Nougat 8

Hi there

Today’s Holy Nougat is such a sweet morsel to my soul; I hope you are blessed with munching also.

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Isn’t God awesome!? Just yesterday we were focusing on the spiritual state of our affairs, and here today we are being reminded of our status in God once we have been baptized. It is not the physical ‘water’ baptism (the subject of many debates) to which the writer refers. We are learning about the process by which the gifts of The Spirit is made manifest within us. And that’s the ‘How’ of the ‘What’. By our baptism in God’s Spirit, we acquire the gifts mentioned earlier in the larger text.

When we consider that God’s Spirit helps us stay aligned with YHWH, we perhaps begin to grasp how much we each need that special baptism (or in some cases the manifestation thereof) to fulfill our purpose in Christ.

Now we can easily miss a key concept in this delicious morsel, and that is the reference to God’s Spirit as drink. It is crucial, especially if we grapple with the notion of the Trinity. For me, this invite to drink takes me back to John 7 where Jesus describes Himself as Living Water and to His conversation with the Woman by the Well at Sychar in John 4. Two separate contexts, One principle being taught.

Water is life. Our bodies are comprised of approximately 60% water. We NEED water to survive. If both Jesus and the Spirit of God is/are Living Water; then they not only are essential to our life, but also they obviously the ARE One. But, to Live in/with Them, we must first drink.

And drink we may, especially in this season. This is a special time to not only confess our fears and sins to God; but also to drink of The Living Water, as an affirmation of Spiritual baptism and receiving God’s Spirit as the ultimate gift, God’s gift. And with the Spirit of God dwelling within, we are able to praise without fear, knowing that the very same Spirit is able to translate our most incoherent thoughts and sounds into real words. And those Spirit-transformed utterances are delivered to YHWH on our behalf!

Hallelujah

I’m drinking! I’m drinking – how about you?

In Christ’s love and grace . . .