What is the “accurate” way of God?
“Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” Acts 17:24-26
The Church today seems to be satisfied with the baptism of John. We leaders seek to be eloquent preachers, study hard to be competent in the Scriptures, are serious about being instructed (and instructing) in the way of the Lord, deeply develop ourselves to be spiritually fervent, and are staunchly committed to speaking accurately concerning Jesus. We may speak and preach boldly, but we must understand the way of God more accurately.
The fullness of the Holy Spirit seems to be a central theme in Acts. Disciples open up to God’s transforming presence, and when the Holy Spirit flows through them, amazing things happen. I wonder if we have gotten too comfortable with our limited view of the way of God. We seem content to function in our own strength and relegate the Holy Spirit to the inner work which produces fruit. Somewhere we have accepted the idea that the Holy Spirit does’t work much supernaturally through us anymore.
Even Pentecostals (the tribe I belong to) have backed off our expectations. I remember one Sunday a friend of mine who was pastor at a Quaker church had a day off, and he came to visit my congregation. When we were chatting about his experience over coffee that week, he admitted that he was a little bit disappointed. He knew we were a Pentecostal church, and while he loved the service, he didn’t find it much different than his own. He was expecting—and hoping for—something more.
So why don’t we have something more? Is it possible that even Pentecostals have downplayed the supernatural expression of the Spirit, and in the process have lost something important? I’ve often wondered if in the current missional conversations present in the Body of Christ, those who have a developed theology and expressed experience in the life of the Spirit might have something to offer.
Re-read the book of Acts…and then re-read it again. It may create a hunger for your ministry to embrace and engage the way of God more accurately.