the way we feel; setting our perspective properly also has a deeply emotional
result.
Verses 8-11. As we deal with the compulsions within through a living relationship with
God, we find the ability to deal with our relationships without. Many of our external
relationships are simply lived in reaction to what is going on within. As the Proverb says,
with all that we guard, we must guard the heart, for from it are the goings-forth of life
(Prov 4:23). Jesus observed that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt
12:34). All three passages—Proverbs, Matthew, and Colossians—are saying the same
thing: address what is going on within and it will become the basis for changing how we are
acting with people without.
Verse 12. As the three previous practices are learned, the heart finds peace, joy, and love
more and more present. With those emotions becoming the environment of the heart, the
believer is free to look at people in a new way, sympathetically, and relate to them in a new
way as a servant for their good. Without addressing the maelstrom internally, the believer
would never notice the needs and problems of the people we must live among. As we
manage our inner lives, we are given the opportunity to become other-directed people.
Maturity and this Process
Colossians
3:1-4
3:5-7
3:8-11

3:12
Pursuit of God
Nullifying Inner Moods
Changing Relational Reactions
Ministering to Other People
As a believer matures he or she will spend more and more time ministering to people (v.
12). But throughout the day and at any time, the believer may find himself or herself in
need of addressing any of the first three. And the first one should be going on all the time.
So it is true that each builds on the previous, but that does not mean that the believer
cannot retrogress in this process. What is important to note is that each section is
dependent upon the pursuit of God, the perspective set on heavenly values, and the
recognition of one’s position in Christ. This interplay between our identity (our instinctive,
unconscious picture of ourselves), our imagination (how we picture reality and ourselves),
and our conscience (our instinctive sense of values) creates the picture and the perspective
that we carry into life.
Implications. The preceding carries with it the following implications. Our emotions tell us
of our spiritual state. The emotions, by whether they enhance our lives or else they afflict
our lives, tell us where we are with God. Spirituality is a life normally dominated by
primary emotions. These primary emotions are encapsulated in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal
5:22-23). Each term of the fruit of the Spirit carries an emotional connotation. If love for
others is present, along with contentment with life, and a deep sense of well being, that
implies that we are being ministered to by the Spirit of God.
Carnality is a life dominated by misused emotions and appetites (Gal 5:19-21). It is a choice
for lustrather than God (Rom 6:11-12). If confusion, addictive feelings, and discontent are
present, the person’s state may certainly be carnal or non-spiritual.
We cannot be spiritually mature without a ministry to our own emotional life. In this text,
Col 3:1-12, setting one’s mind on things above (vv. 1-2) becomes the first stepin the process
of controlling one’s emotions.
Our emotions tell us about our thoughts and perspectives. Our emotions (Col 3:2, 8) may
be present before our conscious thoughts. This may be due to the Fall or it may simply be
the way we were created. The reason they may be a result of the Fall is that the level of
confusion that occurs between the thoughts and emotions may reflect fallen realities (note
Paul’s connection between confusion and the power of sin with regard to the law in Rom
7:11).

Our emotions are our true eyes into other people. Empathetic listening (Col 3:12-13)
enables us to experience a similar set of emotions as the person we are listening to. This
may lead to a far more profound understanding of the person.
Conclusions
If it is true that the work of the Holy Spirit is involved with our emotions, then the work of
the Spirit of God is profoundly psychological. Moreover, eventhough the Holy Spirit is a
divine, mysterious presence, he occupies a strategic place within us. He functions at the
confluence of our imagination, perspective, ego, and emotions. At this confluence he works
synergistically with us. As we relate to God as a Father through our identity in Christ, deep
change takes place through the Spirit of God.
The preceding of course has direct implications concerning the nature of spirituality.
Spiritual realities are emotional realities. One cannot say that counseling and psychology
deal only with emotional issues. Emotional issues are inexorably intertwined with spiritual
issues, for the nature of spirituality is relational and relationships are deeply emotional as
eventhe most cursory examination of the fruit of the Spirit would show. This means that
spiritual realities have psychological implications and vice versa.
Spirituality involves nearly everything. In much of evangelicalism, a false spirituality is
placed in the space between the intellectual, psychological, physical aspects of humanity.
No such space exists. Biblical spirituality is the management of all those aspects in
relationship to the reign of the Trinity.
The nature of psychology is such that spiritual implications are everywhere within it.
Psychology is filled with spiritual implications. It is not religiously neutral. Psychology
addresses the emotional nature of humanity. This also has implications concerning the
unitary nature of humanity. Biblically humans are not compartmentalized. Psychologically
they are not compartmentalized.
The work of the Spirit is synergistic. It is more than just cooperation with the Spirit; it is
cooperation with the Trinity. In prayer we relate to the Father. As we do so we remain
confident and conformed to the life of the Son. We are empowered by the Spirit. This
empowerment can be sovereign as in his flooding ministry (Luke 1:15, 41, 67; Acts 2:4; 4:8,
31; 9:17; 18:9; overwhelmingly filled) or we can cooperate as in his filling ministry (Acts
14:26; Eph 5:18; filled with character).
As evangelicals we cannot afford to downplay the importance of emotions. The work of the
Spirit of God is deeply emotional. Since those realities are so, they carry weighty
implications for how Christians should teach and preach and counsel and lead.

1 . The translation of these texts is my own from the Hebrew.
2 . When I had Professor James Barr as a supervisor at Oxford, in a private conversation
with me he aptly pointed out that dictionaries do not give meanings to words, only contexts.
It is in the contexts that soul is used that we see it is used to represent the process of feeling
and wanting.
3 . Making God richly emotional does not negate his divine attributes; his omniscience,
omnipotence, and sovereignty are intact but deeply enriched. He is not a desiccated
philosopher, but a passionate lover and ruler.
4 . Walther Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961-67)
2.122-130; J. Barton Payne, Theology of the Older Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1962) 226-227; Hans Walter Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1974) 159-162.
5 . “Karl Barth has called the expansion in [Genesis 1] v. 27b a ‘definitive explanation’ of
the text of v. 27a. Men are to be allowed to complement themselves in love… They are the
image of God in that together they are one … men can only fulfil the commission as the
image of God given to them in their creation by turning towards one another and by
complementing one another, like man and wife” (Wolff, Anthropology, 162). When
Yahweh spoke to the other with him, he was communicating in relationship (Gen. 1:26).
God intended to make mankind in “… image.” To do this adequately he had to make two
(Gen. 1:27). So that two communicating Beings were “imaged” by two communicating
human beings. Man—man and woman—made in the image of God and man as “soul”
underscore twin truths. Individuals are created to be in relationships and the quality of
those relationships will be felt in the soul.
6 . Paul begins his description of the fruit of the Spirit, i.e., the byproduct of his ministry in
the heart of the believer, in Gal 5:22-23 in terms of emotions: love, joy, peace.
7 . “To walk” (peripatevw, peripateo„) is a most general term for the principles that should
hold sway over our lives. Scripture teaches that the believer should walk or order the
affairs of his or her life around love (Eph 5:2); we should live in a way worthy of the calling
(Eph 4:1; Col 1:10), not the way the gentiles arrange their lives (Eph 4:17), as children of
light (Eph 5:8), carefully (Eph 5:15), as [we] have received the Lord (Col 2:6), in a new
kind of life (Rom 6:4), not according to the flesh (Rom 8:4), as called of God (1 Cor 7:17).
What this means is that when this verb for walking is used, it indicates that the entirety of
one’s life should be dominated by the characteristic cited. This is equivalent to the Hebrew
termelh, halakh.

8 . Eph 1:3; this is noted in Cleon L. Rogers Jr. and Cleon L. Rogers III, The New
Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998)
434.
RelatedTopics: Pneumatology (The Holy Spirit)
The Holy Spirit and Emotions – What You Needto Know
By Shane Idleman -
“ The true saints of God, who have clear heads, and pure, warm hearts, have in all
generations had to walk between the two extremes of cold formality on the one side, and
wild, ranting fanaticism on the other. Deadformality and the false fire of fanaticism are
both Satan’s counterfeits, and he does not care into which extreme the soul plunges…”
(George D. Watson).
My story in a nutshell: In my younger years, I made fun of those who worshipped God.
Sure, I would get emotional and lift my hands while watching the NFL, but in church, no
way. At that time, I believed that I was strong because I could bench-press over 400
pounds, drink a 12-pack of beer, and win most of the fights I was in. I didn’t have control
of my life—my life had control of me.
Sometime later, I began to thumb through the pages of my Bible. I realized just how far I
had drifted from the truth. By God’s grace, I put my complete trust in Him. Joy,
happiness, and peace filled my heart. Then came books, speaking engagements, and
ultimately a church. God took a nobody from a small town with learning and speech
problems who barely graduated high-school and filled him with the Holy Spirit. It was a
very emotional day that I still remember 19 years later. Anything that I have ever
accomplished for God has been because of the work of the Spirit. (More at WCFAV.org.)
The great divide: The division between the two groups – cessationists (those who believe
that the supernatural gifts have ceased) and the continuationists (who believe that they still
exist) probably will not end until Christ returns. Additionally, cessationists tend to be leery
of emotionalism and continuationists tend to be the polar opposite, but is there common
ground? Yes, we should all be desperate for more of God.
Trending: 120 Christians Killed in Nigeria and the World Remains Silent

Much of what we believe comes from who we listen to as well as our experiences. For
example, I was at a large conservative pastors conference in Southern California a few
years ago. A very godly man who escaped persecution in China told of how the Holy Spirit
prompted him to take another route home on his bike. As a result, he barely escaped being
caught by the police. We all applauded and thanked God for His guidance. But had a
similar man at a Charismatic church given the same testimony, many would suggest that
he was misled and “hearing voices”…that God doesn’t do that today. Much of the great
divide could be narrowed through unity and humility.
Emotions – good or bad? How can some quote Whitefield and Edwards, but avoid talking
about the mighty moves of the Holy Spirit that occurred under their preaching –
experiences and emotions that paralleled the books of Acts? We quote mighty men of God
from the past who experienced revival, but we dare not mention the word “revival”
because of the emotional aspects associatedwith it. But when God revives His people
emotions follow—“Wilt thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?”
(Psalm 85:6 KJV).
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones cautions: Neverinterpret Scripture in the light of your experiences,
but rather, interpret your experiences in the penetrating light of Scripture. When
experience lines up with Scripture, the emotions that follow can be good and God-given.
Emotions can be a mark of the Spirit as reflected in the life of Griffith Jones, who preached
during the Welsh revivals of the 18th century: “The tears [of the congregation] began to
flow in streams down their cheeks. Soon, they wept openly, and cried out, ‘What shall we
do to be saved’?”
Further, it was not uncommon for people to tremble and weep or shout for joy under the
anointed preaching of George Whitefield. When God moves, you should get “emotional.”
When a pigskin travels a 100 yards across a field, millions get emotional, should not
Christians savedby the power of God praise Him when they experience Him? Those who
have been forgiven much love much and love fuels emotion.
George Whitefield, once perplexed by the emotional things taking place when he preached,
askedLady Huntingdon for advice. She said, “Oh George, leave them alone. What they are
experiencing from God will do far more than you’re preaching” (paraphrase). God often
wrecks a life before He rebuilds it.
On the flip-side, those who use past revivals in an attempt to validate odd behavior today
perhaps have not truly researched revivals. In reading Charismatics and Calvinists, and
Pentecostals and Puritans, as well as countless biographies of leaders such as Martin
Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, and Charles Spurgeon, and
puritans such as Thomas Goodwin, John Bunyan, John Owen, and Richard Baxter,

nowhere do these leaders encourage the hysteria or the outright weirdness that we
sometimes see today.
Granted, there were rare times of strong conviction such as when people held on to trees
thinking that they were falling into the abyss of hell during the famous sermon, Sinners in
the Hands of an Angry God, by Jonathan Edwards. And people did cry out to God, and/or
fall on the ground under the strong conviction of sin during the Revivals of George
Whitefield, John Wesley, and Evan Roberts, but this is because sin, righteousness, and
holiness were preached—“falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that
God is truly among you” (1 Corinthians 14:25). This is true revival…it is emotional; it is
unpredictable.
Do we really believe the the Apostle Paul would tell us to sit down and be quiet during
worship? To put our hands down and contain ourselves? Granted, he may rebuke skinny-
jeans, silly trends, and sappy worship songs with no theological power, but would he
handcuff our emotions?
Are we embarrassed that Paul spoke in tongues? Do we feel bad for the early church
because they needed the supernatural gifts of the Spirit but apparently we don’t? We need
a reality check: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be witnesses to Me…(Acts 1:8).” Emotions can be good and God-given, but make sure
that they are the caboose and not the engine of the train – they follow obedience to God and
His word – they are not a gauge for truth.
The power of the Holy Spirit is like dynamite that ignites a hunger for God so intense that
every aspect of life is changed—we become bold not passive; stable not fanatical; and
committed not wavering. I agree with Leonard Ravenhill, “We need to close every church
in the land for one Sunday and cease listening to a man so we can hear the groan of the
Spirit which we in our lush pews have forgotten.”
Straight as a gun barrel, but just as empty: We need sound doctrine and the power of the
Holy Spirit. It’s possible to be “Bible taught,” but not “Spirit led.” The letter kills, but the
Spirit gives life (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:6).
How can so many pastors recommend D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones fantastic book, Preaching
and Preachers, yet conveniently avoid the last chapter entitled, Demonstration of the Spirit
and of the Power. Are they embarrassed that he drove this point home in the opening
paragraph: “I have kept and reservedthis last lecture what is after all the greatest essential

in connection with preaching, and that is the unction and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.”
Pastors – have you received this unction; this baptism of fire?
“Have you been filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit?” is the most important
question you can ask. Are you truly desperate for more of God? A.W. Tozer insightfully
said, “If the Lord’s people were only half as eager to be filled with the Spirit as they are to
prove that they cannot be filled, the church would be crowded out.” I sincerely believe that
the greatest need in the church today is to confess our sins, obey the Word, and to be filled
with the Spirit.
Many of us are afraid of what we’ve never experienced. The Holy Spirit is very active in
the lives of those who are open and teachable. Just talk to missionaries in persecuted areas.
The movie, Insanity of God, is a wonderful example. I highly recommend this movie:
In the words of Oswald Chambers before he received a mighty downpour of the Spirit,
“God used me during those years…but I had no conscious communion with Him. The Bible
was the dullest, most uninteresting book in existence…”
Then he writes a few years later, “If the four previous years had been hell on earth, these
five years have truly been heaven on earth. Glory be to God, the last aching abyss of the
human heart is filled to overflowing with the love of God.” Heaven was rent; the downpour
came to his parched soul. Now the decision is yours. Fully surrender your life to the work
of the Spirit today. Are you desperate for more of Him?
The opinions expressedby columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the
views of Barb Wire."
Emotion vs. the Presence of the Holy Spirit
MicahB
Micah Bush
Brian_Weeks
Jan 5
In response to your questions about what I find helpful, I suppose some background
information is in order. I was raised in the Assemblies of God, though I attended a college
of the Reformed tradition. During my college years, I had the opportunity to attend a

number of churches (some for extended periods, others only once) of varying sizes and
traditions.
Reflecting on my experiences, the congregations in which I found worship to be most
satisfying had three things in common: Solid, substantive teaching that was both biblical
and practical, meaningful community (people noticed me and made a point of talking to
me), and worship that was theologically sound, connected to the message, and grounded in
the real world. The songs themselves might be traditional in style (as in the CRC
congregations I attended) or more contemporary (as in a megachurch in Colorado), but
that seemedto matter less if the other criteria were met. If the songs consistently displayed
vague, low-level, or questionable theology, then they lacked substance; if they lacked any
connection to the message being taught (i.e. they were four of the dozen or so songs in that
church’s repertoire selectedat random), then they seemedirrelevant; and if the songs were
all about trying to pump everyone up into an emotional frenzy and failed to acknowledge
the sin in our lives and the evil in this world (I often found songs of confession and
mourning to be cathartic), then it was impossible to worship with sincerity (especially as
someone who struggles with depression).
As for what biblical worship looks like, I daresay it incorporates all of what I’ve described
above. It allows for timely communal expression of grief and brings our failings to the One
who is able to restore us (Romans 12:15; James 4:9-10). Like the Psalms, such worship is
honest about our frustrations, yet seeks to remind us of the One we serve. Like the
doxologies of the New Testament, good songs are both beautiful and have theological depth.
By contrast, so much of today’s Christian music seems watered-down and aimed at the
individual pursuit of the next “spiritual” (i.e. emotional) high.
1 Reply
Andrew_Shaw
Jan 5
I used to be a little cynical about repetitious worship songs, then I read Psalm 136 1…
hmmm, maybe repetition is OK.
And then there’s Psalm 150. I’m guessing Hebrew worship was pretty expressive…
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Brian_Week
Academy Alum
MicahB
Jan 5
Micah, I’m sorry to hear about your depression. Someone very close to me has suffered
various degrees of depression, from mild to severe, constantly for the past 14 years. I love
being around her because she has more affection for God than I do, and her total reliance
on him is both encouraging and convicting to me. So, I guess you could also say, it’s good
for me to be around her.
I particularly resonate with your thoughts on the importance of worship songs being
theologically sound. In my experience, both traditional hymns and contemporary songs can
be filled with magnificently true, Christ-exalting, God-glorifying lyrics; and they can both
also contain things that aren’t biblical. Like you, I too find it “easier,” if you will, to
worship God when the lyrics express truth.
You mentioned the expression of grief during worship. With respect to your original
question regarding the presence of the Holy Spirit versus “mere emotion”, does your use of

the word emotion refer to all emotions, including grief, or only certain emotions? If you
attend a church now, what are your thoughts on the way they worship through song?
I find it very interesting that God commands us to worship him through singing and with
music rather than by prose. This is something Edwards points out in his book that I had
never thought of before I read it. I can’t help but wonder if this has something to do with
the power music and singing has to express and inspire emotion. Would you happen to
have any thoughts here?
1 Reply
Helen_Tan
Academy Alum
Jan 5
I’m not sure if what I’m about to say will add to the discussion, but I’ve been to several
churches with different styles of worship and which ‘relate’ to the Holy Spirit in different
ways. In one church where worship is done without musical instruments and no
preparation is allowed - worship and prayer are to flow as the Spirit leads - and only men
are allowed to speak (they are the only ones the Holy Spirit would lead??), there is a sense
of deep reverence and serious order of discipline. I’m not sure if everyone could sense the
presence of the Holy Spirit but He is talked about a lot and spontaneous prophecies and
words are given. On the other hand, there were churches where everything is planned to
the finest detail and everyone knew what was going to happen next. There is no spontaneity
and we knew exactly what time we would be leaving the building and who will be standing
outside to bless us and bid us farewell. That tends to leave no room for the Holy Spirit to
move spontaneously.
I’ve often wondered as we waited for the Spirit “to move” as to whether we were doing the
right thing, and then inevitably and miraculously, someone would have a ‘word’ or
‘prayer’ and then we would move on. I don’t mean to be critical but in a large
congregation, people do get fidgety and restless, and that takes away the reverence and
honor of the moment as we wait on the Holy Spirit. I’m sure that there are better
experiences than this among us, but in my own experiences, I’ve found that that tends to
take place in a smaller group setting where people are perhaps more united in purpose and
attitude.
I would say that emotion is a large part of the process, particularly at the beginning and as
the congregation grows in maturity, the Holy Spirit is given honor and room to do as He
wills, we will see more of His move among the congregation. As with everything else, trust

comes with maturity and as we surrender to Him, He will manifest to us in a greater
measure. Sometimes I feel that we tend to “over-think” and then we shut Him off.
Personally, the best posture in His presence is one of surrender and to let Him take over,
without artificially creating ‘drama’ and ‘activity’. It is often in deep respectful silence and
inactivity that I’ve found His presence the closest. I don’t say this to make it a formula as
He sees our hearts and responds in a manner that will touch us and change us profoundly.
I don’t think we can paint Him into a corner but we should flow with Him and let Him take
the lead to do what He wants to do.
I think too that God has made us different and we do respond to different styles of worship
music. Depending on the age group and our exposure growing up, we may relate to certain
styles of music and should not be criticized for it. I love the old hymns as well as modern
worship songs. They draw something out of me - a deep sense of reverence and awe of the
God who rules over all and yet cares deeply about each one of us in a manner which we
really cannot comprehend. What I tend to do is ‘go with the flow’ of the worship leader and
focus on the words being sung. I have to acknowledge that this takes discipline as my mind
tends to wander a lot and I forget that I’m worshiping the Most High God. I need to yield
my heart to Him and let Him lead me and do a cleansing work in me.
MicahB
Micah Bush
Brian_Weeks
Jan 6
Regarding my original question: When I referred to “mere emotion,” I was referring
primarily to the “positive” emotions (especially ecstasy). It often seems as though some
churches strive to make themselves sadness-free zones, forgetting that the Lord is close to
the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18) and that we also are called to mourn with those who
mourn (Romans 12:15). I suppose it would be faulty to suggest that the Spirit works
independent of our emotions, but it is equally faulty to act as though He can only meet us
during times of joy. My present search for a new home church has been prompted (at least
in part) by such neglect.
Concerning the command to worship through music: John Piper made an interesting
observation in Desiring God that is worth our consideration. Praise, unless willfully
repressed, is the natural end result of perceiving beauty. When we turn that praise toward
the Creator of beauty, the result is worship. We should not be surprised, therefore, that
beautiful music is a powerful means of directing our attentions toward God in worship.

The flip-side, of course, is that if we don’t find the music beautiful, then praise (and thus
worship) is unlikely to occur.
Perhaps a synthesis of these two ideas allows us to better understand the problem of
centering all music around the emotion of happiness: When music resonates with our
emotions, we see its beauty and are drawn into worship. When the music conflicts with our
deepest feelings, then it is only noise. Since we bring grief and contrition with us into
church, these feelings need to be expressedin worship, or else our worship will be devoid of
any real meaning.
andrew.bulin
Academy Alum
Jan 6
Hey @MicahB,
I was a member of Assembly of God church many years ago with my family, and had close
friends that chose to stay in that mode spiritual walk. My personal experience was that
while the spiritual high had a feeling of “ecstasy” about it, it was not sustainable or very
real, sometimes downright unhealthy.
As I matured, trying to maintain that impractical feeling became less and less relevant in a
relationship with God. I also thought it odd that no relationship that we would consider
healthy looked like this. Biblically speaking, I could not support a God of my emotions and
needed a spiritual walk that was applicable everyday of the week, at work, in the grocery
store, etc. I was looking for a spiritual walk that reflects the last part of this verse
(emphasis mine):
2 Timothy 1:7 NASB
[7] For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
(Some translations replace discipline with sound mind.)
In the Old Testament, I find this passage fascinating that while God could have presented
Himself with a large expression, it was the gentle wind that caused Elijah to quake:
1 Kings 19:11-13 NASB

[11] So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the
LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and
breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And
after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. [12] After the
earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle
blowing. [13] When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and
stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you
doing here, Elijah?”
I feel like sometimes we may try too hard to “facilitate” the Spirit, when we may actually
be creating a mood on our own terms. It’s hard to describe, but I look for a worship
experience that is passionate but practical, grounded in good theology, and a people who
live the word in a church that serves locally and globally. That usually proves a good
foundation for starters in my search for a good church where the Spirit is free to move as
He pleases. It seems to me each time I’m a part of some attempt to put an extra emphasis
on something we can try to grasp on human terms, it tends to corrupt before me.
carmen
CARMEN ST. CLAIRE
Jan 6
Dear Micah, Thank you for sharing that, I’ve had the same problem for years. Last night I
saw an old film called Leap of Faith starring Steve Martin as a charlatan faith healer.
Although I’ve never witnessed the blatantly obvious fraud the film depicted, I’m often
uncomfortable during emotionally charged services in which members fall down, call out
spontaneously “the Holy Spirit is moving here today” because I never read about that kind
of corporate ecstasy in the Bible. Didn’t Paul exhort that everything should be done
“decently and in order”? Jesus promised “the Comfortor”, everyone in Scripture received
the Holy Spirit within and was given boldness to complete God’s mission, but I’ve never
understood that to mean ecstatic praise. I may be wrong and if I am, I ask for guidance. I
so enjoy the RZIM speaking team because they embody Isaiah’s “come, let us reason
together”. But this is great topic, looking forward to more input.
Have a blessedday, Carmen
Brian_Weeks
Academy Alum

MicahB
Jan 6
Micah, I really appreciate the thought from Piper. I agree. We can’t help but talk or sing
about that which we love. I think you’re right that our songs shouldn’t just be about
happiness, but also the expression of our worry, peace, fear, love, pain, grief. After all, the
Psalms are full of every human emotion imaginable. Some churches (most typically
Reformed) sing only psalms and I think there’s some wisdom in that. It’s a guaranteed way
of never singing anything unbiblical.
If we examine the psalms, so many of them begin in worry, disappointment, fear, or grief,
but after the psalmist considers the better and abiding possessionhe has in God, his psalm
ends in joy in God. And I’m grateful for this because I need this. I need worship songs that
bring me from where I am to joy in God.
MicahB
Micah Bush
carmen
Jan 7
Carmen, something I’ve found interesting in my own consideration of the spiritual gifts is
to consider the structure of Paul’s discourse in I Corinthians 12-14. I’ve heard at least a
few sermons on the topic over the years, but it was only a few months ago, while studying
on my own, that it occurred to me that Paul’s insertion of a lengthy discussion on love in
the middle is not an incidental detail; he places it in the middle to make the point that self-
sacrificial, others-focused love must be the center of our expression of the spiritual gifts, or
else we have missed the mark entirely. Even Paul, who spoke in tongues more often than
those to whom he wrote, stated that he would rather speak five intelligible words to edify
others than ten thousand words in a tongue that nobody (including himself) could
understand.
Unfortunately, I rarely see this others-focused attitude in Charismatic circles. More often,
tongues becomes the main focus and is pursued as a means of personal encouragement or
“proof” of the Spirit’s presence (a poor proof, I daresay, since it is easy to counterfeit and
claim that you were speaking a heavenly tongue); I’ve evenknown a preacher who would
quote Paul’s matter-of-fact statement in I Corinthians 14:18 boastfully. Then too, I can’t
recall ever hearing a sermon on the spiritual gifts that didn’t simply skip over I

Corinthians 13. While I am not a cessationist by any means, I have to wonder whether
much of the current practice of spiritual gifts doesn’t more closely resemble the behavior
that Paul was trying to correct than that which he sought to encourage.
The Holy Spirit: Our Fear of Emotions
So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them— walking, leaping, and
praising God.—Acts 3:8
One cause of the decline in the quality of religious experience among Christians these days is the
neglect of the doctrine of the inward witness.
Stamping our feet to start the circulation and blowing on our hands to limber them up, we have
emerged shivering from the long period of the theological deep-freeze, but the influence of the
frosty years is still felt among us to such an extent that the words witness, experience and feeling
are cautiously avoided by the rank and file of evangelical teachers. In spite of the undeniable
lukewarmness of most of us we still fear that unless we keep a careful check on ourselves we
shall surely lose our dignity and become howling fanatics by this time next week. We set a watch
upon our emotions day and night lest we become over-spiritual and bring reproach upon the
cause of Christ. Which all, if I may say so, is for most of us about as sensible as throwing a
cordon of police around a cemetery to prevent a wild political demonstration by the inhabitants.
Born After Midnight, 11.
"Lord, open up my heart to receive, and then open up my mouth to declare, the glory of Your
mighty work! Amen."
Reprinted from Tozer on Christian Leadership by A.W. Tozer, copyright © 2001 by Zur Ltd.
Used by permission of WingSpread Publishers, a division of Zur Ltd.
Tozer on Christian Leadership is protected by copyright and may not be copied, reproduced,
republished, uploaded, posted, translated, transmitted or distributed in any way.
Tozer on Christian Leadership was compiled by Ron Eggert.

I Don’t Feel the Holy Spirit in My Life
Questionfrom a Site Viewer
I acceptedChrist years ago (at leastI think I did) then I wanderedabout for a
few years. I didn’t stop believing; I just stopped living like a Christian. But
recently God has drawn me back and I’ve been reading His Word and
praying regularly. I’m not perfect, but I have given Him my life this time.
Here’s my issue. I can’t feel the Holy Spirit at all. I wonder if He’s even with
me. It’s like He’s just not there. I pray constantlybut still feelalone. I went to
church but they were all hypocrites so I quit going. I want to go to a Seventh
Day Adventist church.
Tim’s Answer
Thanks for writing. You desire to feel the presence ofthe Holy Spirit in your
life and His leading, but as you say “He is not there.” Let me give you some
encouragementonthis point. Scripture does not command us to feel the Holy
Spirit or His leading. The Spirit is not like that. Like the wind, we cansee the
effectof the Spirit of Godand we might feel that effectin our lives, but we do
not necessarilyalways feelHim or His leading. When God came to Elijah in 1
Kings, God was not in the wind, or earthquake, or fire, but in the still small
voice (1 Kings 19:11-12). While there was the sound of a mighty wind at
Pentecost(Acts 2:2), there is no statementthat there was an actual wind that
was felt, or anything that was felt. But there was the effectof the Spirit. The
same is true in Acts 4:31 where the place was shakenand they were filled with
the Holy Spirit. But again, nothing is said about what they felt.
Rather, the thrust of Scripture is that we love God with all of our heart, that
we love our neighbors and the brothers and sisters in Christ, that we hope in
His coming, and that we serve one another (Galatians 5:1-16). These are the
things that are our duties in this life. We should focus our lives in these areas
as Scripture directs us to do. We should practice the Christian graces thatare
found in 2 Peter1:5-7. In doing these things, we need to pray about everything
(it is a command of Scripture as well as an invitation from our God). And we
need to seek Him always. But, having askedfor His guidance, we need to trust
that He will answereven when we do not perceive His leading. So much of life
is basedon this trust.
There are times when I sense that God is telling me to do something. If what I
am perceiving lines up with Scripture, then I try to do what I am perceiving.
And I have seenGod greatlywork and confirm His leading in such moments.
But for me, the vast majority of time I ask for His leading and His presence
and trust that He will answermy prayers and then I proceedto live out my

life to the ability He has given me as am ambassadorofHis. Having asked, I
trust that He is directing. So I seek to be kind to people, to love the brothers,
to be engagedwith others, to meet needs, to have time to commune with the
Father, to take time to worship Godand praise Him. In living out my
ordinary life, I have seenHis leading over and over as I look back. Sometimes,
I have even felt it at the moment, but not usually. Always, I count Him to be
true to His word that if I ask, He will be present.
The body of the believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-
20). This is a truth whether we perceive it, feelit, or not. The response in that
passageis that we should glorify God in our body and in our spirit and not
sin. The proper response to truth is to order one’s life in response to that
truth.
I can tell you that there were times when the saints of old did not feel God was
with them. If you have ever readLamentations 3, you will understand and
come to know Jeremiah’s strong faith when his feelings were totally contrary
to the true facts of God’s presence. Thatis what faith is about. We believe that
God exists and that He will reward those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews
11:6), even when our feelings are contrary.
So, my encouragementto you is not to seek to feelthe Holy Spirit and His
leading, but to seek His presence and guidance in prayer, trust that He will
lead you, and then be faithful in doing what He has askedus to do in
Scripture. As you seek His presence and seek to live out His will as revealedin
Scripture, He will be presentwith you and empoweryou to do His will.
A greatpractice is to use some of the greatprayers of Scripture in your
prayers. Seek the things that the apostle Paul soughtfor the believers in the
many letters he wrote. You will see that Paul never prays that the believers
will feelthe presence ofthe Spirit, but he does pray that they may know the
exceeding greatnessofHis powerand that they might be filled with the
knowledge ofHis will and that they might walk worthy of Him.
If you seek to walk worthy of God, drawing near in prayer, and asking for the
help of the Spirit to serve others, you will live a life that is a blessing to God
and to people, and the Spirit of God will abide in you.
I am concernedthat you do not have a church that is encouraging you in your
walk with God. I know that there is no perfect church, but there is a need to
find other believers who can encourage,challenge,and help equip you in
walking with God. Further, there is a need to find other believers to whom
you cancarry out the “one another” commands of Scripture. So I encourage
you to make it a priority to find others who share a desire to follow God.

You state that you are looking for a church that worships on Saturday. There
is nothing in the Bible that states whatday the body of Christ should get
togetherfor worship. Hebrews 10:25 indicates only that we should get
togethereven more frequently as we see the day of Christ approaching.
Accordingly, I would not be so restrictive in seeking fellowshipwith others
who love Christ. If there was a body of Christ that met togetheron Tuesday
evenings, or Friday mornings, I would join with them. Or I would meet
whenevermy schedule allowedme to do so. I am not sure why Sunday does
not work for you, but I note that in many largerchurches that ordinarily meet
on Sunday, there often is a Saturday evening service as well. I note that from
Biblical times the church gathered togetheron the first day of the week. See
our article, Why I Do Not Place MyselfUnder the Sabbath. Whether you meet
on Saturday, Sunday, or any other day of the week, Ithink God makes it clear
that He desires us to be in fellowship with other believers. I encourage youto
do so.
May the Lord Jesus and His Spirit guide you in this matter.
In His service,
tim
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• 27 thoughts on “I Don’t Feelthe Holy Spirit in My Life”
1. sheila gallagher says:
2. March 5, 2015 at 8:40 am
3. Dont understand why I can’t feel the Holy Spirit
4. Reply
5. Ron says:
1. May 6, 2016 at12:55 pm
2. I often feel the same. One thing that works for me is …
3. “Be still, and know that I am God. -Psalms 46:10 ESV
4. Prayer does not have to involve words. Quiet your thoughts,
get in touch with what you are truly feeling about your life. Then,
silently, without words, offer it up to God as a spirit to Spirit
communication. You don’t need to put into words what you are
feeling; by offering up your sincere feelings, whetherit be praise

or a need, it will be receivedand appropriately respondedto –
Spirit to spirit.
5. 7 “ And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as
the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their
many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Fatherknows what you need
before you ask him. -Matt…
6. Reply
6. nick raetselsays:
1. March 7, 2017 at 10:53 am
2. I think we should be able to know we have the holy spirit,
but I’m not sure. Another issue I’m not sure about is seventh day
upholding. While I absolutelybelieve we can worship as often as
we like, the sabbath has significance. It’s not like this ONE of the
TEN can just be ignored. It didn’t end at the cross, but was an
eternal thing, that means forever. It’s not about a specific day to
worship on, but following the Father’s commands, following His
instructions, which is where we most often fail. Worship
whenever, every day:) but keepthe sabbath holy as instructed in
those 10 commandments which didn’t become obsolete atthe
cross atall, but remain just as significantas ever. Shalom!
3. Reply
7. Kori Emily Butterworth says:
8. August 23, 2015 at6:01 am
9. I am very weak and brittle in my faith. God has only just called
me back. Things are changing in my life. A bad relationship ended and I
found a great church. I havent felt God yet but I am in the right place. I
have walkedinto churches that didnt feel right and got off the God
tangent because ofthis. A man from my church (Who at one point was
very strong in his faith) shared today that whilst he was in the wrong
church, he felt so far from God that he had plans to suicide. Maybe
while you feel you are not sensing God’s truth, pray for him to lead you
to a Church that you feela sense of belonging in. You may have
strongholds in your mind that seperate you from God and need a
supportive environment to grow strong in.
All the best.
10. Reply

11.elizabeth says:
12. September 2, 2015 at 1:33 pm
13. gooddayand shalom i ve similar problem. This min i find myself
praying fervently and strong in faith and another time am weak in
prayer and depress in spirit.there re time i will wake up in d middle of d
night to pray and when i go bk to sleepi began to ve night mare or sex
in the dream. So all this deplete me seriouslyand my faith waver and
felt i dont ve holyspirit in me and around me.againi cant find a good
church to go i see everybody trying to outdo eachother even d pastors
and minister re d same i no i ve a calling but just cant find it. …i hope u
can find d right ans fore cos am confuse
14. Reply
15.Linda says:
16. October7, 2015 at3:19 am
17. Hi Friends, I hope I can help. If you acceptedJesus as your
saviour, acceptone thing as a truth – you do have the Holy Spirit as
your guide. Rom 8:11 We tend to be so busy in our lives that we do not
take the time to calm our souls and feel the Holy Spitit. God can not be
rushed and the Spirit will revealhimself if we slow down, spend time
with God and ask Godto make you sensitive to the presence of the
Spirit. Also one sure wayto feelthe Holy Spirit is to praise God, there
are many beautiful songs on youtube, “I worship you”, I love to love
you,” “elshaddai”, “as a deer”. Spend some time singing these songs in
worship to God – I do not feel the Spirit while worshipping but some
time after. Worship & Praise is essential
18. Reply
19.Francisca says:
20. November 1, 2015 at 12:22 am
21. I don’t go to church either. I found my spiritual growth has
improved tremendously since I go to the world wide BSF Bible study
fellowship. The ladies who go there all have the same purpose as mine-
study God’s words in detail. They have no other purposes so no
hypocrites.
22. Reply
23.Seth Ben-Archer says:
1. December1, 2015 at2:36 am

2. I am going through the same sort of thing! I went away
from God for awhile and have come back. God never forgotabout
me and there was always the voice in my.mind to stop what I was
doing a.d come back to Jesus Christ. Well I did follow that voice
and I have been forgiven so the Holy Spirit is there it never left.
3. I askedthe Lotd for a annointing and baptism of the Holy
Spirit. I too want to feelthe overwheleming feeling of drunkbin
the spirit. I have to be patient and wait for when God decides is
going to give it to me. I know sometimes we got to be prepared to
have patience understanding because it’s God’s will not ours
4. Reply
24.Billy says:
25. December30, 2015 at10:41 pm
26. Hi. My name’s Billy, I’m 19 and I’m having sort of the same
problem.. well.. multitudes of it.
27. Countless times I’ve invited Jesus into my heart, however, I feel
nothing! I also can’t differentiate betweenthe voice of God and what my
own brain is telling me, I want to KNOW that I am saved, I want God to
take control of my life, I’m TIRED OF FEELING EMPTY!! What do I
do? Please help!
28. Reply
29.Mike says:
1. January 26, 2016 at11:10 am
2. Billy, bless you brother I know you feel empty but I promise
you are not. Do you have a bible and have you been studying the
NT? “Mancan’t live on bread alone but on every word from the
mouth of God!” -Mat 4:4
3. I am here anytime you need someone!
4. 37 All those the Fathergives me will come to me, and
whoevercomes to me I will never drive away. 38 ForI have come
down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who
sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall
lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last
day. 40 Formy Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son
and believes in him shall have eternallife, and I will raise them up
at the lastday.”- John 6: 37-40

5. Reply
30.ejiro says:
1. June 13, 2016 at4:20 pm
2. That emptiness, it so painful, i need Gods guidance,
its the only way
3. Reply
31.Justin says:
1. February 1, 2016 at6:27 pm
2. Hi Billy. Go to knowimsaved. Com
You must realize that prayer doesn’t save you. Christ dying on
the cross savesyou. Don’t look within yourself for confirmation,
look to what He has already done. It’s about trusting Him.
Believing Him.
3. Reply
32.rhonda says:
1. April 27, 2016 at8:24 pm
2. Thanks, Justin, really appreciate your words. i have
wondered those same things, why I don’t feel the Holy
Spirit, I pray and read the Bible and seek a stronger
relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ, but strayed for
many years, into New Age and EasternReligions. Feltcalled
to get a Bible and start going to church six months. Found a
wonderful church, but my faith feels shaky, sometimes. I
am not feeling the Holy Spirit with me and it has concerned
me.
3. Reply
33.Tim says:
1. November 20, 2016 at12:37 pm
2. Billy,
If you are still reading this please follow are heed. Even when we
don’t feel the power of God he is there! Take time and read the
book of Job, a greatbook. Joblost everything in his field and
did’t understand why; although he kept asking Godwhy. Job
responded to all of it like this: “although he slay me, yet will I
serve him”. What powerful words basedon fait; those who

preserve to the end in faith will be victorious. The world has no
answers, only Christ and the grace that he provides. When we feel
empty is the time to keeppraying “although he slay me, yet will I
serve him”
Love in Christ
Tim
3. Reply
34.nae says:
35. January 31, 2016 at2:44 am
36. I feel what u feelbilly but I’ve done some messedup stuff and
when I say messedup I do mean horrible so idk if canever since God.
37. Reply
38.Naneuleta Saffoldsays:
1. November 18, 2016 at6:37 am
2. Nae trust me I get it. I had a horrible past before accepting
Jesus and I didn’t feel like a new creature especiallysince some
habits worsenedafter being save but I knew it was a trick of the
enemy to make me believe I wasn’t saved. We will Neverbe good
enough. That’s why we have Jesus as our advocate. Repentand
press forward. No condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
Be encouraged.
3. Reply
39.Vernie says:
40. March 10, 2016 at2:57 am
41. Hi there please don’t lose heart if you have invited the Holy Spirit
into your life then he is with you. As you continue to spend time in Gods
presence and live according to the word you will be able to discern
betweenthe spirits and definitely know who the Holy Spirit is. He will
give you a sense ofpeace that is really remarkable.
When we first begin our relationship with God we are still getting to
know Him and having ‘milk’ food as the bible describes. He begins to
change our hearts and He helps us to live holy lives, you will then move
on to the ‘solid’ food as your relationship grows and you will be able to
discern his presence much better. Don’t give up. I had more to say but
limited words. God bless u guys.
42. Reply

43.William Sleezersays:
1. April 8, 2016 at 11:17 pm
2. When we come to understand Romans 8:1 “So now there is
no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Understanding this mean past, present, future you are never
condemned. There is no more reasonfor shame to be apart of
your life. Once this truth find it way to your heart you have
become a personof faith.
3. Now start living out you faith by refusing to speak
condemnation on others, forgiving others as Christ forgives you.
This will be hard at times. You will need to start praying –
“Fatherhelp me not condemn or harbor unforgiveness toward
this person. Strengthen me by your Word and Spirit. Bye the
Jesus CenteredBible and start reading it asking God to reveal
himself to you more and more.
4. Start there all.
5. God Bless
6. Reply
44.Pat Kelly says:
45. August 19, 2016 at9:36 am
46. The lord works in mysterious ways. I saythis because I have
experiencedGod so much that I’m confusedand feel so unworthy. I
have very a hard time praying in public and only when alone yet I saw
the Holy spirit in the form of a clearwind as it left a church when an
attending preacher tried to take over. I hav had open visions 4 time all
related to none spiritual things. I’ve had prayers answeredthat were
from other people for me. the most important, my son to getoff drugs. I
prayed a very simple prayer for God to reveal himself to me and help
me pray two months ago and within two week the Spirit came on me at
a hardware store and I had a chance to pray for a man but I had to
pray alone after asking him if he minded. God is good
47. Reply
48.John Edgley says:
49. October17, 2016 at6:07 am
50. I don’t think I understand the holy spirit I was baptized when I
was in high schoolmy freshman year shortly after 9/11 but I had

thought it meant to be savedI’m 30 now and I’ve lookedovermy life
and I am deeply saddenedabout how I had lived my life. I’ve prayed
and askedfor forgiveness ofmy sins and repented. I really didn’t know
back then about the holy spirit or what baptism truly meant until now.
Sometimes I feellike it might be too late and at times I wonder how
could God allow me to be so evil up to this point? Can someone help me
understand?
51. Reply
52.truthsaves says:
1. October17, 2016 at9:40 am
2. It’s not too late. God allows us to make our own choices but
always welcomesus back.
3. Reply
53.Johnsonsays:
54. October23, 2016 at6:39 pm
55. I knw and strongly believe dat d holy spirit exist, I tell frnds about
d holy spirit cos am always blessedwen evermy pastorteach abt d holy
spirit, bt I can’t find myself feeling the Holy Spirit. Pls Dnt knw wat to
do, cos most times wen I pray I getdistracted that I might even forget
sometimes DatI was praying.
56. Reply
57.Sally says:
58. December15, 2016 at9:48 am
59. To those of you who feel empty and have extended the invitation
with no results, PLEASE do not give up. I had askedmany many times
with no answeruntil a friend askedme what was my intention when i
invited the Holy Spirit..i said salvation, heaven.His response was “You
askedjust because you wanted something from him”? I believed, I
feared, but I couldn’t sayi loved as i didn’t know him. He invited me to
a bible study group of the gospels.Throughhis word i came to know
him and love him and when we studied the crucifixion it filled me with
such empathy i broke down, so many tears ..through my sobbing i asked
againand i was filled with such joy, such love..iwas forever changed
with a heart filled with pure love and empathy for…
60. Reply

61.Alabi Oludare says:
62. March 18, 2017 at11:52 am
63. I think I have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. I can’t pray in tongues.
Many at times when there’s a callfor people who want to be baptised in
the Holy Spirit, I go out also. But I don’t getbaptised rather I speak
something I know within myself is a lie so as to fool the pastor.
64. Reply
65.Jen says:
66. April 21, 2017 at1:04 pm
67. I struggledwith this for years & years. My whole life, really, as I
was raisedin the church. My dad was a true man of God& I was
blessedto be able to witness the struggles in his walk, the work God did
in him & through him. I knew he had the realdeal with God but I never
felt anything. No amount of praying, church, scripture made me /feel/
God. My dad died young & I was angry & I rebelled hard for years.
Eventually, I came back full circle, knowing I wouldn’t make it without
him. I started thinking about God’s heart & being truly obedient &
trusting him. I don’t know why exactlyit happened then, but it did. The
Spirit came into me & I promise it is very real & so precious. Don’t give
up. Don’t lose hope. Keep seeking. It’s…
68. Reply
69.Ishmita gain says:
70. August 9, 2017 at 1:43 pm
71. Feelyour true love for christ and remember all things he did for
us,he was beaten, nailed ,betrayed,heartbroken-feelhis pain and love
for us while you pray put your hands up and just imagine his pain and
love and he sacrificedhis life and suffered just because he loved father
and loved us
72. Reply
73.Ishmita gain says:
74. August 9, 2017 at 1:47 pm
75. Just feel the pain he has been going through till now to give
meaning to our life,to save us he suffered,he was the sinless man on the
earth till the time he was on earth ,imagine his pain while praying ,you
will surely fell the holy spirit

76. Reply
Shane Idleman
I was puzzled. During the months of training, Jane had faithfully attended
classes, completing her courses withpassing grades. Yet as I began to
compare her spiritual growth and maturity with others in the class, Irealized
something was missing.
What could it be that had so retarded her spiritual growth? Could there be
something in her past—a needfor healing perhaps? Or a personto whom she
needed to extend forgiveness?
"Lord," I prayed, "show me the clue to praying for and counseling her."
Over a period of time the clue I had been searching for beganto be revealed.
Jane was not in controlof her emotions!
I beganto see that she was seekingone emotional"high" after another by
attending various meetings and other spiritual events. It was affecting her, as
any addiction would.
She made statements about how tired she was and talked about problems at
work, problems at home and with her children. In her "sphere of influence"
both the savedand the unsaved were seeing inconsistenciesin her walk with
God. Enthusiasm was present, yes, but friends beganto avoid her because of
the drastic changes they had seenin her life.
Jane noticed the exodus of friends and family, but her reasoning was that they
were not as "spiritually minded" as she. Her friends, on the other hand, were
saying, "Jane is so heavenly minded that she is no earthly good. She's
spacey!"
Still, the need for the "emotionalfix" continued—one more meeting, one more
prayer group, one more conference. Jane became a personwho made all her
life's decisions, spiritually and otherwise, basedentirely on how it "felt." If it
felt good, it had to be God!
Who's in Control?
God createdus with emotions that have a powerful effect on our lives. We
cannot, however, allow these emotions to control us.

When we are controlled by our emotions—by how we feel—we are settling for
so much less than what God has planned for us. We begin to judge the value
of things by the nature of our response to them. The world says, "If it feels
good, do it." But that is not God's way.
One of the greatestproblems with being led by our emotions and judging our
daily walk based on how we feel is that feelings cannotbe trusted! They will
deceive us. People who deliberately walk into situations applying the "How
does it feel?" method rather than God's truth often suffer dire consequences!
This is especiallytrue in making decisions about important life issues such as
choosing a mate, changing jobs or spending money. But it is also true in
deciding how much time we spend with God. If we spend time with Him only
on the days that we feel like it, we will have inconsistentlives. If we apply the
Word of God only when it agrees withour feelings, we will not be walking in
the wholenessGodintends for us.
Our personalities are uniquely different. Some of us, as my friend Babe says,
"cry even when the mail comes orwhen the flag goes by." She feels her
ministry is "crying."
However, personality type cannotbe used as an excuse for being ruled and
governedby our emotions. Yes, many of us are more emotional and seemto
have strongerfeelings than others."
Experiencing the Spirit
Concerning variousphysical feelingsand sensationswhen in the Spirit's
presence, and general reflections and meditationson the manifestationsof the
Spiritbeing poured out on flesh; by Dean VanDruff.
There can be physical manifestations of the Spirit's moving in the body
and/or emotions. Often, and especiallyearly on, these are
overwhelmingly negative. In scripture the "gnashing of teeth" is such a
manifestation. Conviction does not sit well with the flesh, but God must
get us to agree to die before He can resurrectus, and that means
condemnation for the flesh. I have often saidthat if you could put
medical probes on people while they were hearing a prophecy, you

would see blood pressure go up, teeth grinding, and people generally
getting agitated. Think about it, people like us killed prophets in the
past, so let us have no simpleminded or romantic notions about what it
is like to hear God speak confrontively about our sin and need. This is
why we have the scriptural command:
1Th 5:20 (NKJ) Do not despise prophecies.
This command is not wastedwords, for this is exactly the natural
response to a true prophetic word. Thus we are commanded not to
despise them, which is easyto do because they feel horrible.
For carnalman to come in contactwith a Holy Godmeans pain! This is
part of the process ofsanctification. It is hoped that you are beyond this
stage, althoughit is goodto be aware of it in others and ourselves, as
from time to time we do get"in the flesh" a bit and have to offer up our
bodies a "living sacrifice" in a painful sessionagain.
2Ti 2:21 (NIV) If a man cleanseshimself from the latter, he will be
an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master
and prepared to do any good work.
My own experiences maybe instructive along this line.
In a prayer meeting, with my head bowed, someone came along and
"laid hands" on my head with considerable squeezing pressure, which I
thought was a bit rude and rough. The grip and force were right on the
threshold of pain, but I figured I would go along with it--or had little
choice in any case!This continued for many minutes, and I was sure it
was this one guy who had these huge hands and was strong. Wanting it
to end and also due to curiosity, I planned for severalminutes to jerk
my head awayand up and see who it was, which I finally did. When I
did, it was like waking from a dream: there was nobody there. This
jolted me horribly, and I was terrified and a bit angry in response.
Around this time, someone had prophesied to me that I had made an
idol of my mind, which was true enough, and it seemedto me the pain of
this encounterhad something to do with my healing. For the next few
months, as it turned out, wheneverI would pray or feel the Spirit's
presence I would getthis same distinct "headache", squeezed-headsort
of feeling, like God was both rebuking and reforming my mind...
physically! <smiles> If memory serves, nearthe end of this was when I
receivedthe full revelation of the fearof the Lord, which resulted in
actualtrembling for a good long while. Hey, we are commandedto
tremble in His presence directly and repetitively in scripture, so if He

does this to us we canbe sure we are on solid ground. Right? I offer
these as but a few examples of the painful interplay betweenflesh and
Spirit.
More common and less painful for me is a feeling in my throat of a
"tightening" (best I can come up with to describe)where my voice goes
up in pitch about a half-octave. I canactually sing rather beautifully
when this happens, and it is a distinct experience which is not entirely
unpleasant. It has some pain in it, but also some pleasure. It is an acute
sensationwhen it occurs. At first, I was sortof "freaked" by the
consistencyof this wheneverthe Spirit would move, especiallyin praise.
At one point, it became distractive to me and would derail my thoughts
from the Lord; so I gave up paying attention to it. Later, I began to see
the utility of such in our sanctificationand ministry, for now when it
happens I feel it a fairly sure endorsementof the Spirit for whateveris
happening or is about to happen. It is an "earlywarning system" for the
wind of the Spirit, proven by experience.
So, what you mention is a fairly common thing, as it turns out, for
myself and for many people I know. Tingling is often reported.
God wants us to love him not only with all of our minds (which need
humbling), but also our hearts. Emotionally stilted people like me need
to not be lax in growing in grace in the transformation of feelings,
howeveruncomfortable this is in the flesh.
To be sure, these sorts of feelings, without experience or testing, can be
manipulated by hucksters and/or occurdue to weaknessesin the flesh as
well as the moving of the Spirit. Fainting seems more a manifestationof
the flesh than of the Spirit, although many charismaniacs have made it
seemlike it is some spiritual "badge" of sorts. Tingling may come from
poor circulation, for example.
Still, when Spirit actually does alight on flesh... things happen. These
things can be distractive at times, but also canbe a sort of "sermon" as
well. In the long run, we can learn to trust them if proven by consistent
fruit and confirmation of God's word by experiential discernment.
Acts 2:17 (NKJ) "'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says
God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh...'"
Eze 36:26 (NKJ) "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh."

Isa 16:5 (NAS) "Thenyou will see and be radiant, and your heart
will thrill and rejoice..."
There are feelings God has given me that are beyond description; tastes
of His glory and beauty, etc. These are rare, but serve to have ruined me
for this world by giving me a taste of the goodnessofGod. In one
situation that I am thinking of, I had a sort of meta-dimensional
musical-spiritual "chord" shootthrough me during a time of praise that
was incredibly delightful, and rang through my whole body for about 5
minutes. Was it spiritual "sound"? Was it music? Was it heat? Was it
pure joy? It was all of these and more, yet I cannotadequately describe
it; But I think I would choose to endure an hour of torture for another 5
minutes of it. I am sure it was only a taste of glory, only a drop in God's
ocean, but what a drop.
Beyond alerting you to the possibility of such, it might be instructive to
mention that in the "chord" instance, the temptation was to attempt to
step outside myself to analyze what was going on. I seemedto know
intuitively that this would be wrong, and that it would end the
encounter with God. Circumspectioncan kill what is genuine, making it
artificial and stilted--like a stagedscientific experiment. Perhaps that is
why I cannotdescribe it, for I chose in that moment to be an enraptured
child rather than an analyticalscientist. <smiles> C.S. Lewis describes
this as the difference betweenlooking "along" something (like a
sunbeam) as opposedto looking "into" it. Looking along you see a shaft
of light in a dark shed illuminating dust particles;where you could
measure how long the sunbeam was before it hit the ground, measure its
angle, width, length, brightness, etc. Looking into, you see at first a
crack in the wall of the shed, then as you move forward your eye can see
through the hole to the outside, and when you get right up to it an entire
scene opens up of the landscape outside:sunlight playing off of the
trees, etc. Two very different perceptions, two very different
experiences...from the same sunbeam. The scientistmeasures, standing
outside and analyzing. The child sees, enjoys, is "in" the experience.
The point is this: don't kill your own heart spiritual development with
over-analysis or deadly circumspection. At the same time, be keento see
any obvious meaning God may be trying to communicate to you. If you
find a particular manifestation consistent, considerit one of many ways
God might be teaching you to discernspirits--good or evil.
Rom 12:2 (Wey) Do not follow the customs of the present age, but
be transformed by the entire renewalof your minds, so that you

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