7.4. Life in the Spirit
For the early Christians, the church was community gathered in the Life of the Spirit. We are living between the times (live in this world but its existence is shaped by the world to come).
"In the present and possessed by the Spirit, the church between the times is not guaranteed health, wealth and success. This is the pseudo-promise of those who have what scholars call an over-realized eschatology, where all the blessings of the kingdom can be had in the present. Much like the Corinthians, some Christians think we can have it all now. We can’t and don’t. “
Into the Mystic. "Our current American scene is dominated by what Martin Luther called a theology of glory. This kind of theology finds God in success, power, triumph, fame and fortune. When things go well with us we say God is blessing us, when things go bad we surmise that God is not pleased with us. We try to do better so we can once again find ourselves in God’s blessing. This type of Christianity is nothing more than a subtle form of self-justification since it begins with our best efforts. It is the spirituality of an economy of exchange whereby we think that our obedience merits us divine favor. This is exactly the opposite of an authentic Christian existence that is utterly dependent upon God’s grace and knows that even in the deepest darkness God is there (cf. Psalm 139:7-10). Christian mysticism is not about us trying to find a way to God, but about recognizing that God is wherever we are, especially in times of crisis and our dark nights of the soul.”
Imitating Jesus. A long, technical discussion of the early hymn found in Philippians, Chapter 2.
Quoter from Hardin, Michael (2013-09-26). The Jesus Driven Life: Reconnecting Humanity With Jesus, 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded (Kindle Locations 6536-6544). JDL Press. Kindle Edition.