Russell Brand and the Spirit's Fabulous Fancy

The Holy Ghost uses whomever, however, whenever, He wants. That should tickle us pink, but it drives the establishment angry.

Jesus told Nicodemus that the Holy Ghost was like the wind, and although you can tell where He’s been, you can’t tell where He’s come from or where He’s going. And for those who fancy themselves a master of theology, that they might become masters of God, that’s infuriating.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:8).

The Doctrine of Perspicuity gets more than a cursory glance in the realm of seminaries, and is often listed alongside the Doctrines of Inerrancy and Sufficiency, with just as much assured bravado. But it appears to me, to be a doctrine of another, lesser (or perhaps misunderstood) order.

If you’re unaware of the curious term in the Vocabulary of Boring Things, the Doctrine of Perspicuity is hinted in the Westminster Confession of Faith:

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all. Yet, those things that are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or another, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.”

What this means is that what God desires us to understand in the Scripture, can indeed be understood. This was the divines’ way of taking a potshot at the Lutherans, in particular, who call every one of their contradictory articles of nonsense a “mystery,” and toward the Romanists, who chalk up their absurdities as “mystic.”

The Confession is true on this point, and I can find no fault in it. But it’s what theologians do with it, and go further than the limits it so wisely sets, that creates the error. Simply put; what God wants us to know about salvation, or Scripture, can indeed be known and understood…but some things God does not intend for us to know.

There are several grand mysteries in Scripture. Some things - like certain aspects of God’s Godhood - are unknown because our finite brains can’t comprehend the manifold greatness of God and the mystery is entirely due to our brain’s limited computing power. But some things - like those relating to salvation - are hidden from us because God has chosen to hide them. These include the purposes of God’s election (which the Bible repeatedly mentions, but never tells us what those specific purposes are, as related to specific individuals), and why the Spirit does what he does.

Some theologians take great joy in the fact that humans are on a need-to-know basis when it comes to the Spirit’s work, and some theologians despise it. The first group of theologians consider the study of God nothing short of worship. The second group considers the study of God a padded portfolio, a stuffed resume’, by which they project themselves to the masses as the Bible Answer Men. And should there be a question without an answer, their LinkedIn profile cannot be as impressive as it otherwise would be.

I presume God chuckles at their knowledge, or their thinking that viewing God through a mirror darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12) is somehow high-definition.

A MANAGEABLE GOD

Since the days of the Nephilim, mankind has made an attempt to summon God to his beck and call, to conjure God, as though a lesser spirit. And the lesser gods have indeed trained us this way, because with the right incantations, with the correct ceremonies and well-mixed potions, they will appear and commune with us through crystal balls and baptized tea leaves.

But the God of Abraham is far less docile, and much less prone to parlay with humans. Of course, he walked with Adam in the garden, and once or twice showed himself to mortal men (although from behind, or through clouds of smoke, as he walked with Adam only in the morning fog), but just the sound of his voice, rumbling like peals of thunder, is enough to weaken knees. If he could be conjured like the lesser gods, and possess a human medium like them, they would be rent into particles of DNA in a fine red mist, because they couldn’t contain the magnitude of his glory. This, of course, makes the incarnation of Christ ‘tenting’ among men in a 33-year sojourn all the more incredible.

How did God the Son fit himself into an embryo? How did flesh withhold him? Miracles like these don’t get the credit they’re due, but because God never explained it. How is the hypostatic union even possible? Theologians don’t often discuss it, because they stick to the things they can explain. No one would listen to them if they didn’t. And that, you see, is part of the problem.

For this reason, theologians love the doctrines of soteriology (salvation) because we can make graphs and charts, timelines and orders. The Ordo Salutis appears clear to us, from election to predestination, from predestination to regeneration, from regeneration to faith, from faith to sanctification, from sanctification to glorification (unless you’re a Synergist and have messed that all up). We like eschatology for the same reason; you can make some beautiful graphs.

But what’s entirely unmanageable is the Holy Ghost, who has proven himself an incorrigible deterrent to our charting and graphing. He literally just goes around earth, carrying out the Father’s commands, giving faith to whom the Father wills, convicting whomever He wills of sin, passing out spiritual gifts to whomever He wills, and producing spiritual fruit on his own time table. And he explains none of this to us, nor asks us to counsel Him in his work.

HERE I AM LORD, SEND ME. NO, I SAID ME. OVER HERE.

Most of us church kids had Isaiah 6:8 preached at us at regular frequency. God asked “Whom shall I send? Who shall go for us?” And Isaiah speaks up brashly, takes a step forward, chest-puffed out, and says, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”

I’m not sure how accurate that depiction is, if for no other reason, Isaiah was the only mortal in the room. I would imagine it more likely that Isaiah looked around, saw he was the only human God could possibly have been asking this quite-rhetorical question, took a deep gulp and said, “Here I am [puts up arm slightly]. Send me?”

And why did God choose Isaiah, anyway? That’s for God to know, and us to never figure out.

We do get some insights into why God chose certain people, however. It was similar to the reason God chose Deborah. Nobody would give credit and glory and honor to the weakling and the woman, and would in turn give full glory and honor to God. It’s probably the same reason God used a shepherd boy to slay a giant, and chose a stutterer to talk-down to Pharaoh.

It’s the natural human tendency to look at the Scriptures and eisegete ourselves into the tale. Here we are, making ourselves available to God. And we want God to use us, and there’s not a single thing wrong with that. But, we have a tendency to get bitter when he doesn’t.

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BRAND ENVY

Russell Brand, the English comedian and former drug/alcohol/sex addict and well-known skeptic appears to have been radically converted under the power of the Holy Ghost. I don’t believe it to be a Biblical attitude of “wait and see” until he dies, to put our stamp of “really saved after all” on his tombstone, which appears to be the notion of many. If for no other reason, his (1) very clear denunciation of personal sin (2) his acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord (3) his articulation as to who that Jesus Christ is, which seems ontologically correct and (4) his transformation in message and attitudes all scream genuine conversion.

Of course, lies can be screamed, too. And certainly we’ve been let down by celebrity conversions before. We’ve also been let down by non-celebrity conversions and on a regular basis. What of it? We rejoice when it’s time to rejoice.

But the attitude of evangelicals, particularly my own tribe of Reformed evangelicals, toward Brand, have been nauseating to watch. Angering, in fact.

I want you to understand, that Strachan’s choice to employ the word “friend” to Brand, and not “brother” is an intentional slight, and an insufferable one. It is the way of the professional theologizer to say, “I have not yet chosen to bequeath upon you the merits of brotherhood.” This alone, is a breach of Biblical protocol and done from such a place of envious spite perpetrated upon a new believer that its contempt is palpable.

And then, of course, comes Strachan’s advice. We don’t need random Christians out there giving their testimonies and talking about Christ. They might, after all, say something wrong. Besides, there are only so many microphones to go around, and we have all of these “Public Theologians” sitting around with nothing to do, and no one is listening to them.

We’ve seen a lot of this lately, and another example was Nala, the OnlyFans former harlot who’s been out and about talking about Jesus much to the horror of TradWives who themselves make ontological errors about God in their corrections of her. While new believers don’t make for good pastors (1 Timothy 5:22), they make for wonderful evangelists.

The Gadarene Demoniac in Luke 8, newly freed from a cohort of literal demons collectively named Legion, was given the following instruction by Christ:

Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him (Luke 8:39)

Now imagine the former demoniac, now clothed and in the right mind (evidencing his true conversion), being told by a member of the Sanhedrin, “Hey, buddy. Hey, pal. You need to go sit under a rabbi for a while, maybe shut up for a while until we determine you’re legit.”

You’d call the Sanhedrin professional theologian an insufferable shrew.

And yet, that’s exactly what evangelical Public Theologians are doing when they go out of their way to belittle, patronize, and condescend new believers who are excitedly telling people about Jesus Christ. Here is Russell Brand - an infamous demoniac possessed by the spirits of drugs, sex, and rock n’roll - now purged completely of his unclean spirits, being told to pipe down and be quiet.

Let me ask you, do you think the demoniac of Luke 8 had his theology together? Do you think he comprehended almost anything at all about anything at all, except that Christ had cleansed him? That’s doubtful. But, it was enough.

I too, would be upset if God chose to use a former demoniac more each day before breakfast, than he ever used me despite having the full crismation of the evangelical establishment, the funding of million-dollar grants, and three seminary degrees under my belt. But I suppose this delights God, because he does this a lot.

THE GOD WHO SORTS AND SIFTS

Of course, Russell Brand’s theology needs improvement. And with one step to the left or right, he might very well fall into one heresy or another. The same goes for the former OnlyFan harlot. And so, we should pray for them.

But back to my assertion that we don’t believe enough in the Holy Ghost, it’s the work of the Third Person to guide us to the knowledge of truth (John 16:13). He will either work out their theological just like he worked out their sexual ones, kinks, or make their listeners immune to it, as he works miraculously in them.

By the time a “Public Theologian” (my scare quotes are designed to signify my contempt for the concept) is chiming in on a new convert, lamenting the microphone in his face while he’s telling people about Jesus, it’s much too late for the “Public Theologian” to be of any use at all. The evangelism cat is already out of the bag, and now it’s time to pray that the God Ghost guides them.

We live in unbelievable times, and God is doing unbelievable things. Praise him.

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