Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

By Dr. Dwight Judy, Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation

Jesus' Baptism by John. Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful. Photo by Al Caldwell.

RENUNCIATION OF SIN AND PROFESSION OF FAITH

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

One of the most important images of scripture for me is contained in the story of Nicodemus (John 3), in which Jesus speaks of the new birth by Spirit. The play on words, that we can't fully describe in English, is on full exhibit in the Greek text, in which pneuma is used for "wind" and "spirit." Pneuma (Spirit) is like the wind. You can only hear it... you don't know where it comes from or where it is going! And, welcome to the Realm of God. If you will be born of pneuma, you're invited to live in this mystery, allowing pneuma to blow through your life every now and then in a big way, moving you from place to place, from ministry to ministry, from calling to calling. And so it is!

It's intriguing that the Apostles' Creed puts then, this grouping of somewhat disparate themes with the Holy Spirit. But, if we think of the life of pneuma, they all make sense.

Pneuma making one holy catholic church out of our insanely human attempts at dividing the body of Christ into tiny factions based on doctrine and practice;

Pneuma bridging the worlds of the living in this world bound by time and matter and the living in the world beyond time and matter;

Pneuma guiding us to the wellspring of forgiveness and forgiving;

Pneuma offering the grand vision of resurrection of the person in life everlasting.

Because as Jesus taught us, when we live in this life in pneuma, we are already living in God, in life beyond the boundary of the temporal and the Eternal.

For me, pneuma has often come in the beauty of birds in flight on the wind. How about you? How do you envision this life of Spirit, its great surprises, challenges and joy?

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