But that’s not what I heard!

This post is a thought experiment – not a statement of theological fact, nor an attempt to undermine how some people do things – arising from some events of yesterday. Sorry for the length.

There is a tendency that I’ve noticed among many Christians to assume that ‘having one Spirit’ and ‘being in unity’ means that God says exactly the same things to each of us. It’s not unusual, when someone in a group has a prophetic word, to look round the group seeking confirmation that others heard the same thing, and very often this turns out to be the case.

But one has to ask, if that’s the situation, why does there seem to be a need for ‘body ministry’ in understanding the will of God? As someone put it in a conversation about open worship “why should God not tell me what He wants to do so I can put it on the song list, instead of bringing it through someone else?”.

So we had a situation where someone was doing something out of obedience to the Spirit, and quite right they should be too. I mentioned what they were doing to another mature Christian last night, and they pointed out their obedience, to which I replied that the Spirit might have said something different to someone else.

So here’s the exploratory bit: Does God say the same things in the same situations to different people, regardless of their natures, or does he speak according to who they are?

All my understanding of God says that it’s the latter. He takes us with our attitudes, loves, knowledge, preferences, experiences, sins and any wisdom we can muster and talks to us through those filters. It’s why we see through a glass darkly – these things are that glass, which lets us see some things more clearly than others. Yes, he can and does cut across our expectations sometimes, and that's all part of our growing in understanding and knowledge of Him and ourselves. But He also talks to us out of relationship, and relationships are ALWAYS different with different people and personalities.

The scripture also springs to mind about the ‘Spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets’. In the context it means no-one can go ‘out of control’ and blame it on God, but I suspect a deeper meaning is that the manner in which we perceive spiritual things is shaped by us.

I’m sure there are Christians who, if acting out the original Passover, would daub the blood in crosses on the doorframes, feeling a spiritual resonance about it without realising that the cross would not have had that meaning in Egypt around 1300-1500BC.

Now here’s another thought. What if the Spirit brings certain things to mind in individuals precisely BECAUSE they resonate for that individual, stimulating faith and anticipation in a way that would not work for others. So my friend, brought up in a particular church tradition, sees the symbol of the cross as being powerful and uses it to mark certain things to bring protection. Does the symbol actually have meaning and power of itself, or does it stimulate faith in him that God will protect that home? God seemed very happy to operate symbol-free throughout history, with symbols used to *remind* people about Him and His power.

I wonder if various things are becoming bits of evangelical-charismatic mythology, when their real purpose was originally to just stimulate faith and understanding. Did we remember to seal that word in? What is your 'spirit-man' saying today etc.