The Spirit & the Church

Why does the Assemblies of God exist? For over 100 years, the Assemblies of God (AG) has carried a sense of mission to both the world and to Christians worldwide. To the world, the AG proclaims the good news of Jesus, having embraced the urgency of reaching the lost at home and abroad. To the global Church, the AG bears witness to the power of the Holy Spirit available to every believer as in the days of the New Testament church.

Through Scripture, the promise of the Holy Spirit undergirds the reality of the Church as the continuation of God’s people. Through the Old Testament prophets, God promises to pour out His Spirit on His people so that they will want to be the people God calls them to be (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Ezekiel 36:26; Joel 2:28-29). By the New Testament, John the Baptist announces Jesus, as Messiah, will be the One to baptize God’s people into the Spirit of God (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). Jesus promises the Spirit to His disciples after He goes away, so they will have another “Advocate” with them and with those who believe in Jesus through them (John 14-16). When the Day of Pentecost comes, Peter affirms that the gift of the Spirit remains a promise for all who believe, “for you and your children and for all who are far off” (Acts 2:39). The Assemblies of God continues to echo Peter’s affirmation regarding the gift of the Holy Spirit.

THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES THE CHURCH
If we belong to Jesus, then we already belong to the Spirit of Jesus (Romans 8:9). Every person who ever responded affirmatively to Jesus did so because of the Holy Spirit through whom we begin our Christian life (Galatians 3:2-3). The Holy Spirit continues to bear witness to our own spirits that we belong to God because we are found in Christ (Romans 8:16).

The same Spirit through whom we come to Jesus is the same Spirit by which we can invite others to join us. Jesus promised us that the “Spirit of truth” would bear witness to Him in the world alongside the witness of the Church (John 15:26-27). The Holy Spirit will even provide the Church with the words to speak when brought before “rulers and authorities” (Luke 12:11-12).

Paul emphasized his evangelistic ministry as one determined by the Spirit who accompanies the message of the gospel with signs and wonders (Romans 15:19) and produces joy in the hearts of those who receive it (1 Thessalonians 1:5-6).

The Spirit of God aids us not only in evangelism but also in discipleship. The Spirit continues to lead the Church into the teaching of Jesus (John 14:26). He reveals the wisdom of God to the Church so that the Church has “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). Understanding “the mind of Christ” also leads us to the character of Christ (Philippians 2:5) so that the Spirit makes us into loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and disciplined people (Galatians 5:22-23). This “fruit of the Spirit” provides the Church with the character necessary to maintain a healthy community (love, peace, patience, kindness, etc.) and a godly testimony (joy, goodness, faithfulness, self-control) before the world.

The Holy Spirit also supports the worship of the Church. We can pray in and by the Spirit (Romans 8:26; Ephesians 6:18). We offer songs in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:15-16; Colossians 3:16). Whenever we gather, we each bring something of the Spirit to offer for the building up of that gathering (1 Corinthians 14:26). The Spirit gives gifts to the Church in worship, including gifts of leadership, miracles, service, and revelation (1 Corinthians 12:28).

The Spirit of God aids the Church in spiritual warfare. The Spirit gives us both His sword, the Word of God, and prayer in our struggle against the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:17-18). In our fight against the flesh, the Spirit shapes our desires (Romans 5:5). In regard to the world, the Spirit brings conviction against those who do not believe (John 16:8-11).

Because the Church is called to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14-16), we must love the world in the way God loves. The Church serves the world wherever the world is hurting or wherever people are in need. We cannot serve God without serving the world (James 1:27). The Holy Spirit who fills us uses us to care for the needs of others (Acts 6:1-3).

The Spirit of God is vital to the ongoing formation of the Church. The Spirit informs the world of the good news of Jesus, conforms the believer to the image of Jesus, forms the Church as a community of Jesus, and leads the Church to a Christlike response to the world’s threats and temptations. That is, we learn in the Spirit how to respond to such challenges by the way of Jesus, which is the way of the Cross (Philippians 2:5-11; 2 Peter 2:21-25).

The Assemblies of God’s Statement of Fundamental Truths (SFT) addresses “The Church and Its Mission,” defining the Church in terms of what it is, “the habitation of God through the Spirit,” and in terms of what it does. The Assemblies of God has four purposes (evangelism of the lost, worship of God, edification of believers, and compassion for those in need), which together give the Fellowship its “reason for being.” In other words, the Assemblies of God understands both the “being” and the “doing” of the Church to be the work of the Holy Spirit.

THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES THE CHURCH EFFECTIVE
The Assemblies of God defines its mission as teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the Spirit so that they can better fulfill that fourfold mission of the Church. “The Assemblies of God exists expressly to give continuing emphasis to this reason for being in the New Testament apostolic pattern by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the Holy Spirit” (SFT #10). A Spirit-baptized Christian is better equipped with signs and wonders, and spiritual gifts, for the purposes of evangelism, worship, edification, and compassion.

The Holy Spirit already undergirds our reconciliation with God and one other; bears responsibility for the message and character of the Church; and serves as the guarantee of Jesus, a deposit on our salvation. The Church simply does not exist apart from the work of the Spirit.

Yet not all generations of believers have been as fruitful as they could have been because the Church has not relied on the Holy Spirit as it should have. The Holy Spirit not only makes the Church; the Holy Spirit makes the Church effective!

The promise of a Spirit-filled life means the promise of a life of ongoing and increasing dependence on the Spirit of God. A church of Spirit-filled people becomes a Spirit-filled church which can accomplish its purposes without members having to rely exclusively on our will, intellect, muscle, talent, education, or experience. We offer all the above to the Holy Spirit who can do more with our offerings than we can imagine.

For over 110 years, the Assemblies of God has declared this promise continues to be for all believers with the rest of the Pentecostal movement. In that same time, the Assemblies of God has exemplified reliance on the empowerment of the Spirit in our own evangelism, worship, discipleship, and care. May our message and our ministry remain focused on the Church’s ongoing need for the Spirit of God.

Allen Tennison

Allen Tennison, Ph.D., serves as theological counsel to The General Council of the Assemblies of God and chairs its Commission on Doctrines and Practices.