A Church like a Leyden Jar

A Leyden jar is a simple device. It’s a jar capable of storing an electrical charge. It’s so named because it was invented by a Dutch scientist in the city of Leiden in the middle of the 18th century.

There’s not much to a Leyden jar—it’s just a bottle filled with water and wrapped in foil with a metal spike sticking through the top. (You can even make one at home if you want!) What makes a Leyden jar so useful is that it can store static electricity as an electric charge that can be discharged by touching the spike. Leyden jars were instrumental in some of the earliest experiments with electricity.

Having the general idea of what a Leyden jar is makes the following quote from Charles Spurgeon come alive. In one of his lectures, Spurgeon said this:

“It should be our ambition, in the power of the Holy Ghost, to work the entire church into a fine missionary condition, to make it like a Leyden jar charged to the full with divine electricity, so that whatever comes into contact with it shall feel its power. What can one man do alone? What can he not do with an army of enthusiasts around him? Contemplate at the outset the possibility of having a church of soul-winners. … Labor to gather a church alive for Jesus, every member energetic to the full, and the whole in incessant activity for the salvation of men.”

A church like a Leyden jar. What a powerful metaphor!

When people talk about an “electric atmosphere” in a stadium or at a concert, they’re describing the collective enthusiasm of a group as having a certain energy to it. But that nearly-palpable energy is nothing more than the enthusiasm that flesh and blood can work up for a team or an artist or a cause.

But when the Spirit of God fills a church with the very power and presence of God, that is unlike anything else on earth. When a local church is full of people who are, by the power of the Spirit, “alive for Jesus” and eager to win souls, that church is “charged to the full with divine electricity.” And churches like that have a powerful corporate witness. To come in contact with such a body of believers is to encounter the power of God—like touching the spike of a Leyden jar holding an electric charge.

Elsewhere in the lecture, Spurgeon talks about the powerful and compelling influence of a congregation that is spiritually alive. He writes,

“It would seem hard in some congregations for a sinner to be saved, for whatever good he may receive from the pulpit is frozen out of him by the arctic atmosphere with which he is surrounded: and on the other hand some churches make it hard for men to remain unconverted, for with holy zeal they persecute the careless into anxiety.”

Just to clarify, persecuting the careless into anxiety is a good thing.

Where a congregation is full of hard hearts and deaf ears and few are edified by the Word, it is much easier for a sinner to ignore the message. But when a congregation is full of people whose hearts burn in response to the Word, it can be difficult to remain unaffected. You’ve probably had an experience like that yourself, where your own soul was at first unaffected, until you observed that others were noticeably moved and stirred by God’s Word.

May we be, by God’s grace and by the presence of the Spirit in our midst, a church where it is hard for men to remain unconverted. Here are a few practical ways to cultivate this “missionary condition” in our church.

Confess Your Sin

Sin kills. It kills relationships, it deadens our hearts, it dampens our worship, it weakens our witness, and it hinders fellowship with God. Unconfessed sin is the primary cause of dull spiritual affections. But, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). So confess your sins, first to God, and then to anyone you have wronged, and enjoy God’s full and free forgiveness in Christ.

Grow in Godliness

After the grace of God saves us, that same grace trains us to grow in godliness (Titus 2:11–12). Progressing in sanctification by walking in the Spirit and putting on new, godly practices and habits will quicken your soul. And the fruit of the Spirit in your life will be a sweet blessing to others.

Meditate on the Gospel

We can actively cultivate our own affections in the right direction by meditating on and rehearsing the truth of the gospel. If we feel what we feel because we think what we think, then thinking about the glory of God revealed in the gospel will stir our hearts to feel godly affections.

Pray for Non-Christians

Pleading with God in prayer for those who don’t yet know Jesus cultivates our longing and expectancy for God to act. Make it a habit to pray for co-workers, neighbors, friends, and family members. Pray on your own, with your Huddle, and in your MCs. Pray with earnestness the way Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” (Gen. 30:1). This is one piece of what Spurgeon called “incessant activity for the salvation of men.”

Ryan Chase