Topic: The Wind of the Spirit Wednesday, June 4, 2014 Prov. 30:4
Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered
the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who
hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is
his son’s name, if thou canst tell?
Ezek. 20:19
I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments,
and do them;
John 3:5-8
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one
that is born of the Spirit.
Joel 2:27-29, 32 (to :)
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the
Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
¶ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And
also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I
pour out my spirit. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call
on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: Acts 1:15 (to 2nd ,), 16 (to 2nd ,); 2:1, 2, 4-­‐8, 10-­‐19 (to ;), 21-­‐24, 32, 36, 41, 46, 47 ¶ And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, ... Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ... And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? ... Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. ¶ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath;And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. ... This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. ... Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. ¶ Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. ... And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Isa. 41:14-­‐16 Fear not… I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. Isa. 42:1 (to :) Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: SH 597:27-­‐29; 598:1-­‐5 Wind. That which indicates the might of omnipotence and the movements of God’s spiritual government, encompassing all things. The Greek word for wind (pneuma) is used also for spirit, as in the passage in John’s Gospel, the third chapter, where we read: “The wind [pneuma] bloweth where it listeth. . . . So is every one that is born of the Spirit [pneuma].” SH 78:21-­‐32 Spirit is not materially tangible. How then can it communicate with man through electric, material effects? How can the majesty and omnipotence of Spirit be lost? God is not in the medley where matter cares for matter, where spiritism makes many gods, and hypnotism and electricity are claimed to be the agents of God’s government. Spirit blesses man, but man cannot “tell whence it cometh.” By it the sick are healed, the sorrowing are comforted, and the sinning are reformed. These are the effects of one universal God, the invisible good dwelling in eternal Science. SH 140:16-­‐18, 20 We worship spiritually, only as we cease to worship materially. Spiritual devoutness is the soul of Christianity. ... “The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” SH 192:11-­‐24 (to 1st .) Erring power is a material belief, a blind miscalled force, the offspring of will and not of wisdom, of the mortal mind and not of the immortal. It is the headlong cataract, the devouring flame, the tempest’s breath. It is lightning and hurricane, all that is selfish, wicked, dishonest, and impure. Moral and spiritual might belong to Spirit, who holds the “wind in His fists;” and this teaching accords with Science and harmony. In Science, you can have no power opposed to God, and the physical senses must give up their false testimony. Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable. SH 269:5-­‐20 Jesus’ demonstrations sift the chaff from the wheat, and unfold the unity and the reality of good, the unreality, the nothingness, of evil. Human philosophy has made God manlike. Christian Science makes man Godlike. The first is error; the latter is truth. Metaphysics is above physics, and matter does not enter into metaphysical premises or conclusions. The categories of metaphysics rest on one basis, the divine Mind. Metaphysics resolves things into thoughts, and exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul. These ideas are perfectly real and tangible to spiritual consciousness, and they have this advantage over the objects and thoughts of material sense, — they are good and eternal. SH 466:7-­‐31 Question. — What are spirits and souls? Answer. — To human belief, they are personalities constituted of mind and matter, life and death, truth and error, good and evil; but these contrasting pairs of terms represent contraries, as Christian Science reveals, which neither dwell together nor assimilate. Truth is immortal; error is mortal. Truth is limitless; error is limited. Truth is intelligent; error is non-­‐intelligent. Moreover, Truth is real, and error is unreal. This last statement contains the point you will most reluctantly admit, although first and last it is the most important to understand. The term souls or spirits is as improper as the term gods. Soul or Spirit signifies Deity and nothing else. There is no finite soul nor spirit. Soul or Spirit means only one Mind, and cannot be rendered in the plural. Heathen mythology and Jewish theology have perpetuated the fallacy that intelligence, soul, and life can be in matter; and idolatry and ritualism are the outcome of all man-­‐made beliefs. The Science of Christianity comes with fan in hand to separate the chaff from the wheat. Science will declare God aright, and Christianity will demonstrate this declaration and its divine Principle, making mankind better physically, morally, and spiritually. SH 201:7-­‐19 We cannot build safely on false foundations. Truth makes a new creature, in whom old things pass away and “all things are become new.” Passions, selfishness, false appetites, hatred, fear, all sensuality, yield to spirituality, and the superabundance of being is on the side of God, good. We cannot fill vessels already full. They must first be emptied. Let us disrobe error. Then, when the winds of God blow, we shall not hug our tatters close about us. The way to extract error from mortal mind is to pour in truth through flood-­‐tides of Love. Christian perfection is won on no other basis. SH 55:15 Truth’s immortal idea is sweeping down the centuries, gathering beneath its wings the sick and sinning. My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself, — when he shall realize God’s omnipotence and the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done and is doing for mankind. The promises will be fulfilled. The time for the reappearing of the divine healing is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ’s cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of Christian healing. SH 138:14-­‐22, 25 The supremacy of Spirit was the foundation on which Jesus built. His sublime summary points to the religion of Love. Jesus established in the Christian era the precedent for all Christianity, theology, and healing. Christians are under as direct orders now, as they were then, to be Christlike, to possess the Christ-­‐spirit, to follow the Christ-­‐example, and to heal the sick as well as the sinning. The Christian can prove this to-­‐day as readily as it was proved centuries ago. Hymn 50 Dear Lord and Father of us all, Forgive our foolish ways; Reclothe us in our rightful mind; In purer lives Thy service find, In deeper reverence, praise. In simple trust like theirs who heard, Beside the Syrian sea, The gracious calling of the Lord, Let us, like them, without a word Rise up and follow thee. Breathe through the pulses of desire Thy coolness and Thy balm; Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire, O still small voice of calm. Drop Thy still dews of quietness, Till all our strivings cease; Take from us now the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of Thy peace. Hymn 303 Scorn not the slightest word or deed, Nor deem it void of power; There’s fruit in each wind-­‐wafted seed That waits its natal hour. No act falls fruitless; none can tell How vast its power may be Nor what results enfolded dwell Within it silently. A whispered word may touch the heart And call it back to life; A look of love bid sin depart And still unholy strife. Work and despair not; bring thy mite, Nor care how small it be; God is with all that serve the right, The holy, true, and free. Hymn 88 Gracious Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would gracious be, And with words that help and heal Would Thy life in mine reveal; And with actions bold and meek Christ’s own gracious spirit speak. Truthful Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would truthful be, And with wisdom kind and clear Let Thy life in mine appear; And with actions brotherly Follow Christ’s sincerity. Mighty Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would mighty be, Mighty, that I may prevail Where unaided man must fail; Ever by triumphant hope Pressing on and bearing up. Printed from CONCORD: A CHRISTIAN SCIENCE STUDY RESOURCE, published by The Christian Science Board of Directors in Boston, MA, USA. This content may be under copyright and may not be further reproduced or distributed, unless permitted under the Concord User License Agreement.