[Music] Foreign From the Bible project and this episode Is the final part of a discussion Between Tim and I on the holy spirit in The first episode we talked about the Hebrew word ruach which is translated as Wind breath and also God's spirit in the Second episode we also talk about how The word ruach is used to describe man's Spirit and then we talked about the Three activities that we find God's Ruach doing in the Old Testament Creating empowering people and then Recreating today's conversation moves Into the New Testament the new Testament's written in Greek and so the Hebrew word ruach is translated with the Greek word pneuma which conveniently can Also mean wind and breath or to blow Pneuma and also mean Spirit we look at How the life of Jesus is one empowered By the Holy Spirit the resurrection is Connected to the spirit Paul uses the Creative power of God's spirit to just Describe what recreated Jesus's body he Was a human and he ate food and could Hang out with his disciples but he had Different properties we've tried to Cover a lot of ground in these three Episodes but we expect that at the end Of this there's still lingering Questions I know I still have some so What we'd like to do is hear from you
What questions you have about God's Spirit you can send them on Facebook Facebook.com join the Bible project or Email them to us support join the Bibleproject.com and in the next episode Of the podcast we're gonna answer your Questions on the Holy Spirit if you have Access to record yourself asking the Question that would be really great so We can play your question on the podcast Itself okay so without further Ado the Holy spirit in the New Testament Let's go [Music] The way the spirit is talked about in The New Testament fits into these three Main things God's spirit does in the Old Testament okay so in each of the Gospels But especially Matthew and Luke Jesus's Origins are connected to the work of the Creative work of the spirit So Matthew and Luke talk about Mary's Pregnancy with Jesus as being the Activity of the spirit okay here are the Pneuma now the New Testament but that's Not a surprise to us we already know That God's ruach hovers and creates life In Dark uninhabitable Places whether It's the waters or Baron worm or or a Womb yeah that's right the spirit plays Another key role in Jesus's story it is Baptism And there it's really cool so Jesus Baptism John the Baptist is down at the
River he doesn't live in a van by the River but he is down by the river uh Jordan River Um and he's starting this renewal Movement of the repentant among Israel And then Jesus comes and John identifies Him as the leader the one who will renew God's people and then as he's praying Jesus is in the water it says the Heavens were open Mark says they were Ripped open And the Holy Spirit descended upon him In physical form like that of a dove and Then God's voice speaks from Heaven you Are my son whom I love with you I'm well Pleased did the baptism story so legit So much happening here why the bird Right so just just stop can I think of Any other times that God's spirit Manifests manifests bird like thing Activities over the waters yeah Genesis One yes covering yeah We talked about this I think we didn't Talk about being a flight metaphor well The word used for hover in Genesis one Same thing about the spirit of God Hovered over the waters that word is Only used like three other times in the Hebrew Bible and always to describe Birds birds hovering Birds hovering well Yeah so so the gospel authors are Intentionally describing the spirit Coming on Jesus the creative Spirit of Genesis recalling the language of God's
Ruach well that's cool yeah it's totally Cool Um and notice also the three three and One vision of God here You have Jesus And God the father who's talking who's Talking to the Son and the one who Communicates the presence and love from The father to the son is the spirit now You've got it later Christians would Call a trinitarian god Um the language is later than the New Testament but the idea of the three in One God is all over the New Testament The story is a really important one of Them now it says the Holy Spirit and That's the first time we've used that Phrase in this entire conversation um no David said holy spirit oh don't take Your Holy Spirit from me okay yeah it The Holy Spirit occurs a couple times in The Old Testament It's usually the Spirit of God what's the Hebrew there The holy Um Holiness We didn't talk about that in Holiness Video oh just the vocabulary word no Yeah yeah kadosh yeah so don't take your Ruach of kadosh for me yeah so remember Holiness is about God's unique one of a Kindness specifically referring to his Role as Creator the author of life so if It happens so infrequently in the Old Testament why does it become just yeah
Standard yes interesting vocabulary in The New Testament that's a good question Um I'd have to do some homework on that I'm sure somebody thought about that but I don't know it's not the only New Testament way the spirit's described Spirits described as the spirit the Holy Spirit the spirit of God and the spirit Of Jesus Um in the New Testament but it's all Talking about God's personal presence The personal presence of God but in the New Testament just like in the Old Testament the more clear in the New Testament it's a distinct it's it's a Distinct personal presence Um it's distinct from Jesus and it's Distinct from the father And here we're into the three and one Because Jesus has it yes yeah so what's Interesting then as Jesus goes on from Here all of the gospels talk about it But the Gospel of Luke highlights it More than any other Um is that in his ministry in Galilee Announcing the kingdom Luke mentions Multiple times that Jesus is led by the Spirit Um he speaks by the spirit or like in Luke 4 1 Luke Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan so full We're using the water metaphor now he's Filled up he's like a vessel like a Container filled up with the spirit
Meaning the spirit is permeating Jesus's Existence and mine he's soaked with it Yeah it's a great metaphor Um so the whole mission of Jesus's Day-to-day Kingdom announcement Um was all linked to the work of this Spirit so he was it was disappointing It's appointing he was appointed yep to Do his kingdom Mission by the leading And empowering of the spirit so those Two activities are embedded in the uh Baptism scene because it's an appointing Moment it is yes but it comes as in this Language and yes form Of New Creation The Creative Spirit yep New Creation or is creation well it Echoes Genesis one but Jesus is here to Bring about that new creation that Isaiah talked about yeah Um Um The other thing specific to Jesus's Story in the New Testament is the Resurrection is connected to the spirit Um so right at the Beginning of Romans Paul talks about Jesus as God's son born Of the line of David who was declared to Be the Son of God with power When he rose from the dead by the Holy Spirit or literally it says by the Spirit of holiness so Paul uses the Creative power of God's spirit to Describe what recreated Jesus's body to
Walk out of the Tomb and leave it empty What yeah recomposed it yeah I mean he Was dead he's dead yeah and the kind of Existence Jesus had post-resurrection Was different fundamentally Fundamentally different he was a human And he ate food and could hang out with His disciples but he had different Properties Yeah they can only be described as New Creation as strange as a lion hanging Out with a lamb seems to us and Children's playing near cobras Nest is The kind of physical human body Jesus Had or was and the New Testament authors Here Paul describes that as being the Creative work of the spirit yeah and and In First Corinthians 15 Paul says that's Precisely the form of existence that Followers of Jesus hoped for in our Resurrection he calls it a spiritual Spirit empowered existence which no Other humans achieve in the Bible You don't ever you don't see any other Humans who have a resurrected body no Jesus is the the only walking talking Bit of New Creation In physical existence But then now we're into the role of them The spirit in the rest of the New Testament Um at the end of John Jesus appoints his Disciples he says as the father this is In John chapter 20. as the father sent
To me so I sent you it's interesting He's in the upper room with the Disciples he says that and then He breathed on them and said receive the Holy spirit So such a powerful scene and actually The breathing on them John's very Specifically he ruached on them it's Precisely the same sentence phrases from Genesis 2 of God breathing on the pile Of dirt Receive the holy ruach so he breathed on Them which you know we think like oh What is Jesus's breath Smell like something this is so such a Strange part of the story yeah but it's Clear he's commissioning them just the Way David and the prophets were breathed Upon by the spirit and then Jesus but What look at what he says before it as The father sent me so what I came and Was doing now you're gonna go do that And just as the spirit empowered Jesus To do it so now he is appointing them by Means of the spirit to go do the same Thing [Music] Thank you [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] And so now we're into Pentecost the Whole concept of the spirit filling up
Jesus's people Um empowering them coming upon them this Is all Old Testament vocabulary but We're now it's now all happening through Jesus so the book of Acts begins using Um this of wind right the Pentecost the Followers of Jesus are in that upper Room and we're told a violent wind comes Into the ground ruach and then they Um They look at each other in the room That's full of this wind hurricane in The room and they look at each other and There's little mini fires little fires Above everybody's head yeah which is a Clear reference as you want to the Pillar of fire and Cloud that came to Rest over the Tabernacle and Temple so Now we're melding spirit and Temple um Story lines was that did that get melded In the Old Testament that God's spirit Filled the temple oh it's interesting Um no Um no no ruach doesn't fill the temple Yeah God's Rua it's God's kavod his Glory oh his glory is what fills the Temple Um so yeah the New Testament God's Spirit uh is what comes to end well his New Temple which is the community of Jesus's followers and then all of them Are filled up with the Holy Spirit Um so then we're to the appointing Liquid metaphor
So yeah For the task of yep and and bringing Good news to the ends that's right yeah Announcing the kingdom of God and so all Throughout the rest of the book of Acts You see the Holy Spirit As an actor like a character in the Story so acts 13 uh Paul and Barnabas Were working at the church of Antioch And the Holy Spirit said set apart Barnabas and Saul for me other times in The story Jesus appears and he'll say Things but then sometimes in the book of Acts the Holy Spirit just appears and Says things Um Paul and Barnabas want to go up to Galatia and they're forbidden by the Spirit the spirit of Jesus didn't permit Them so we have the spirit becomes a Full-on personal presence of Jesus Um But sometimes Jesus will appear to Paul And of like a Visionary form other times It's the spirit of Jesus or the spirit Of God Um like so what's the story with him Being forbidden by the spirit did they Miss a boat they missed the boat right Or did and they're just like well I Guess the spirit where did the wind like Blow and Whisper like you guys shouldn't Go oh man that was a spirit yeah or or At one time it's through a dream Paul Has a dream of a guy in Macedonia saying
Come here and so he goes so here we're Into the realm of the day-to-day life of A follower of Jesus now as being a life Where if I'm going to become a mature Disciple I need to cultivate the skill Of being aware of the spirit and what The spirit is saying to me and prompting Or influencing me to do or to say or to Be and that's that's the appointing Spirit there So the very beginning of this Conversation in the holy spirit that we Recorded last time we talked about our Tradition and I come from a cessationist Yeah yeah tradition where Yeah the apostles needed to pay Attention to what the spirit was doing And listening to the spirit and that Kind of thing and it's a character and Now I I don't know we never talked about That cultivating that skill yes and Whenever I hear someone talk about that It raises suspicions like is that really The spirit did you miss that boat Because of the Holy Spirit or were you Just lazy yeah right yeah you just did You just forget to show up on time right Or sleep in or does God really want you To take that job right or or is that Just what you want to do right and but We're already prepared for that with the Idea that humans have a ruach God has a Ruach and the way that God will Influence you is by influencing my ruach
So then the question is how do you know When that's happening yeah yeah and the Apostles know this is a potential Problem that's why in first John he says Always test the spirits so this girl Yeah yeah because yeah John's very aware If somebody comes with a word from God To a church Community you better test That you've tested against the teachings Of Jesus tested against the teachings of The Apostles and it might be that it's You're just hearing that woman's or that Guy's prophets ruach and it's not God's Ruach actually speaking to the church Through them but other times it will be God's ruach influencing that prophet's Ruach so when he says test the spirits He means is it that man's Spirit or is It God's spirit that's what he means the Point is there's many ruach's out there Really with many words yeah you've got One I've got okay Uh there are also other uh spirit is one Of the words used to describe Non-physical personal beings that are Evil demons demons is another vocabulary Word for them in the New Testament but They're sometimes called unclean spirits Or evil spirits that's a whole other Topic but so there it's of a personal Invisible Presence of a something gnarly Yep that's a whole other podcast But uh so yeah the point is is that uh Being aware of the influence of God's
Spirit in my spirit and doing or saying Making choices because I think that's What God's spirit wants me to do it's Subjective maybe that's the best way to Say it yeah it's always a subjective Enterprise and therefore Paul talks About evaluating Um words that people say come from the Spirit or John will say test the spirits You don't see them in acts like testing That they're just like whoa the spirit Said that let's do it in Acts that's a Good well no they pray and fast no they Were praying in fasting uh acts 13. let Me look acts 13 the church in Antioch oh At the church in Antioch there were Prophets and teachers Barnabas Simeon Lucius And Saul while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting the holy spirit said Sent apart set apart for me part of this And Saul so they're in a time of prayer Presumably Discerning what God wants Them to do so I have to start to assume What was happening there yeah it's kind Of an untold story yeah because they Could have been sitting there Um in a room and they're all praying and Fasting and one guy goes I hear God Telling us not to go and then another Person go that's what God's telling me Too and another person saying yep that's What I'm getting and they're like okay We're not we're not supposed to go so in
This case they are supposed to go but Then later on all right in chapter 16 They were forbidden yeah yeah there's an Untold story there through some means That Luke doesn't tell us they discerned The spirit telling them not to go up to Galatia it could be circumstantial they Missed the boat it could be that there Were uh the they and some others all Pray about it prayed and discerned that And together discerned Discerning God Yeah that's right or it could have been Or could it have been that uh they got Us the spirit of God descended like a Dove and said don't go Um here's another way the spirit Works Acts chapter 15 there's this huge debate About whether non-jewish Christians Should start obeying the commands of the Torah like some Jewish Christians say They should so Paul Barnabas the Apostles all get together in Jerusalem They have a serious debate like dispute They're arguing they're pulling out Their Bibles it's real it's a long Debate they finally come to a resolution And they write up a letter Um And what they say to in this letter Sorry one moment Um they say the apostles and Elders to The Gentile Believers in antiox Syria Galatia we heard this news so we all Agreed to get together and talk about it
And it seemed good to the Holy Spirit And to us oh wow and then they go on and Talk about their conclusion so they came Up with something and God said looks Good or the Holy Spirit they discerned That through the all of these wise godly People coming together debating praying Bibles are open they come to a unified Agreement which is surprising given the Diversity of people in the realm and They discerned that that was the work of God's spirit oh so they say it seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to us and Then here's what we decided that Interesting yeah yeah so it could be Through prophets it could be through Bible open debate prayer you know yeah Not not to get too picky but by that are They saying we came to this Independently or we came to this idea And then God like approved it or are They saying by coming to this idea Together that's really God's idea hmm I'm not sure those are separate I think The point is they see those as unified Here's what we came to therefore we Discern that's what God led us to by the Spirit led us to or because the word There is it seemed good too it seems Good and to us well what does that refer To well all we have to do is all we have Is the story of them having a big debate And Bible interpretation session and Prayer meeting yeah and then what they
Say is it seemed good to the spirit into US here's what you should do so they Believe that their conclusion through All of that process is what seems good To the spirit yeah and to them yeah And the book of Acts it's everywhere Saying part of being a mature disciple Of Jesus is being aware of the presence Of the spirit yeah so they would have Been very aware when their bibles are Open and they're debating that God They're working in this spirit's here And so as they're doing it when they're Done they're like well it seems good to Us and God's been here yep so it's good With God yep okay yeah that's cool yeah That's the process they go through The last main gold mine for the spirit In the New Testament is Paul's letters He mentions the spirit let me do a quick Words number search yeah sure sure uh I've got 149 hits of pneuma in Paul's Letters 149 times he mentions the spirit And to put that in context how many Chapters does Paul have well it's 13 Letters 13 letters oh man I'd have to do 13 letters 150 times he talks about this Yeah So all I have to say is the spirit it's A really big deal for Paul's vision of The Christian Life yeah is it Paul who Says keep in step with the spirit yeah Oh man I mean uh whole best book out There on the spirit and Paul's by a
Scholar named Gordon fee it's called God's empowering presence it's Exhaustive he's he studies in detail all 149 oh wow example he like groups them Together in the category it's really Helpful study is it super geeky academic Or can uh oh uh yeah I mean it's it's a Thorough study it's not he's not messing Around you know uh he's not but he does It doesn't presume you know Greek or Hebrew it keeps most of that to the Footnotes and stuff like that but cool Yeah Um can I ask a question though yes yeah So we talked about these three Activities in the Old Testament creating Appointing New Creation And then we talked so And it seems like a pointing happened For a time Yes yes right and now in the New Testament there's an appointing but now It's a lifestyle yes right yes and it's Not just like hey for this task it's Like it's it's for a new way of life Yeah and so now everything you have to Reorient everything through the spirit Um is that a new step forward or is that Kind of what David how David was Thinking well for the what we looked at It's what David and Ezekiel New needed to happen it's what they Hoped for okay uh Moses hoped for it too In the wilderness he has this line in
Numbers 11 where he says I wish all of God's people had the spirit on them so Yeah the Old Testament prophetic voices Hope for and know that so a life Permeated with God's ruach is what's Needed for New Creation to really happen So if Ezekiel was watching the apostles Yeah yeah the upper room where Pentecost Pentecost and then but then all this Activity through acts would he and then He's like oh this is the valley of dry Bones happening correct yes I think so The resurrection of Jesus by the spirit And then the permeation of God's people Jesus followers by the spirit of the Book of Acts all the apostles are very Clearly saying this is what the prophets Were pointing to yeah we didn't even Talk about she's there's so much to Explore here that we can't do in Necessarily a video but at Pentecost you Know Peter has his sermon Because what the people start doing with The tongues of pillars of fire over Their head is speaking in all these Languages they didn't already know yeah And there's all of these Israelites There from all over the world And they all become you understand and Become unified all of those who turn and Follow Jesus as the people so Israel Gets renewed there right there at Pentecost the tribes come together again So Luke's trying to say this is the
Recreation of Israel the Covenant people Of God oh Um and then That same thing happens to Cornelius and The Gentiles there's another outpouring Of the spirit and then these non-jewish People Are speaking in these unknown languages Tongues it's called there's a lot of Debate obviously a lot of debate in Christian history about speaking in Tongues and so on in the book of Acts it Happens at Key moments where the Boundary lines of God's people are Broken and new people more and more Different kinds of people get included In the family of Jesus that's when Tongues appears in the story it plays That role so the spirit is about Expanding and spreading to more and more Humans in the book of Acts Jerusalem Judea Samaria to the ends of the Earth So the point is about the new Humanity That the spirit is creating through the Mission of Jesus that's the book of Acts Luke is saying that's what the prophets Were hoping for is what was happening Through the people of Jesus Now that isn't the fullness of what the Prophets are hoping for because Lions Aren't laying down with lambs and yeah Yeah exactly knowledge of God hasn't Permeated the herbs the world doesn't Look like Isaiah 11. and people are
Going to die yep and then be resurrected Until Injustice still death all that so It's just an aspect of what they're Hoping for it's an aspect yep yeah and So here we're to the whole big storyline Framework of the Bible is that Jesus Inaugurates the kingdom Of God he walks out of the Tomb as a Little bit of walking talking new Creation and Paul talks about the Presence of the spirit as a down payment He says that second Corinthians and Ephesians it's a down payment of the new Creation yeah so that's where we're Still at we're still at the down payment Yeah yeah the inauguration yeah yeah so Yeah philosophy we're not into like Already The second mortgage payment this is Still the down payment that's right yeah Yeah we're in this period where the new Creation has really started And I get tastes of it when I taste new Creation is when I am fully submitted to And aware of and permeated by the Presence of the spirit and so the spirit Will be doing something unique during This era of the down payment yeah Messing with people messing with people Messing with your ruach God's ruach Comes and it starts to mess with your Ruach and you're like oh man I'm really Screwed up I need help I need a new Heart I need to be rescued from my
Selfishness I need to hmm and Paul will Say yeah Paul will say yeah that's God's That's this the pneuma of Jesus the Spirit messing with you preparing you Yuma being the Greek translation of a Rock yep yeah and uh and that's how the The spirit works on people and then when They hear the story about Jesus they go That's who I need I need Jesus the Spirit always points you to Jesus According to Paul Um never to just have an experience but To point you to Jesus And then the spirit then becomes the Presence of Jesus for Paul the spirit is The presence of Jesus who's going to Start reshaping you the fruit of the Spirit for example at the end of Galatians it's it's so it's Um For this era first of all Garden imagery Fruit yeah so the Garden of Eden right There what would the Garden of Eden look Like in in with in me with character Renewal love joy peace patience kindness Goodness faithfulness gentleness Self-control Um which is all that's Jesus it's the Life of Jesus Made Alive within me That's the role of the spirit is to Create Jesus inside of me Um so Paul can sometimes say you know It's I died with Jesus when when he died On the cross so the life I now live it's
Not me it's it's Jesus living in me so He can say Jesus lives in me yeah but Then later on in the letter to Galatians He'll say it's the spirit in you Producing fruit for it's two sides of The same coin and that that passage the Paul's I was reminded of that when we Were talking about David saying Um give me a new rule yes or no Ezekiel Saying Ezekiel yeah well David says Create in me in New Rock Ezekiel says They need a new ruach correct yeah so David wants it recreated ezekiel's like They're gonna get a new one yeah and Then I was thinking about Paul he says I No longer live But Christ lives in me how does Christ Live in me yeah he doesn't say it but It's through but it's that's his whole Vision of the spirit so so Paul's Thinking I get an it's a new one it's God's yeah I need a new life a brand new Humanity yeah a new existence so God Might be recreating my heart but as far As my ruach he's just got a it's a Surgery I need to know it's a transplant Yeah and then right after he finishes Listing the fruit of the spirit he says So if you if you were given a new life By the spirit Keep in step with the spirit so you Still have a ruach yeah so like he Doesn't Bonk you over the head and make You a brand new human overnight you have
To partner with the spirit just like the Apostles had to partner with the spirit In that room with the Bible open Debating and praying together we're just Like Paul and Barnabas so you're given a New ruach yeah God's ruak but you still Have your own sense of self yes that Needs to keep in step with it correct Yeah Paul calls it the the war of your Flesh and your spirit your sinful nature And your new Humanity created by the Spirit and there's this battle he calls It a battle inside of you yeah and uh It's been lots of good sermons and Metaphors about that so so we have this So I have a will a mind I have God's Spirit but then I also have my the flesh Those are three kind of elements here uh And I and I my ruach decides flesh there Isn't referring to your physical body Sure it's referring to your selfish yeah My abdomen morally correct my aptitude To yeah Um yeah be morally corrupt correct and So I can decide to keep in step with That or I can decide to keep in step With God's rule yeah yeah and why didn't Paul call that our my my spirit why does It call it my flesh well uh yeah it's a Whole long debate I think but there's Something about flesh in the the way That was used in the bar yeah sorry yeah Good Starks sarcas in Greek yeah Um where as an image it communicates my
Body has appetites food right sleep sex And those appetites can drive me to Really destructive behaviors if I don't Control them uh and so the vocab that Vocab tab that idea gets communicated by The Word Flesh in the Old and New Testaments this is why people become Monastic yes yeah that's right but Paul's idea of the new Humanity isn't Non-physical It's of it's of but it's a new type of Physical existence one that is permeated By the spirit which doesn't mean you're Not human anymore it means you're more Human so it doesn't mean you know so I Can be a glutton and that's my flesh but To not be Glutton doesn't mean now I Don't enjoy food it means I eat to God's Kavod I eat to the glory of God you eat You eat and drink for the glory of God Um and to do that I have to keep in step With correct God's spirit God's yeah Yeah Ruach I keep doing that yeah yeah Um yeah there's some so much of the New Testament begins to uh spiritual gifts Which Peter and Paul talk about it's the Same am Jesus was appointed we are Appointed so God can appoint different People with different can enhance their Natural abilities Inspire them so that what they Contribute to the church is what God Wants to have happen in that church
Community so Paul talks about that a Length and and that's all about how we As Christians live In participation with God's spirit yeah Which is something that the Old Testament Ezekiel and David and Moses All these people were kind of longing For and and prophesying that this moment Would come where humans could do this However there's also this anticipation That all of creation will be Fundamentally changed and so so we've Been talking about kind of this in Between time yes and the New Testament Also then will begin to talk about God's Spirit Recreating things right now is this me Keeping in step with the spirit and Being filled with the spirit that's not Recreation that's just being appointed Or is that the beginning of recreation Oh well so there's there's two ways Paul Will talk about the spirit one is that Appointing he'll appoint you to be a Good leader or a good servant or a good Administrator in the church first uh Those are spiritual spiritual gifts but Then there's this moral character Transformation okay ethical renewal and That's where a new creation territory And that's happening yeah so like in Romans 8 Paul will say if the spirit That raised Jesus from the dead lives in You the one who raised Christ from the
Dead will also give life to your mortal Bodies through his spirit so he can First of all link the spirit that raised Jesus to your own hope of Resurrection But then he can also Totally link the spirit of Jesus in the Resurrection to your moral Recreation so The moral Recreation is happening now Yeah the physical Recreation will happen In the resurrection but for Paul there This it's the same new life that you're Participating in so when I have moments Where I check my selfish agenda at the Door and I just love and serve my wife Or my neighbor even though I'm I'm angry And I didn't get much sleep last night But I sense no Jesus wants me to just be A servant right now and I do it and it's The right thing and it's awesome Paul Would invite you're not even doing your Own strength completely yeah and I'm Tired and cranky but I find this this Desire and motive and then I and I act On it and then all this something good Comes out of it Um Paul would invite me to see that was A little taste of my true self as a new Human in Jesus that's my new Humanity Coming out and I'm maturing follower of Jesus for Paul is someone who when they Tap into that they go that's who I Really am I'm gonna do more of that and When they do more of that as Paul did He'll look back and he'll say I worked
Harder than all of the other Apostles Well sorry sorry it was God's grace Working in me he'll attribute it to God Even though he was the one who did it Yeah and that's the dynamic of the Spirit is that when I do it it's me but It's not me yeah and Colossians doesn't He say something like I work with God's Spirit or like he yeah there's a person Colossians that kind of speaks to that Yeah it's this melding it's of my will Become so entwined with God's will my Ruach my mind purpose becomes so unified With the spirit that that's how I know That's when I know I'm following Jesus And primarily in the present it Pre-resurrection for me that's when I Know I'm in The Sweet Spot is when I'm Exhibiting the fruit of the spirit when I'm doing the kinds of things Jesus Would do that's my new humanity and Paul Says feet feed that feed that and you Won't be able to do it by yourself you Need a church you need to be in a Community of a whole bunch of other People who are undergoing that same Process and together you'll be able to Carry each other along in this process [Music] So so the life of a Christian A way to think about it is is really Learning how to live in this Inauguration period yeah and to To step into one side of it and stay
There and to do that as a community One side of it being A step with the spirit even though we Still have That baggage of yeah well calls the Flesh the flesh yeah Paul says in uh Colossians 1 29 to this end I Strenuously contend with all my energy No I strenuously contend with all the Energy Christ so powerfully Works in me Uh yeah so there yeah so there it's Christ not the spirit but he he commonly Swaps Jesus in the spirit yeah yeah so I Hear I am working really hard with the Power of Christ in me with the with the Power that Jesus is working here yeah Yeah so is it me or is it Jesus exactly Right I'm also really getting attached To this idea of like the era of Inauguration because we're still in it Right and it's two thousand years later Yes so it's not like a moment in time Yes yeah and who's to say it's not going To be another thousand years correct Could be yep or 2 000 years yeah and so This whole period of time where there's Generations and generations and Civilization after civilization and when It's all the enough it's the time of Inauguration of New Creation you have to Get this really you have to step back And get this very big history Perspective to think of 2000 years as an Inauguration inauguration is like a
Moment yeah sure it's been inaugurated It's a ceremony yeah it's done yeah yeah And yeah if it was an hour it was too Long or yeah the better analogy would be The time period between an election in Democratic republics an election of a Leader and there being in Um appointed hmm usually there's a gap Yeah they're elected in November they Start in January there you go yeah so That's so they're inaugurated in November right their reign begins in January correct yeah Last for like three months but what's The what's the time period between the Election and the inauguration and then They're appointing oh I don't know Anyway but the point is that it's a Multi-step process because the gap That's the way the New Testament Envisions the time between Jesus's Resurrection and his return Jesus was Elected Jesus was not Democratic was Elected and inaugurated uh with the Empty tomb and then he inaugurates new Creation and the resurrection and the Coming of the spirit and he says Participate in New Creation With Me yep It's not here in full but it's here and It's happening yeah and then that's uh That's the Apostles doing that and then 2000 years later it's us still doing That Um but one day we will look back and
We'll go hey that season of inauguration That was just a moment a brief moment in Human history yeah compared to New Creation right that is the way the Jesus And the apostles talked about it yes but To us it's like in our entire life yeah We're in it and our children children's Lifetime likely and generations back as Far as we can think yes and so to us not It doesn't feel like a special moment in Time it just feels like human history Yeah right right yeah Yes it's a good point yeah uh so what You're pointing out is is that it's it's Actually hard for us to Foster to live In the story yeah it's a hard story to Live in yeah it's not you have to you Have to think this is a very special Moment in human history if humans I mean We haven't talked about eternity right Much but like if if life is eternal and Humans and God like will live for a long Time together Humanity will be around For a long time this moment whether it's 2 000 years or ten thousand or Twenty Yeah right right it's gonna be a it's a Blip in human history but uh and it's a Very significant Moment of transition That and it's it's at the center of Creation New Creation yeah it's like Being built up to with the prophets and Uh and it is inaugurated with Jesus and Then we get to live in it and that's
Where we're at right now and just to Reorient my mind to that seems important [Music] Um And that it takes effort I think Especially and it takes a lot of effort Yeah in the modern Western World with Our narrative our cultural story of Progress political education Technological progress right that's That's a narrative that says we are just At the cusp of the Pinnacle or we could Create the Pinnacle yeah kind of thing And so Um the biblical story also has a Progression saying we are a part of Something progressing but um what we Hope for ultimately is for something That we have to receive as a gift That we won't be able to accomplish on Our own on our own steam which doesn't Mean sit back and do nothing that would Also be living in the wrong story yeah So this is all embedded in creation New Creation like to understand the spirit You can if you understand creation New Creation then the spirit kind of fits Right into the same grids Yeah but this isn't the new creation Video no this is the holy spirit video Yeah and it overlaps it overlaps it Overlaps in a big way yeah so the goal Is what is it going to mean to you if I Say the holy spirit's role is to bring
New Creation if that's not a category in Your mind yeah that's true yeah yeah so We have to bring that in for me I think The biggest win for the video will be This reorientation of just God's spirit In the Bible And the work it takes us to get there And then the storyline that the spirit Unified how this and the storyline Though being creation creation uh and Then appointing a human to lead Humanity Into New Creation Thanks for listening to this final part Of the discussion on the Holy Spirit Just a reminder that we're going to do a Question answer podcast episode next Week on the holy spirit so send us your Questions we're going to record our Answers to those on Monday so if you can Get your questions in before then we'd Love to answer them uh well Tim would Love to answer them and I'll do Follow-up questions for you the Bible Project is a non-profit we believe the Bible is one unified story that leads to Jesus and has profound wisdom for the Modern world you can find us at Thebibleproject.com we make lots of Videos and other resources the video on The holy spirit will be out very soon Sometime at the end of March so keep an Eye out for that and thanks for being a Part of this with us [Music]
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