Word and Spirit
Greetings all,
This is the second in a series of articles by Dr. John Woodhouse, principal of Moore Theological College, made available by Matthias Media. In it Dr. Woodhouse addresses the accusation that some brands of Christianity - namely Bible-focussed ones - have become too theoretical, at the expense of experiencing a relationship with God. In short it is the Word vs. the Spirit.
Are there grounds for such an accusation? Do some denominations know lots about God without making time to know Him? And can you really have too much experience of the living God? Dr Woodhouse addresses all this and more in installment number two…
In the first of these articles, I came to the point of saying that where there is the Word of God and faith in God because of that word, there is the totality of Christianity. Is this anti-experiential? No, for it focuses on the central definitive experiences of the Christian life.
In this article we will look at a common objection to this thesis: that this narrow emphasis on word is at the expense of the Spirit. It is argued that the arid tedium of much evangelical Christianity is seen right here: the emphasis on word has produced a religion of the mind only. Our preachers are lecturers (with all the dullness that implies) and our Bible studies are literary seminars. Surely there is more to Christianity than just words?
It is an objection that is not without substance, and it comes from people who themselves uphold the reality and power of God’s word. They would offer little objection to anything I have said thus far, except to its exclusiveness, its narrowness. They would object, in other words, not to what I have said; only to what I have left unsaid. It would be agreed that wherever there is genuine Christianity there will certainly be the word of God and faith in God. That is necessary … but it is not all. It is not adequate. It is not sufficient.
When this inadequacy is felt (as I believe it is being felt by many today) Christian ministries begin to take on a new shape. The Christian life begins to develop in a new way. There is, of course, a word dimension, but people begin to seek the missing Spirit dimension. These may not be completely unrelated, but they are nevertheless viewed as distinct and different. The minister still studies his Bible and preaches it—of course—but he is also ‘led by the Spirit’, which is something distinct. The Christian person still reads their Bible and listens to sermons, but there is another experience sought after: an encounter with the Spirit.
An increasing number of Christian meetings are being structured round these two distinct dimensions of Christian experience. There is the reading of the Bible with the sermon, and then there is a quite separate time when the Spirit of God is expected to do something more. It has been described to me like this:
Of course God meets us in his word. But that is not the only way in which he deals with us. There is another dimension, a more direct working of God—almost a more tangible working, by his Spirit.
I want to suggest that this line of thinking, and the implications it has for Christian life and ministry, are mistaken in a most serious way.
The rest of the article can be read on Matthias Media’s web site. Stay tuned for the third and final installment, The World And The Bible in coming weeks!
Happy reading!
- Ed.
Editor
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