Jesus' withdrawal of his external presence from his followers was a prelude to his coming to full life within them at the first Pentecost. Happiness is pursued primarily in that world of outer reality and not in the world within. As mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, outpourings of the Holy Spirit can include healing, prophecy, exorcism, and speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit empowered and gives us bravery to declare God’s admirations and miracles before work forces merely as those work forces who had first experience the filling of the Holy Spirit during the Pentecost. We have in Peter, then, a clear illustration of how one passes from the first and second stage of the journey to God, to the third stage in which one experiences the mirror of Christ within. It marked a turning point in the early church. The deity of the Holy Spirit may raise problems in our minds, but the first thing we must always do, if we want nothing but truth is to believe what God says in His Word, even if we do not understand it. 3 Then there appeared to them 2 divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. But he failed to recognize that the source of these sterling qualities in him came from Christ alive in him. They asked, "What should we do?" That pain, if patiently endured in union with the suffering of Christ, further intensifies the growth of the Christ within us. There is need for every individual Christian to understand the importance of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Old Testament Promises. Jesus looks at Peter, and Peter looks into Jesus' eyes. As a priest I am sometimes asked, when do I see the most intense love in others? This newly enlightened Peter could finally say with Saint Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." The inner life of a human being, however, is complicated. As we visualize this scene it is important that we pick upon the similes that are used by Luke to describe this occurrence. So, he was surprised and hurt at the words of Jesus. They start life growing up in a loving Catholic family. Indeed, their faith seems to be strong. I have met charismatic Catholics who, I have no doubt, have reached the third stage in the journey to God. [6] These words seem similar to those spoken by Peter at the Last Supper when he professed his love for Christ. [5] It was thus that Peter entered the third stage of his journey to God. In many paintings of the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit is shown in the form of a dove, coming down towards Mary on beams of light, as the Archangel Gabriel announces Jesus Christ's coming to Mary. 2 And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. On the contrary, he is bringing that love to an entirely new level of intensity and unselfishness. The change involved a purgation of all false illusions about themselves, a death to self in order to come alive to Christ. When people heard the apostles, a large crowd came together. And God adds everyone who He saves to His church. Fr. The Holy Spirit is God. sympathizer. Luke 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, ” You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” Jesus being led by the Spirit. he thinks of them (the things he hears) in the manner of those who are wont to hear proverbs: as not understanding them.". [10] We can see this Word with our eyes, hear him with our ears, and touch him with our hands. NAS: Spirit will come upon you, and the power KJV: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, INT: Spirit [the] Holy will come upon you. The coming of the Holy Spirit takes place normally only after a period of substantial growth of Christ within, a growth that can take place only after an equally substantive purgation of the many obstacles that hinder such growth. We must, therefore, pass from this world into the next to attain that loving union with God. [13]. Baptism, in the Gospels Shoes Sending Of The Holy Spirit Unworthiness Sandals The Holy Spirit, And Sanctification The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. During the forty days following the resurrection, Christ appeared many times to his disciples. Jesus said "you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. Then Peter said that David was still dead, but that Jesus was alive. Peter would have been partially correct. The Holy Spirit is a person, and is one of the three in the trinity: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He had identified the real Peter with that same Christ in him. Wall attended St. Ignatius prep in the Bay City and St. Mary's College of California. It is, of course, the loyal, courageous Peter. Luke 15:11-20. He found within himself the Peter whose fear and self-love had killed the most precious part of himself as effectively as the soldiers killed the Christ outside of him. They live in a warm, loving Catholic community, with priests and religious and apostolic lay persons who radiate Christ's presence to them. The change in emphasis from the outer world to the inner world is always painfu. "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you." We tend to be fascinated by the outer world. Therefore, it was fitting that God would lead them to the discovery of Christ through external, sensible signs. They respond to devout parents and family members. We find in the person of Saint Peter the clearest example of the dynamics of the transition from the second to the third stage of the journey. From the time of his evangelical conversion in 1738, Wesley became a tireless exponent of the evangelical message of salvation by faith alone, which emphasizes the person and work of the Holy Spirit at each stage in the process of salvation. b 3 Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, * which parted and came to rest on each one of them. He lived his life of constant prayer in the temple. Then they saw something that looked like flames of fire that separated and stood over each of them. You too can be saved by Jesus and belong to His church. He could legitimately point out that during the previous three years he was the most outspoken in his defense of Jesus. In fact, the Greek word of “advocate” means “one who comes alongside another.” Jesus made it clear to them, and to us, that the Holy Spirit would not only walk alongside but dwell within us. Kingdom was not coming in because the King and His message were mostly being rejected. Take for example the prophecy of Jeremiah, in chapter 31. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles Book 1, Chap. One of these joy-filled appearances took place along the shore of the sea of Galilee. So they started asking, "What is happening?" Matthew 11:1-5 - John the Baptist asks why the kingdom isn't coming in (cp Matthew 17:10-13, note the Lord's answer about John's role, if the people had believed). Peter heard with amazement at the Last Supper Our Lord's words "Truly, truly I say to you, the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times." For the first time, Peter experiences the stirrings of doubt and fear. Saint Thomas sees divine providence dealing gently with both kinds. [11] The awesome result of the birthing brings the mother the joyful experience of the new life. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. When this stage has been reached, the continued presence of the external support system can become an obstacle to our growing awareness of the new life within us. His work has many facets and is definitely worthy of study. We have seen that the disciples had come through Jesus' eyes to see that nature reflected the Father's presence. The answer is clear. When the others arrived with nets bursting with fish, they found that Jesus had a fire lit on which there was a skillet with fish in it. For the first time he could see clearly Christ within, the mirror of the divine. Today we are celebrating the fact that the coming of the Holy Spirit is a daily event in the life of the Christian and of the church. And so he turned to Peter and said, "This very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." The Father had given Jesus the Holy Spirit and He had poured that Spirit on His followers. They had to experience who and what they truly were without Christ alive in them. The Spirit can certainly not be called the Son of man; only the flesh of God incarnate can be called the Son of man who, like the Lord Jesus, is flesh born of man, both tangible and visible. So our fascination with the Christ outside can keep us from discovering the Christ within. 2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. When a woman is in travail she has sorrow...but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish." Many Christians view the Holy Spirit’s existence and works as just an occurrence that was left to the past and may not be present in contemporary world. 1 When a the Day of Pentecost had fully come, b they were all 1 with one accord in one place. The stage has been set for their return to their true home. The Spirit is a person and not merely a force. They find little of Christ in their surroundings. Christ in the external world has brought us much consolation and life. Peter preached to them some more. Saint Paul tells us that the face to face encounter will not happen to anyone while he still exists in this world. Death is the door to such a union. One of his best summary statements on the Holy Spirit is found in a published letter to a Roman Catholic: This reference of being “in” the disciples clearly is a reference to the Holy Spirit’s role of dwelling inside believers as the context of John (John 14:16-26) and the rest of the New Testament (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30) indicates. He jumped into the water and rushed to the side of Jesus. After some time, they also had begun to recognize dimly that Jesus was more than merely human. 1. He the loyal, courageous, outspoken Peter a betrayer? and the Holy Spirit will be believer’s councilor. A dove may also be seen at the ear of Saint Gregory the Great – as recorded by his secretary – or other church father authors, dictating their works to them. Le Roy Edwin Froom (October 16, 1890 – February 20, 1974) was a Seventh-day Adventist minister and historian whose many writings have been recognized by his peers. The day of Pentecost empowered the church to be able to achieve its intended purpose. A second person makes the same accusation, with the same denial coming from Peter. . Chapter 10 in The Journey to God (Antioch, CA: Solas Press, 1999): 87-102. [12] No, the perfection of love is only achieved when the beloved comes to full life within the lover. This is the first of several teachings on the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room Discourse. From the Gospel accounts, though, it is clear that they still had a long road of spiritual growth ahead. But God had known that this would happen so He raised Jesus from the dead. Notice that the Holy Spirit has always been omnipresent and ministering upon the earth, but John clearly says at that time that He “had not yet been given” (John John 14:16). Who are the persons in our midst who have reached this third stage of the journey? We can best learn from the first Pentecost how the Holy Spirit comes into our lives. Jesus teaches so much about the Holy Spirit because apart from the Spirit of God we cannot live the Christian life God calls us to in His Word. what comes and leaves its appropriate, inevitable effects that build on the particular coming. While he himself administered a baptism in water, there was One coming who would be the administrator of a baptism with the Holy Spirit 3. Forty days after Jesus rose, he went back to be with God the Father. “The Holy Spirit is the presence of the living Lord Jesus in spiritual power in the lives of men.” [7] Walter Thomas Conner, The Work of the Holy Spirit (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1949), p. 64. Basil de Sp. Every person heard the apostles praising God in their own language. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 assures again that the Holy Spirit is fully God, but Paul goes onto say that wherever the Holy Spirit is, there is freedom. This third denial takes place at the first light of dawn, as the cock crows in the distance. It becomes part of the condition of that growth. At a certain stage of development in the spiritual journey, the growth of Christ within reaches a state of maturity. [13] For the parable of the prodigal son, cf. The Holy Spirit, He taught them would come alongside them. 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