Life at PazNaz

Babel: Divided by Pride (Gen. 11)

- In Genesis 11 the people gathered together to build a tower representing human power and fame. The building of the great tower was predicated, however, upon uniformity in language and location. Diversity is perceived by those gathered at Babel to be a threat to human flourishing.

- The story of Babel has been repeated again and again. When human culture is constructed apart from God, human attempts to build utopia usually include embracing sameness and rejecting diversity. One need only reflect on the great genocides of the twentieth century to recognize the frequent theme of squelching diversity in the name of the “common good.”

- In an ironic twist, rather than the tower reaching up to heaven God had to come down to see and judge the human project.

- God’s judgment is both righteous and gracious. In a grace that keeps humankind from an evil uniformity, God permanently confuses their languages.

- The city is called Babel because there the languages were confused. The city is a symbol of the over-reach of humankind which leads to boundaries and division.

Pentecost: Reversing Babel (Acts 2)

- In the opening of Acts the disciples are all gathered together for the divine purposes of waiting and praying.

- The Spirit of God descends as a mighty wind which fills the upper room purifying and empowering the disciples for divine action.

- The Spirit of God brings about a miracle of unity in the midst of diversity. The unity of the Spirit does not eliminate diversity but brings unity in diversity.

- Jerusalem is again the holy city where the power of God is put on display and the glory of God is made known.

Babel Pentecost

1. Gathered for pride	1. Gathered for prayer
2. God came down	2. Spirit came down
3. Confused languages	3. United languages
4. Babel - earthly city	4. Jerusalem - holy city

Ruach: The Breath of God

- The Hebrew word “ruach” means breath, wind, or spirit. The Spirit of God, especially in the Old Testament, is understood as the wind or the breath of God. Often when the power of God shows up it is the wind of God that brings life.

- Genesis 1:1-2: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

- Genesis 2:7: Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

- Genesis 8:1: But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

- Exodus 14:21: Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.

- Ezekiel 37:9-10: Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet a vast multitude.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

- Presence: The Spirit is the symbol of God’s presence. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God dwells uniquely in the temple. The Spirit of God is uniquely present in the person of Jesus. And now believers are the unique temple of the Holy Spirit.

- Power: Frequently when God’s people did great things it is because the Spirit of God came upon them. The scripture testifies to the idea that apart from the empowering Spirit of God we cannot live the life he has called us to live.

- Purity: The dwelling places of the Spirit are always pure or holy places. The symbol of fire is often associated with the Spirit. The vessels for the Spirit’s indwelling are to be made clean but they are also purified by the Spirit itself.

- Unity and Peace: (Eph. 4:3) Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is peace. The unity of the Church is not achieved through the elimination of diversity. On the contrary, the Pentecost vision is that diverse cultures and nations are unified together in the power of the Holy Spirit. In the same way that the Spirit unifies the persons of the Trinity, the Spirit unifies the Body of Christ.

- Gifts of the Spirit: (1 Cor. 12:4-7) Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The view of the early church was that believers are given unique gifts by God that are then empowered by the Spirit for the edification of the Body of Christ.

- Fruit or By-Products of the Spirit: (Gal. 5:22-23) By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. The primary sign of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the demonstration of love in all of its forms in the life of the believer.

Recommended Reading:

Roger Olson and Christopher Hall, The Trinity (Eerdmans, 2002).
Michael Lodahl and Thomas Jay Oord, Relational Holiness:
Responding to the Call of Love (Beacon Hill Press, 2005).