Alpha Course, How Can I Be Filled With The Holy Spirit

Tonight we wrap up the last of three sessions on the Holy Spirit with a look at how we can be filled with the Holy Spirit — focusing on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Whenever there's a discussion of the gifts of the spirit, it inevitably turns to a question of Sign Gifts. The Sign Gifts are the miraculous, supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit — miracles, healing, prophecy, and most notably, tongues. Depending on what tradition you come from, you likely have a radically different view of these spiritual gifts.

There are issues that arise in Christendom, and I like to break them down into two categories — indisputable theological principles and disputable theological principles. There are some issues of division among "believers" that are worth standing up for, and some that are worth debating but shouldn't be such a source of division. I think sign gifts fall into the latter category.

I remember once when I was in college I was in a class when the gift of tongues came up. I went to a very conservative school, which was evident to me when one girl in our class said she had experienced the gift of tongues and the rest of the group turned on her. She ended up in tears, and I ended up wondering why people took such dogmatic stands on issues where there was no basis.

I have always had mixed feelings about sign gifts. I believe nothing is impossible for God, and clearly the sign gifts are referenced and demonstrated in the Bible. Paul also lays out clear rules for using these gifts, specifically the gift of tongues (which is the most abused gift in the Bible). But I have always felt these gifts served a specific purpose for apostles carrying the Gospel before the cannon of Scripture. I do not, personally, feel they are active in the same way today. And, what's worse, I think that many charismatic traditions abuse the use of these gifts in the modern era, demeaning their significance. But I don't think it's something we can know for sure.

There is another aspect of this debate that Nicky touches on that I resonated with. He mentions the idea that there are no first class and second class Christians. What he means by that is, for some traditions, practicing tongues is proof you're filled with the Holy Spirit and not practicing tongues means you don't have the Holy Spirit. That simply isn't true.

Nicky talks about the idea that what's important is what happens in your heart, not the physical manifestation of signs. And I agree with that. There are a lot of ways to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and a lot of ways the Holy Spirit works within us. It doesn't matter which of those ways we experience, just that we're open to the Holy Spirit, open to His leading, and open to being used by Him.