January 07, 2006

The Holy Spirit - crystal

In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

I like what David said about Theophilus being a lover of God ... some commentator I read siad that he may have been Luke's sponsor. What I noticed most is that Luke places a lot of emphasis on the holy Spirit, its guidance and inspiration. As the intro in the NAB writes ...

In the development of the church from a Jewish Christian origin in Jerusalem, with its roots in Jewish religious tradition, to a series of Christian communities among the Gentiles of the Roman empire, Luke perceives the action of God in history laying open the heart of all humanity to the divine message of salvation. His approach to the history of the church is motivated by his theological interests. His history of the apostolic church is the story of a Spirit-guided community and a Spirit-guided spread of the Word of God.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So if Holy Spirit is essential to the life of faith -- and here especially to the discernment and the reading of the scriptures -- how does that trasnalte in practice? What, Crystal, do you think we're called to do differently if the Holy Spirit is so essential to faith and understanding?

crystal said...
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crystal said...

Decided to rewrite my answer to you, David. You said ...

What, Crystal, do you think we're called to do differently if the Holy Spirit is so essential to faith and understanding?

... I don't know ... :-) ... not much of a better answer.

Anonymous said...

Howdy Crystal. Its a difficult question. And its not that I wanty to put you on the spot because I'm not sure of the answer myself. A Quakerish answer would be waiting worship. To sit with the bible open in front of you and wait for the spirit to speak.

But I am convinced that these abstract Christian doctrines -- like the presnece of the Holy Spirit -- are all dead without practical applications for our lives. So figuring out what they are (or what theyu are for us personally) is pretty critical.

And I thought your first answer was just fine BTW.