Imitating St. Paul - Part IV (VIDEO)

We received the gift of the Spirit when we were baptized into Christ. When we were confirmed, we were strengthened further with this gift of the Spirit. Finally, we receive the gift of the Spirit anew every time we receive the Eucharist. We are spiritual people, not because of something we have done but because of what God has done for us in Christ. But if the gift of God?s Spirit is to be effective in our lives, we must receive and embrace the gift. We must allow the Spirit to lead and guide us in our lives. Click to watch this presentation from Father Matera




Preliminary Remarks

1. Last week I spoke about justification and reconciliation in the Christian life. I noted that Paul had a personal experience of being justified and reconciled to God in Christ, and because of this he calls us to imitate him in relying on God?s grace.
2. Paul?s understanding of justification and reconciliation are related to his understanding and experience of the working of God?s Spirit in his life.
3. Those who are justified and reconciled to God enjoy the gift of God?s Spirit; they live their lives according to the Spirit.
4. In this talk I will focus on Paul?s teaching on the Spirit in Galatians and Romans.
5. Before doing so, it is important to clarify what Paul means by a spiritual person.
6. For Paul a ?spiritual person? is someone who enjoys the gift of God?s Spirit and so lives in the realm of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:10-16).
7. The ?spiritual life,? then, is a matter of living in the Spirit, being guided by the Spirit, listening to and following the lead of the Spirit.

Faith and the Gift of the Spirit: Galatians (3:1-5)

1. Paul asks the Galatians when and how they received the Spirit.
2. The answer is through faith in Christ rather than something they did.
3. The Spirit is God?s gift to those who believe in Christ; it is this Spirit that makes one a spiritual person.

Fruit of the Spirit: Galatians (5:16-26)

1. At the end of Galatians, Paul provides us with a moral exhortation that shows that his teaching on being justified by faith does not lead to an immoral life.
2. If one lives by the Spirit, one will not gratify the desires of the flesh, because the two are opposed to each other.
3. Paul lists the ?works of the flesh.?
4. He then opposes these works to the singular ?fruit? that the Spirit produces in the believer.
5. He notes that those who are in Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
6. He concludes that believers ought to live in the Spirit by following the lead of the Spirit.
7. The ?ethic? Paul proposes is an ethic for those who are spiritually mature; it presupposes that those who are attuned to the Spirit are guided by the Spirit from within. The Spirit interiorizes the Law for them. The Spirit is their Law, the Law of Christ (5:2).

Flesh and Spirit (Romans 8)

1. Romans 8 is Paul?s most complete discussion of the Spirit. In occurs after Paul describes the situation of unredeemed humanity in Romans 7, which ends with the cry, ?Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from the mortal body? (7:24).
2. Romans 8:1-4 provides the answer to this cry. God has done what the Law could not do by sending his Son so that those who live according the Spirit can fulfill the God?s Law.
3. Romans 8:5-8 draws a sharp contrast between those who live according the flesh and those who live according to the Spirit.
4. Romans 8:9-10 assures us that we are not in the realm of the flesh if God?s Spirit dwells in us.
5. Romans 8:11-13 affirms that if the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, we can be confident of being raised from the dead as was Christ.
6. Romans 8:14-17 notes that the Spirit makes us children of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Christ.
7. Romans 8:18-25 says that those who have the first-fruits of the Spirit groan for the final redemption of their body, which will occur when they are raised from the dead.
8. Romans 8:26-27 tells us that the Spirit comes to our aid so that we can pray as we ought. The Spirit intercedes for us to God.
9. Romans 8:22-30 summarizes the whole plan of God.
10. Romans 8:31-39 Assures believers they will not be separated from God?s love for them.

The Spirit is the Spiritual Life

1. The spiritual life is life in the Spirit, and the spiritual person is the one who lives according to the Spirit.
2. For Paul and his converts the Spirit was an experienced reality. The Galatians had a powerful experience of the Spirit. Paul enjoyed the gifts of prophecy and tongues.
3. Just as the Mosaic Law had been Paul?s moral compass, now the Spirit is his moral compass. The Spirit of Christ led and guided him to a deeper understanding of God?s Law, which he now identifies as the Law of Christ.
4. The Spirit is an empowering presence that enables people to do what they could not do apart from the Spirit.
5. It is this powerful experience of the Spirit that leads Paul to call us to imitate him.
6. The Spirit is often the missing dimension in the spiritual life of many Catholics because it is often an intellectual notion rather than a lived experience.
7. The Spirit is experienced in many different ways. For some it might be a powerful emotional experience; for others it is a gentle but powerful presence.
8. There are moments when we need to trust in the power of God?s Spirit to lead and guide us. At such times the Spirit guides us to Christian maturity.
9. Consider your experience of the Spirit. How would you describe this experience?