Suffering Releases the Holy Spirit (2)

The kingdom of God cannot be established by warfare, because when war starts, the Holy Spirit withdraws and the principalities and powers move in. This is why war invariably makes the situation worse, even if the cause appears to be good. Evil wins, because the Holy Spirit has to withdraw.

In the struggle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness, the Holy Spirit will always be the winner. The Kingdom of God is advanced, whenever he has freedom to move.

Christians do not fully understand the role of the Spirit. We have this assumption that if we do not resist evil with force, we will be overcome by evil. If the government does not imprison, violent offenders they will destroy us. If the government does not defend our country, we might be invaded and forced to give up our faith. If we do not use force against those who wish to harm us, we might be destroyed.

When looking at the physical level, these statements appear to be true. Violent people often harm good people. Evil nations sometimes invade peaceful nations. These statements come from seeing only half the picture. When the spiritual dimension is taken into account the shape of the struggle is different. First of all, Christians have eternal life, so they cannot be destroyed by evil. More importantly, what happens in the spiritual dimension determines victory. When Christians use force and political power, the Holy Spirit is constrained. When Christians choose love, compassion, service and the power of the Holy Spirit is released.

Giving him freedom to act is the key to the victory of the Kingdom. Anything that restrains the Holy Spirit holds back the growth of the kingdom of God. Using force to protect ourselves or to protect our nations, may make sense at the physical level, but it hinders the coming of the Kingdom of God. Before the Kingdom can be established, God will have to shake our faith in human power, and teach us to trust the Holy Spirit. Given the immensity of his power, any other course of action is unwise.

Paul made a similar point to the Roman Christians. He challenged them to bless those who persecute them. They must not repay evil with evil, but overcome evil with good. Paul explains the reason why Christians must not retaliate.

Beloved, do not retaliate for yourselves, but rather leave room for the wrath of God (Rom 12:19).

If we retaliate against those who harm us, we leave no room for God. This is one reason the Kingdom has been slow to come. Whenever Christians have used political force to resist evil, they have squeezed God out. The Holy Spirit has been hamstrung by our tendency to retaliate against evil.