Controlled by the holy spirit..

[Tellyontellyon]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

 

[honey badger]

we all (bar none) have His spirit within us ... which is to say we are all one in Christ ... God is working in all of us not just those who call themselves christians ... now with that out the way ... obedients allows us to see this and this not an obedients to ones own theology and doctrines but an obedients to the law of our mind ...

 

[d taylor]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

-
​

The believer living in accord with The Holy Spirit, would less likely to be living a worldly life and they would be able to resist the temptations of sin. Like lust (material, sexual, etc.. ), anger, lying, stealing, worrying, etc...

 

[d taylor]

-​

I will also add that being in accord with The Holy Spirit, the believer will be able to spot false teachings and christian hogwash.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

We are not controlled, we are guilded. It is our choice to follow or quench. The phrase is in error.
Blessings

 

[childeye 2]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

In New Testament scripture, there is a description of two contrary wills in mankind, the carnal will and the spiritual will.

The carnal will is fundamentally hardwired to avoid discomfort or to seek comfort, while the spiritual will is the moral compassion that considers others and acts to relieve the suffering of others.

In Christianity the Holy Spirit testifies to the Eternal Loving Character of the Creator Who would sacrifice His self for others, and this Holy Spirit reasons within us against our carnal mind, based on the non-hypocritical logic of loving others as you would want to be loved.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

Christians are more led of the Holy Spirit rather than are controlled by Him. He does not control us with a bit and bridle like a horse or a mule. He leads the way and we walk with Him. The evidence that we are walking with the Spirit, is that we conduct ourselves with the following attributes: love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. When we walk in this way, we are avoiding the works of the flesh.

Our walk in the Spirit is an act of our will, on the basis of faith in what Jesus did for us on the Cross, having taken on Himself the penalty for our sins, and that He rose from the dead to give us eternal life. Although we may have wonderful experiences in His presence while we are walking with Him, we don't base our faith in those experiences. We can be as strong in our faith even if we never have any experiences or if we never feel the presence of God at any time. Nevertheless the presence of God is always with us because He promised, "I will never leave or forsake you", and that "He sticks closer than a brother." We know that we are always in the presence of God, because His Word promises it, and we believe it and base our faith on His promise.

 

[food4thought]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.

The correct term is led or guided, as others have said. I'm not sure who uses the term "under the control".

It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.

In a manner of speaking, kind of. We are never puppets of God.

It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

God is good. His desire for us is good. When we are led by Him, we make fewer mistakes, act more kindly, know what to do and say, and where to go. Sometimes there is a tangible feeling that God gives us when we are led by the Holy Spirit, but not always. The feeling I experienced is like a pure, clean, liquid light welling up in my heart, and as a former drug user, I can testify that nothing compares to it.

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

Few, if any, are always obedient. When I follow the Holy Spirit's guidance, I experience a life that is more than the life I would choose. I find myself talking to people and saying things I wouldn't have said. I find myself going where I wouldn't have chosen to go. The immediate effects are not always pleasant (I have upset some people, or missed out on something I wanted), but I have never felt disappointed when looking back. I don't always see the benefit, but I have experienced enough of the benefits to trust God when I don't understand.

 

[TruthInLight]

You aren't controlled, but you are cooperating with it. You can quench the holy spirit or cause it to depart from you. When you deny yourself and clean yourself of the filth of your flesh, along with other things God commands, it will dwell in you.

 

[ARBITER01]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

There is what is called inspired preaching, where The Holy Spirit is speaking through you to the congregation instead of you. Some of the gifts operate in a corporate speaking ministry, where the person is prompted by The Holy Spirit to speak through them, and they sort of allow Him to do that.

Living in obedience to The Holy Spirit revolves around revelation for the most part. Ministries are different since He can want to have control in that environment, allowing GOD to speak, heal, etc.

 

[AbbaLove]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.

Not captalizing holy spirit is akin to not capitalizing almighty god or christ is lord.
How often do we refer to ourself with a lower case "i" instead of a captial "I".
Use a Bible transltion that capitalizes the personal pronouns of Christ Jesus (e.g. NASB)

 

[AbbaLove]

we all (bar none) have His spirit within us ... which is to say we are all one in Christ ... God is working in all of us not just those who call themselves christians ... now with that out the way ... obedients allows us to see this and this not an obedients to ones own theology and doctrines but an obedients to the law of our mind ...

His Spirit ... our circmcised Heart ...

 

[ViaCrucis]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

I'd first argue that the Holy Spirit isn't an it, He's a Person. Just as a slight correction as it pertains to normative, orthodox Christian belief.

In normative Christian practice we don't talk about being "under the control" of the Holy Spirit; but rather we talk about being indwelt by, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn't assume direct control, but rather He abides in and with us. So it would be more biblical, and more orthodox, to talk about the ways we walk in and with the Holy Spirit, living in accordance with the Holy Spirit's guidance and invitation to faith and obedience to Christ. In that sense, it is about our cooperating with the Holy Spirit.

The language of walking in the Holy Spirit, of being filled with the Holy Spirit, and other language of that sort speaks to the fact that the person who has become new in Christ has the Holy Spirit, as a gift, who resides in us, and who is at work to shape us and conform us to be more like Christ. The Holy Spirit grants us faith to believe, and His strength and guidance leads us to obedience to the commandments of God, to follow Jesus in what He told us and taught us to do. In this way He is sanctifying us, making us holy, leading us to be more like Jesus and to be the sort of people which God would have us be. The old sinful way of being human is being put to death, and the new redeemed way of being human is being raised up.

We cooperate with the Holy Spirit in this, having been granted a new and clean conscience from God that can see and hear what is good and right, and a will which can desire the things of God, urging us to live righteously in the world. And that from faith and a new will we bear fruit--good works, love, gentleness, self-control, patience, kindness, etc.

It is the Spirit's power, renewing us, giving us faith, healing our hearts, cleansing our minds, granting us will and desire for the things of God that we cooperate with Him. We still struggle with the old things, with our sin, with the fallen desires of our flesh; and thus are called to be vigilant. To hear and abide and walk in the Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit; to hear God's word and to seek His ways over and against the destructive lusts of the flesh.

So it is not an automatic thing, it is a cooperation, a partnership--enabled by God, by His grace, having given us a new kind of life, a new way to be human in Christ. It therefore becomes a life of daily struggle and discipleship of following Jesus. To take up our cross and bear the struggles of this life as we fight against the corruption of our sin and fallen instincts and desires; to abide in Jesus and His way, and cooperating with the Holy Spirit in His work to sanctify us, to sanctify our hearts and minds to be more as they ought to be. It is a lifelong, continued walk of faith, a walk of discipleship. Trusting in God's promises, heeding His commandments, as we are being brought up in faith, life, holiness, love, joy, patience, and all the fruits of the Holy Spirit. A life of good works toward our neighbor, and the transformative power of God's love and grace.

Yes, the Holy Spirit does bring peace in those circumstances where we would otherwise not have peace; He grants us hope in the midst of hopelessness. He gives us eyes to see and ears to hear, that in the sufferings of this present time there is a God who loves us, who saves us, and whose promises are true and faithful.

In this way, yes, the Spirit grants gifts to us, to hear God who, in His word, says He loves us and to believe it. To know the peace of Christ, in the midst of struggle and tribulation and turmoil. A faith which sees beyond the naked suffering of this present time, and which clings to promises made and promises kept and promises which shall be made full yet still.

Faith itself is a gift from the Spirit.
The heart that desires the things of God is a gift from the Spirit.
A conscience which perceives the rightness of the things of God, and the wrongness of transgression and injustice is a gift from the Spirit.
Hope in the flood of hopelessness; to know mercy from God, to experience joy in sorrow--all these are gifts from the Holy Spirit.

It is not a cheap or saccharine thing; it is a sober, deep, abiding thing these gifts.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[AbbaLove]

I'd first argue that the Holy Spirit isn't an it, He's a Person. Just as a slight correction as it pertains to normative, orthodox Christian belief.

a significant correction ... as is the relevance of a born again Christian to the Holy Soirit (not holy spirit) ...​

What is your definition/understanding of the belief of an unnormative, unorthodox christian ... possibly an OP that doesn't capitalize Holy Spirit in the thread title ...

Controlled by the holy spirit..​

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

 

[ViaCrucis]

a significant correction ... as is the relevance of a born again Christian to the Holy Soirit (not holy spirit)
...​

What is your definition/understanding of the belief of an unnormative, unorthodox christian ... possibly an OP that doesn't capitalize Holy Spirit in the thread title ...

Controlled by the holy spirit..​

I'd first point out that the OP isn't a Christian, they do not identify as a Christian; they are a practicing Buddhist making inquiry about Christianity.

I recognize that not all Christians are going to have the right view of matters of faith; sometimes it just comes with being new to Christianity, and sometimes it just comes with not having been properly taught and instructed in certain matters of faith. It is a good thing for a Christian to be theologically and biblically literate; but just because one isn't doesn't make them less of a Christian.

That's why correction is good, and we should always have good preaching and teaching in our churches, and encourage the Faithful to take advantage of the tools available to learn and grow in the faith.

Because of a lack of knowledge, sometimes Christians have wrong ideas. So they may say things or believe things which aren't accurate, they may even be heretical. But that is also why, in Christianity, there has always been a distinction made between simply believing heresy and actually being a heretic. Not all who believe heresy are heretics, to be a heretic requires one to know what is true and actively reject it, and actively teach contrary to the truth. This is why "heretic" is usually an appellation given to false teachers, not to those who have simply believed that false teaching. Arius, for example, was a heretic; but not all who believed what Arius said were heretics--they could simply be misguided, having been taken in by his false teaching. Believing heresy, but unwittingly.

So that is how a person can be a Christian and talk or believe things which are neither normative nor orthodox. Therefore in correction we should be charitable. If a person is falling down a path of heresy, we should warn them; lovingly and gently, correcting with love and truth. But the charge of heretic is a rather formal charge to make of someone who is actively and knowingly preaching and teaching contrary to the historic faith of the Christian Church.

Well-meaning Christians can mistakenly refer to the Holy Spirit as "it"; or perhaps because they write informally they do not always use proper capitalization in English. In English we capitalize "Holy Spirit" because "Holy Spirit" is a proper noun. The same reason we capitalize "God". This is more about formality and grammar than anything else. We also tend to do this, as English speaking Christians, as a way of showing proper deference to God; it's also why many of us still capitalize pronouns in reference to God, "Him" rather than "him". But unless it is obvious that someone is intentionally trying to show disrespect, we should be charitable here and not imagine that this somehow says something bad about them, or worse, question the authenticity of their faith.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[AbbaLove]

Thank you for your well expressed reply.

Agree that a Buddist, Islamist, Hinduist, atheist, etc is not a Christian, but there was no way of me knowing that the OP was Buddist. So you came down a little hard on me.

What was somewhat confusing is your comment "normative, orthodox Christian". Out of 100 Christians of different faith denominations would there be a consensus definition? When you say "orthodox" i immediately thought of Greek Orthodox Christianity. And as far as "normative" i guess from the standpint of John 3:16 or a Barna Poll of America's Christians that consider themselves to be Spirit led "born again" Christians.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Thanks for your reply. Agree that a Buddist, Islamist, Hinduist, atheist, etc is not a Christian, but there was no way of knowing the OP was Buddist. So you came down a little hard on me.

My intention wasn't to come hard on you or anyone, so I apologize if that's how it came across.

Under a person's name and avatar there's a little down arrow that you can click on here that shows more information about posters, including what their religious affiliation (if any) is.

What was somewhat confusing is the comment "normative, orthodox Christian". Out of 100 Christians of different faith denominations would there be a consensus definition? When you say "orthodox" i immediately thought of Greek Orthodox Christianity.

The Nicene Creed is regarded by the vast majority of Christians, from all denominational backgrounds, as the de facto standard. To disagree with the Nicene Creed would be to place oneself outside of the historic faith of the Church. While the Nicene Creed isn't exhaustive of course, it does present a brief summary of basic Christian doctrine.

The word orthodox simply means "correct opinion", and is antonymous with the word heterodox or "different opinion"; similar to the word heresy, from the Greek word hairesis which in an ordinary sense literally means "choice" or "inclination" but which is used to speak about choosing to believe or have views which are contrary to or other than standard and accepted Christian teaching.

So the benchmark of normative, orthodox Christian belief is the Nicene Creed. In the Western tradition we usually also include the Apostles' Creed and Athanasian Creed and then speak of the Historic or Ecumenical Creeds. Though in the Eastern tradition only the Nicene Creed is used formally. Additionally, there tends to be a consensus among the vast majority of Christian denominations about the authority of at least some of the early Ecumenical Councils. Though different denominations and traditions have some disagreements, though that is far more nuanced.

The Council of Nicea (325 AD) and the Council of Constantinople (381 AD) have universal agreement as to their importance, especially in regard to the Nicene Creed, the version which we have still today is the one that came out of the Council of Constantinople.

The Council of Ephesus (431 AD) in its rejection of Nestorianism is accepted by Roman Catholics, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, and Protestants alike. But not the Assyrian Church of the East. That said, the Assyrian Church probably isn't Nestorian.

The Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) in its rejection of Eutychianism (aka Monophysitism) is accepted by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants. But the Oriental Orthodox do not regard it as an Ecumenical Council, but this is a complicated historical issue. The Oriental Orthodox reject Eutychianism just the same as Chalcedonians (R. Catholics, E. Orthodox, and Protestants) do; and the cause of the ancient schism which came out of this is regarded by almost everyone today to be a matter of semantics rather than theology. This is a huge topic on its own.

The Second Council of Constantinople, the Third Council of Constantinople, and the Second Council of Nicea are accepted by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and generally by the historic Protestant churches (Anglicanism, Lutheranism, etc). Though some Protestants may take issue with the Second Council of Nicea.

In addition to this, there are certain standards of faith and practice that have a broad agreement among most Christians rooted in historic Christian tradition and practice. Things we can see as longstanding views and practices going back at least to the early fathers of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries, if not further back to the 1st century and time of the Apostles. But this is where some things get muddled, depending on what degree of importance a denomination or theological tradition places on historic Christian tradition.

But the point is this: There is an historic set of standards of what is normal, what is considered correct. Something which virtually all Christians accept. One example of this would be the authority and divine inspiration of the Bible. That the Bible is divinely inspired, that it is God's word, that's part of the historic Christian tradition that we basically all agree on. In fact, if someone doesn't agree with it, we recognize that as problematic.

So, the historic standards of Christianity are real. Some denominations emphasize them more than others. But whether one is a Baptist, a Lutheran, a Roman Catholic, or goes to a "non-denominational" church, they're still operating under certain norms and standards: the Holy Trinity, the Deity and humanity of Jesus, the virgin birth, Jesus' atoning death and His bodily resurrection, His ascension, His reign at the right hand of the Father, His coming again; that God made all things, that Jesus came to save us from our sins and deliver us from death, that there is right and there is wrong. Etc. We are all operating from these shared views, those things which are in their very essence, Christian. Take these away and we remove something intrinsic to Christianity, so much so that it probably isn't Christian anymore. That's why someone who denies the Trinity, or denies the resurrection of Jesus, or denies His atoning death, etc is--by broad consensus--said to be believing that which is outside of the acceptability of what is Christian. And all of that goes back to a Christians believing and practicing these things, back through the generations, all the way back to the time of the Apostles.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ARBITER01]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

The control portion of this would be our allowing GOD to demonstrate Himself through us. It happens inside of us, sort of a stepping aside to allow GOD full access while we become somewhat of a spectator to the events that began happening.

It's quite amazing to have that happen, but it is what Jesus demonstrated consistently in His ministry to us down here, and what each of us should reach for.

 

[Neogaia777]

I read something and it had the phrase 'under the control' of the holy spirit.
It seems a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them, but if they are obedient to the promoting of the Spirit, then they are under its control.
It's like you choose to be under its control, but there seems to be a shift in your experience when you do that... gifts? bliss?

Could anybody comment on how it is to live with the holy spirit, and being obedient to it?

No one is fully controlled, as in totally dominated by the Holy Spirit.

Basically you look around at the world around you and you hear His voice, and then you decide whether or not to be obedient to it, etc.

God Bless.