Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Psalm 33:6
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
Way back in 1982 I traveled to China as a member of a Christian basketball team sponsored by a ministry called “Sports Ambassadors.” The purpose of the trip was to bring a Christian witness through the friendship and competition created by sports.
Besides playing against the largest athlete in the world at that time – a 7’7”, 400 pound mountain of a man appropriately named “Mu” – and besides finding ways to avoid eating a local delicacy, also appropriately named, “thousand year old eggs” (you don’t want to know!) – one of the experiences I remember most was a conversation with a young Egyptian grad-student.
We sat in the hallway of our Beijing hotel until 2 or 3 am discussing our respective faiths, Christianity and Islam. When I talked about God, he talked about Allah. When I talked about Jesus, he talked about the prophet Mohammed – and mentioned that where Jesus left no writings behind, Mohammed left extensive written material. When I talked about the Bible, he talked about the Koran – which he claimed was not written by many different authors in many languages (as was the Bible) but rather by one single author. When I talked about salvation by faith in Christ, he talked about the “five pillars of Islam” – a kind of system of religious rules to live by – praying 5 times a day, the fast of Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca, giving to the poor and so forth.
But then when I asked him how a Muslim could know with certainty he or she would receive salvation, he said simply, “We hope we have done well enough and Allah is pleased.” I countered with something like, “As Christians we know through faith in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the assurance of the Holy Spirit …” He looked up at me and said, “Holy Spirit? What’s that?” After I did the best I could to explain, he shook his head slightly and said, “No, we have nothing like that in Islam.”
The Holy Spirit is arguably the most mysterious and difficult to understand part of the Christian faith. The Bible clearly teaches that God exists eternally in three “persons”; God the Father; God the Son, Jesus Christ; and God the Holy Spirit. We usually think of God the Father as the creator of all things; we know Jesus as God incarnate, who was born, died and rose again from the dead to bring salvation to the world; but who is the Holy Spirit and what does the Holy Spirit do?
The Hebrew word most often used for the Spirit of God in the Old Testament is “RUACH” – and it carries a root meaning of breath or wind. The Greek word used in the New Testament is “PNEUMA” – also carrying the meaning of breath or wind. Jesus described the Spirit in this way:
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
In other words, the Holy Spirit of God is like wind in that we can see and hear the result of the wind – but we cannot see or fully understand the wind itself. Notice that the whole Bible begins with a description of the activity and power of the Spirit of God:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:1-2
The ancient writer of the Psalms says simply:
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
As we study God’s word in the coming weeks we will learn about the person, work and life of the Holy Spirit - but our understanding of the Holy Spirit begins with the truth that the Spirit is the very breath, word and power of God that created the universe and is now present to each one of us by faith.
Thank God for the gift of his Spirit, and ask him to make you more and more aware of the presence and power of the Spirit in your life.
Pastor Brian Coffey
The Hebrew word most often used for the Spirit of God in the Old Testament is “RUACH” – and it carries a root meaning of breath or wind. The Greek word used in the New Testament is “PNEUMA” – also carrying the meaning of breath or wind. Jesus described the Spirit in this way:
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
In other words, the Holy Spirit of God is like wind in that we can see and hear the result of the wind – but we cannot see or fully understand the wind itself. Notice that the whole Bible begins with a description of the activity and power of the Spirit of God:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:1-2
The ancient writer of the Psalms says simply:
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
As we study God’s word in the coming weeks we will learn about the person, work and life of the Holy Spirit - but our understanding of the Holy Spirit begins with the truth that the Spirit is the very breath, word and power of God that created the universe and is now present to each one of us by faith.
Thank God for the gift of his Spirit, and ask him to make you more and more aware of the presence and power of the Spirit in your life.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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2 comments:
We need new nuggets to chew on each day instead of reading the sermon text. I did thoroughly enjoy the sermon and have started thinking about the wind a little differently.
Praying for that holy "whoosh" to blow through the spirit of our nation.
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