The Role of the Bible and Holy Spirit In

8/19/2019 The Role of the Bible and Holy Spirit In

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The Bible and the Holy Spirit in Spiritual Formation

Dr Alex Tang, 15 Feb 2010

The Reformed tradition, like other Christian traditions, has a high view of the formative role of

the Bible. Paul, writing as a mentor, reminds Timothy of the value of the study and application

of Scriptures: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and

training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good

work” (2 Tim. 3:16). The Bible (Scripture) is a collection of God’s specific revelations and has the

core belief content necessary for spiritual formation in teaching, rebuking, correcting, and

training in righteousness.

Psalm 119 is an example of how the psalmist interacts with God through the Torah. By

following the teachings and statutes, he comes to know Yahweh better while in the process of

being spiritually formed. Concerning his complaints and problems with other people, he

receives guidance from the Torah while praying for divine intervention. Old Testament scholar

Leslie C. Allen describes Psalm 119:

At one end stands the revealed Torah, and it is for insight into this that the psalmist

prays so that he may fulfil Yahweh’s moral will in his life. At the other stands the hope of

divine intervention, and for this he prays out of his distress. The dual manifestation of

God is itself bridged by the Torah’s examples and promises of aid to the faithful. (1983,

144)

The psalmist’s lived experience lies between the written revelations of God and the promise of

God’s intervention in his life. This scenario aptly describes the role of the Bible in spiritual

formation. The Bible contains the written revelations of God and the promise of God’s

intervention in answer to prayers. While the Bible has a formative role in spiritual formation, it

is the Holy Spirit who causes transformation by conviction and by illuminating the wisdom of

the Bible. It is surprising how little attention is paid to the work of the Holy Spirit in any

consideration of the Bible. Without illumination by the Holy Spirit, the Bible is just a book of

great literature.


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Scripture is formative in three ways:

1. The Bible reveals God.

2. The Bible conveys Christian beliefs.

3.

The Bible tells the Christian Story.

1. THE BIBLE REVEALS GOD

The Bible is the inspired revelation of God. Written by many different people over a long period

of time, it is accepted by most Christian traditions that these authors were inspired by the Holy

Spirit and that what was written is the specific revelation of God.1 In the first volume of his 14-

volume Church Dogmatics, Reformed theologian Karl Barth proclaims that the Bible is “the

concrete means by which the Church recollects God’s past revelation, is called to expectation of

His future revelation, and is thus summoned and guided to proclamation and empowered for

it” (1975, 111). Barth taught that God is a self -revealing God and that a person can experience

such a revelation only by God’s grace. He goes on to write that “God’s Word is God Himself in

His revelation. For God reveals Himself as the Lord and according to Scripture this signifies for

the concept of revelation that God Himself in unimpaired unity yet also in unimpaired

distinction is Revealer, Revelation, and Revealedness” (295). The Bible’s textual history shows

that God is a self-revealing God and, therefore, knowable to the human mind. Scripture reveals

who the triune God is, the reason people fell into sin, and the need for shalom. It also reveals

God’s redemptive purpose by sending His Son to die on the cross so that all people may be

reconciled to Him, leading to the eventual shalom of a new heaven and earth. According to

Barth, the Bible may be read and understood to receive the revelation of God.

One of the ways in which the Bible reveals God is through its authors’ use of metaphor. The

parables told by Jesus are a form of metaphor. There is also another type of metaphor called

root metaphor , which is one from which other metaphors arise. Such metaphors may be so

embedded in a culture and language that no one is aware of them. Examples of root metaphors

in English are “Time is money” and “Life is a journey.” Michael Amaladoss (2006), in The Asian

1. The created world is the general revelation of God.


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Jesus, suggests that some contextualised metaphors such as Jesus as the Way, Jesus as Avatar,

Jesus as Satyagrahi, Jesus the Advaitin, and Jesus the Bodhisattva, while sounding strange to

Western ears, have profound meaning for Asian people. Theologian M. Thomas Thangaraj

(1994), in The Crucified Guru: An Experiment in Cross-Cultural Christology , casts Jesus in a

different light for readers in South Asia where the guru or teacher is a revered figure.

The real power of metaphors in the Bible consists in revealing God. The Good Shepherd, the

Lord is King, and the Ancient of Days are root metaphors from which spring other metaphors

that reveal who God is. Without metaphors, it is often difficult for our finite minds to grasp an

infinite God. One of the most powerful parables Jesus told while teaching about God’s love, for

example, is that of the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15:11 –32). The parable cuts through the culturally

conditioned worldviews of listeners to illustrate the forgiveness of a Middle Eastern father who

went against all his cultural conditioning to welcome back a wayward son. Metaphors, when

used properly, are an invitation to enter into a new way of seeing and of knowing.

2. THE BIBLE CONVEYS CHRISTIAN BELIEFS

The Bible provides the foundational content for the teaching function of the Christian faith

community, which is one of the means of spiritual formation. Reformed educator Richard

Robert Osmer provides the correct context for the teaching function of the Christian faith

community when he notes that the Bible (1) “help*s+ Christians better understand and

participate in God’s redemption of the world in Jesus Christ,” (2) “he lp[s] Christians to grow in

relation with Jesus,” and (3) “orients the members of the Christian community toward God’s

promised future for creation” (2005, 17). Corresponding respectively to Osmer’s three points,

the teaching function of the Christian faith community is for persons-in-mission formation,

person-in-formation, and persons-in-community formation.

Walter Brueggemann (1982), in The Creative Word: Canon as a Model for Biblical Education,

identifies the three parts of the canon as the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, which he

associates with the three tasks of education. He writes:


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Regarding the Torah, I shall argue that it is a statement of community ethos, a

definitional statement of the character of the community which is a given and is not

negotiable among the new generation. In this first part of the canon, it is clear that the

community precedes the individual person, that the community begins by stating its

parameters and the perceptual field in which the new person must live and grow. In the

Prophets, we deal with the pathos of God and of Israel, with the sense of fracture andabrasion between what is in hand and what is promised. This part of the canon

expresses the conviction that such abrasion is not overcome by power or force, but by

hurt. Therefore this part of the canon reflects on indignation and also on the anguish

which belongs to this community and its perception. Third, in the Writings, we cannot in

fact generalise for the whole. In the Proverbs at least, that is, in the “counsel of the

wise,” we may speak of logos, of the conviction that there is sense and order and

meaning to life. That logos is hidden and revealed. Education is the cat[-]and[-]mouse

game of discovering and finding it hidden (Prov. 25:2 –3). (1982, 12 –13)

Brueggemann associates the Torah with a mode of learning that is a disclosure of accepted

truth and traditions. This type of learning has stability, but there is also a danger that it may

become fixed and inflexible. The Prophets represent another mode of learning that challenges

by disruption of the established order or status quo to reveal deeper truths. The questioning

and reflection are formative but lack stability. The Writings, finally, provide wisdom for

discernment in daily living. Brueggemann concludes that “a good education, like Israel’s faith,

may be a tense holding together of ethos, pathos, and logos” or disclosure, disruption, and

discernment (1982, 13).

According to Brueggemann (1982), one of the common errors of Christians is to focus on a

single principle or presupposition and neglect the larger picture. Doing so results in confusion

when an attempt is made to apply a particular principle or presupposition today because the

principle or presupposition was created in a different time and culture. Brueggemann,

therefore, suggests that it is better to look at a body of principles or presuppositions as a canon.

Doing so will balance errors, giving a closer approximation to the correct interpretation. Isuggest that Brueggemann’s “canon” approach to the Bible is especially useful in the study and

practice of spiritual formation.2 One example is the practice of lectio divina or spiritual reading

in which a canonical approach is more effective than a historical-grammatical approach. A

2. Simon Chan (2009) comments that “reading the Bible canonically” is a better approach in studying

evangelical spirituality (231).


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canonical approach to the Bible will reveal that the concepts behind the words are indeed

biblical.

3. THE BIBLE TELLS THE CHRISTIAN STORY.

The Bible is full of stories that, taken together, reveal a metanarrative that is the Christian

Story. According to Gabriel Fackre (1996), the Christian story found in the Bible is that of God’s

salvation history. This story is made up of numerous narratives. Writing in “The Story of Our

Life,” H. Richard Niebuhr observes that the preaching of the early Church is not about doctrines

but about the narratives of the Jesus story and the experiences of Christian communities. He

writes, “Whatever it was the *C+hurch meant to say, whatever was revealed or manifested to it,

could be indicated only in connection with a historical person and events in the life of his

community” (1997, 21). Michael Root concurs, arguing that Christian soteriology derives its

“structure and explanatory power” as a function of Scripture’s narrative form (1997, 263).

Philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre (1984) has discovered that any attempt to document a human

life is met by two obstacles, one social and the other philosophical. The social obstacle arises

because modernity has compartmentalised human lives into such areas as private, corporate,

individual, family, work, and leisure. The philosophical obstacle arises when human actions are

viewed as a sequence of basic actions3 and when the individual is separated from the various

roles he or she plays.4 He concludes that the only way to describe human history is through

narratives, which are “the basic and essential genre for the characterisation of human actions”

(208). The biblical narratives form the common ground where the Bible connects with human

beings. These narratives overcome the obstacles postulated by MacIntyre in revealing holistic

rather than fragmented lives and in showing that all actions have consequences. For purposes

of spiritual formation, biblical narratives reveal the character of God and his plan of

3. Analytic philosophy breaks down complex actions into their simpler components. The school of analytic

philosophy has dominated academic philosophy in Great Britain and the United States since the early twentieth

century. It originated when G. E. Moore and Bertrand Russell rejected what was then the dominant school in British

universities, absolute idealism.

4. I have in mind here the influence of sociological theory and existentialism as proposed, respectively, by Ralf

Dahrendorf and Jean-Paul Sartre.


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redemption. Furthermore, in arguing for the teaching of Bible stories, Henry Corcoran (2007)

shows that they are transformative for people of all ages.

In summary, the formative role of the Bible is to reveal God, convey Christian beliefs, and tell

the Christian story. The use of metaphors in the Bible is an effective way to help in the

understanding of God’s revelation. The Bible is not just informative but also formative in

conveying Christian beliefs. Finally, the metanarrative of the Christian Story is the theme of the

Bible and invites its readers to become part of the Story.

THE TRANSFORMATIVE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit plays the central role in spiritual formation. Jesus comforted his disciples when

he told them of his coming death by assuring them of the Holy Spirit’s guidance:

When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and

judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to

righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and

in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have

much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth,

comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only

what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me bytaking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is

mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

(Jn. 16:8-15)

Jesus assures his disciples that, when he is with the Father, the Holy Spirit will take his place on

earth and continue his work of redemption. The Holy Spirit forms and transforms one’s inner

nature by opening a person’s eyes to the truth already present in Scripture, by making a person

more aware of God’s presence, and by sustaining habits of holiness. As such, the Holy Spirit’s

role cannot be duplicated by human efforts. Surprisingly, the Holy Spirit’s role is sometimes

overlooked in contemporary literature on spiritual formation. Shults and Sandage note that

Willard (1998) “dedicates less than two pages to an explicit treatment of the Holy Spirit” in his

seminal work The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (2006, 39).


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In developing a biblical theology for spiritual formation, theologian Richard E. Averbeck posits a

threefold role for the Holy Spirit:

According to Scripture, there are three primary dimensions of the Holy Spirit’s work in

us, among us, and through us respectively. First, the Holy Spirit works in our human

spirit to transform us individually and personally into the image of Jesus Christ, from the

inside out. Second, the Holy Spirit works among us to build us into a community that

functions as a temple for the very presence of God that makes Him and His Glory

manifest in the church and in the world. Third, the Holy Spirit works through us as

prophetic persons and communities through whom the world hears the gospel and sees

its transforming effects in the lives of people and communities. (2008, 53)

Averbeck’s conclusion about the work of the Holy Spirit in spiritual formation is consistent with

my discussion in the previous chapter on personal, community, and missional development. He

defines spiritual formation5 as “the ministry through which we seek to stimulate and support

the ongoing spiritually transforming work of the Holy Spirit in and through personal lives,

relationships, and ministries of genuine believers so that we all progressively become more

conformed to the image of Christ according to the will of God the Father” (2008, 53). Averbeck

seeks to differentiate the human role (ministry of formation) and the Holy Spirit’s role

(transformation). Both roles are distinctive. Loder’s (1989, 1998) exploration of the role of the

Holy Spirit in transformation is along a similar line. Howard further points out that“transformation explores growth in Christ as a process*;+ spiritual formation pursues Christian

maturity as a project” (2008a, 13). All these scholars differentiate spiritual formation as a

human activity and spiritual transformation as the work of the Holy Spirit. Without

transformation, spiritual formation will be pure activism. The “sanctification gap” is a good

example of faith-formation activities in the Christian faith community that neglect the

importance of transformation, resulting in many activities but little spiritual growth.

5. Linking the adjective spiritual to the Greek adjective pneumatikos, Averbeck maintains that from “a biblical

point of view” his usage of spiritual formation focuses attention on the role of the Holy Spirit in transforming people

and communities. He mentions this to distinguish the phrase from other words such as spiritual growth,

sanctification, and discipleship, which often are used interchangeably with spiritual formation (2008, 28 – 29). Apart

from a problem with exegesis, it may be argued that the Holy Spirit is also involved in spiritual growth,

sanctification, and discipleship. Thus, making the definition of spiritual formation too exclusive may be

problematic.


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Writing in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that believers “are being transformed [metamóorphomai ] into his

likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” Paul

highlights the Holy Spirit as the transforming agent. As John Coe (2009) rightly points out,

Scripture gives hardly any details about what actually happens internally to a person during the

process of being transformed. Often, one is driven back to observation and explanation from

the social sciences. Loder (1989, 1998) identifies certain crucial moments when the Holy Spirit

makes a sudden transformation in a person’s life. These moments occur during crises or times

of stress when a person is receptive to the inner working of the Holy Spirit. In summary, the

Holy Spirit is instrumental in transforming persons to become Christ-like, in moulding a people

of God, and in guiding the people of God to fulfil the missio Dei .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Leslie C. 1983. Psalms 101-150. Waco, TX: Word Books.

Amaladoss, Michael. 2006. The Asian Jesus. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.Averbeck, Richard E. 2008. Spirit, community, and mission: A biblical theology for spiritual

formation. Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 1, no. 1: 27 –53.

Barth, Karl. 1975. The doctrine of the word of God . Trans. G. W. Bromiley. Ed. G. W. Bromiley

and T. F. Torrance. Part 1 of Church dogmatics. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

Brueggemann, Walter. 1982. The creative Word: Canon as a model for biblical education.

Philadelphia: Fortress Press.


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Chan, Simon. 2009. New directions in evangelical spirituality. Journal of Spiritual Formation and

Soul Care 2, no. 2: 219 –37.

Coe, John. 2009. Spiritual theology: A theological-experiential methodology for bridging the

sanctification gap. Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 2, no. 1: 4 –43.

Corcoran, Henry A. 2007. Biblical narrative and life transformation: An apology for the narrative

teaching of Bible stories. Christian Education Journal, Series 3, 4, no. 1: 34 –48.Fackre, Gabriel. 1996. A narrative interpretation of basic Christian doctrine. Vol. 1 of The

Christian story . Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Howard, Evan B. 2008. Advancing the discussion: Reflections on the study of Christian spiritual

life. Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 1, no. 1: 8 –26.

Loder, James E. 1989. The transforming moment . 2nd ed. Colorado Springs, CO: Helmers and

Howard.

______. 1998. The logic of the spirit: Human development in theological perspective. San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

MacIntyre, Alasdair. 1984. After virtue: A study in moral theory . 2nd ed. South Bend, IN:

University of Notre Dame Press.

Osmer, Richard Robert. 2005. The teaching ministry of congregations. Louisville, KY:

Westminster John Knox Press.

Shults, F. LeRon, and Steven J. Sandage. 2006. Transforming spirituality: Integrating theology

and psychology . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Root, Michael. 1997. The narrative structure of soteriology. In Why narrative?: Readings in

narrative theology , ed. Stanley Hauerwas and L. Gregory Jones, 263 –78. Eugene, OR:

Wipf and Stock.

Thangaraj, M. Thomas. 1994. The crucified guru: An experiment in cross-cultural Christology .

Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Willard, Dallas. 1998. The divine conspiracy: Rediscovering our hidden life in God . New York:

HarperCollins.

Citation

Tang, Alex. 2014. The Bible and Holy Spirit in spiritual formation. Dynamics of spiritual

formation course reader . Malaysia Bible Seminary

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The Role of the Bible and Holy Spirit In