Читать книгу Holy Smoke! Unholy Fire! - Robert C McKibben - Страница 7

In the days before indoor plumbing, a hot bath was a luxury for the average family. The Saturday night bath became a family ritual and had its specific code of etiquette. The husband or man of the house was given the honor of having the first bath, along with it the privilege of hot and clean water. Next in line were the workingmen of the house according to age. Then the women bathed, followed by the children. Last to enter the ritual waters were the babies. By the time it became the babies’ turn, the water was rather dirty and soapy. One could literally lose sight of their little ones. And thus the saying, throwing the baby out with the bath water, was born.

The theological waters concerning the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s ministry within the Church have become so muddled and obscure that many pastors and congregations have thrown the baby out with the bath water. Out of fear and misunderstanding, they avoid, or outright reject, anything that appears to be related to the Holy Spirit. The mania of some and the phobia of others have divided more than just a few congregations. This struggle has alienated followers of Jesus and threatens the Christian movement as a whole.

An itinerant pastor named Paul faced this very problem at the First Christian Church of Corinth. The very gift God gave the church to empower it in its ministry was now the apparent source of division and strife. Paul was so concerned that this new church would be irreparably torn apart that he put in writing his theological understanding of this special Gift. Even though Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle, was addressing theological and ethical problems of the Corinthian Church, his task was not doctrinal, but pastoral. Paul poured out his heart to the people for whom he had a deep affection. Paul was giving them pastoral direction and insight concerning God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. Let’s meet again the Holy Spirit that Paul introduced to the believers who worshiped in Corinth.