The Holy Spirit constantly gets referred to as an “it” or some kind of impersonal force all the time. I can’t remember a time before Star Wars so I don’t know if The Force affected the church’s understanding of the Holy Spirit or if there was always some confusion. But the bottom line is, the Holy Spirit is better than the Force. Don’t believe me? Well here ya go:
#7 – The Force isn’t strong in everyone
Some people have more force than others. You could be like Luke, Anakin, Obi-wan, or Yoda; or you can end up like a Storm Trooper – you can’t hit the broad-side of a barn with a laser blaster, and get Jedi mind-tricked by anyone who tries. But the Holy Spirit is given to all believers, and all believers get all of the Holy Spirit. There isn’t like a Holy Spirit meter where you get more of Him the more good deeds you do like it’s the Legend of Zelda or something. We don’t get more or less of the Holy Spirit, but we do surrender more or less of ourselves to Him.
#6 – The Holy Spirit Gives Love, Joy, Peace and more
The Fruit of the Spirit are awesome. This is what believers experience if they are yielded to Him because it’s what the Holy Spirit experiences all the time. The Force only gets people to say, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” The Force just enhances who you already are, it doesn’t change who you are. The Holy Spirit is way better because He makes us better.
#5 – The Force is Manipulated by the User
The whole point of the Force is that you have to get better at using it. You’ve got to meditate and practice and live alone on a moon for 20 years. Boring. People think they want control over everything, but once they have control they see how much they can mess up. God has “several” advantages on us. He knows everything about everyone. He knows everything that has happened and will happen. And He can do whatever He wants whenever He wants. So do we really want to “use” the Holy Spirit to accomplish what we want? Or do we honestly just want the Holy Spirit to use us for whatever God wants?
#4 – The Holy Spirit has a Will of His Own
The Holy Spirit is out convicting unbelievers of their sin, righteousness, and judgment. He can do all this all on His own. He doesn’t need to use anyone if He doesn’t want to. His will is independent of our own. The Force is dependent on the user. It’s thus significantly weaker than the Holy Spirit.
#3 – The Force can be used for Good or Evil
Furthermore, the Force can be used for Light or Dark sides of the force. It can be used to save lives or take them. That’s pretty extreme. It might give various, unnatural powers, but they can all be used for Good or Evil. The Force doesn’t lead the Jedi towards what is right. The Jedi is always susceptible to be drawn to the Dark Side. In fact, the more powerful he becomes the more likely he will be drawn to it. The Holy Spirit is not like that at all. The Holy Spirit is always leading people to the ultimate truth, Jesus Christ. The gifts the Spirit brings are not for the believer specifically. They are for the edification of the body of Christ. The closer our will aligns with His Will, the “gooder” we will become.
#2 – The Holy Spirit is God
This is because the Holy Spirit is not some aspect of God or power of God, He is the full on presence of God. The Holy Spirit is God himself. When you think about it, even if someone tried to argue that the Spirit of God is something less than God himself, they would be immediately contradicting themselves. So let’s say the Spirit of God is just 1 teeny tiny percentage of God. What is 1% of an Infinite, All-powerful Being? Yep, you got it. An Infinite, All-powerful Being. God being in us is so much better than some power or force.
#1 – The Force is Make-believe
Yeah I said it, wanna fight about it? Oh, and while we’re at it, midi-chlorians are stupid. I know it, you know it, Liam Neeson knows it, J.J. Abrams knows it, and if I had to guess, George Lucas knows it too. The Force isn’t real. It’s a made up camera trick for a cheap special effect. But the Holy Spirit is real. He’s always been real and He’ll always be real. The Holy Spirit is still bringing people to the feet of the Savior. He is still guiding believers into truth and bringing God’s Word to their remembrance. The Holy Spirit always was, always is, and always will be.
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Joe Allotta 