I believe in the Holy Spirit.

So much is contained in those six words.

It used to bother me that the Apostles’ Creed seems to say so little about the Holy Spirit, compared to what it says about Jesus.

More recently, however, I have come to see that the creed actually does say a lot about the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the whole second half of the creed is about the work of the Spirit!

It’s the Holy Spirit, after all, who creates and sustains the “holy catholic church.” It’s the Spirit who gives us access to the communion of saints. It’s the Spirit who assures us our sins are forgiven. It’s the Spirit that raises our bodies from death; and it’s the Spirit who gives us everlasting life.

This is a lot, and all of it needs unpacking; but a good starting point is recognizing just how much the Holy Spirit does.

Since I have some background in the Pentecostal/charismatic movement, I often look for “flashy” signs of the Spirit such as speaking in tongues, faith healing, and spontaneous words of prophecy.

There are a lot of other important things the Spirit does, however, which often go unnoticed.

Knowing our sins are forgiven, and that God loves us unconditionally, is very important; and this is just as much a gift of the Spirit as tongues or “miraculous” healings. The same could be said of feeding the hungry, showing compassion for the lost and lonely, and almost any work of justice or mercy that’s done in the name of Christ.

Probably the most important thing the Holy Spirit does is draw people together into community.

The purpose of the gospel, after all, is to reconcile all things to God through Christ (Col 1:15-20, John 17:20-24); and this couldn’t be done without the indwelling presence of the Spirit in each of us.

This process of reconciliation begins with the church. Indeed, how can we hope to be reconciled to all people (and all people to us, and to God) if we aren’t even reconciled to our brothers and sisters in Christ?

This is why the creed makes a point of mentioning the “holy, catholic church.” Both of these things are necessary, both holiness (being set apart from the dominant culture) and catholicity (being united in love).

The church is called to be a counter-cultural witness to God’s love, set apart from all the greed, violence, and selfishness of the world; and at the same time, she is called to be a place where all are welcome.

This is a difficult balance, and not something easily achieved. Indeed, the church usually fails on one or the other of these points, and sometimes on both. At her worst, the church has been a place that reflects (and even amplifies) all of the dominant culture’s negativity, injustice and division.

Even so, I refuse to give up on the church. There is so much good that can be done when Christians are truly led by the Spirit – and the Spirit is discerned in community, not just individually.

(Indeed, even God is communal! The Father, Son and Holy Spirit aren’t just three names for the same person, but are actually three different spirits (with unique personalities) that work together to accomplish the Divine will.)

But what does it mean to be the church? How is the communion of saints realized, and how do we access the power of the Spirit to heal, forgive, and work for a more just and loving world?

These are the sorts of things we need to think and pray on.

(Coming Next: The Apostles’ Creed, Part Eight: “The Communion of Saints”)