Dr Paul Allen

English: Saint paul arrested (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When Paul says to put to death the deeds of the body “by the Spirit” ( Romans 8:13 ), I take him to mean that we should use the one weapon in the Spirit’s armor that is used to kill. Namely, the sword. Which is the word of God ( Ephesians 6:17 ). So when the body is about to be led into a sinful action by some fear or craving, we are to take the sword of the Spirit and kill that fear and that craving. In my experience that means mainly severing the root of sin’s promise by the power of a superior promise. So, for example, when I begin to crave some illicit sexual pleasure, the sword-swing that has often severed the root of this promised pleasure is: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God ” ( Matthew 5:8 ). I recall the pleasures I have tasted of seeing God more clearly from an undefiled conscience; and I recall the brevity and superficiality and oppressive aftertaste of sin’s pleasures, and with that, God has...

Image via Wikipedia In a sense we are fortunate that we cannot see God. If for one second the veil were removed and we caught a brief glimpse of the face of God, we would perish instantly. His effulgence is so brilliant, His glory so dazzling, that in our present corrupted state we could not bear the sight of Him. He remains invisible both as a curse and as an act of protecting grace. As long as we remain infected by sin we are doomed to wander in His world sightless with respect to Him.  We may be comforted by His Word and healed by the secret ministration of His Spirit , but we cannot see the supreme beauty of His face. But we have a dream; nay, more than a dream. We have the sure and certain promise that someday we will see Him face to face. The heart of every Christian longs for the face of Christ . We yearn to look directly at God Himself without fear of being consumed. That deep yearning will be fulfilled one day. The future vision of God is called the " Beatific Vision ...