Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Blogs Log
Friday, January 29, 2010
Blood, Water, and Holy Spirit.....
My conscience is getting to me, after blogging more on social justice themes than in what I see in the Bible. They are "so o o " related. ....
Particularly in the academic, detached, "western" mindset -- the higher one gets, it seems, the more detached from gritty street reality the theory becomes. Particularly, if I may say so, in the social sciences.
I don't have a social science background, though those who do have affected daily life more than most of us realize. This mindset manipulates people (the "thems" not the "us-es" obviously) like a substance and seeks predictability and manageability -- which is more appropriate to a factory line. Or, inanimate substances, than human beings. There are, apparently, grades of humanity, and what a fight it has been for all of us to admit this.
My Lord Jesus Christ didn't make those distinctions, nor did his Abba Father. Particularly as to women, he appears to have stood out from even his own crowd -- as the "woman at the well" anecdote shares, or as his appearing FIRST to women (who were attending his tomb) after resurrection. They believed, but were not believed when they reported to the "boys," who wanted to hear it from the Man himself.
Oh well, I digress. But the other day, wanting to hear more Bible than I have heard at ANY church I've attended this year, including at supervised Bible studies, and tired of being hungry to hear it from others, or have others share it with me, I sat down and read I Timothy, II Timothy, and Titus.
Get this from Titus 3:1-7 {{http://kjvs.scripturetext.com/titus/3.htm}}
1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers
to obey magistrates
to be ready to every good work
2 To speak evil of no man
to be no brawlers but gentle shewing all meekness unto all men
3 For we ourselves also were __ sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another
{{Isn't that humility appropriate? None of us is perfect. HOWEVER, I notice that Paul writes that we ourselves also WERE those things. It is to be a past-tense situation. Now, it is past time to be like that, and live in that. Those things do not lead to life.}}
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done
{{OH, for the day when we realize this, we might walk into some of the works God has prepared instead... None of our works, no matter how noble, compares with the work God did...}}
but according to his mercy he saved us
{{We needed MERCY? What a novel concept! . . . . HOW did He do this?}}
by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost
Oh -- THAT... Oh no, here comes theologically treacherous water . . . . At least to human reckoning. . . .However, in the imagery from the Bible, it is less convoluted than any storm Jesus (while on earth) calmed, or the waters he walked on, as did (at least a few steps) also his disciple Peter....
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour
OK, following the pronouns, "He" refers to "God" and "the Holy Ghost," was "shed." Hover the cursor over that word "shed" and its brief translation is:
"gush out, run greedily out, spill."
Remind you of anything else that "spilled"?? Like at the cross?? I believe it's supposed to.
7 That being justified by his grace
GRACE that we could have that renewing, washing, regenerating Holy Ghost (KJV) shed forth on us... Doesn't sound like one point of a Tri-Angle that is still up in Heaven, and which needs to be woken up by ringing a bell or jumping up and down on a Sunday. Not to mock that too much -- I'm into Praise, too, but that's a different thing than attempting to wake up God like the pagans used to do. Or jumping up and down on the altar, like Elijah DIDN'T do, and the prophets of Baal Did....
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life
=======================
The posture of the body and of the heart ARE related, don't get me wrong. But I keep coming back to how that holy spirit was SHED FORTH -- at least according to the Bible. Look at this:
(ACTS 2, after Peter and those with him (how many is not the point of this post) were accused of being "drunk with new wine...." -- i.e., they had SOME liquid thing inside them causing that "irregular" (and disrupting the service, I guess) behavior.... So much for crowd management...
14 But Peter standing up with the eleven lifted up his voice and said unto them Ye men of Judaea and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem be this known unto you and hearken to my words 15 For these are not drunken as ye suppose seeing it is but the third hour of the day 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days saith God I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams
18 And __ on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit and they shall prophesy
Twice in two verses, Peter (who, let's remember, was an Israelite), quoting Joel, mentions "pour out." (Same Greek word as Paul used in Titus 3, above. Check for yourself....). Spirit was something poured out...
On further explanation, of who Jesus Christ was (is, rather) and what He had just done, Peter goes on to quote Psalms, and then explain the quotation:
29 Men and brethren let me freely __ speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his sepulchre is with us unto this day 30 Therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell neither his flesh did see corruption 32 This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all are witnesses 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear.
Same word: "Shed forth." Gee, wonder why.
Try going to a neighborhood church and hearing as concise an explanation of the death, resurrection, ascension, purpose, and promise of God as this one here. Then try to find a church where the same evidence of the presence of that Holy Ghost is clear...
The disciples in those days considered it evidence enough that the Gentiles were accepted, too:
Here (acts 10) is the concise "sermon" that Peter gave (and, an impromptu one, perhaps) to Cornelius and those assembled with him. It had taken some arm-twisting, and a vision, and an explanation of the vision to get Peter even within the vicinity of Cornelius. Our God can do things like that. (Kind of reminds me of a similar set of circumstances surrounding the conversion of Paul, a few chapter earlier.... Our God can....).....
29 Men and brethren let me freely __ speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his sepulchre is with us unto this day 30 Therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell neither his flesh did see corruption 32 This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all are witnesses 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear
5 verses, from David prophesying of Christ's resurrection, we get "This Jesus hat God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted ("WAIT a minute? Isn't Jesus "God"?? What's going on here, anyhow?"), and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost ("the promise of the holy ghost") he (that's JESUS, folks) hath shed forth "this which ye now see and hear."
{{What did they just "see and hear"?? -- I never noticed that before!}} And here was the response of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and his folk:
44 While Peter yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God Then answered Peter 47 Can __ any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Then prayed they him to tarry certain days
You want to lay bets on what the word "poured out" is, in Greek?
And what the evidence -- at least to Peter and companions, whose reputation was on the line -- they'd just crossed a major cultural barrier -- that GOD had given something to the Gentiles (not that they'd done some self-righteous works to get it from God....)....
These folks then got "in" kind of backwards from John the Baptist -- holy spirit first, water second. Oh well, so much for the order of service..... You know those Gentiles....
At any rate, this appears to be central for what Jesus shed his blood for, and evidence of it. For more information, read I Corinthians 12, and 13, and 14. Read t hem all in a row without stopping, and in a few translations besides Amplified and NSV. See what you notice.
OK, OK, I just "have" to spoon-feed us part of it:
I Corinthians 12:
12 For as the body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one body being many are one body ">so also is Christ 13 For __ by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit
Hmmm. . .. interesting huh? Now, maybe this is relevant into helping people who try to fill their thirst for God with some other kind of wine....
(Ephesians 4):
See that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise 16 Redeeming the time because the days are evil 17 Wherefore __ be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is 18 And be not drunk with wine wherein __ is excess but be filled with the Spirit 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God
While I'm at it, the word "Christ" refers to the anointing, not the Pointing. Technically speaking, He's seated at the Right hand of God (the hand of blessing), but his presence on earth is through that anointing. Formerly, it was with oil. Now, spirit.
So if your car [[or church, or life]] is clanking & clunking down the road clumsily and just not getting you where you need to be in (this) life, perhaps it's time for an oil change. Oil is liquid, it just makes things go better, on a salad, in machinery, and sometimes even on the body. How much more that anointing?
I Corinthians 12, 13, 14. Try it! Then go one more, and hit 15, which talks about the resurrection of Christ. I've been to lots of churches recently, and heard precious little about it, even when I showed up as a new face. How do they know I didn't need to hear the gospel message again, like Cornelius and friends? It never gets old....
And have a nice day.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Wind, Fire, Water, Molten Ore -- blowing, consuming, satiating, purifying
I considered this blog might have been as easily called "Earth, Wind and Fire" and still be about this theme of "holy spirit" that has probably launched a thousand ships, and fanned the flames of war, for centuries, among Christians, so-called.
The other month, I returned from a seminar called "Working the Word," run by (the now Rev.) Jon O. Nessle, whose life and wife, I used to know years ago, in Chicago -- because I lived with them.
Before the full-scale "background," let me share the verse that prompted this blog, which is what I saw when I "deleted" a theological insertion I'd known about for years. But, having recently come from a variety of churches in which the basics of receiving this gift of holy spirit are NOT taught, nor is the manifestation of them generally welcome -- resulting in more dependent populations than I think Jesus Christ ever would've intended -- it sank home, that the Bible speaks of holy spirit in several terms, none of which resembles the "communal behavioral modification as evidence of presence" which I have come to see, at least locally.
Please accept this is a blog in process, imperfect, but I will work towards the straightforward format envisioned from its start:
- CENTER: POSTS -- presenting More scripture, Less commentary.
- SIDE: Narrative -- personally narration, hopefuly with a sense of humor and irreverence
- LINKS & other Gadges -- books and background I have read, to keep us all aware that for large parts of this present earth population, the lands and struggles and themes and politics of the religions of this book ARE duking it out globally, and quite likely may produce an Armageddon, whether of the kind described in Revelation, or of the product of human nature itself, and it is of primary importance to understand this Book, as well as of to some extent, how other institutions view it.
- Even today, being aware of one site that claims The "Beast" of Revelation is Rome / Catholicism, another one claims ("The Beast from the Mideast") is Islam.
- I think perspective from NON-theologians on these things are likely to be more interesting, and possibly accurate, that the preachers and doctrinalists. I am interested in so many aspects -- history of the texts, canonization, evolution of doctrines -- I just like to read.
- I have experienced -- not like Tyndale, or others who sacrificed their own blood to translate, or affirm, their faith -- but within the Western culture, the heavy butt-kick of oppression based on dogma, in my own life. I have also had to note how poorly any institutionalized form of religion (including the "home-based fellowship" style) had the spiritual moxy or balls to confront that oppression within its own ranks. Yet, for personal reasons, I have no intention of denying "Christ" (which points to the anointing, linguistically), as I cannot deny my own "witness within" which has been there for my entire adult life, and is so simply as to be insulting to the theologians, who typically miss it.
- I have of recent come to the conclusion that this not-telling is thematic of the profession. Like teaching to read, it's NOT the hardest thing in the book, where motivation exists to learn. Making it hard is good business. Making it simple, though in parables, is a sign of the Master Teacher, who was not for hire, and in fact it says was offered the world in exchange for worship (of the devil), shortly after his own "anointing."
I ramble. However, here is a start . . ..
In the KJV (King James Version) of the Bible, I John 5.
If you are not yet familiar with I John, there is a lot of repetition, and it sounds almost liturgical, sing-song almost. That's OK, and not the point here:
I will give you 8 verses for a running start, but am only referring to what happened to verses 7 & 8 in translation.
Next question, what quality do all 3 share in common? Answer, to me seems obvious: They are all "liquid."
Spirit, water, blood.
Now if you were raised in the church and became "Christian" under significant indoctrination of the typical sort, you very likely were told that the Holy Spirt is 1/3 of a triangle called the Trinity, and as such has to be called down (from heaven) during worship, with such aids as music, proper mood, and so forth. This is not what I see in scripture -- it is absolutely clear (to my non-indoctrinated mind, which has been inhaling and studying and attempting to live by, the Bible for about 35 years now, and not under one teaching only. As a musician, that's simply too limiting, and as a person. I prefer the other perspectives, mixed with LOTS of observation.
I see the image and references to "Holy Spirit" (which FYI, is in Greek two words, one of which relates to BREATH, or WIND and the other simply to HOLY) referred to in metaphors of pouring and being washed (baptized) in.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In this blog, I will simply show this from the Bible. The Bible posted will typically be "Strong's KJV" because, on-line, this version allows you to click on any single word, and be taken immediately to which Greek (or I suppose Hebrew) word it is, and from there compare usage of similar words in the Bible. This is where the tapestry, and expert weaving, of the scriptures comes to light. I have for years done word studies via the hardcopy Concordance, Lexicon, Interlinear, and a great process it was. Then for years, I lost interest in HEARING a sermon, having rather to see one at the time. I was a mother, and a single divorcing mother during some of these years, as well as rotating through a series of profession and jobs both in and outside of marriage. I have, not all by choice, been through a very WIDE sampling of some major US institutions (government and nonprofit, and NO, so far, not prison), as well as by virtue of being a pianist/singer, lots of churches too. Not til recently did I take an ongoing mercenary post in one, which was a move from an urgent need for predictable income. That worked out quite well, and is now over with.
Added to this, my father was a research metallurgist, I have always respected the questions "Why?" and "Says Who?" and acted on them. As well as the "Prove it!" My mother was a technical librarian, but I do not see the curiosity in her soul: Maybe it's inherited, I don't really know.
Moreover, of recent, I've had more exposure than even during the marriage to the "women should be seen, not heard, except serving cookies" version of nondenominational academically correct theology, which basically was an open invite to speak up, and blog too. No one asked me, therefore I seek opportunity to do so. Because the current stumbling and bumbling and pingponging around of scripture doesn't cut the mustard. It interrupts the flow of the thing
It will take me time also to get in the groove of posting on-line what was working in my soul off-line. I hope you will not walk away thirsty, because, as Jesus said in John 7, water IS available and will be within those who believe on him, a well, springing up into eternal life. This is not the trickle-down method, or the start and stop (Isaiah 28/29) discipleship, but an integration of Bible, spirit, and a certain flow that will sustain understanding and action -- and from day to day. Hopefully enough to overflow into manifestation and declaration. Daily.
And that pace, dynamic, and flow, is where life really is.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
