The obsession in some circles with God’s Holy Spirit is not at all a reflection of Biblical Scripture. Yes, the Spirit is one of the three members of the Trinity, but today’s imbalance among those who consider themselves to be at a higher spiritual vantage point tends towards cultism and not true, first century Christianity.
SERVANTS OF CHRIST JESUS. Opening his letter to the Philippians Paul calls himself and Timothy “servants of Christ Jesus” (NIV). This matches translations in the ASV, the ESV, the KJV, the LSB, the NASB and many others. He also addresses his letter to “all the saints in Christ Jesus”, not “to all the saints in the Holy Spirit”. The focus is the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ.
Paul then extends “grace and peace” to the Philippian church “from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. The Spirit is not mentioned at all here. Compare this with the pronouncements in parts of the charismatic world and you’ll see a big difference.
THE SPIRIT IN ALL. We are, however, aware that the Spirit of God is in every word which elevates the name of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:3). You cannot even say a phrase as simple but profound as, “Jesus is Lord” and mean it, without the Holy Spirit being present in your words, says Paul. The balance, then, is that while God’s Spirit is de-facto within the speech of all true followers of Jesus Christ – not just some – we are not to elevate Him above the name of Christ.
Reading through this epistle you find Paul continually using Jesus’ name in varying configurations – almost in every verse. In contrast, the Spirit is barely mentioned at all, and when Paul explains that the effect of his presence in prison is that everyone is “preaching” his message for him, it’s “Christ” who’s being preached – not the Spirit. Paul is in chains “for Christ” (1:14). When he declares the meaning of his life it is that “to me to live is Christ”, not “to live is the Spirit” (1:21). When he tells us that he has “a desire to depart” it’s because he wants to be “with Christ” – not “with the Spirit” (verse 23).
There is one mention of the Holy Spirit in the first chapter. However, Paul interestingly names him as “the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (verse 19). There has been at least one prominent minister who claimed that there are nine persons in the Godhead: presumably he was counting the Spirit of Christ as being a different Person to God’s Spirit. However, there is only one Holy Spirit, not three or more:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
This is significant in part because Jesus himself had declared that “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). He told his disciples in the upper room that he would send the Spirit, and in this way He himself would come to them:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:16-18).
You cannot have Jesus and not have the Holy Spirit:
“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. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness” (Romans 9:9-10).
If you have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ you have the Holy Spirit living inside you with your spirit. Do not believe those who try to tell you that you are deficient if you only have Jesus:
“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6).
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. In the second chapter of Philippians Paul rhetorically asks the church if they have any fellowship with the Holy Spirit. We do indeed, as believers, have fellowship with God by His Spirit, but again the focus is not to be the Spirit but Christ, as Paul has demonstrated. The Spirit is not doing His own thing as a separate work for his own glory, and He isn’t promoting himself but Jesus Christ (John 15:26).
Paul states in chapter three that we “worship by the Spirit of God” (3:3), but he says in the same verse that we “glory in Christ Jesus” – and there’s the balance. Notice that he didn’t say “we worship the Spirit”. To use the analogy of the engine of a car again and acknowledging that all analogies of the Trinity are inadequate, we know that while oil has to be present to allow the motor to run and the two are inseparable, our focus is on the engine itself, not the oil. We “glory” in the motor, not the oil which allows it to function. When we worship, we are to “glory in Christ” just as Paul does in his letters, even though that glorying is done through the Holy Spirit. He tells the Philippians that his worldly credentials are worthless compared to his new life:
“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8). Paul leaves no doubt about where his love is focused, speaking the name of Jesus Christ over and over many times in this chapter and in the entire letter. This contrasts with the witness of people who incessantly speak of what the Spirit did or said.
Paul closes his letter with a declaration of glory to “our God and Father” (4:20), and a repeated blessing of “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” (4:23).
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 