Tag Archives: death

God, life and existence.

Holy Spirit in History, , , ,
‘If it were (God’s) intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.’ (Job 34v13-14)

Okay, back to Elihu who is still trying to instruct Job on the way God operates. Having explained the neccessity of God’s Spirit to breath life into the lifeless, Elihu turns his attention to God and the inevitable demise of humanity should God ever choose to withdraw His Spirit away from Creation.

Now, while Elihu’s explanation is intended to show that life is fragile and dependent on God to sustain it,  he does not really answer Job’s questions about what has befallen him. Instead, he chooses to sidestep the issue by focusing on the nature of existence and non-existence rather than deal with Job’s more pressing need to understand what has happened to him.

Indeed,  many humans in the world still struggle with understanding the tragic outcomes that befall them and their loved ones. However, what is now needed from the Church is for God’s People to show the same generosity of love towards the grieving,  irrespective of whether the person continues to love God or turn his face away.

Share this page

Facebooktwitterredditmail

Why the cross of Christ is crucial to receiving God’s spiritual gifts. (1 of 4)

primary gifts, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, spirituality, , ,

  “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.’ John 14v15-1

In the run up to Ascension Day on the 25th May,  the next four posts will consider how Christ’s crucifixion is intrinsically linked to us receiving spiritual gifts from God.

In this passage we learn that Jesus’ departure heralds the arrival of the Holy Spirit whose mission is to live within each of the followers so that they can receive comfort, guidance, strength and support. We are also told that the disciples will receive a gift from God’s great variety of spiritual gifts which – when combined with other people and their spiritual gifts – will build God’s Kingdom on earth through the Church. But more on that in next post…

Right now, for the Holy Spirit to come upon the believers, Christ must die and return to the Father – in much the same way that a flower dies and sheds its seed abroad so that others may follow. The cost to Christ to make this happen is death as he brings salvation and new life. For Christ to refuse the cross, the Holy Spirit would not be able to come upon us.

Given the depth of love that Christ shows in saving us from physical and spiritual death, our responsibility is to let our gratitude overflow into work for his Kingdom. We do this by allowing the Holy Spirit to reside within as he motivates us to use the spiritual gifts we have been given. In this way, the Kingdom of God grows both within and outside us in the world. Find out more at primary spiritual gift.

 

Share this page

Facebooktwitterredditmail