Spiritual Fire!

ON PENTECOST Sunday, we hear the unbridled conversation of Jesus to his gathered disciples. Described as expressed during the night before his arrest and subsequent crucifixion, within the Gospel According to Saint John we find Jesus instructed his followers for the long term. Therefore, the message we read not only applied to his disciples gathered with him during that time, but the message was spoken also to those who would come afterward... those called to be our Lord’s future church. For guidance today then, we read…

“But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning… that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them.

 I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, “Where are you going?” But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.

 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

 I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”  (John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15)

 

 

Principles of Lutheran Theology Second Edition By Carl E. Braaten

 

A Word for the Long Haul…

God sent Jesus as the answer to the existential separation caused by human sin. At the time, our Lord was about bringing together the Creator and those whom God created. Jesus worked therefore to reconcile the gap between the Father and his people. In this lesson, we deal also with the great work of the Holy Spirit who was being sent into the world so God’s word of salvation could be poured out. The Spirit would empower the gospel proclamation through the Christian church.

 The task of the Spirit was plainly taught by our Lord. Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit would convince the world concerning its sinfulness. The Spirit, termed here as the legal Counselor of God, would speak of God’s exclusive righteousness and point out that divine right for making judgment. In other words, the Spirit would teach that we are already rightly judged as guilty! Any readers or hearers who doubt this claim can read the divine commandments as found in the ancient scriptures (see Exodus 20:1-20).
 If we stand before the Spirit we find ourselves convicted by the Law. We are therefore driven by the painful knowledge of our separation and eternal death to seek reconciliation with our God. Further, Jesus taught his chosen disciples that the Holy Spirit would not only guide those who are convicted, but that His power would come upon each of them in fullness, Through the Holy Spirit, Almighty God as expressed by the Father and Son would guide their words and paths. The road into the future would be revealed to them.

 Note here! The Spirit was said by Jesus to reveal both the will of the Father and the salvation supplied by the Son. In Jesus’ statement to those gathered around him, we find the teaching that “all” knowledge needed for salvation would be complete. Thus the entire purpose of our Lord’s death and Resurrection was to be ultimately revealed to the future Church. In that way, the holiness and exclusivity of the scriptural, unchanging Word was already placed eternally before us.
 This message comes subsequently to we of the modern Church, as the Word of God in both written and spoken sense. However, be careful here that we do not get haughty and proud! Though God chose to reveal his will though the Word, it doesn’t mean that we of the Church always pay right attention. While the Word is eternal and does not change… our willingness to be open to the Spirit’s message and properly understand the teaching varies considerably. Given this human frailty, right understanding comes only when we receive the message without imposing our own sinful human will upon its interpretation. This error includes faulty dedications to any prior false theological opinions.

 

The Historical-Critical Method: A Guide for the Perplexed By David R. Law

 

 

Toward Greater Understanding!

When we hear of the prophetic fulfillment of this message concerning the Holy Spirit’s outpouring upon the disciples, we often find that many persons today become startled. They are caught aghast at the high “spirituality” described by Luke's description written in the “Acts of the Apostles”. This results from a communications breakdown between an ancient culture and our own modern scientific-era. We often hear this expressed in unbelief when the scripture is read that “tongues of fire” were seen.
 To explain this miraculous phenomenon out of my own finite understanding, please notice that in ancient times all things that raised the human temperature were considered as spiritually-sourced. This was true whether the cause was physical, psychological or spiritual. For example, if a child became ill so that its bodily temperature rose even in a sustained minor degree… the heated condition was said to be sourced by a fiery demon. This was the ancient thought world.

 At times, sweet parental care and primitive medicine of the day would drive a demon out. However, if a person’s high temperature, sweating and flushed face persisted or rose to the point of convulsions, it was said to be due to a host of demons... or the work of the strong evil himself. Then Beelzebub, the Devil…also named Satan, was said to have certainly produced the great fevered malady. The illness was caused by the Evil One. The attack was thought of as an evil event... and the sick person could worsen even unto death.
 Given this primitive mindset, let me offer that various healings performed by Jesus were thus seen as personal releasings from the heated influence of temperature-raising demons. In those authentic healings, the offending spirits were interpreted as "driven out" since the person's temperature and agitation became lowered by the power of God's divine love given through Christ Jesus.

 

You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence and Power By Max Lucado

 

 
 Given this expression viewed from the ancient belief system, we can understand that if anyone spewed heated, passionate words that would redden a face in that society... that person could also be accused of being under the influence of a demonic spirit.

 But what kind of spirit was really at work in this particular instance? Was the Spirit discerned properly as they guessed the source? What did people say of the excited during Pentecost? What caused their heated witness? Was it illness? Was it demons of drunkenness?

 As was seen and described by Luke, the Spirit that excited and empowered the disciples was different. The Holy Spirit that, “fire empowered” the tongues of disciples worked from the excitement of Resurrection knowledge given to the apostles. Consequently, that same Spirit gave birth to the Church. This divine power spilled forth in heated, spoken birth pangs so strongly expressed by the disciples that they spoke to many persons in various languages. Any nurse standing beside a laboring woman giving birth without anesthetic can often testify to the occurrence of heated work and powerful speech. Most certainly there are commonalities among languages, that when worked upon heatedly... would communicate God's fiery love poured out.

 

We Will Not Be Silenced: Responding with Courage to Our Culture's Assault on Christianity By Erwin W. Lutzer

 

 
 Understand this! The intense power of God’s love overcomes all barriers, including language. The Holy Spirit of God the Father and Christ Jesus expressed as the miraculous structure of the Holy Trinity, was the divine three-some which gave the disciples the words and actions to breach sinful human separations and forever establish the Christian Church.
 How powerful was this Pentecost event? Some present at the Jewish Feast of Pentecost said that Peter and the others were drunk and touted that was the reason why their spirits were uncontrollably heated. Others claimed that all had demons and the Devil was in control. The miracle that occurred, however, was that the followers of Jesus spoke about Jesus with heated passion. They stated that Jesus was the One who reconciled sinners with God. Some who gathered... whose faith in God had grown cold due to sin, listened to the good news of forgiveness before God. They were brought to believe that God could forgive them for the sake of Jesus Christ, and would bless them by warming them in that same Holy Spirit. People admitted sinfulness and they were impressed with the fervent love conveyed passionately by God through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. By the Spirit’s teaching and speaking through his apostolic servants then, the people could know that God had lovingly worked to deliver them.

 

John, the Maverick Gospel, Third Edition By Robert Kysar

 

 
 I pray that through my rather modernistic interpretation of that wondrous Pentecost event, you may now see that the outpouring of Holy Spirit caused a great spiritual birth. That faith was given by God to the disciples... and many present in the crowd. Faith was given not because any were smarter, richer, pious or more powerful than anyone else. Faith was imposed upon them freely as a brightly shining gift. It was a fullness of faith that suddenly burst into flames as the excitement of eternal deliverance jumped from one person to another. You see, knowing the Truth... as Christ Jesus was then revealed, the disciples working by the power of the fiery Holy Spirit founded the early Church. They could not help but express the power of God. God’s judgment from on high concerning their sin was felt and His judgment drove hearing persons toward repentance and forgiveness. With the testimony of Jesus crucified and Risen thereby proclaimed, the Truth of reconciliation was presented and understood. Consequently, the Holy Spirit quickly formed the Church as a spiritual entity that would course across the centuries until now. Ours voices can emerge at any time in a low whisper amongst friends or high spiritual praise in community song. Click to read more about personal evangelism...

 

Preparing, Planting and Promise 

In Our Day...

 You see, from its spiritual birth the early Church was truly formed to be a burning civil fire... a central and faithful witness. That witness was formed by the Spirit as parental power so that we as God's people may also speak child-like faith. Forgiveness is made available only through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit spoke through the disciples that God had raised Jesus Christ from the dead. He is Risen and reigns eternally.  This is the gospel message that we of the church are called to proclaim yet today. He is Risen, and so too we shall be! This is the message we need to relay to others on Pentecost and beyond. We are to carry our vocal worship into the throes of the center square. This was the apostolic message of the disciples. It has now become our message to be preached openly until the day when we see our Lord coming toward us in the hazy clouds of the future. Come Lord Jesus… be our guest!

 May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord lift you up and set you on fire to be his witness in the world.

 

Please be invited to view our series on the Apocalypse! Click the address below...

 

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