Communion In The Spirit

This volume is a compilation of messages given by noted Chinese pastor/author Watchman Nee at various times and places during his illustrious ministry. All relate to the communion of the Holy Spirit.

In The Holy Spirit as Communion, Leon Harris examines the pneumatologies of Colin Gunton and Frank Macchia. For both theologians, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is foundational to understanding their doctrine of God, Christology, and ecclesiology. Drawing on the theme of communion, The Holy Spirit as Communion expresses the concept that the Holy Spirit is the person who perfects the divine nature and personhood of the Father and Son. It is the Holy Spirit who perfects the eternal communion within the divine Trinity, which is the source of the divine action that also perfects the communion in creation as an expression of the Father’s will through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit as Communion explores the essentiality of the Holy Spirit through a unique approach to Spirit Christology: Gunton is represented by a radicalized version of Chalcedon Christology, and Macchia formulates his account through the overarching metaphor of “Spirit baptism.” Therefore, the doctrine of God, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology cannot be construed without a proper account of pneumatology that takes into consideration the eschatological perfecting work of the third person of the Trinity—who perfects creation’s koinonia as a gift from the Father through the grace of Jesus Christ.

While he was well known for his lifelong fascination with the nature of religious experience, the colonial American pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards is seldom associated with a specifically Trinitarian spirituality. This study explores the central connections Edwards drew between his doctrines of religious experience and the Trinity: the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Edwards envisioned the Spirit's inter-Trinitarian work as the affectionate bond of union between the Father and the Son, a work that, he argued, is reduplicated in a finite way in the work of redemption. Salvation is ultimately all about being drawn in love into the Trinitarian life of the Godhead. This study takes us through the major regions of Edwards's theology, including his Trinitarianism, his doctrine of the end for which God created the world, his Christology, and his doctrines of justification, sanctification, and glorification, to demonstrate the centrality of the Holy Spirit throughout his theology.

Meet Jesus more fruitfully in the Eucharist. Fr. Lovasik helps you recognize Christ's presence in the Eucharist, emphasizing Christ's Sacrifice and showing how you can receive everything that God offers you in the Mass.

Communion with God, or in full, "Of communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost each person distinctly, in love, grace, and consolation; or, the saints' fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost unfolded," is John Owen's finest devotional treatise. This work expounds "the most glorious truth that believers may have distinct communion with the three persons Father, Son, and Spirit," and being addressed to the "Christian reader" is simpler than much of Owen's theology. (Unabridged. Includes all footnotes.)

The Christian life seemingly involves many outward matters and things, such as baptism, the breaking of bread, worship, praise, prayer, forgiveness, humility, and love for one another. As such, it is easy to focus on these things but miss the spiritual reality behind them. This reality is the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of reality, all of these things, no matter how faithfully practiced, are merely outward conduct that is devoid of any real inward spiritual content.

It is interesting to note that over the years, believers in Jesus Christ have resorted to pick-and-choose when it comes to the gospel.Every believer believes that when we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive salvation. We also believe that by our salvation we shall have eternal life.Our basis for believing the above stems from the foundation Jesus laid in John 6, concerning the "eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood," as we celebrate as Communion in our churches.Unfortunately, we have neglected some essential aspects of this ordinance, which has to do with the promises that go with it. The two most important and striking statements He made, I believe most of us have not given a serious thought to are: a)We will not die when we take the communion, andb)He will come and abide in us.We either explain these away, or take that as a simple statement, and not what it is.In The Spirit and the Blood, I take on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ as God, the Word which was with God from the beginning, and explain why we can not take His word for granted.I believe the Holy Spirit will guide you understand what I have put forth, and challenge you to experience the fullness of the benefits of the Holy Communion.