The invitee is always in subjection to the invitation-giver. Someone can only request the presence or participation of another if he/she is in a position of authority or ownership. Here's what the dictionary says of the word's definition: "To request the presence or participation of." Often, church leaders will "invite" the Spirit into a church service, as opposed to asking or summoning. Now taking the mind back to the phrase in question, it's helpful to dwell on the word invite. As He works in the Christian to bring about godliness, the believer is called to yield to Him. Being filled with the Spirit (as opposed to alcohol) means to be under His control. This instruction was given not to imply that Christians may become un-indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but to assert that individual Christians need to re-subject themselves to His authority. After all, if every Christian is indwelt by the Spirit, why does Paul say that they should "be filled"? This leads to the important theological difference between indwelling and filling. What does this imply? At a minimum, it's just bad theology. Then a person stands up front on the stage and asks Him to show up. This means when the people come together, the Holy Spirit is filling the building through the people He indwells. On a Sunday morning, churches across the globe are filled with people who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (the church is God's body, His people). Therefore, inviting the Holy Spirit into a place where He already exists is illogical. The Spirit indwells that the believer ( 1 Corinthians 6:19) and the Spirit has been poured out upon all true Christians ( Romans 5:5, Titus 3:4-6). Good theology is derived from the Bible, and the Bible says that once a person believes in the gospel he/she is sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption ( Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30). This form of logic is never a good foundation for any practice that a person implements in his/her life nevertheless, here are a couple of more concerns about inviting the Spirit into a church service. Still, one could make the argument from silence: Just because Scripture doesn't say we should, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't. This is not to say that it's sinful to pray to Him - it's just not biblical. Therefore, based on that short study, it would be biblically unwarranted for a person leading a congregation to ask the Spirit anything in their behalf. Instead of speaking to Him, Christians are told to walk in step with Him ( Galatians 5:25) and to not quench Him ( 1 Thessalonians 5:19). In 1 Peter 1:21 it says that the Spirit moved men along as they wrote Scripture, yet those Scripture-writers never instructed that people pray to the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul explains how the Holy Spirit is the One who teaches believers the word of God, yet he never says that they should pray to Him. The Savior said that the Spirit's role is to glorify Jesus ( John 16:14). Though it is true that the Holy Spirit is God - He is eternal, He hears us, He is a Person - it is also true that He maintains a specific role within the Godhead. Good Trinitarian theology may lead someone to respond with a statement like, "But the Holy Spirit is God and we should speak to Him because He hears us."Īlthough that is good Trinitarian theology, it is not complete Trinitarian theology. Never did Jesus teach that people should pray to the Holy Spirit. He instructed that His disciples pray to the Father ( Matthew 6:7-9, 7:11) and to pray in His name ( John 16:23-28). Jesus got specific when He taught on prayer. Bible readers find many examples of people praying, along with imperatives and instructions concerning prayer however, never is there found any evidence that praying to the Spirit is good and right. In Scripture, no person ever prays to the Holy Spirit. Here are my main concerns about Christians inviting the Holy Spirit into a church service. Due to songs like the one above and the popularization of bands like Jesus Culture, Hillsong, Bethel, and the like, some of those up front are now telling the Spirit that He is invited to join the believers in the service. If you've been attending church semi-regularly over the last couple of years, you may have noticed a change in the verbiage used by those who lead music (often called "worship leaders") when they pray.
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