Does The Theory Work? If Biblical EQ is true, and non-trivial, it should predict how people process their emotions. If emotional integrity is closely related to the work of the Holy Spirit then there should be very different results for a) apostles and great Christian leaders verses b) carnal Christians. These two groups should have very different emotional lives. The great Christian leaders should have a much higher EQ than the carnal Christians.
Perception – Apostles & Leaders
1. They should see the world differently from the rest of us. For them the Kingdom perspective will be the only true perspective.
2. They should be able from time to time to see into the hearts of men and women and to speak accurately to their condition.
3. They should be conversant with dreams, visions and symbolic language. They should readily grasp the prophetic and be excited by the Scriptures.
Beliefs – A & L
4. They should have beliefs that the surrounding culture has not taught them or which it opposes vehemently, beliefs that only God can have taught them.
5. Those beliefs should give them a sense of what is righteous and what is unrighteous like Jesus had when He cleansed the temple and their beliefs should create an unusual zeal within them that consumes them.
6. Those beliefs should give them unusual poise and power in crisis situations like Jesus in the storm.
7. As a result of those beliefs they should resonate with and be emotionally drawn to others who are of great faith, like Jesus resonated with the Roman centurion.
Emotions – A & L
8. They should have deep and vivid emotions like those of Jesus Christ.
9. They should have a sense of their emotions being God's emotions and be aware of what they are feeling and able to name it clearly as Jesus did with His emotions.
10. They should be people of authentic and powerful emotional expression - groans, tears, crying, and rejoicing.
Physical Nature – A & L
11. They should demonstrate victory over addictions and sexual temptations and have a renewed physical nature.
12. They should be able to express their emotions in godly ways through their physical bodies.
Outward Expression – A & L
13. These righteous emotions should lead to righteous actions such as when Jesus' compassion moved Him to act.
14. Their emotionality should be an integral part of being a righteous person. Not detached from life like the emotions of an actor or a hypocrite.
15. The course of their lives should demonstrate an ever-increasing wisdom in emotional expression as if God were teaching them how to say things.
Do these predictions hold? The apostles and great Christian leaders do indeed show a different order of perceptions, beliefs, emotions, physical victory and gracious outward expression. Both Scripture and history tell us that the Holy Spirit did indeed produce these things in people who were submitted most fully to Him.
Vivid Emotions Vs. Immature Emotions
Psalms 30 NKJV) I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. {2} O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. {3} O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. {4} Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. {5} For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. {6} Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved." {7} LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. {8} I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication: {9} "What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? {10} Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!" {11} You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, {12} To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
The Difference… The negative emotions are temporary "weeping may last for a night but joy comes in the morning". There is a righteous resolution of the emotions, a giving of thanks in the end. The emotions are primarily directed towards God in a private and appropriate fashion. (They are not “acted out” or dumped on others.) There is a wide range of appropriate emotions from joy to a troubled spirit. The emotional thermostat is not stuck in just one position e.g. deep gloom or constant happiness.
The Difference… cont’d There is an ability to see good in God in the midst of it all - to sing praise and give thanks. The spiritual perspective is not lost. There is no stifling of emotions, they are expressed in spiritual terms "that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent". There is repentance of false perspectives and beliefs. "Now in my prosperity I said 'I shall not be moved..". When God challenges this David repents of his self-sufficiency. People who are out of balance emotionally do the opposite and cling to their self-defeating perspectives In the expression of emotions there is genuine dignity and beauty. This psalm is poetry!
Different Temperaments Different temperaments have different uses within the Kingdom of God. Barnabas was a great encourager of the brethren, Peter's high emotionality made him a master preacher and evangelist, Paul's razor sharp mind made him a great one for attending to the operational details and theology of church life, John's mystical temperament pointed to the deep abiding spiritual realities and resulted in wonderful teaching on prayer. Titus seems to have been a born trouble-shooter, Timothy was the sensitive and caring pastor par excellence. God will use your basic temperament that He has built into you - and even some of your weaknesses for when you are weak then you are strong! Your basic God-created and renewed self is OK! God can and will use it and has accepted it in Christ Jesus (Romans 14:7).
Transformed Temperaments
Being accepted does not mean being unchanged. The Holy Spirit will take certain parts of your basic emotional temperament and refine them into the image of Christ Jesus. Paul matured in tolerance and love. Peter became stable and reliable. Timothy had to overcome his timidity and learn to suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. As the Holy Spirit convicts you and teaches you and ministers to you a slow but sure transformation will take place that will increase your maturity in Christ and your usefulness to the Master.
Emotions During Revivals
Powerful emotions are frequently generated during revivals: "While I was enforcing these words "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10), God began to bare His arm, not in private but in the open air and before more than two thousand witnesses. One then another, and yet another was struck to the earth, greatly trembling at the presence of God's power. Others loudly and bitterly cried "What must we do to be saved?" (John Wesley)
By-Products Of Grace Few revivals have been without great emotion. The revivalist Jonathan Edwards wrote a famous treatise on "Religious Affections.." which established that the emotions were a by-product of grace not its chief aim. The aim of the godly evangelist is not an emotional audience but a repentant and believing audience. If the emotions expressed so powerfully indicate that repentance is taking place and that people are meeting with God and having their souls transformed then that emotion is a good thing. However if it is simply emotionality, hype, manipulated sentimentality etc. and no work of God is taking place then it is unprofitable. Emotions accompany grace and may be an outward sign of an inward work of God – but they are not compulsory.
Maturity & Emotions
Christian maturity is often portrayed as unemotional, dull and bureaucratic. Maturity is not the loss of emotions but their deepening, enriching and appropriate expression. Christian emotional maturity does involve emotional stability - we are not "tossed to and fro…by every wind of doctrine". It also involves "growing up" in all things and becoming a person participating in the stature and fullness of Christ. While it involves the stability of Christ it also involves the passion and zeal of Christ (John 2:17, Titus 2:14) and His ability to bless and to care. In fact part of the purpose of our redemption is to become a people “zealous for good deeds”.
The EQ of Carnal Christians
If our model stands the test, then those who resist the Holy Spirit, those who are unspiritual, should be emotionally unformed and immature. If, as our theory predicts, the Holy Spirit is essential for full emotional formation, then unspiritual Christians should be emotional wrecks, or at the least quite shallow and indifferent emotionally. The carnal Christian is characterized by an astonishing lack of spiritual maturity to the point where they cannot be addressed as spiritual people. Carnal Christians behave like "mere men" and are indistinguishable from the surrounding culture with their actions and reactions. Using our model we can again make certain predictions about the emotional life of those who do not give the Holy Spirit full lordship of their lives.
Perception – Carnal Christians
1. They will see the world in much the same terms as the surrounding culture. For them the Kingdom perspective will be rare and they will be mainly self-centred.
2. They will be unable to see into the hearts of men and women and even empathy will be rare. They will not speak accurately to the human condition.
3. They will be baffled by dreams, visions and symbolic language. They will be bored by the prophetic and struggle with the Scriptures.
Beliefs – C.C.
4. They will mainly have beliefs that the surrounding culture has taught them. They will not hold beliefs that the culture opposes vehemently, and will have few beliefs that only God could have taught them.
5. They will have a very weak sense of what is righteous and what is unrighteous and rarely react to social evil. They would tolerate the selling of doves in the Temple. Zeal will be unusual for them and even undesirable. They will not be consumed by kingdom interests.
6. They will not have unusual poise and power in crisis situations like Jesus in the storm but rather will be prone to anxiety.
7. They will not resonate with and be emotionally drawn to those who are of great faith. Rather they will feel more at home with the world and with other carnal Christians.
Emotions – C.C.
8. They will not have deep, vivid and stable emotions like those of Jesus Christ. They will instead be characterized by shallow sentimental spiritual feelings that vary with every wind of doctrine.
9. They will have little sense of their emotions being God's emotions. They will often be unaware of what they are feeling and will be unable to name their emotions clearly.
10. They will not be people of authentic emotional expression.
Physical Nature - C.C.
11. They will not demonstrate victory over addictions and sexual temptations
12. They will fail to express their emotions in godly ways through their physical bodies.
Outward Expression – C.C.
13. Their spiritual emotions will rarely lead to righteous actions. Compassion for the lost or the poor will rarely be felt and if felt will not move them to action.
14. Their emotionality will be detached from real life and be like the emotions of an actor or a hypocrite.
15. The course of their lives will not demonstrate an ever-increasing wisdom in emotional expression. They will go from bad to worse and become increasingly discordant like " a clanging gong and a clashing cymbal" if they should continue as carnal Christians.
Carnal Corinth
The carnality of the Corinthian church is reflected in a long list of very serious sins – the first four chapters detail division, intellectual and spiritual pride, factions, and infighting. Chapters five and six show they were visiting prostitutes, and engaging in sexual immorality, and incest. Chapter seven discusses marriage, divorce and the basics of sexually appropriate behavior. Chapters eight to eleven correct gross disorder such as being drunk at the Lord's Supper, not waiting for one another so one goes hungry while another is full, and participation in idolatrous feasts in pagan temples. Chapters 12- 14 reveal a paganisation of the spiritual gifts and their use in competitive, unloving and chaotic ways. Chapter 15 finds them denying the resurrection and being in major error over basic doctrines.
James & Hebrews
The church James wrote to may have even been worse! There they murdered one another (James 4:2) and treated the poor with contempt (James 2:1-13). The writer to the Hebrews calls his audience in various turns - sluggish, unfruitful, dull of hearing, immature, like children, and says they were neglectful of their salvation, in danger of drifting away from the faith and hardening their hearts to God's Word and on the point of having "evil, unbelieving, hearts" (Heb 3:12). In chapter 10 the writer goes on to say they are neglecting meeting together and on the verge of giving up the faith, returning to sin and being judged by the living God.
What Happened? How come churches visited by apostles could end up such a mess? These churches committed various sins against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit remains within the believer but is sinned against. Several terms are used such as: Grieved (Ephesians 4:30), quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19) lied to (Acts 5:4), put to the test (Acts 5:9), insulted / outraged (Hebrews 10:29), made jealous (James 4:5), blasphemed (Matthew 12:31) and resisted (Acts 7:51). In Jude the divisive people are said to be "devoid of the Spirit" (Jude 1:19).
Sins Against The Holy Spirit Grieved (Ephesians 4:30) - by unnecessary and immature interpersonal conflict such as bitterness, wrath, slander and malice. The Spirit is a Spirit of love and is grieved by that which is opposed to love. Carnal behavior such as divisiveness and quarreling is anti-love, and causes grief to the Holy Spirit who is constantly trying to mature us in love. Quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:18-21) - by despising the gifts of the Spirit especially prophesy. It implies that his fire - His inspirational activity in prophecy and revival is resisted - perhaps in the name of order, and "cold water" is thrown on attempts to minister in spiritual power. Lied To (Acts 5:4): Ananias and Sapphira conspired in an act of financial deception of the apostles. This was seen as not deceiving men but God and lying to the Holy Spirit. (Acts 5:4) and resulted in them being carried out dead.
More Sins… Put To The Test (Acts 5:9): Again refers to Ananias and Sapphira and refers to their testing the omniscience of the Holy Spirit by thinking they could deceive those He had filled with power and anointed. Made Jealous (James 4:4,5):Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? …Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? Friendship with “the world”, is seen as spiritual adultery and makes the Spirit jealous. If we love the world (as in worldliness, not as in John 3:16) we enrage the Holy Spirit. Worldliness is often characteristic of carnal Christians and does great damage to their relationship with God. Insulted/Outraged/Do Despite Unto (Hebrews 10:29): Refers to someone who turns back from Christianity to Judaism (or to any other religion) and thus says that the work of the Spirit of grace in his or her life was of no value to them. These are apostates.
False Teachers & The Holy Spirit Devoid Of The Spirit (Jude 1:19): Refers to false teachers who joined into Christian groups and created division leading people away to their own groups. These are probably not even believers to start with. Resisted (Acts 7:51): Refers to the unbelieving Jews who were stoning Stephen and resisting the clear testimony of the Holy Spirit. Later God said to one of those resistant Jews "Saul, Saul, it must be hard for you to kick against the goads..". This term is not used of believers. Blasphemed (Matthew 12:31): Is used of those unbelieving Jews who so deeply resisted the Holy Spirit that they saw the miraculous ministry of Jesus Christ as the work of the Devil and attributed His power to Satan. Again it is never used of Christians.
The Price Of Sin The emotional consequences of sinning against the Holy Spirit are dire indeed. The more people sin against the Holy Spirit the nastier they become. In the above verses we see them pilfering, murdering lying, fighting and quarreling. As the Holy Spirit is quenched, grieved and resisted His love departs and hatred enters into the person.
Carnality and Low EQ
The poor control carnal Christians have over their emotional life is due to their lack of co-operation with the Holy Spirit and can be seen in: Poor Impulse Control: Giving in to sexual immorality, drunkenness and even in the disorder of their worship. Poor Anger Management: Most notably the congregation that James wrote to which were murdering each other (James 4:2) and the Galatians which were "biting and devouring" each other. (Galatians 5:15) Disintegrating Relationships: Envying, factions, strife and contentions. ( 1 Cor 3:3 Low Levels of Personal Motivation: They are variously described as evil beasts and lazy gluttons (Titus 1:12-14) , neglectful, dull of hearing, and in danger of drifting.
Toxic Tongues… Instability: Following after "the latest" false teachers particularly if they were good talkers and emotionally persuasive (2 Corinthians 11) and being tossed around by every wind of doctrine. Lack Of Basic Empathy and Compassion: Such as saying to a person who was without food or shelter "be warm and filled" and not doing anything! Or dishonoring the poor by making them sit in lowly places in church. (James 2). A Toxic Tongue: Gossip, slander, and the like that proceeds from out of control emotions. (James 3)
A Poisonous Personality: Such people are described as a "root of bitterness that defiles many" or like the emotionally rigid Diotrephes who "like to put himself first" and controlled the church (3 John).
The Cure For Carnality
Paul still wrote to, taught and cared for carnal Christians. Carnal Christians need teaching about Christ and the Holy Spirit. Carnal Christians need to be filled with the Spirit. Carnal Christians need to be centered on Christ – not themselves. Carnal Christians need accountable relationships of grace.
Conclusions
1. The five step model accurately predicts the emotional state of both saintly Christians and carnal Christians.
2. Emotional authenticity is entirely a work of the Holy Spirit . However it can occur to some extent in non-believers who seek it as a work of common grace. More commonly it is found in Spirit-filled believers who are walking in holiness.
3. Emotional functionality and authenticity come about through the person co-operating with the Holy Spirit as He forms spiritual perspectives and a Christ-like belief system in the person.
Conclusions cont’d
4. Resisting this work of the Holy Spirit results in emotional catastrophe.
5. Emotionally undeveloped Christians who remain close to God can grow into emotionally adept people just as it seems the originally abrasive Paul did.
6. Co-operating with God means not grieving or quenching the Holy Spirit and being careful to avoid worldliness.
The Big Lesson
The key factor in real, authentic, godly, emotional development is your relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. Christians need to be born-again and Spirit-filled and obediently walking in the Spirit on a day-to-day basis.
1. They should see the world differently from the rest of us. For them the Kingdom perspective will be the only true perspective.
2. They should be able from time to time to see into the hearts of men and women and to speak accurately to their condition.
3. They should be conversant with dreams, visions and symbolic language. They should readily grasp the prophetic and be excited by the Scriptures.
Beliefs – A & L
4. They should have beliefs that the surrounding culture has not taught them or which it opposes vehemently, beliefs that only God can have taught them.
5. Those beliefs should give them a sense of what is righteous and what is unrighteous like Jesus had when He cleansed the temple and their beliefs should create an unusual zeal within them that consumes them.
6. Those beliefs should give them unusual poise and power in crisis situations like Jesus in the storm.
7. As a result of those beliefs they should resonate with and be emotionally drawn to others who are of great faith, like Jesus resonated with the Roman centurion.
Emotions – A & L
8. They should have deep and vivid emotions like those of Jesus Christ.
9. They should have a sense of their emotions being God's emotions and be aware of what they are feeling and able to name it clearly as Jesus did with His emotions.
10. They should be people of authentic and powerful emotional expression - groans, tears, crying, and rejoicing.
Physical Nature – A & L
11. They should demonstrate victory over addictions and sexual temptations and have a renewed physical nature.
12. They should be able to express their emotions in godly ways through their physical bodies.
Outward Expression – A & L
13. These righteous emotions should lead to righteous actions such as when Jesus' compassion moved Him to act.
14. Their emotionality should be an integral part of being a righteous person. Not detached from life like the emotions of an actor or a hypocrite.
15. The course of their lives should demonstrate an ever-increasing wisdom in emotional expression as if God were teaching them how to say things.
Do these predictions hold? The apostles and great Christian leaders do indeed show a different order of perceptions, beliefs, emotions, physical victory and gracious outward expression. Both Scripture and history tell us that the Holy Spirit did indeed produce these things in people who were submitted most fully to Him.
Vivid Emotions Vs. Immature Emotions
Psalms 30 NKJV) I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. {2} O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. {3} O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. {4} Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. {5} For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. {6} Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved." {7} LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. {8} I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication: {9} "What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? {10} Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!" {11} You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, {12} To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
The Difference… The negative emotions are temporary "weeping may last for a night but joy comes in the morning". There is a righteous resolution of the emotions, a giving of thanks in the end. The emotions are primarily directed towards God in a private and appropriate fashion. (They are not “acted out” or dumped on others.) There is a wide range of appropriate emotions from joy to a troubled spirit. The emotional thermostat is not stuck in just one position e.g. deep gloom or constant happiness.
The Difference… cont’d There is an ability to see good in God in the midst of it all - to sing praise and give thanks. The spiritual perspective is not lost. There is no stifling of emotions, they are expressed in spiritual terms "that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent". There is repentance of false perspectives and beliefs. "Now in my prosperity I said 'I shall not be moved..". When God challenges this David repents of his self-sufficiency. People who are out of balance emotionally do the opposite and cling to their self-defeating perspectives In the expression of emotions there is genuine dignity and beauty. This psalm is poetry!
Different Temperaments Different temperaments have different uses within the Kingdom of God. Barnabas was a great encourager of the brethren, Peter's high emotionality made him a master preacher and evangelist, Paul's razor sharp mind made him a great one for attending to the operational details and theology of church life, John's mystical temperament pointed to the deep abiding spiritual realities and resulted in wonderful teaching on prayer. Titus seems to have been a born trouble-shooter, Timothy was the sensitive and caring pastor par excellence. God will use your basic temperament that He has built into you - and even some of your weaknesses for when you are weak then you are strong! Your basic God-created and renewed self is OK! God can and will use it and has accepted it in Christ Jesus (Romans 14:7).
Transformed Temperaments
Being accepted does not mean being unchanged. The Holy Spirit will take certain parts of your basic emotional temperament and refine them into the image of Christ Jesus. Paul matured in tolerance and love. Peter became stable and reliable. Timothy had to overcome his timidity and learn to suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. As the Holy Spirit convicts you and teaches you and ministers to you a slow but sure transformation will take place that will increase your maturity in Christ and your usefulness to the Master.
Emotions During Revivals
Powerful emotions are frequently generated during revivals: "While I was enforcing these words "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10), God began to bare His arm, not in private but in the open air and before more than two thousand witnesses. One then another, and yet another was struck to the earth, greatly trembling at the presence of God's power. Others loudly and bitterly cried "What must we do to be saved?" (John Wesley)
By-Products Of Grace Few revivals have been without great emotion. The revivalist Jonathan Edwards wrote a famous treatise on "Religious Affections.." which established that the emotions were a by-product of grace not its chief aim. The aim of the godly evangelist is not an emotional audience but a repentant and believing audience. If the emotions expressed so powerfully indicate that repentance is taking place and that people are meeting with God and having their souls transformed then that emotion is a good thing. However if it is simply emotionality, hype, manipulated sentimentality etc. and no work of God is taking place then it is unprofitable. Emotions accompany grace and may be an outward sign of an inward work of God – but they are not compulsory.
Maturity & Emotions
Christian maturity is often portrayed as unemotional, dull and bureaucratic. Maturity is not the loss of emotions but their deepening, enriching and appropriate expression. Christian emotional maturity does involve emotional stability - we are not "tossed to and fro…by every wind of doctrine". It also involves "growing up" in all things and becoming a person participating in the stature and fullness of Christ. While it involves the stability of Christ it also involves the passion and zeal of Christ (John 2:17, Titus 2:14) and His ability to bless and to care. In fact part of the purpose of our redemption is to become a people “zealous for good deeds”.
The EQ of Carnal Christians
If our model stands the test, then those who resist the Holy Spirit, those who are unspiritual, should be emotionally unformed and immature. If, as our theory predicts, the Holy Spirit is essential for full emotional formation, then unspiritual Christians should be emotional wrecks, or at the least quite shallow and indifferent emotionally. The carnal Christian is characterized by an astonishing lack of spiritual maturity to the point where they cannot be addressed as spiritual people. Carnal Christians behave like "mere men" and are indistinguishable from the surrounding culture with their actions and reactions. Using our model we can again make certain predictions about the emotional life of those who do not give the Holy Spirit full lordship of their lives.
Perception – Carnal Christians
1. They will see the world in much the same terms as the surrounding culture. For them the Kingdom perspective will be rare and they will be mainly self-centred.
2. They will be unable to see into the hearts of men and women and even empathy will be rare. They will not speak accurately to the human condition.
3. They will be baffled by dreams, visions and symbolic language. They will be bored by the prophetic and struggle with the Scriptures.
Beliefs – C.C.
4. They will mainly have beliefs that the surrounding culture has taught them. They will not hold beliefs that the culture opposes vehemently, and will have few beliefs that only God could have taught them.
5. They will have a very weak sense of what is righteous and what is unrighteous and rarely react to social evil. They would tolerate the selling of doves in the Temple. Zeal will be unusual for them and even undesirable. They will not be consumed by kingdom interests.
6. They will not have unusual poise and power in crisis situations like Jesus in the storm but rather will be prone to anxiety.
7. They will not resonate with and be emotionally drawn to those who are of great faith. Rather they will feel more at home with the world and with other carnal Christians.
Emotions – C.C.
8. They will not have deep, vivid and stable emotions like those of Jesus Christ. They will instead be characterized by shallow sentimental spiritual feelings that vary with every wind of doctrine.
9. They will have little sense of their emotions being God's emotions. They will often be unaware of what they are feeling and will be unable to name their emotions clearly.
10. They will not be people of authentic emotional expression.
Physical Nature - C.C.
11. They will not demonstrate victory over addictions and sexual temptations
12. They will fail to express their emotions in godly ways through their physical bodies.
Outward Expression – C.C.
13. Their spiritual emotions will rarely lead to righteous actions. Compassion for the lost or the poor will rarely be felt and if felt will not move them to action.
14. Their emotionality will be detached from real life and be like the emotions of an actor or a hypocrite.
15. The course of their lives will not demonstrate an ever-increasing wisdom in emotional expression. They will go from bad to worse and become increasingly discordant like " a clanging gong and a clashing cymbal" if they should continue as carnal Christians.
Carnal Corinth
The carnality of the Corinthian church is reflected in a long list of very serious sins – the first four chapters detail division, intellectual and spiritual pride, factions, and infighting. Chapters five and six show they were visiting prostitutes, and engaging in sexual immorality, and incest. Chapter seven discusses marriage, divorce and the basics of sexually appropriate behavior. Chapters eight to eleven correct gross disorder such as being drunk at the Lord's Supper, not waiting for one another so one goes hungry while another is full, and participation in idolatrous feasts in pagan temples. Chapters 12- 14 reveal a paganisation of the spiritual gifts and their use in competitive, unloving and chaotic ways. Chapter 15 finds them denying the resurrection and being in major error over basic doctrines.
James & Hebrews
The church James wrote to may have even been worse! There they murdered one another (James 4:2) and treated the poor with contempt (James 2:1-13). The writer to the Hebrews calls his audience in various turns - sluggish, unfruitful, dull of hearing, immature, like children, and says they were neglectful of their salvation, in danger of drifting away from the faith and hardening their hearts to God's Word and on the point of having "evil, unbelieving, hearts" (Heb 3:12). In chapter 10 the writer goes on to say they are neglecting meeting together and on the verge of giving up the faith, returning to sin and being judged by the living God.
What Happened? How come churches visited by apostles could end up such a mess? These churches committed various sins against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit remains within the believer but is sinned against. Several terms are used such as: Grieved (Ephesians 4:30), quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19) lied to (Acts 5:4), put to the test (Acts 5:9), insulted / outraged (Hebrews 10:29), made jealous (James 4:5), blasphemed (Matthew 12:31) and resisted (Acts 7:51). In Jude the divisive people are said to be "devoid of the Spirit" (Jude 1:19).
Sins Against The Holy Spirit Grieved (Ephesians 4:30) - by unnecessary and immature interpersonal conflict such as bitterness, wrath, slander and malice. The Spirit is a Spirit of love and is grieved by that which is opposed to love. Carnal behavior such as divisiveness and quarreling is anti-love, and causes grief to the Holy Spirit who is constantly trying to mature us in love. Quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:18-21) - by despising the gifts of the Spirit especially prophesy. It implies that his fire - His inspirational activity in prophecy and revival is resisted - perhaps in the name of order, and "cold water" is thrown on attempts to minister in spiritual power. Lied To (Acts 5:4): Ananias and Sapphira conspired in an act of financial deception of the apostles. This was seen as not deceiving men but God and lying to the Holy Spirit. (Acts 5:4) and resulted in them being carried out dead.
More Sins… Put To The Test (Acts 5:9): Again refers to Ananias and Sapphira and refers to their testing the omniscience of the Holy Spirit by thinking they could deceive those He had filled with power and anointed. Made Jealous (James 4:4,5):Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? …Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? Friendship with “the world”, is seen as spiritual adultery and makes the Spirit jealous. If we love the world (as in worldliness, not as in John 3:16) we enrage the Holy Spirit. Worldliness is often characteristic of carnal Christians and does great damage to their relationship with God. Insulted/Outraged/Do Despite Unto (Hebrews 10:29): Refers to someone who turns back from Christianity to Judaism (or to any other religion) and thus says that the work of the Spirit of grace in his or her life was of no value to them. These are apostates.
False Teachers & The Holy Spirit Devoid Of The Spirit (Jude 1:19): Refers to false teachers who joined into Christian groups and created division leading people away to their own groups. These are probably not even believers to start with. Resisted (Acts 7:51): Refers to the unbelieving Jews who were stoning Stephen and resisting the clear testimony of the Holy Spirit. Later God said to one of those resistant Jews "Saul, Saul, it must be hard for you to kick against the goads..". This term is not used of believers. Blasphemed (Matthew 12:31): Is used of those unbelieving Jews who so deeply resisted the Holy Spirit that they saw the miraculous ministry of Jesus Christ as the work of the Devil and attributed His power to Satan. Again it is never used of Christians.
The Price Of Sin The emotional consequences of sinning against the Holy Spirit are dire indeed. The more people sin against the Holy Spirit the nastier they become. In the above verses we see them pilfering, murdering lying, fighting and quarreling. As the Holy Spirit is quenched, grieved and resisted His love departs and hatred enters into the person.
Carnality and Low EQ
The poor control carnal Christians have over their emotional life is due to their lack of co-operation with the Holy Spirit and can be seen in: Poor Impulse Control: Giving in to sexual immorality, drunkenness and even in the disorder of their worship. Poor Anger Management: Most notably the congregation that James wrote to which were murdering each other (James 4:2) and the Galatians which were "biting and devouring" each other. (Galatians 5:15) Disintegrating Relationships: Envying, factions, strife and contentions. ( 1 Cor 3:3 Low Levels of Personal Motivation: They are variously described as evil beasts and lazy gluttons (Titus 1:12-14) , neglectful, dull of hearing, and in danger of drifting.
Toxic Tongues… Instability: Following after "the latest" false teachers particularly if they were good talkers and emotionally persuasive (2 Corinthians 11) and being tossed around by every wind of doctrine. Lack Of Basic Empathy and Compassion: Such as saying to a person who was without food or shelter "be warm and filled" and not doing anything! Or dishonoring the poor by making them sit in lowly places in church. (James 2). A Toxic Tongue: Gossip, slander, and the like that proceeds from out of control emotions. (James 3)
A Poisonous Personality: Such people are described as a "root of bitterness that defiles many" or like the emotionally rigid Diotrephes who "like to put himself first" and controlled the church (3 John).
The Cure For Carnality
Paul still wrote to, taught and cared for carnal Christians. Carnal Christians need teaching about Christ and the Holy Spirit. Carnal Christians need to be filled with the Spirit. Carnal Christians need to be centered on Christ – not themselves. Carnal Christians need accountable relationships of grace.
Conclusions
1. The five step model accurately predicts the emotional state of both saintly Christians and carnal Christians.
2. Emotional authenticity is entirely a work of the Holy Spirit . However it can occur to some extent in non-believers who seek it as a work of common grace. More commonly it is found in Spirit-filled believers who are walking in holiness.
3. Emotional functionality and authenticity come about through the person co-operating with the Holy Spirit as He forms spiritual perspectives and a Christ-like belief system in the person.
Conclusions cont’d
4. Resisting this work of the Holy Spirit results in emotional catastrophe.
5. Emotionally undeveloped Christians who remain close to God can grow into emotionally adept people just as it seems the originally abrasive Paul did.
6. Co-operating with God means not grieving or quenching the Holy Spirit and being careful to avoid worldliness.
The Big Lesson
The key factor in real, authentic, godly, emotional development is your relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. Christians need to be born-again and Spirit-filled and obediently walking in the Spirit on a day-to-day basis.
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