A way with words..

Something caught my attention on a recent reading of Acts 23.

Paul is normally really plain in expressing the Gospel and what he believes, but in this trial before the Sanhedrin he deliberately and quite cleverly subverts the questions and starts an argument between the Pharisees and Sadducees:

"I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead. When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. [And Luke explains](the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)" 23 v.6-7

It seems unusual for him to divert attention away in this way and perhaps even slightly deceptive - that's not really what they considered the trial was about surely? (although of course a fairly essential component) Perhaps he was just trying to highlight the lack of evidence or case against him..?

He later refers to this in his trial before Felix (chapter 24) when he admits that he caused a disturbance with his comments about resurrection before the Sanhedrin - and that was his only crime.

Thoughts?

Christians in Antioch

I was reading Acts 11 this morning and noticed for the first time Luke's statement that "the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch". The notes in my Bible point out that they were called Christians because, being a mixture of Jews (speaking Greek or Aramaic) and Gentiles, Christ was all they had in common - not race, culture or language.

I was inspired by two things:
- unity IS possible in Christ, across all cultural boundaries and in the most impossible situations
- diversity is a reality, homogeneity unnecessary. Sometimes Christ is ALL we have in common. We don't have to 'click' with everybody, nor mold them in our own image, but we are called to love everyone.

More stuff from Debbie

She quotes John 14-16 a lot in the talks. I was interested in her discussion of the three Greek prepositions (?) that Jesus uses to describe the way the Holy Spirit is 'with' us.

The first type used is 'para' (usually translated 'with')

"...you will know him for he lives with you..." John 14:17

- this word means, essentially, 'alongside' (as in 'paraclete')... or 'walks next to'

The second is 'meta' mostly translated 'with' or 'abide with', though she talks about it meaning 'accompanying'
"...he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever"
John 14:16

The third is 'en', which is translated 'in'
"...and will be in you."
"a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest"

I found the Lexicon at Crosswalk.com really useful for looking these up!
http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/NewTestamentGreek/

Holy Spirit in NT

Was listening to Debbie Forster again in the car today.
She was comparing the experience of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament with that in the New. She described the work of the HS in the OT as being 'sporadic' - he comes upon people here and there and it's mostly temporary and for a particular purpose. He comes upon 'special' people as well - prophets and such. It's an outward 'resting upon' idea as well.
But the NT experience is an inward - and continuing - filling of the Spirit. We are living in the fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel:

"I will pour out my Spirit on all people...
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days." Joel 2:28-29
(emphasis mine!)

It's no longer a trickle.. now the Spirit is poured out on all people!
And he is no longer just resting on us for a short while... now he is with us forever, working inside us!

Debbie Forster on the Holy Spirit

Just been listening to Debbie Forster on a tape in the car.
She had some relatively familar but quite interesting things to say about the Holy Spirit.

She got the 'audience' listing the pictures given for the Spirit in the Bible. Impersonal / personal - most of the personal are in the New Testament. Many of the personal words used for the Spirit in our translations (comforter, advocate, counsellor, etc) are rendered from the Greek word 'Paraclete'. I remember dad preaching on this some years back. Paraclete means someone who stand beside you in court / times of trouble or accusation.

She also pointed out that in John when Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit it is always with a 'He' - not an it. This is not a translation issue, but a deliberate decision by John, as the Greek word for spirit is always neuter and should therefore never be referred to as 'he'.

That's about where I got to before I got home!