Paul the Spirit and the People of God Essay

Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God by Gordon Fee lays out a prescription for true spiritual success to cure what ails churches of all kinds. The main treatment is the Holy Spirit-led life. Fee’s major work â€Å"God’s Empowering Presence† is foundational in the area of Pauline pneumatology. This book successfully condenses the heavy exegesis of the larger work into an easily readable text. Fee has a lot of poignant and challenging things to say concerning modern-day evangelicalism’s understanding of the Holy Spirit. The difference between Christians today and Paul is staggering. The same spirit that lives in Paul and Jesus is the same spirit that is in Christians today. The western culture of Christians in today’s world live in very similar environment that the early Greco-Roman Western environment of Paul’s day. Disconnection has occurred because as Fee states â€Å"is in the large part to their experience of the reality of the Spirit’s presence.† This presents a very concerning issue with the church today who sometimes take the either/or approach to the Spirit between the gifts and the fruit of Spirit. The Spirit was an empowering force to Christian in the early church era. This power was not limited to signs and wonders, healings, or tongues but it was to empower the whole life of a Christian to grasp the beauty of being made in the image of God. The Spirit of God was the fulfillment of all the Jewish prophesies on how God would return His Presence to mankind again. The Trinitarian views became grounded because of Paul’s revelation on the very real true nature of God. The triune nature of God as one shows the vital importance that God is a relational being. He desires relationships and He has sent His Spirit for the church to be unified as one bride. Even though individual people experience salvation and become children of God, the goal is not a set of individuals for heaven but to create one people that lived a life of heaven in this day and age. A people for His name and glory. Just as important as Christians experiencing the Spirit of God is the understanding of the â€Å"already/not yet† aspect of heaven. The future of heaven has begun by the outpouring of His spirit and it guarantees a future consummation of a new heaven and earth. The Spirit is the key in worship for the people of God, as it gifts people with different diverse gifts might build up the church to live in this state of already/not there yet heaven on earth until the final coming of God. Throughout todays western culture the thought of God and spirituality are separate entities to everyday life. To be spiritual means to read the Bible, listen to worship music, or pray. These ideas are reinforced by the pastors every Sunday and as well as during the weekly men’s, women’s, teen, and children ministry times. After church services Christians go about their life and try to spread the gospel of Jesus because if people believe in God they don’t go to hell. The Spirit of God is a powerful force that is used to speak in tongues, prophesy, and heal people. Westernized Christians see the Spirit as a powerful unreliable tool. The problem with the way this Western mindset is we interpret and see the scripture that Paul speaks of with a tainted eye. Paul sees the Spirit as Gods fulfillment of promise to His people, the people that He adores, and gave His sons life for. The fulfillment to this promise is that Gods presence would once again be among His people but if they accepted Him, He would indwell them and bring them to life! Paul never writes about what Christians should do as a doctrine but he instead is describing a process in how to connect with God. When Paul describes in 2 Corinthians chapter four about him encountering the Spirit of God. Not only is he beholding the Glory of God but he is being transformed into Gods likeness. This love that rushes like a mighty stream to his heart causes him to cry out daddy because of his adoration to God. The children of God are designed to be in a vulnerable relationship with God. They are designed to hear His voice and understand that He is not an impersonal being. The only way is through experience. The western mindset makes it tough to swallow some of Paul’s revelations about life. Especially about the how everyone is part of one body. In a culture that is all about personal achievement and looking out for ones-self, people get trapped in this self-absorbed mentality that has poisoned the church. This imagery that Paul presents to all believers are part of one body. This shows that the spirit brings all people who are children of God together in unity. God is about unity in relationships and according to Paul it is the Spirit that draws us into unity as one body. The amazing part is that the sins that grieve the Holy Spirit are the sins of discord of one another. The Holy Spirit wants the relationships of people to be so vibrant and alive! The denominational churches of today’s age grieve the Holy Spirit. The discourses of beliefs have caused the body of Christ to be ripped apart. Paul does not see Jew or Gentile when he sees people but he sees sons and daughters of God. The church might not see that truth about who they are but through the revelation of the Spirit, he grasps who people really are. As children of God being in Christ through the Spirit all a part of one body. The church must begin to realize and grasp the revelation of the work that the Spirit is doing and not quench it. Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God by Gordon Fee gives the readers a glimpse into the revelation of Paul in the New Testament. Revelation only comes by experiencing the Spirit of God. A remarkable book on how children of God can live in the here/not yet concept of Heaven on earth. Fee will challenge the way the readers view and interact with God and others in order for heaven to be brought down more in every life.