Monday 18 May 2020

What are you?



You know, if you go out in the street and asked people about the Holy Spirit, I wonder how many will give a coherent, intelligent, well thought out answer?

I guess this is because we don't think much about our spirit. Our soul as it is more often called.

We think of ourselves as our bodies. Perhaps that is because when we stub our toe against something it is our toe that hurts, not our soul. From the moment we are born everyone thinks about the body. They talk about the weight of the baby, and that he is doing well. His body that is, not his soul.

As we grow up we get more focussed on the body. When we meet a pretty lady we look at and admire her body. It is the physical attraction that first draws us towards a person, or away from that person, if we don't like something in their appearance.

We focus on the body because that is the part that is visible. It is what distinguishes us from one another. We see the body and instantly recognise who that person is.

We don't often discuss a person's soul. I suppose we give it a different title. We call it a person's personality. Their character. Their temperament. Rather than their living spirit, their soul. What makes them who they really are.

It was C S Lewis, I believe, who said, "you don't have a soul. You ARE a soul. You have a body!"

I wonder how many people understood that he meant by we are all spirits.

There is such a thing as a spirit world. An invisible world all around us consisting of spirits. These are the spirits of those who have passed away.

When we recite the Creed we say that God is the "Maker of Heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

He is so almighty that He has made everything. Visible and invisible.

This bit is important. It says visible and invisible. Not seen and unseen. If I were to leave one room and enter another I become unseen. But I am not invisible.

The use of the word invisible is to underline the fact that there is an invisible, spiritual, world which we do not see. We are both visible in human form and invisible in our spiritual form - our soul.

There is also an invisible world of angels and spirits of those departed from this world. As well, of course, as the invisible Holy Spirit.

But at the same time, there is our world as we know it right now. It too consists of spirits. Also, invisible spirits because, for the time being, they are covered by a body.

Yes ... you and I are spirits. Our souls, spirits, abide within us invisible. What we see is the body that contains the spirit/soul and that's how we recognise each other. The way the body behaves and acts is controlled by the soul. The spirit within. Not by the brain, or by some chemicals or other; as some people would have us believe.

If a person is good and does good, it is because his soul/spirit is good. That person's soul has accepted God and he acts and behaves as God has taught us and commanded.

If a person is bad, it is because their soul has rejected God and His teaching.

This all sounds all too complicated. No wonder it's a discussion best left for another day. Or for other people to have.

Most of us consider ourselves as people with bodies and that is enough thinking for now.

Some even believe that when the body has ceased to function and it is known as being dead; that's it. The end of it all. To them, there is no such thing as a soul or spirit that goes on living in another world and in the after-life.

And that's precisely why, if you go out in the streets, very few people will be able to discuss the Holy Spirit. They may be able to talk about God; and perhaps Jesus as His only Son.

The Holy Spirit? What is that exactly? We heard about it, or Him, when young in church, or at school. We didn't understand it then, and understand it even less now.

Pentecost? What is that? Something to do with the church I guess. I don't go to church often anyway. Besides, if you'll excuse me, I'm a little busy doing the weekly shopping for the family.

24 comments:

  1. It's not just on the street that you will find whacked answers to your question. Sadly, you will find many in the church have no clue. NO. CLUE.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I were God I would despair with humanity. Thankfully, I am not God.

      I agree with you, Bill. Last year I ran a group meeting in our church. The attendants were so-called Christian parishioners from our church. I asked them, "If you were stopped in the street and asked who is Jesus, what would you say?"

      They replied, "He was a teacher, a clever man, a prophet, a healer." No one would say He was/is the Son of God.

      This from so-called Christians. When I challenged this, and told them He is the Son of God. They said, "Oh ... we don't say that sort of thing in public. Not in Britain."

      I tell you, Bill; if I were God ... ... ...

      God bless you.

      Delete
  2. Hi Victor,
    Only God is good, and in order to learn His ways we have to be born again of the Holy Spirit. No man can come to Jesus except he is called by God. It is then that we are able to put off the 'old man' and learn God's ways, having the mind of Christ. That is how we have access to eternal life.

    ReplyDelete
  3. For the ancients, "spirit" was as real as material reality. It was not the airy-fairy thing it has become for us moderns, both Christian and non-Christian, religious and irreligious. One could argue that for the ancients of the Hellenistic-centric world of the Mediterranean, the realm of the spirit was more real.

    The Holy Spirit is the mode of Christ's resurrection presence. It is by the Spirit's power Christ comes to dwell in us. As far as personhood, the Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son personified.

    You're correct Christian pneumatology is at a very low ebb, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles at Pentecost, to them, this was a real life changing event. Not something they'd read in a book or spoken of by the prophets. To them, they experienced the Holy Spirit within them just as Christ had promised. The Holy Spirit gave them the courage and taught them to preach the Word of God far and wide.

      And afterwards, even though some people had been baptised as followers of Christ, it was not until they too had received the Holy Spirit that their lives truly changed. (E.G. Acts 8:14-17).

      Today, many people are confused. Including Christians. They don't know who or what to believe. To some extent, our Church is guilty in this. Seldom do we hear good teaching sermons from the pulpit. It is usually mealy-mouthed platitudes that only serve to put the congregation to sleep.

      God bless, Deacon Scott.

      Delete
  4. If people profess to be Christians and are confused or don't know what to believe, they should just open their Bibles. Period. God bless you, Victor:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My dear Chris. Many people profess to be Christians but have never opened a Bible in years. Or gone to church for that matter. Even those that go to church are somewhat ignorant and confused.

      God bless.

      Delete
  5. I've always loved that quote from C. S. Lewis, Victor, from the first moment I came across it. Yes, we are souls traveling in this world through our bodies; though the latter will wither and die, our souls never will. So thankful for the Holy Spirit!
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The thing is, Martha, not many people believe this. Some would be astounded to know they are a soul, never mind to have one. The very thought of being a soul would confuse their tiny brain which they may or may not have.

      God bless always.

      Delete
  6. When I was growing up I went to Catholic grammar school, we were being taught the Bible and made our communion. In all honesty I have not opened our family Bible in years. I pray to God and I talk to God and I say my prayers. I believe in God and in Heaven. Even though I haven't set foot in a church for over forty years, you know the reasons why Victor, I love God and Know in my heart that my soul will rest in heaven and this comes from a light inside me not external.
    I love your blog Victor. But I am true to my God and my feelings and I will be with God and my loved ones once again when I take my final breath.

    God's Blessings My Friend 🌷✝🐦

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Jan,

      I speak to you as a friend. To love God and to be loved by God is one thing. To know God, as a friend, we need to learn more and more about Him. Knowing someone builds trust and increases our love for that person. One way of knowing God is to read the Bible. Daily, one little chapter or paragraph at a time. Starting from Matthew or Luke.

      Another way of knowing God is by visiting Him, as one would visit a friend. You like your friends to visit you at home, don't you. You like to visit friends in theirs. Why not visit God in Church. Any Church. One step at a time. Renew old friendships. He is waiting for your call.

      God bless.

      Delete
    2. Thank you for your caring thoughts Victor
      Have a beautiful week and stay safe.

      God Bless You My Friend 🌷

      Delete
  7. Years ago I went to a men's Bible study meeting once a week. There were 5 or 6 of us and we would read a passage and then talk about it if anyone had questions. I always had questions and stil do about things I don't understand. I found the group setting very informative and learned some things I didn't know. The Holy Spirit was one of the topics we spent some time on. I always think if I don't understand something it doesn't hurt to ask. It beats being ignorant.
    Nice post, Victor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's good to ask questions, Bill. It's by asking questions that we learn more about God and the many mysteries of our Faith. Some things have no ready answer. We must take them on trust.

      Whenever I can, I try to answer questions here on this Blog or via e-mail to those who write me. Together people get to learn from each other. As you say; it beats being ignorant.

      God bless.

      Delete
  8. What a great point of view! Like Martha Jane, I love that Lewis quote, and find it comforting. So sad, those non-believers who've nothing to hold onto beyond the great 'kaput!'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Mevely. I know a few who believe in nothing else after death. Kaput and finito even.

      God bless you my friend.

      Delete
  9. I know that if you feed your spirit with spirits, you end up with a bad spirit.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love that Lewis quote too and I think I've said before that our Pastor as often quoted it!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a good quote, Happyone. But how many believe it?

      God bless.

      Delete
  11. One friend of mine said that many do not understand the Holy Spirit because we simply so often leave Him out. She noted that most hymns in the hymnal (at least the Protestant ones) have four verses.

    Verse one is about the Father, verse two about the Son, verse three about the Holy Spirit, and verse four about the Trinity as a whole.

    What happens when the choir director gets up there? He says, "We will now sing hymn number (xxx), verses one, two, and four." Her point was we just don't sing about, think of, and pray to the Holy Spirit enough, it's no wonder the Spirit is a stranger to us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a good point, Mimi. I'll check it out next time we're in church singing.

      God bless you and yours.

      Delete

I PRAY FOR ALL WHO COMMENT HERE.

God bless you.