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Fellowship of the Spirit |
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Article by Tom Gilbert — May
2007
The Feast of Pentecost commemorates the
Holy Spirit descending on the early followers of Jesus and
is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 2). It happened
in a profound way. A sound like a great rushing wind swept
through the house where the apostles and believers were gathers.
They saw what appeared to be tongues of fire which came down
and hovered over them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to testify boldly and in many languages. People present
who were visiting Jerusalem from various foreign locales heard
them and were both surprised and impressed.
The feast of Pentecost was already a special day for Jewish
worshipers. It grew out of a festival in ancient times in the
Middle East marked by a sacrifice to the gods and offering of
the first part of their seasonal harvest. The Jewish people
adapted the festival, without the pagan trappings, and also
considered it to be a commemoration of the giving of the Torah
at Sinai, as recorded in the book of Exodus.
Birth of the Church
For the apostles and early believers in Jesus Christ as the messiah
and redeemer the Pentecost event became the birth of the church.
Jesus had promised he would send the Advocate or Helper, names
for the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would guide believers in the
Truth and provide gifts from God to help the church be united
in love and spread the message of God’s love through His
son, Jesus Christ. Scripture records the vivid account of what
we can call the first Christian Pentecost. Indeed, the Holy Spirit
gifted the followers with wisdom, knowledge, power, love and
piety. It was an awe-inspiring event and many new converts were
the result of seeing the Spirit at work in the apostles and followers
of Christ.
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Renewed in the Spirit
Pentecost is a time when each of us can be renewed in the Spirit.
God seems to prefer working in, through and with us. What better way than
to do so with His Spirit in the fellowship of believers. The fellowship of
the Spirit is a powerful and very real thing.
I can be something of a loner at times. I like my quiet time.
However, I can testify to the importance of working with others. I believe
we are all called to community, not just a community of believers, but also
as part of the world around us.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are revealed
in Isaiah 11:2. They are wisdom, understanding, fortitude, knowledge, piety
and fear of the lord. These seven gifts enable us to bring forth the fruits
of the Spirit that St. Paul wrote about in Galatians 5:22-23, “But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These are tremendous traits
and I would think just about anyone would agree the world could do with more
of them. These fruits of the Spirit happen primarily in our participation
in life and with each other.
This is an important distinction that I believe
Jesus wants his followers to understand. On our own we can do nothing when
it comes the truly important spiritual work that the Spirit inspires and
empowers us to do. Together, with God, we can do anything. Jesus talked about
doing the work the Father sent him to do. In just the same way we are sent
to continue this work. This is our call, our commission, to spread the Gospel
to others. Our human nature is incapable of conveying God’s great love
apart from His Spirit.
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What is Fellowship?
Let’s consider just what fellowship means. Fellowship
is a term we apply to those we go to church with. We also have various types
of fellowship groups. It means supporting and encouraging one another. We
share our experiences and our hope. We pool our talents and skills and put
them to good use.
When groups of people come together it is not uncommon for there
to be conflict and division. Control issues and ego can step
in as we strive for recognition, prestige and prominence. These
are some of the negatives of community. On the positive side
we can accomplish great things together that we could never do
alone. This is especially true in what Jesus called the Kingdom
of Heaven. I don’t think the Lord intended for this kingdom
to happen only at the end of time. It can be right here, right
now.
What a beautiful way of life the Holy Spirit brings! Jesus prayed
in John’s Gospel, chapter 17 that we may come to know the
unity, the oneness with God in Three Persons. Father God, son
Jesus and the Holy Spirit is a circle of complete goodness and
we are invited into this circle. That is certainly a cause for
great celebration.
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout
the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for
the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved.
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Recommended
Reading
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The Full
Blessing of Pentescost
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"But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.."
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(NIV)
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