christianmystics.com

 

"The Spirit that was more sparingly communicated in former dispensations began to be poured forth upon all Flesh."

William Penn

 

It is true that "we find something of God in each person" and so those of the various religious traditions and spiritual movements have often touched the genuine Source of all things and tried to bring that message home -- often couched in the colors and costumes of the various cultures and communities.

Yet this Light of Christ, the Word of which John speaks in the opening of his gospel, certainly has it's clearest focus in the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. One can study the Bible and modern scholarship and come to any number of conclusions - that the words are exact, as a court stenographer might record; that there are layers which reflect growing traditions and understandings; or that beneath the imperfect and human interpretations and reportings of personal experience with God lies an undeniable Spirit that we, today, can know first-hand.

For within each of us is that Light that is "preached to every creature under heaven" (Col. 1:23). Certainly, as Howard Brinton points out, Paul stated it was possible to know the Eternal Christ long before the historical Christ, for in speaking of the Israelites in their journey he stated, "For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ." (I Cor. 10:4)

Indeed, Paul himself was inspired by the Eternal Christ rather than the historical Christ, meaning that the Spirit spoke to him and, in many cases, through him. Paul never met Jesus and, to read his letters, may have had but a passing knowledge of any direct teachings given by Jesus. For Paul, it is not the teaching but the event of Christ that is significant, but it is essential to note that this is a position one takes not on a whim or as a result of reading Scripture, but rather out of a deep and all pervasive personal experience.

Many are very quick to attribute Adam's sin to each person, as Howard Brinton points out, even though this person may have never even heard the story or even know the name Adam. Why then, Brinton asks, should these same people be hesitant to attribute Christ's saving grace to each person, even though they may not have heard of Christ?

Was the measure of Light increased in the world with the coming of Jesus? Most certainly, but the Word itself has always been there. Penn's comment at the beginning is telling because he does not say that the arrival of Jesus and the event of his life was (past tense) the appearance of inspiration and God's presence. Instead, he makes the all important observation that the Light "began to be poured forth ...." This little cluster of words is crucial and should be meditated on with some vigor. Break it apart and what do you find? First, that the Light had always been present, but now it began to pour forth, not simply begin to drip or dribble into the world. Penn does not say it happened then for the first and only time, never to be repeated. It is as if one had found food here and there, but suddenly an unending and unparalleled banquet had begun, the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand and present, and the banquet, like the wine at Cana, is constantly refreshed and replenished and never exhausted.

No, the clear message of that phrase is stunning -- the Light which had been often obscured now began, with Jesus, to pour forth with such force and power that we can understand why Peter quoted Joel in Acts 2:17 and said, "I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy."