As you speak of the groanings of Christ and the Spirit, it reminds me of the passage in Romans:”We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.“
This was rich, encouraging, and more than timely for me as a cradle Pentecostal. I laughed out loud, while I was driving and listening to this, by your expression, Chris, "stroke inducing," in reference to our Pentecostal Fundamentalism around Eschatology and the Parousia. Thank you for this! Truly.
"By its fruits, the Pentecost is the continuing Incarnation." --Sergei Bulgakov
Dr. Green, could you tell me what each of the beautiful icons from this post and the last is, and where you found them?
Wow!! This is so helpful.
As you speak of the groanings of Christ and the Spirit, it reminds me of the passage in Romans:”We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.“
Romans 8:22-27 NIV
This was rich, encouraging, and more than timely for me as a cradle Pentecostal. I laughed out loud, while I was driving and listening to this, by your expression, Chris, "stroke inducing," in reference to our Pentecostal Fundamentalism around Eschatology and the Parousia. Thank you for this! Truly.
"By its fruits, the Pentecost is the continuing Incarnation." --Sergei Bulgakov