So I’m in church right now listening to Isreal preach on 1st John. We hit a part in the text about if you deny Christ you deny the Father. So I got on my iPhone and am blogging. The point is interesting and I believe true but how does that effect our every day spirituality? I mean it’s easy to understand that if you deny Christ then you are not a Christian right? What is interesting to me is if you deny one then you deny all. All meaning Jesus, the Father AND the Spirit. Here’s where I think it becomes tangable. If you deny Christ then you deny the Spirit and more over if you deny the Spirit you deny Christ. So as ministers and as leaders and as church we must be so careful about denying practically the Spirit AND over emphasizing the Spirit. If you deny the importantance of the Spirit; doesn’t it make sense that you are denying the importance of the Christ? He is three in one.
I grew up in a Catholic home which means overall the Spirit was a pillar of the church not a practice by any means. The thought of the Spirit being alive and active was reserved for TBN and weirdos. When I came to know Christ as my savior I was in a Methodist church. In that church I was discipled well but the idea of the Spirit was something we studied and not really applicable and if it every actually happened then it was scrutenized harshly. After that I had been exposed to the polar opposite. Churches that were completely Spirit focused and basically operating under the idea that if the Spirit didn’t ‘manifest’ itself then the service was a bust.
How have we gone to the full extremes? If it’s true that if we deny one we deny all then we must confirm all; meaning that Father, Spirit and Son are ALL alive and ALL living and ALL active today. We must guard against putting one in a confining box because if we do then we put ALL of God in a box. God will not be confined.
What a measuring tool! Are we operating in our ministries as if He is FULLY present and are we creating atmospheres that will allow God to move in all three and NOT what be believe the magic combination should be?
1 response so far ↓
thomas taylor // December 2, 2008 at 2:30 pm |
To ignore any part of the three is limiting your ability to walk the path you have been asked to walk. Why would anyone step out in faith, if they possessed not all things essential to do so. We are all called; some of us are commanded. I will not head out to do what I am commanded to do without God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as my companion