In the Spirit

Introduction

There is an observation I have made with regard to certain scriptures which I believe have a frequent and misunderstood meaning impressed upon them.  Specifically, there are several passages which use the phrase "in the Spirit" or a similar expression, which I have often heard expounded upon such that the speaker indicates or heavily implies that "in tongues" is the meaning of "in the Spirit." Ephesians 6:18, and Jude 1:20 are the two passages that I see this happen with the most, and I believe that 1 Corinthians 14:15 plays a role in why this happens.  In this document, I will be examining these three passages.  However, I first want to demonstrate that there are many things the scriptures indicate can be done in the Spirit, because for most of these things, it can be easily determined that "in tongues" is not a suitable understanding of the phrase.  From that starting point, I will briefly explore what "in the Spirit" means for those passages, and I ultimately argue that the same meaning applies to the previously mentioned verses which I believe to be commonly misunderstood.

I want to make note that I am not arguing against speaking in tongues as being a legitimate gift of the Holy Spirit.  In 1 Corinthians 14:39, Paul specifically states that we should not forbid speaking in tongues.  I am not a cessationist, I do not believe that spiritual gifts ceased with the canonization of scripture, and I believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual giftings to believers today.  What I am arguing for is the correct understanding and application of scripture.  If we have an incorrect understanding of scripture, then we are missing out on part of God's instruction to us.  We must also be careful to ensure that we are not misrepresenting God's words to others in our expositions of these passages.

I also want to make note that perhaps some people would push back on me and say something to the effect of "the passage doesn't only mean tongues - it's just a meaning, and so it's fair to say it."  To this, I respond that I have heard some people directly substitute "in tongues" for this passage.  If people do believe that a fuller meaning than "in tongues" is meant by these passages, then I am sorry to say that they've lacked considerable caution in how they've conveyed that.  I cannot think of many (if any) instances in which I've heard someone carefully explain that the passage doesn't directly refer to tongues and that it is only their opinion that tongues is implied.  Usually I've heard it asserted that tongues is the specific implication of these passages.

Things the Bible says are done in the Spirit

I want to start out by demonstrating the range of different things that scripture indicates can be done "in the Spirit."  There might be some variance by translation as far as whether the verse actually says in versus by, but I believe there are sufficient examples outside of any that someone might want to exclude from the listing, such that the point can still be made.  When I searched for all instances of "in the [Holy] Spirit," I used the ESV.  I will list results containing "by the [Holy] Spirit," "through the [Holy] Spirit," "with the [Holy] Spirit," etc. at the bottom of this document.  I am working here with in specifically, so as to draw the strongest comparison with Ephesians 6:18 and Jude 1:20.

• Ezekiel 37:1 Ezekiel is brought out in the Spirit of the Lord to the valley of dry bones.

• Matthew 22:43 Jesus said that David calls the Christ Lord in the Spirit (Parallel: Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42; XRef: Psalm 110).

• Luke 2:27 Simeon came into the temple in the Spirit (I believe it is implied that he also blessed Jesus in the Spirit).

• Luke 10:21 Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit (I believe it is implied that he also spoke his following statements by the Holy Spirit).

• Acts 19:21 Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia (KJV: purposed).

• Romans 8:9 Paul says in this passage says that we are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if the Spirit of God dwells in you.

• Romans 9:1 Paul indicates that my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit.

• Romans 14:17 Paul indicates that the kingdom of God is a matter of [practicing] righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

• 1 Corinthians 12:3 Paul addresses speaking in the Spirit of God.

• 1 Corinthians 14:2 Paul refers to speaking in a tongue and uttering mysteries in the Spirit (in this one, both actions are correlated and do refer to speaking in tongues).

• Ephesians 6:18 Paul admonishes that the church ought to pray in the Spirit (This is a passages in which "in tongues" is often the asserted meaning of "in the Spirit").

• Philippians 2:1 Paul mentions participation in the Spirit (KJV: fellowship).

• Colossians 1:8 Paul speaks of the Colossians' love in the Spirit.

• 1 Thessalonians 1:5 Paul says that the gospel came to the Thessalonians in the Holy Spirit.

• Hebrews 6:4 The author of Hebrews correlates enlightenment and tasting the heavenly gift with sharing in the Holy Spirit (KJV: partaking).

• Jude 1:20 Jude admonishes his readers to pray in the Holy Spirit (This is a passages in which "in tongues" is often the asserted meaning of "in the Spirit").

The entries listed here are present because they do contain the phrase "in the spirit," but I am not convinced that they are particularly pertinent to the discussion.  I believe the spirit referenced is not intended to mean the Holy Spirit, but is more likely referring to things done in the spiritual realm.

• 1 Peter 3:18 Christ was made alive in the spirit (KJV: quickened by the Spirit; this passage might not be applicable to the discussion because the Holy Spirit may not actually be referred to here - the words in/by and the are not specifically present, and in context, it seems that it may be more appropriate to understand the passage as simply saying Jesus died physically but lived spiritually.  I recommend reviewing the wording present in other translations and commentaries to understand more completely what I mean.  In any case, excluding this reference does not change the overall point I am making and including it works in its favor.).

• 1 Peter 4:6 Peter indicates that the gospel was preached to the dead so that they may live in the spirit (similar to 1 Peter 3:18, this one is likely referring to living in the spiritual realm and not referring to the Holy Spirit; as such, it is not particularly applicable to the conversation).

• Revelation 1:10 John was in the spirit on the Lord's day (here, it is phrased as being the action itself, rather than modifying some other action, but it seems to possibly be referring to John having a vision - see my comments on Revelation 17:3 also).

• Revelation 4:2 John again refers to being in the spirit as an action in and of itself (It seems to possibly allude to a transition from one vision to another - see my comments on Revelation 17:3 also).

• Revelation 17:3 John is carried away in the spirit by an angel. (I am unclear as to whether this is really a reference to the Holy Spirit.  Consider that the definitive article, "the," is not present in the original languages: John is carried away in spirit."  Capitalization doesn't exist in the original writings, but if we use it as clues as to the translator's thoughts, the KJV is in a minority who have it in lowercase - yet, I personally tend to lean toward that as more correct.  Overall, I tend to think John's references to being "in the spirit" are intended to convey the idea that he is experiencing things in the spiritual realm.  In any case, if excluded from consideration, my overall point is not changed, and if included, they serve to support it.)

• Revelation 21:10 Similarly to Revelation 17:3, John is carried away in the spirit as part of a vision.  (The same observations as in 17:3 may be applied here.  I tend to think that this is John's way of conveying an experience in the spiritual realm.  Yes, the Holy Spirit would seem to be involved perhaps, so that John may have access to the spiritual realm, but I don't think John's phrasing is intended to specifically name the Holy Spirit as the enabler of his experience.  Rather they seem intended to explain that he had a spiritual experience.)

We can hopefully begin to see the point I am trying to make.  All of these actions are described as being done "in the Spirit" and yet, it would not seem proper to handle all of these as if "in the Spirit" is intended to mean "in tongues."  We would not say that David called Christ Lord in tongues, or that Simeon's actions were performed in tongues.  When Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, He did not do so in tongues, Paul's resolution to pass through Macedonia does not seem reasonably correlated with tongues.  It would not make sense that Paul is saying that the kingdom of God is a matter of speaking in tongues by using completely different words than such.

If we begin including very comparable phrases such as "by the Spirit" or "with the Spirit," we find ourselves easily recognizing that it can't make sense that Jesus was led into the wilderness by speaking in tongues (Matthew 4:1), that Paul was constrained by tongues to go to Jerusalem (Acts 20:22), or that Timothy was to guard the deposit entrusted to him by speaking in tongues (2 Timothy 1:14), to name just a few.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a topic all its own, but consider that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was even born, and his mother, upon being filled with the Spirit, evidenced this by prophesying over Mary.  It would be an uphill battle to say that she did not do this "in the Spirit."

Although I have called out Ephesians 6:18 and Jude 1:20 as being more common passages in which "in tongues" is asserted to be the specific meaning of "in the Spirit," I am concerned that it is a very real possibility that some people have confused this issue in other scriptures, such that they may possibly believe that the circumcision of the heart is a matter of speaking in tongues (Romains 2:29), that those who speak in tongues are the sons of God (Romans 8:14), that we are washed, sanctified, and justified by speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 6:11), that if we speak in tongues, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16),  or that tongues is the evidence of Christ abiding in us (1 John 3:24).  I think some of these are nearly certain in some church denominations - in my circles, I think it is less common, but I believe there may be people who do confuse such matters.

You see my point I hope - it is important to understand why we are taking passages that say "in the Spirit" and insisting that the intended meaning is "in tongues."  Particularly, when there are times that our paraphrases of these passages replaces "in the Spirit" with "in tongues."  That is not what these scriptures say, and I am fairly convinced that it is not what they mean.

What does "in the Spirit" mean?

It's always good to bring answers and not just complain about the issues right?  So I'd like to talk briefly about what I believe the scriptures mean when we see these different things that God's people are doing in the Spirit.  You could probably preach a whole series on this.  I do not feel prepared to do that and would like to try being more concise in this document, so I will share some shorter ideas.

Philippians 2:1-11 speaks of what it means to be in the Spirit