Theodicy Soteriology, Hermeneutics

SOTERIOLOGY : M. M. NINAN
in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.22 I have
given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
Power of the Spoken Word
In the twentieth centuary both in the secular and in the Christian thought there had been an
emphasis on the power of the spoken word and self assertion. This is a fair an legitimate
extension of the teaching of the Bible. God indeed created man with this ability. But it is not
the individual man that is the image of God, but mankind. Then again man is only an image
and not the original. In other words, man is not God. Man becomes part-takers with God in
creation. The fall was that this unity was broken not only with God but also with each other
within the human fold As a result conflicts in purposes created a conflicting self destructive
future for man. While each individual do posses the power of creation through his
imagination, thought and speech, it becomes by vector addition with other similar personal
interests, haphazard and decaying result. This will explain why prayers are not always
answered positively. James puts it plainly thus:
Ja 4: 2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you
want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask,
you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get
on your pleasures.
Again Bible shows that when the believing community come together in unity of mind and ask
according to the purposes and will of God, these are almost instantly answered. Act 4
describe the event of the coming of the Holy Spirit as a result of the united prayer of the
church in unison. This is the basis of liturgical form of worship and prayer we use in churches.
Notice again that even though the Holy Spirit was promised and prophesied by Jesus, it was
not sent until the church asked in unison. Again the Sovereign Lord did not violate the
autonomy of man which he has so gracious granted to his children and Jesus' prophecy was
fulfilled because there was a community to cooperate in the creation of the future with God.
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