Post by Admin on Oct 19, 2017 7:04:56 GMT
Tonight’s discussion took some interesting turns. The scripture reading opens the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, and we were reminded that Paul spent two years in Ephesus preaching and converting. He had both success and opposition there, where there was a long tradition of pagan worship. The two major areas that were the focus of tonight’s discussion were the generous offers of forgiveness, love, understanding, and more which God makes in verses 3-10, and the value of the guaranty represented by the “seal” of the Holy Spirit, stated in verses 13-14.
Our conversation went almost immediately to the idea of the “guarantee.” Was God’s verbal promising not enough for us? We generally agreed that between people, verbal guarantees do not always satisfy. The amazing benefits that God provides on His side of the deal – wisdom, redemption, grace, and so on – should be so desirable that we would yearn for them. Experiencing them should strengthen our relationship with the Lord and reinforce His promise. Instead we find ourselves distracted, unsure, even afraid of letting ourselves go and living as God’s “possession” (verse 14). What God wants is that we live in His love and the benefits of His love right now.
So how can the planting of the Holy Spirit inside us make the difference? We talked for a long time about the Holy Spirit, when we listen, how we let Him help us, what it means for Him to be inside us. One interesting metaphor was that receiving the Holy Spirit is like being handed a cell phone by which we can receive calls and texts from, and send them to, the Spirit. We can pay attention to the messages, ignore them, answer back, forget to charge the phone, pretend to read while really rolling our eyes, or engage in conversation that expands our understanding. It’s up to us how much we immerse ourselves in God’s benefits.
A note in one Bible translation compares the “guarantee” Paul describes with the dowry of Jesus’ time. Dowry would be paid before the wedding – so today and every day we have a substantial taste of the full reward of eternity with God, until Jesus returns and the full reward (the wedding) is given.
We concluded with verses from two songs.
Spirit of the Living God
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me
Descend, O Spirit
Descend, O Holy Spirit, descend on us we pray;
And bless us with Your presence, renewed in us today.
A fervent intercession before the Father's throne;
Your gentle supplications make our petitions known.
Our conversation went almost immediately to the idea of the “guarantee.” Was God’s verbal promising not enough for us? We generally agreed that between people, verbal guarantees do not always satisfy. The amazing benefits that God provides on His side of the deal – wisdom, redemption, grace, and so on – should be so desirable that we would yearn for them. Experiencing them should strengthen our relationship with the Lord and reinforce His promise. Instead we find ourselves distracted, unsure, even afraid of letting ourselves go and living as God’s “possession” (verse 14). What God wants is that we live in His love and the benefits of His love right now.
So how can the planting of the Holy Spirit inside us make the difference? We talked for a long time about the Holy Spirit, when we listen, how we let Him help us, what it means for Him to be inside us. One interesting metaphor was that receiving the Holy Spirit is like being handed a cell phone by which we can receive calls and texts from, and send them to, the Spirit. We can pay attention to the messages, ignore them, answer back, forget to charge the phone, pretend to read while really rolling our eyes, or engage in conversation that expands our understanding. It’s up to us how much we immerse ourselves in God’s benefits.
A note in one Bible translation compares the “guarantee” Paul describes with the dowry of Jesus’ time. Dowry would be paid before the wedding – so today and every day we have a substantial taste of the full reward of eternity with God, until Jesus returns and the full reward (the wedding) is given.
We concluded with verses from two songs.
Spirit of the Living God
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me
Descend, O Spirit
Descend, O Holy Spirit, descend on us we pray;
And bless us with Your presence, renewed in us today.
A fervent intercession before the Father's throne;
Your gentle supplications make our petitions known.