How does Dr. Crabb’s statement that “holy passions reside in the center of a believer’s being” differ from the New Age belief that there is a spark of divinity in all of us? Use Scripture to back your reasoning. – Our Daily Bread University
How does Dr. Crabb’s statement that “holy passions reside in the center of a believer’s being” differ from the New Age belief that there is a spark of divinity in all of us? Use Scripture to back your reasoning.
In the New Age, people are mini gods, and they are all connected by a divine consciousness. They have that “spark of divinity” just by being a human being.
In Christianity, we have souls, but we are not filled with the Spirit until we come to know Jesus as our Savior and we believe in his sacrifice for our salvation. Because the Holy Spirit is God, he is filled with truth and love; therefore, as He does His work inside of us, those things will come to the surface and will expose the deep desires to be more like our God and to truly love one another.
2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God has not given us a Spirit of Fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline”. The Holy Spirit fills us with love and the ability to control our actions, if we heed to His direction and promptings.
As he emphasizes so well – the holy passion is planted in us at our new birth. As Paul so familiarly tells us we are new creations in 2 Corinthians 5. We are given His Spirit to engage us in reconciliation, to connect with each other and with the world to Him. He gives us His heart to transform our hearts with a passion to be His agents of connection with others in this holy way.
The New Agers believe that people become divine. We do not become little gods. We remain the people God has made – but with His presence by His Spirit in us – to know Him, and to think and act like Him. Such is our high honor of being ambassadors of God most High. To seek to ignite and experience this ambassadorship by means of pursuing the passion of representing Him that He has planted in us.
The difference is in the source (who is God), the purpose (Motive) and the destiny (destination).
Simply put. One is centered upon Christ Jesus – His Person and work; the other is centered upon self.
The idea of a spark of divinity, most common in Gnostic and mystical religions, is that every human being possesses either a connection with God or a “part” of God or “mini-god”. The goal of life, then, is to allow the divine spark to influence us toward love, peace, and harmony. Upon death, the divine spark returns to the source.
The Biblical one
Each of us possesses a soul-spirit, is made in the image of God (Gen 1:26), and is innately aware of eternity (Ecc 3:11). In Luke 17:21, Jesus proclaims, “The kingdom of God is within you.” The Bible teaches that every human being possesses an immaterial soul-spirit, and it is this part of us that connects with God (Hebrews 4:12). However, only a person who has been redeemed by Christ can truly connect with God. The indwelling kingdom of God is true only for believers in Jesus Christ. These scriptural principles do not teach a “divine spark,” as commonly defined. Whatever “divine spark” there ever was in humanity was snuffed out by sin (Romans 3:10-23). Without the truth and life of Jesus Christ (John 14:6), there is no “spark.” Without a relationship with the light of the world (John 8:12), there can be no light (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Holy Passions lies at the center of Gods Heart. Selfishness lies in the heart of man
But thee heart that follows God is sparked with the fire of God through the Holy Spirit which give the believer
Supernatural encounters with God and not a false encounter. Found in the Bible Psalms 69:9
I believe we were created with a void in our soul that only GOD can fill, we try material possessions- physical beauty- approval of others and when one or more of these are not met we blame GOD for not being fair to us. GOD chose us to pour HIS Spirit of love in us -RMS.5:5. We didnt choose HIM. HE called us out of the darkness of our sin into HIS marvalous light-1PTR 2:9. Whatever good we do for anyone whether great or small, we should not be looking for the glory, GOD said HE will not give HIS glory to another neither HIS praise.-ISH42:8. We should always keep our hearts and minds in a state of humbleness, thats its a priviledge and honor that the GOD of all creation entrusted us with HIS Spirit and HIS Word to help every soul of HIS. That we would be a light to a dark and dying world. Im grateful for the Spirit of GOD that brought me to this course to see my selfish- self-centered, deceiteful ways for all these years. I thought I was ok and on my way to heaven. When you truly hunger and thirst after righteousness GOD will lead you on the narrow path. This New Age belief is a trick of Satan to blind the eyes and ears to the truth and focus on being quiet and meditate, another form of self-centeredness.
The residing ‘holy passions’ in a believer refers to the Holy Spirit promised to us upon conversion. Before receiving Jesus into one’s heart, one was spiritually dead. From the day Adam fell, the spirit left him at the garden of Eden. So there was a spiritual void in a prebeliever’s heart.
‘I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever’ John 14:16.
‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all’ John 14:26.
I have no clue as to where this spark of divinity in the New Age belief comes from. Could it be from the enemy who is constantly imitating Christ? Drawing many away from the one true God. Blinding even Christians in the form of yoga and meditation.