The Quest for the gifts of the Holy Spirit
Immanuel Kant, the prince of philosophers of the 18th century, famously wrote about Enlightenment: “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity self-imposed with its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but it was but lack of resolve, courage to use it without guidance from another.” [1]
Laziness and cowardice is what blocks us
He writes, “Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why so great proportion of men, long after nature has released them from alien guidance, nevertheless gladly remains in lifelong immaturity, and why it is so easy for others to establish as their guardians. ”[2] It is so easy to be immature. It is so easy to rely on others because easy access to all commodities and help. So they have us made dumb, and having made sure we become docile creatures. And the guardians show us the danger of walking out of their thinking, and making us to be what’s called inadvertently docile who will not take a single step without the go-cart to which they are harnessed without their guidance.[3]
Laissez-faire Attitude– Gifts of the Spirit have ceased
This can also be applied to modern day dilemma regarding the quest for spiritual gift or to simply give up because of so many easily accessible seemingly impressive scholars who say the otherwise, i.e. gifts of the Spirit have ceased. The cessation of spiritual gifts is taught because the Apostolic age is over, has been the teaching among reformed Christians, inadvertently contributed to believers today into a state of Laissez-faire cowardice. Laziness in a sense that we are intimidated by the amount of theology that has really overwhelmed the amateur pastors in terms of theology and the average Christian on the street to the point of giving up the quest of evidently and clearly required by the holy scripture as Paul wrote in first Corinthian 14 eagerly desired the spiritual gift especially the gift of prophecy. (1 Cor 14:1) Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
You see this is a domestication process that has contributed to the body of Christ unintentionally. You see how powerful and piercing is the power of knowledge and teaching? Doctrines changed the world, not sword and arms or bombs. This, by the way, applies to all wrong or inaccurate teachings, not to just zero in on the cessation of gifts. Example, the salvation by grace alone by faith in Christ alone, combating against wrong teachings of moralistic salvation by human efforts, rightly reformed the church. The case with cessation of gifts will not be in the category of “heretical” , but definitely not correct.
Kant further argued that it is therefore difficult for any individual man to work himself out of the immaturity that has all but become its nature. He has become even fond of his state and for the time beings actually incapable of using his own understanding, for no one has ever allowed him to attempt it.[4]
You see this is the power of conditioning after an extended period of time when we are so used to a certain way of thinking and cultural imposition and circumstances, it’s going to be hard for any man or woman to come out of it. Kant has verbalized this beautifully conceptually psychologically. We certainly do need to break out of this mold that has been imposed and help fellow brothers and sisters in Christ for the spiritual gift of prophecy and tongues and healing et cetera. This certainly is also applicable to our friends or church that has believed in moralistic salvation not knowing we are saved by grace alone in Christ. But this article is about being sunk into the condition mindset for long time to the point it becomes one’s second nature.A person is even fond of this state! You see how much we need help? It’s almost the circumstances around us dictate how we should think move and act and live. The problem is about the interpretation of the Bible on the spiritual gift of God in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
Kant says if folks were allowed freedom, enlightenment is almost inevitable. I would argue that his enlightenment towards the wrong things because he failed to grasp and believe in the supernatural revelation of God but continue to dwell and sink in the power of reasoning and logic al thinking.
Lets bring back the gifts of the Spirit. The church needs it. We need the Pentecost again.
Acts 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
[1] Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment? 1784, 1
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
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