Transcript

One Spirit · Scripture-ish

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One Spirit,
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Reflections on the Unifying Power of the Defined Spirit by Ed
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Gallagher.
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This post is the second and final essay for the moment on the
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Holy Spirit.
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The prior post has a brief preface explaining the origins of
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these essays.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm recording this audio version for Miriam's sake,
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SPEAKER_00: whom I cannot get to read my writings but only listen to them.
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SPEAKER_00: And by the way,
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I have also gone back to the prior post on the Holy Spirit and
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added an audio
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SPEAKER_00: version there as well.
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SPEAKER_00: Introduction A person without God's Spirit is not a Christian.
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SPEAKER_00: The New Testament is clear on this point, particularly the Apostle Paul.
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SPEAKER_00: Romans 8, 9.
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SPEAKER_00: Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
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SPEAKER_00: In his rebuke of the Christians in Galatia,
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SPEAKER_00: he used the expression,
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SPEAKER_00: received the spirit to mean become a Christian.
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SPEAKER_00: Listen to Galatians 3.2.
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Did you receive the spirit by doing the works of the law or by
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believing what you heard?
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SPEAKER_00: Paul,
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SPEAKER_00: in 1 Corinthians 12.13,
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SPEAKER_00: agrees with Peter,
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SPEAKER_00: in Acts 2.38,
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SPEAKER_00: that believers receive the divine Spirit at baptism.
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SPEAKER_00: When Paul encountered a dozen disciples in Ephesus,
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SPEAKER_00: he asked them about their experience of the Spirit.
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When he learned that they didn't have the Spirit,
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he knew something had gone wrong.
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SPEAKER_00: It turned out that these people had not even been baptized into Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: Look at Acts 19 at the beginning of the chapter.
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SPEAKER_00: A follower of Jesus must be one who honors and cultivates,
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SPEAKER_00: does not quench,
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SPEAKER_00: 1 Thessalonians 5.19,
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SPEAKER_00: or grieve,
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SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 4.30,
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SPEAKER_00: the Spirit's work in his or her life.
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SPEAKER_00: After all, that's what Jesus did.
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SPEAKER_00: The Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism,
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and Jesus began his ministry by proclaiming himself anointed by
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God's Spirit.
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SPEAKER_00: Luke chapter 4.
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It was the Spirit of God that empowered Jesus' ministry of
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exorcism,
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Matthew 12,
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28.
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SPEAKER_00: Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, Luke 10, verse 21.
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SPEAKER_00: The Spirit was involved in the resurrection of Jesus, Romans 1, verse 4.
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SPEAKER_00: Just as he will be in ours, Romans 8, verse 11.
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SPEAKER_00: Jesus had no comforting words whatsoever.
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SPEAKER_00: for someone who would blaspheme the divine spirit.
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SPEAKER_00: Mark 3, 29.
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Jesus told his disciples that they would be better off once he
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was no longer
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SPEAKER_00: physically present among them.
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SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine that?
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If we didn't know that Jesus himself said it,
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we would declare such an idea undiluted hogwash.
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But Jesus said that his departure would be accompanied by the
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outpouring of the Spirit.
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SPEAKER_00: Quote, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away.
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SPEAKER_00: For if I do not go away, the paraclete will not come to you.
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SPEAKER_00: But if I go, I will send him to you.
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SPEAKER_00: That's John 16 verse 7.
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SPEAKER_00: Going deeper.
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SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit makes intermittent appearances in the Old Testament.
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SPEAKER_00: The particular term,
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SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit,
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SPEAKER_00: in fact,
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SPEAKER_00: shows up only in two passages,
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SPEAKER_00: Psalm 51 verse 11 and Isaiah 63 verses 10 and 11.
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SPEAKER_00: But God's Spirit is mentioned several dozen times in the Old Testament,
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SPEAKER_00: even if not with the phrase Holy Spirit.
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Not only is the Divine Spirit mentioned relatively infrequently
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in the Old
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SPEAKER_00: Testament compared with the New Testament,
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but there are indications that only select individuals
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benefited from the Spirit's
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SPEAKER_00: presence,
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SPEAKER_00: not the people of God generally.
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SPEAKER_00: In one particularly telling passage,
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SPEAKER_00: Moses expresses the wish that,
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SPEAKER_00: quote,
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all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put
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His Spirit on them.
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SPEAKER_00: That's Numbers 11, verse 29.
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SPEAKER_00: As the scholar Mark Boda has written,
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SPEAKER_00: quote,
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the dominant feature of Old Testament pneumatology is that the
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Spirit of God
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SPEAKER_00: appears to be restricted to covenantal leaders.
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SPEAKER_00: whether leader,
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SPEAKER_00: Deuteronomy 34,
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SPEAKER_00: verse 9,
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SPEAKER_00: elder,
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SPEAKER_00: Numbers 11,
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SPEAKER_00: verse 25,
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SPEAKER_00: judge,
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SPEAKER_00: Judges 3,
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SPEAKER_00: verse 10,
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SPEAKER_00: king,
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SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel 10,
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SPEAKER_00: verse 6,
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SPEAKER_00: or prophet,
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SPEAKER_00: Zechariah 7,
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SPEAKER_00: verse 12.
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SPEAKER_00: But the Spirit does not appear to indwell the community as a whole.
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And for that,
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Boda cites again Numbers 11,
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verse 29,
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which I already quoted.
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SPEAKER_00: The Hebrew prophets,
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SPEAKER_00: particularly Joel,
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SPEAKER_00: chapter 2,
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SPEAKER_00: verses 28 through 32,
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SPEAKER_00: envision a future moment when this would all change,
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SPEAKER_00: when God would,
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SPEAKER_00: quote,
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SPEAKER_00: pour out my spirit on all flesh.
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John the Baptist told the crowds of a coming one who would
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perform baptism in the
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SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit,
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SPEAKER_00: Mark 1,
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SPEAKER_00: verse 8.
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SPEAKER_00: And in Acts 2,
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the Apostle Peter announced that the promised outpouring of the
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Divine Spirit had
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SPEAKER_00: finally come to pass.
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And on the same day,
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he assured every baptized believer of the gift of the Holy
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Spirit.
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SPEAKER_00: As you know,
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there are different ways of understanding these biblical
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statements about the
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SPEAKER_00: Spirit.
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SPEAKER_00: I think the easiest,
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SPEAKER_00: most obvious interpretation is that every believer,
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SPEAKER_00: every follower of Christ,
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SPEAKER_00: from the time of Peter's proclamation and forever after,
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enjoys the presence of God in their lives through the spirit
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that indwells them.
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SPEAKER_00: Christians are God's temple.
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SPEAKER_00: 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, or chapter 6, verse 19.
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SPEAKER_00: They are inhabited by God's spirit.
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Are we talking about the personal presence of God's spirit
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within the believer's body?
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SPEAKER_00: That does seem to me the simplest understanding.
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If you think it best to understand these promises in a
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different way,
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fine.
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As long as we all affirm that anyone who does not have the
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Spirit of Christ does
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SPEAKER_00: not belong to him.
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SPEAKER_00: Romans 8 verse 9.
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SPEAKER_00: Application.
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SPEAKER_00: How do you know that a believer has the Spirit of Christ?
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SPEAKER_00: One way of answering the question is to say simply,
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SPEAKER_00: the Bible says it,
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SPEAKER_00: I believe it,
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SPEAKER_00: that settles it.
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SPEAKER_00: I like that answer because I trust Scripture.
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SPEAKER_00: But perhaps we can say more about the Spirit's work in our lives.
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SPEAKER_00: Here we encounter disagreements.
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The promise in Joel that we quoted earlier entails that,
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quote,
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That's Joel 2,
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verse 28.
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SPEAKER_00: Indeed,
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we find something close to this in the New Testament
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descriptions of the spiritual
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SPEAKER_00: gifts distributed to believers.
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SPEAKER_00: To be sure, there are visions.
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SPEAKER_00: and prophetic dreams described in the New Testament.
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SPEAKER_00: The book of Acts mentions several of them.
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But these are not listed among the spiritual gifts enjoyed
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generally by believers.
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SPEAKER_00: For instance,
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SPEAKER_00: in 1 Corinthians 12,
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SPEAKER_00: verses 4 through 10,
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SPEAKER_00: we have various spiritual gifts,
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SPEAKER_00: but not dreams and visions.
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SPEAKER_00: Instead, other gifts are mentioned.
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SPEAKER_00: Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, tongues, more.
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SPEAKER_00: In fact,
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SPEAKER_00: Acts 2 verse 17,
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SPEAKER_00: which quotes Joel 2,
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SPEAKER_00: is the only verse in the New Testament containing the word dream.
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SPEAKER_00: My point is that we should not press the language of Joel 2.28 too far.
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SPEAKER_00: Even in the earliest days of the church,
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SPEAKER_00: when it was obvious that Joel's vision had come to fulfillment,
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SPEAKER_00: at least partially,
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SPEAKER_00: The details of that vision did not strictly apply.
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SPEAKER_00: The Spirit was at work in a new way,
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SPEAKER_00: just as Joel had promised,
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SPEAKER_00: and the Spirit's activities exceeded Joel's imaginings.
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SPEAKER_00: What about supernatural gifts?
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A first-century Christian could say that they knew they had the
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Spirit of Christ in
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SPEAKER_00: part because of the spiritual gifts they enjoyed.
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SPEAKER_00: In Galatians 3.5,
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Paul essentially equated the reception of the Spirit with the
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working of miracles.
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SPEAKER_00: And today, the fastest-growing segment of Christianity is charismatic.
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claiming to have received the empowering from God's Spirit to
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perform the same
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SPEAKER_00: spiritual gifts that we read about in the New Testament.
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Some of these groups declare that the gift of tongues is the
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initial sign that one
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SPEAKER_00: has been accepted by God.
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I myself have not experienced these gifts,
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and neither have most of the Christians I know.
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SPEAKER_00: Are we missing something?
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SPEAKER_00: We should remember that when it comes to the spiritual gifts,
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SPEAKER_00: it is the Spirit,
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SPEAKER_00: quote,
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SPEAKER_00: who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses,
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SPEAKER_00: 1 Corinthians 12,
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SPEAKER_00: verse 11.
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According to Paul's primary account of the spiritual gifts in 1
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Corinthians 12,
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SPEAKER_00: not everyone receives the same gift.
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SPEAKER_00: Look again at 1 Corinthians 12,
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SPEAKER_00: verses 4 through 10,
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SPEAKER_00: or at the end of the chapter,
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SPEAKER_00: verses 27 through 31.
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SPEAKER_00: And no particular charismatic gift in 1 Corinthians 12,
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no particular charismatic gift is the sine qua non of the
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spirit-filled Christian.
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SPEAKER_00: In the same context, Paul does name a sine qua non.
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SPEAKER_00: of the spirit-filled Christian.
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SPEAKER_00: Listen to 1 Corinthians 13, verse 1.
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SPEAKER_00: If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels,
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SPEAKER_00: but do not have love,
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SPEAKER_00: I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
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SPEAKER_00: He goes on to say, without love, I am nothing and I gain nothing.
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SPEAKER_00: Love of God and of neighbor are the greatest commandments.
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SPEAKER_00: Matthew 22, verses 34 to 40.
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SPEAKER_00: They are the fulfillment of the law.
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SPEAKER_00: Romans 13, verses 9 and 10.
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SPEAKER_00: And the first of the fruit of the Spirit.
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SPEAKER_00: Galatians 5, verse 22.
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Let me point out that the fruit of the Spirit is unlike the
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spiritual gifts.
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SPEAKER_00: The fruit of the Spirit are not.
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SPEAKER_00: allotted to each one individually, just as the Spirit chooses.
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SPEAKER_00: That's what Paul had said about the gifts, but not about the fruit.
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SPEAKER_00: The fruit are not gifts given to different believers.
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While Christians sometimes wonder about which gifts the Spirit
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has given them,
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SPEAKER_00: and sometimes they take a spiritual gifts inventory,
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SPEAKER_00: there is no need to wonder which fruit the Spirit is developing in me.
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SPEAKER_00: The answer is all of them.
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SPEAKER_00: It's not that my fruit is peace and yours is self-control.
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SPEAKER_00: No,
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SPEAKER_00: when the Spirit indwells someone,
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SPEAKER_00: the Spirit of Christ cultivates the fruit of the Spirit,
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SPEAKER_00: the character of Christ in that person.
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The Spirit cultivates love and joy and peace and patience and
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kindness and goodness
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and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control in that
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individual believer.
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SPEAKER_00: This is the primary, the fundamental sign of the Spirit's presence.
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SPEAKER_00: How do you know you have the Spirit of Christ?
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SPEAKER_00: Spiritual growth, that's how.
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SPEAKER_00: You become like Christ, which is the whole point of Christianity.
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SPEAKER_00: Romans 8.29, Ephesians 4.15 says,
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The Spirit's work in you,
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always,
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for everyone,
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is the development of the Spirit's fruit.
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Are you more loving today than when you were baptized,
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or than a few years ago?
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SPEAKER_00: More joyful?
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SPEAKER_00: More patient?
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SPEAKER_00: If not, you are quenching the Spirit, grieving Him.
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It's time to dedicate yourself to prayer and meditating on
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scripture and service to
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others and corporate worship and other spiritual disciplines by
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which you can
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SPEAKER_00: develop the soil of your heart.
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The spirit,
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an excellent gardener,
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can grow his fruit in a prepared heart.
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SPEAKER_00: conclusion.
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SPEAKER_00: Without Christ's spirit, you do not belong to Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: Without the spirit of adoption, you are not God's child.
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SPEAKER_00: Romans 8 verses 15 and 16.
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The primary work of the spirit in the life of the believer is
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to accomplish the
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SPEAKER_00: primary goal of the Christian,
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SPEAKER_00: to become like Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: This entails exhibiting love,
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SPEAKER_00: just like Jesus,
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SPEAKER_00: and joy,
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SPEAKER_00: just like Jesus,
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SPEAKER_00: and peace,
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SPEAKER_00: just like Jesus,
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SPEAKER_00: and patience,
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SPEAKER_00: just like Jesus,
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SPEAKER_00: and all the other fruit of the Spirit,
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SPEAKER_00: just like Jesus.
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Your job is to open yourself to the Spirit's work by engaging
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in the spiritual
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SPEAKER_00: disciplines of,
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SPEAKER_00: among others,
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SPEAKER_00: prayer and meditation on Scripture and Christian community.
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In this way,
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the one spirit in dwelling Christians binds us to Christ and to
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each other.
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SPEAKER_00: This is how we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
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SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 4 verse 3.