My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.
THE HOLY FEAST DAY OF PENTECOST (Part II)
The Holy Spirit is consubstantial (of one essence) with the Son and the Father, because all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity have a common essence or nature, and a common energy or intentional glory. This is why wherever Christ is, there is the Holy Spirit, and wherever the Holy Spirit is, there is Christ.
We have already emphasized that the Persons of the Holy Trinity are not separate, nor is their work independent. Saint Maximus the Confessor says that the Holy Spirit is active in all people, but in a different way in each one. It works in all people without exception, since they are created by God, Who is able to hold together, provide for and set in motion the natural seeds. In those people who are in the period of the law it points to transgressions of the commandment and throws light on Christ's promise. In those who are living by Christ it works to make them sons and daughters, since they become sons and daughters by the energy of the Holy Spirit. And in the deified (theosis), those who have made themselves worthy of citizenship in God and the indwelling of Divine Power, it works as creative wisdom. Thus the Holy Spirit is active in all, but differently in each, according to their spiritual condition.
In this light we understand that the Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament as well, in the Prophets, for it was by the power and energy of the Holy Spirit that the Prophets saw the Unincarnate Logos/Word and prophesied about the Incarnate Logos/Word, Christ. We know very well from Orthodox theology that all of God's revelations in the Old Testament were revelations of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Unincarnate Logos/Word. Since, the Logos/Word is not present without the Holy Spirit, it was the Holy Spirit that manifested the Unincarnate Logos/Word t the Prophets and revealed the future mysteries...
"...The way in which the Holy Spirit works in both the Old and New Testaments is clearly seen with regard to the Church. As we study this topic we can see some interesting aspects, which show the close relationship and link between Christology and Pneumatology.
According to the Holy Fathers the Church existed also before Christ's Incarnation, since the creation of the angels and man is the beginning of the Church. With the fall of Adam we have the fall of the Church, and yet the Church is still preserved in the persons of the Prophets and of the righteous men of the Old Testament in general. In spite of the existence of the Church, the rule of death is still in force, and therefore, while THE RIGHTEOUS ONES of the Old Testament attained deification (theosis) and knew the Unincarnate Logos/Word (St. John Chrysostom), the power of death still prevailed over them. Thus the righteous went to Hell...
"...The Church was founded on the day of Pentecost, in that the Apostles became members of the Body of Christ. Thus, while they previously had a communion with Christ, now by the power and energy of the Holy Spirit they became members of the Body of Christ. The Church changed from spirit to flesh. The Saints, the deified (theosis), had a relationship and communion not only with the Unincarnate Logos/Word, but with the Logos/Word become flesh, Christ the Godman...
"...With holy Baptism man becomes a member of the Church, a member of the Body of Christ. The day of Pentecost was the day of the Disciples' Baptism, because they became members of the Body of Christ. Thus Christ is not only their teacher, but their head.
Christ said to His Disciples right after His Resurrection: "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5). When the Holy Spirit descended on the Disciples It baptized them, and so the house where they were, awaiting the promise of the Father, became filled with the Holy Spirit, which made the house a spiritual Font (St. Gregory Palamas).
The presence of the Holy Spirit in the upper room came with a violent wind. Saint Luke writes: "...Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:2). This violent wind was prefigured and predicted in many situations in the Old Testament. It is the sound about which the mother of the Prophet Samuel said: "The Lord has gone up to heaven and has thundered" (I Samuel 2:10). The Prophet Elijah's vision of God predicted this sound when he saw God through the sound of a gentle breeze. Christ suggested this sound when He cried, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink", for by this powerful word He meant the Holy Spirit, which was going to receive all who believed in It. Likewise it was indicated beforehand by Christ's breathing on the Disciples after His Resurrection, giving them the Holy Spirit so that they could forgive sins.
The manifestation of the Holy Spirit as a strong wind is significant, because it shows that the Holy Spirit conquers all things, passes over the walls of the evil one, demolishes the cities and every fortification of the enemy. At the same time it humbles the proud, lifts up the humble of heart, puts together what is badly damaged, breaks the bonds of errors and releases what is confined (Saint Gregory Palamas). By the power of the Holy Spirit man can become a living member of the Church and conquer all the powers of the enemy (Satan), overcome even death itself. (Source: The Feasts of the Lord. An Introduction to the Twelve Feasts and Orthodox Christology by Metropolitan of Nafpaktos HIEROTHEOS).
(To be continued)
________________________
"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
+++
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George