Now The Lord Is The Spirit, And Where The Spirit Of The Lord Is, There Is Freedom.

Last week Pastor Jude preached from 2nd Corinthians 3:17 wherein The Apostle to The Gentiles, Paul states ‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’

‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’

Paul is writing to the church in the Greek city of Corinth. Paul had actually lived in Corinth for about 18 months in AD49 and he was the founder of the church there.

No details are given but if Paul followed his usual pattern for founding churches he would have arrived in the city and then, as soon as he could, would have gone into the local temple and preached, with authority, from the Old Testament law of Moses.

The Jews in that time were living in various cities around the middle east but their religion and religious practices set them aside and isolated them from the local population. They couldn’t even enter the house of a gentile, a non jew, and the couldn’t eat with them, and they definitely couldn’t intermarry with them.

Back in Exodus 19:5-6 God had set the Israelites apart from the other nations. He told Moses; 5 “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

Mostly the Jews were tolerated in the places where they settled although occasionally a Roman Emperor would order them out of the country, or persecute them, or worse.

But Paul’s strategy, and Peter’s before him, was to seek out Jewish enclaves, in cities throughout the known world, and build the foundations for the new system of belief by, firstly, teaching Jews about Jesus, using their knowledge of The Law Of Moses and of Old Testament Prophecy.

In Peters case he used his own knowledge taught to him as a boy, brought up in the Jewish faith, and his 3 years of experiences with Jesus, and also the power of the Holy Spirit that he received at Pentecost.

Because; ‘.....the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’

For Paul it was different in that he had formal religious training and, before his conversion to Christianity, he was a leading light amongst the Pharisees. An expert in the law. He too received his portion of The Holy Spirit when he encountered Jesus on The Road To Damascus.

If you were a Jew in the first century AD, cut off from the homeland of Israel, you would welcome fellow Jews who have come from there. You would be eager to hear the latest news and gossip described from the point of view of a fellow Jew. And this is the opening that Paul and his fellow travelling evangelical apostles needed.

The pattern of early church founding was set in stone. As far as we can tell it almost never varied. The Apostles would enter the local temple on the sabbath day and when the priest welcomed visitors the apostles would stand up and firstly give any news, perhaps answer questions and then, led by the power of The Holy Spirit, they would testify for Jesus, basing their testimony on the Old Testament prophecies and The Law, and how Jesus came and fulfilled them both.

Because, ‘........the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’

For The Apostle Peter there were miraculous healings to support his ministry. You remember the story in Acts 3:1-20 which goes as follows;

1. One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.