A guide to Christian growth
Fellowship of the Holy Spirit by Robert J. St. Clair
W hy is it some people continue to develop in Christian knowl edge and activ ity and others stand still? L e t’s put it this way: is there some essential method in a church program th a t is indispens able for enabling growth? W ithout question, yes. T h e deceptively sim ple answer is: th e fellow sh ip o f th e H o ly Spirit. Christian growth is based upon learning, but true learn ing only takes place when a person under stands the m aterial, can restate it in his own words and sees its signif icance in term s of the real and prac tica l world around him. Now th e fellow sh ip o f th e H oly Spirit is any situation involving at least two persons (M a tt. 1 8 :2 0 ) in which th e purpose of the social intercourse is to restate what they know of Christ and H is w ill in terms th a t have significance for th eir own personal lives. T h e secret is not the gathering of assorted bits of information, but insight. T h e persons involved “see”
how the Christian facts have m ean ing w ithin the sphere of th e ir prob lems, th eir love life, th eir work a s p i r a t i o n s , th e ir conflicts and everything else important to them . T h e Holy Sp irit is thus “getting into” the deep places o f the mind where people do th e ir planning, their emotionalizing and th eir im agining. (In th eir heart, if you w ish.) These persons then begin to act out what has been going on in their heart. Th is fellow sh ip o f t h e H o l y Spirit, then, involves self-participa tion. T h e principal means is talking which is the mind working out loud. If any Christian is to grow he must have one or more creative outlets to
express thought patterns and ideas in words th a t have specific m ean ing for him . I f he is extrem ely shy he can do th is talking to himself. Going out and doing something w ith the hands and body (visiting a home fo r Christ, wrapping gifts a t Christmas, etc.) are also lesser means of self-participation. L e t’s take an obvious fellow sh ip , for example, a cottage prayer m eet ing. T h e relationship of Christ to the rea l world around us is brought out by M r. Jones when he tells how God helped h im in a traffic jam last week. M r. Sm ith , a new Christian, is motivated by the satisfaction of the group to look to Christ him self during the week and “gather,” so to speak, sim ilar relationships to mention. In p ray er h is volition, or w ill to act, is defin itely ben t toward relating Christ to more areas of the rea l w orld around him . (Notice the importance of th a t phrase.) T h e following week M r. Sm ith tells of incidents of his own. He begins to relate b iblical ideas and
About the Author Robert St. Clair is minister of North Fair- mount Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati. He at tended Biblical and Faith Theological Sem inaries and the University of Cincinnati where he majored in psychology. This is the first of several articles by St. Clair scheduled for K.B.
DOUBTS continued of unbelief he mounted on the wings of faith . He com m itted him self to Christ, his new-found Saviour and Lord. T h e a ct of comm ittal is a necessity in all good hum an relations. Th ere can be no friendship unless two persons comm it themselves to each other. Th is is the basis of Christian marriage wh ich is the most exalted state of friendship and love. In the marriage bond, the husband and w ife comm it themselves to each other. In fa ith they pledge th e ir vows, and love seals and confirms a ll that is done. And when we come to Christ, there must be a
comm ittal of ourselves to H im . W h en H e makes H im self known, as He does in the gospels, we must yield to Him . F a ith demands it. It is the giving of ourselves to Christ that clinches everything and makes fa ith a reality . How tragic to come to the door of faith , to open the door, to look in, to see the tru th , bu t not to enter. If you have seen Christ as your risen Saviour, do not be afraid to say, Oh, Jesu s Lx>rd an d Saviour, 1 g iv e m y s e lf to T h ee.
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