GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. He is God! When we are baptized into Christ and receive the Holy Myron, we receive the Holy Spirit. Meaning, the Holy Spirit physically resides in us. The Holy Spirit works in and through us for the glory of the Kingdom of God. A person, if he or she is a baptized Christian, has the Holy Spirit inside of them from the time of their baptism, until death. However, how active the Holy Spirit can be within a Christian is based upon his or her prayer life and seriousness in observing fasting, all of which lead to a deeper relationship with Christ.
The Apostle Paul teaches us today that the “…natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14) Who is the natural man? The natural man is 1) one who has not been baptized 2) he is also one who has been baptized but has not the desire to pray or fast. Conversely, the spiritual man is a person who is baptized and desires to pray, fast, and attempts to have a deep relationship with God. Notice that the person who is baptized does not automatically become the spiritual man; he or she must “work out their salvation with fear and tremble.” (Phil. 2:12) So, then, in this world, we either have the spiritual person or the natural person. Which one are you?
To understand this further, I want to compare and contrast the spiritual man and the natural man in three areas and explore each of them.
Video/Picture: If an angel were to observe us for one week and take pictures of us at various times and then present it to the Lord, it wouldn’t be an accurate representation of who we are as a person. Meaning, those pictures don’t paint a holistic picture of who we are. If, however, the angel was to take a video for one week, non-stop, consistently, that would be an accurate representation of who we are. The spiritual man through the video would be found to possibly struggle in prayer and fasting but would be seen attempting to do his best for God. The natural man, however, who does not feel any sense of remorse or sadness from his lack of fasting or prayer.
Charismatic: We as Orthodox Christians are Charismatic, that is, we believe in the gifts and working of the Holy Spirit through signs and wonders, just as it was in the days of the Apostles. However, it should be stated that we are not like those who consider themselves to be a part of the so-called Charismatic movement because we have been a part of the movement since the time of the Apostles. We didn’t start to be Charismatic in the 20th century; we were always Charismatic. I say this because the spiritual man will see beyond the natural and acknowledge the miraculous working of God; but, at the same time, is able to discern the deception that is out there. The natural man sees the miracles of Christ as a “magic” or a “hoax” or simply an elaboration of history.
Scripture: The spiritual man will always look to Scripture for direction, as to how he should behave and what things he should associate with. Scripture becomes the foundation for the spiritual man’s decision making. The natural man, on the other hand, looks elsewhere first. He finds Scripture to be helpful as long as it supports his agenda. The Bible is used as a support system rather than a foundation. I am not saying that other areas of study are to be ignored but used only as secondary. Scripture is primary.