The Catechism of the Global Methodist Church largely echoes the words of the Nicene Creed in its description of the Holy Spirit. The creed says, “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.”
Some of us remember a time when it was more common than it is now to refer to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost.
Both of the words, “ghost” and “spirit,” carry some unfortunate connotations that contribute to a frequent discomfort in the modern day with the whole idea of this third person of the Holy Trinity.
The word “ghost” suggests to many a superstitious or even cartoonish image of a disembodied spirit that belongs to the world of fiction writers and people who aren’t quite connected to the real world. “Spirit,” on the other hand, can be so vague that it means little more than a feeling or emotional connection.
Either term can easily bring to mind traveling tent revivals that seem more intent on separating the gullible from their money than separating the sheep from the goats.
And so we often gloss over this aspect of God. The strength and creative mind of the Father, or the love and humanity of the Son, fit more easily into the contemporary world.
But when scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit, it invariably uses strong concepts: life, freedom, transformation, revelation.
Any time we see God active in the world—either in history or currently—we see the Holy Spirit at work. It is the Spirit that gives us the breath of life we need to live and to live abundantly.
It is through the Spirit that we come into direct contact with God and gain the wisdom and strength needed to live life.
– Rev. Mark Fleming
This is part of a sermon/reading series in July-August, 2024, looking at some core Christian beliefs, along with distinctive emphases of the Methodist branch of Christianity.
The daily readings are my own, but they are loosely based on the topics covered in the Catechism of the Global Methodist Church. The column at the right contains the questions from the catechism and the sources it lists.
You can find the full catechism and other information about the Global Methodist Church at globalmethodist.org.
I invite you to join us for worship and other church gatherings at China Methodist Church and Forest Park Methodist Church.
Respectful conversation is welcome. Use the comment section at the end of this post.
From the Catechism of the Global Methodist Church:
20. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
Yes. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.
Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord…
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.
Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Galatians 6:8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.
Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Galatians 6:8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
21. Is the Holy Spirit God?
Yes. The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:9-11 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Galatians 4:6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
He has spoken through the prophets.
2 Samuel 23:2 The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.
Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
Zechariah 7:12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.
Matthew 1:22-23 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Hebrews 1:1-2 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
1 Peter 1:10-12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things.For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.