The Spirit

“...in the NT 'God's' Spirit is much more prominently mentioned than in the OT or the texts of Second Temple Judaism. One reason for this is that the NT reflects the experience of early Christians who believed that they had been blessed with rich manifestations of 'God's' Spirit, evidenced in such phenomena as prophesying, healings, and glossolalia, as well as in powerful moral regeneration and the promotion of new loving relationships, especially among fellow believers. Earliest Christians believed that they were experiencing the fulfillment of biblical prophecies of an eschatological outpouring of 'God's' Spirit (e.g., Acts 2:14-33). So it is little wonder that in their religious discourse reference to the Spirit of 'God' features prominently.”—God in New Testament Theology, page 44

<idle musing>
Would that the church were experiencing the same intimacy today! Of course, it is possible, but we don't believe it is, so we don't experience it...at least in the rationally oriented world of western christianity, that is.
</idle musing>