This is the discussion page for chapters 5-6 of the novel, Escape from Paradise.
1) The Wind
The wind represents the Holy Spirit. Both the Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” are also the words for “wind” or “breath.”
Of the three persons in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the one who is described in terms of greatest nearness to us. We picture the Father as being in heaven, Jesus as the bridge between earth and heaven, and the Holy Spirit all around us, inside us as the personal delivery system of all the Father and Son give us.
The wind is invisible yet has awesome power. And through his unseen pressure, he guides us.
2) The Plants
When Adam attempts to go in the direction the wind is pressing him, he meets the resistance of the foliage. Those plants represent the world’s efforts to counteract the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guides us one way, and the world pushes against that and makes it difficult.
EXCERPT:
| Nothing he did mattered. He couldn’t imagine anything he could ever do would matter. His efforts to save the city from disintegration had been futile. He had no idea where he was from, and he had nowhere to go. It wasn’t only this world that was half-real—he had become part of this empty place and his very life lacked substance. … He might as well have lived no life at all. -p.59 |
QUESTION 1:
In what ways are unbelievers’ thinking and the way of life empty/futile? See 1 Peter 1:18; Romans 1:21; Ephesians 4:17—19.
MY ANSWER:
Ro.1:21 – Their thinking is devoid of meaning because it disconnects reality from God.
Eph.4:17-19 – They live in darkness and ignorance resulting in separation from the life of God. Their lives revolve around sensual experiences and miss the greater realities.
QUESTION 2:
Why is it so important that we understand the worthlessness and emptiness of our former way of life? See Romans 6:21—22. Compare Exodus 3:7 with their later memory in Numbers 11:5.
MY ANSWER:
When we forget about our former bondage and the emptiness of that life, we’re tempted to return to it. We forget the misery it caused and the death it brought, just as the Israelites quickly forgot about the misery of their bondage in Egypt and could only remember the food.
QUESTION 3:
Read 2 Timothy 2:20—23. In what ways would the sins of verses 22-23 make you a useless vessel in God’s house? And how could avoiding them increase your usefulness?
MY ANSWER:
The word for “desires” in v.22 refers to coveting or greed (greed for money, for sexual pleasure, for attention, etc.). When greed for something infects my heart, I become less useful to God because Satan can use that greed to lead me around by the nose and derail what God calls me to do. I spend more time an energy going after than thing I’m greedy for than God’s work.
QUESTION 4:
How does the busyness of earthly concerns threaten to harm us spiritually? See Luke 14:15—24; Mark 4:18—19. According to those passages, what is at stake in the matter?
MY ANSWER:
In the story it sounds ridiculous that the people would pass up the banquet because of a new cow (just look at the cow after the banquet). But that’s how earthly distractions are. They can seem so big and important in the moment. So I don’t go to Bible study because I need to get the house cleaned for some guests. Or I cut my prayer time short because I’m distracted about how I was overcharged on my water bill.
Having too much busyness can make us feel pressure that’s out of balance with actual importance. I have 14 things I need to get done, and having that many loose ends makes me feel pressured, so I put all my energy into getting those things done and catching up on my to-do list. But if I would take a step back and think clearly about how important those things are, I might realize that most of them are of so little importance that they don’t merit the amount of pressure they are putting on me.
What’s at stake in the matter? Nothing less than eternal life itself! People will go to hell because they became preoccupied with a land purchase or a car or getting their lawn mowed.
EXCERPT:
| Both the wind and foliage seemed to have wills of their own, but with opposite purposes. The wind pushed Adam toward the cottage, and the plants blocked his way. But which should he trust in this wind-versus-world contest? -p.63 |
QUESTION 5:
God draws us to himself (see chapter 1, question 8). The influences of the world resist that. What are some ways you have felt both God drawing you to come nearer to him and also felt the world’s (or your flesh’s) resistance in recent days?
MY ANSWER:
I have had a lot of feelings of being under pressure to get things done. That pressure has produced anxiety and affected my sleep. I take this as God calling me to come find rest in him.
The resistance has come from the pressure itself. While I’m having my morning prayer time, I’m tempted to wrap it up quickly so I can get started on that day’s tasks.
EXCERPT:
| His irrational fears—imagined noises and faces in the trees—evaporated, replaced by a different kind of dread. A force so much greater than he … sustaining his life. And now it moved upon him. -p.62 |
QUESTION 6:
What role does fear play in whether you are influenced more by God than by the world? See Isaiah 51:12—13.
MY ANSWER:
I am most influenced by that which I fear most. If I fear rejection by people more than I fear God’s displeasure, then I’ll be more motivated to please people than I will to please God.
EXCERPT:
| The atmosphere moved upon him. He would not resist it. He noticed a bright blue substance smeared on his shirtsleeve. … He gripped a sturdy vine to steady himself, and the vine snapped in his fist. Amazed at his own strength, he pulled at another. It gave way like burnt rope. –p.63 |
QUESTION 7:
Give a specific, practical example of how the Galatians 5:16 principle might work.
MY ANSWER:
At lunchtime, I feel like eating out, but I know that in this instance, it wouldn’t be wise (which means God wouldn’t be pleased if I did it). So I make a sandwich. Later, I feel like turning on the TV, but I know God would be more pleased if I made some important phone calls. So I do that. Then later that day I face the kind of temptation I usually fall to, but since I’ve been making small decisions all day to keep in step with the Spirit, I have the strength to resist.
Alternatively, if I let my flesh call the shots at lunchtime, and later when it wants to watch TV, I’m out of step with the Spirit, and when the big temptation comes, I fall.
QUESTION 8:
Both Greek and Hebrew use the same word for wind, spirit, and breath. Only the context reveals which is being described. What are some reasons you can think of why God chose this word to describe the third Person of the Trinity? See John 3:8 for one example.
MY ANSWER:
The example in John 3:8 highlights the invisibility and unpredictability of both wind and the Holy Spirit.
Wind is also similar to the Holy Spirit in that it is powerful. That power hinders or empowers our progress depending on our direction (whether we are cooperating with or resisting the Spirit).
Additionally, wind touches you and can be felt. The most common image of the Father in Scripture is that he is in heaven. Jesus is between heaven and earth as a bridge. But the Holy Spirit is near us—inside us. Of the members of the Trinity, it is the Spirit who has the most immediate, close connection with us, much like the wind, which surrounds us and touches every part of us.
Finally, the Holy Spirit is like breath in that it is breath that gives us life (Gn.2:7). In the same way, the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual life.
One way the Spirit is different from wind is that the Holy Spirit is a person. Wind is impersonal.
QUESTION 9:
What kind of work does the Holy Spirit do in the hearts of unbelievers prior to conversion? See John 16:8; Acts 7:51.
MY ANSWER:
Jn.16:8—-He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
Acts 7:51—The Spirit draws unbelievers to God and shines the light of truth in their hearts. But that action can be resisted.
As an aside for the Calvinists among us:
This is a significant point for those who believe regeneration must happen prior to faith because mankind is incapable of responding to God’s drawing while being spiritually dead. That doctrine takes the analogy of spiritual death too far. Prior to salvation, we can be compared to a corpse in some ways, but not in every way. For example, a corpse can’t disobey. Unbelievers, even though they are spiritually dead, are capable of responding in both positive and negative ways to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit draws us, sometimes for years, before we finally respond in faith.
Chapters 5 and 6 were packed! Here are the quotes that I highlighted while reading:
p. 54 – “Like most people in this world, Levi had been made an unwitting pawn in a war he didn’t know existed.”
pp. 56-57 – “But the little girl’s words held his heart and soul captive. He’d been warned that the mountain people were con artists. But how could she know about him – about his family? A world of forgotten desires about home reawakened, and nothing else seemed to matter.”
p. 58 – “Adam could still taste that first orange George had given him…”
p. 58 – “In his bedroom, the gold-framed bed his weary bones so craved was gone, and with it, the stockpile of gold he had labored all these years to build. The cold, empty shell of his house mirrored his empty soul.”
p. 58 – “Losing his wealth hurt, but infinitely worse, losing the maps.”
pp. 58-59 – “But beneath all those sorrows lay the deepest grief – the crushing reality of the emptiness and utter futility of his life.”
p. 59 – “His efforts to save the city from disintegration had been futile. He had no idea where he was from, and he had nowhere to go. It wasn’t only this world that was half-real. He had become part of this empty place, and his very life lacked substance.”
p. 59 – “Everything he loved remained in the city. But he hated his life there. He refused to look back, knowing if he did, he would be caught forever. He no longer wanted the calm of the eddy. He would take his chances in the current.”
p. 59 – “He found a road leading westward. It progressively narrowed, like a dead-end path that becomes more overgrown the farther it goes. Clearly, no one had traversed this road in a long time.”
p. 59 – “If there was even the remotest chance the cottage was real, he had to find it.”
p. 60 – “Soon the path disappeared altogether. Adam stood in an untouched wilderness. As he traveled westward, the forest grew darker – and colder, though the sun hung high. Climbing through the crisscross of fallen timber made the trek increasingly arduous.”
p. 60 – “Not even the birds ventured this far.”
p. 60 – “A deep longing to belong somewhere coupled with the terror of losing everything a second time slowed his pace. Pangs of regret at his decision to leave squeezed like a knot being pulled tight in his chest.”
p. 61 – “Go back! Go back! The strength of the impulse astonished him.”
p. 61 – “He searched for a way through, but the foliage had created an impenetrable wall. Something unnatural was happening. Or was nature itself against him?”
pp. 62-63 – (Pretty much everything great section!)
p. 63 – “The only friendly thing about his surroundings now seemed to be the fruit trees.”
p. 63 – “The wind drove him on.”
Q8 – in the beginning…we read that the Lord breathed into His creation and so we have His breath, His image, His life within. Just as we can’t resist breathing, it is impossible to resist Holy Spirit, except for the fact that humans were also granted free will. When I read the Jo 8 passage I always think of Philip witnessing (Acts 8) to the Ethiopian eunuch – he was suddenly on the road and then, just as suddenly gone, snatched away by Holy Spirit. As the point was made earlier about training ourselves to submit to the Lord’s leading, it’s a constant mindset, orienting our hearts to obedience. Heb 12:11
Q9 – it would seem another word study is necessary here, as Holy Spirit convicts hearts of sin, those hearts also need to know that there is a remedy and that surely must be part of conviction. Coming to believe there is a loving God who has already made a way to be forgiven and welcomed back into the fold. My stiff neck and hard heart had to be softened up so that I could see the deadliness of the sin path I was on, the hopelessness without Christ as Savior, and the new life that was offered.
Q 9. When I started thinking about this, I realized I’ve kind of divided the Holy Spirit’s work into three categories:
1) His work prior to conversion
2) His work *during* conversion (that time when our heart is actually being changed)
3) His work after conversion
I’ll focus just on #1 since that’s what the question is about. I typically think of the Holy Spirit’s work during this period as that of… I’m trying to think of the right word… I guess “illustrator” in the Romans 1:20 sense. That is, his role is to show us enough about God so that we are without excuse on Judgment Day.
I think there’s probably also something there about sealing, or protecting, or somehow guarding future believers, but I haven’t done a study on that, and I’m sure it’s grand mystery anyway, which I may never really understand, but just based on my life experiences, I know the Holy Spirit was actively working in my heart in a special way even before I became a believer.
Q8. This would be a super interesting study! But without having done that study, I suppose God may have chose that word because, when you think about all the properties of wind, you realize how well it describes the work of the Holy Spirit!
Just some ideas off the top of my head:
1) The wind is part of the air. You can’t separate the wind from the air. That is, the wind is *in* the atmosphere within which we live. I think this can be descriptive of the Holy Spirit in a few ways. First, he’s the Imago Dei within us as humans (even non-believers) as the “breath of life” from Gen 2:7. Second, he’s all around us every day, that “immanence” sense of God. Just like we can’t escape the air, we can’t escape the presence of the Holy Spirit (and if we do, we’ll die! Hmmm…).
2) The wind offers resistance or assistance, depending on which direction you’re headed (and this aspect was beautifully captured in the book!).
3) Just like the wind is mysterious and cannot be grasped, so too is the Holy Spirit, which I think was Jesus’ point in John 3:8. In verse 3 Jesus says, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And “born again” I believe can also be translated as “born from above.” Well what does *that* mean? Well, it’s mysterious, like the wind. The wind is definitely a force beyond our control and appears to be random, but is actually governed by larger forces. The Holy Spirit operates much the same way (with a key difference being, I think, that, instead of being governed by a larger force, he *is* part of the larger force).
I probably don’t have that all precisely quite right, but those are some of the things I think about when pondering this question.
Great insights! I’m going to steal a little bit of your answer for mine, if you don’t mind.
One thing I would add–instead of saying God chose the word wind because wind illustrates the Holy Spirit so well, perhaps it’s the other way around–God created wind with those properties for the purpose of serving as an illustration of his Spirit.
Yes! God is so awesome! I think literally every single thing in this world was purposely designed to teach us *something* about God.
On another note – as I was going through my highlights for these chapters, I realized you had written on pages 62-63, “A force so much greater than he – the world’s invisible blanket, great enough to surround and protect the planet from the deadly hostilities of space, yet close enough to fill his lungs a thousand times an hour, sustaining his life. And now it moved upon him. He would not resist it.”
So when I answered above that wind was both around us and in us, I’m now realizing that I got that idea from you! It just “soaked in” I guess, so I didn’t realize it wasn’t my original thought!
Q5.8: An interesting question which I hadn’t considered before. To be honest, I’m still a bit puzzled and so look forward to your answer. I looked up some other passages too. I can understand “breath” the best as the Holy Spirit breathes life into us. Job 33:4, John 20:22. And from Acts 2:2 I can see the Holy Spirit like the wind as invisible and powerful. When I look at John 3:8 it left me questioning what the Holy Spirit is doing; like it is aimless, going back and forth without purpose. I know this is not the case as other mentions of the Holy spirit in scripture are very clear on His role. So, to liken it like the wind in this way seems strange. I’m not too sure what it means in saying, “so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Is Jesus suggesting Christians are like the wind also?
Q5.9: He reveals the ugly truth about ourselves and the beautiful truth about God; and that without Him, we are ultimately lost.
I think the point in Jn.3:8 isn’t aimlessness, but rather power, invisibility, unpredictability, and that it is beyond human control. The wind blows where it pleases, and even if all of humanity marshaled our forces, we wouldn’t be able to so much as redirect a gentle breeze. Nothing is more clearly outside of human control than wind.
When he says, “So it is with everyone born of the Spirit,” I think that means our spiritual existence is just as invisible as the Holy Spirit. So yes, we are like the wind in that sense.
I’m going to steal a little bit from your answer in my response as well. Thanks for your insights.
Ch 5. Q 7: When I think of walking by the Spirit, for me personally it helps to think of it in a very literal sense. I think of each thought or each action as a physical step.
If I’m walking by the Spirit, it means I only set my “foot” down if I know it’s safe ground Biblically. How does the Bible say I should respond or think in this situation? This usually involves following the wisdom principles you so often teach, Darrell.
An analogy I think of is a raging river. Trying to cross it on your own is inviting disaster. But if someone went before you and did the hard work of placing solid stones, it gives you a set way to navigate across.
Now it’s not easy! Crossing a raging river on stones requires VERY CAREFUL ATTENTION! It requires, thought, concentration, diligence, deliberation. It requires the very careful and intentional placement of every single step.
But if you do all that, you’ll navigate successfully!
Navigating this fallen world by walking with the Spirit is much the same way. He’s shown us where we need to step. And if we are disciplined enough to follow his path, it will therefore necessarily mean then, that also are not gratifying the desires of our flesh.
Great points. I agree with what you said about wisdom. When I gave my answer to this question in another group, one of the men responded by saying, “Is that how you live life–every moment trying to figure out what the Holy Spirit wants you to do? That seems impractical.”
My response was to point out that figuring out what God wants me to do in a given moment is, most of the time, simply using wisdom. When I put boots on instead of shoes because there’s snow outside, I don’t stop and pray and seek God’s guidance. Without even thinking, I just grab the boots because I’ve already determined that’s the wisest course in this situation, and God wants us to live according to wisdom.
The difficulty comes when wisdom points one way and my flesh points another. That’s when I need to make sure I keep in step with the Spirit by taking wisdom’s course, not that of the flesh.
Ch.5, Q.6: For much of my life, I really struggled with fear. It was probably the biggest arbiter of my actions.
It still rears its head from time to time, but largely God has helped me overcome my fear. Looking back, I think there have been a few key Biblical principles that have helped.
1) A clear conscience. I think a lot of my fear was really tied to my guilt. I was afraid of being “found out.” I was afraid of my shame being exposed. But if I simply live in a God-honoring way, there is nothing to be ashamed of, hence nothing to be afraid of. It’s amazing how refreshing it is to live with a clean conscience!
2) Understanding what God means when he says he’ll protect me from harm. I couldn’t reconcile those types of verses with the fact that bad and painful things happen to believers every single day. For some reason that disconnect created fear – I felt I had to somehow try to control things so as to protect myself, even if it meant abandoning courage. But when I learned that those verses mean God will protect my *soul* from becoming infected with evil, it brought great comfort! Ironically knowing I may very well become harmed, but my eternal destiny will be protected instills me with courage and allows me to overcome my temptations towards fear.
2) Love. Again, God is really teaching me about love. Biblical love is “other-centered;” it’s selfless, it’s sacrificial. Fear is very selfish, it’s very *un*loving. I admit 1 John 4:18 is still challenging for me to understand, but I’m at least now beginning to see the inverse relationship between love and fear. I think of Peter after he denied the Lord out of fear, and then was restored by Jesus on the beach. This time, after the resurrection and his restoration, he could *truly* look into the Lord’s eyes and say sincerely, “I love you.” With this newfound understanding of love, I believe it’s no coincidence that Peter went on to become one of the most fierce and courageous apostles in the book of Acts. I’m drawn to Peter for this reason. Like him, I have been defined by fear. Like him, the Lord allowed me to fall and weep bitterly. And like him, the Lord has gently and lovingly brought me back from condemnation through love. Now, I just hope I can be as courageous as Peter.
Amen, thanks for such a great question!
Great insights Austin.
Regarding 1 Jn.4:18 about perfect love casting out fear, I think the key is in understanding the word translated “perfect.” It refers to that which has accomplished its aim.
I gave an explanation of this in the first 7 minutes or so of this sermon:
https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/agapebiblechurch/sermons/99520161951280/
Ah! So in context, “fear” in this verse refers to fear of God’s judgment, or in somehow fearing we’re not a true child of his. So we know that love has been “perfected” in us — that is, has or is achieving its goal — if we are indeed loving our brothers. Because that love “proves” that God’s love in us is effective and we are indeed his child.
This concept reminds me very much of Hebrews 12:9-10. I always try to remind myself God disciplines his children. So when we receive his discipline, it confirms that we are his children.
Of course, this raises the question: how do I know that the discipline I’m receiving is confirmation that I’m a child of God and not just as an outcast, unbelieving, illegitimate child?
I think the answer lies in a very similar concept: Is the discipline *effective* or not? Is it accomplished? As we read in the Hebrews verses, God’s loving, child-confirming discipline always results in us *living* and sharing in his *holiness*! So if God’s discipline doesn’t result in us being more holy, then we have no confirmation that we are God’s child.
I think it’s awesome that God works it from both sides – the love he shows towards us, and the discipline he sometimes needs to give us, both have a beautiful purpose – to confirm to us that we are indeed his child! Amen!
Thanks for the link to your message, it was very edifying to me!
Q5.7: Someone is struggling with feelings of insecurity. They “feel” a failure as an employee, as a husband and as a father. He knows these things aren’t true, but the feelings are strong. He is tempted to believe the lie and withdraw from life and family. But he is a believer in God, and his desire to honour God in these areas of his life is stronger than his feelings. So, he seeks God’s help. He purposes to set regular times with God in prayer and the reading/studying of His Word. He mixes with other mature believers to encourage Him in the things of God. He learns to delight in God and is grateful for His presence near him. As God is worshipped and honoured more and more in this man’s life, the feelings of insecurity fall away, and their stronghold loosens as he finds his refuge in Him.
Dean, I like how you said he “purposes” to set regular times with God and fellow believers.
These things are simple yet so often (and so easily!) neglected.
I can’t even count the times I’ve heard from God through a faithful brother at Bible study.
What if I had chosen to stay home that night?
And sometimes I think we for granted God “being there,” (at least I do). He’s always there and will be there in 10 minutes or tomorrow, so what’s the urgency to meet with him *now?*
To guard against that, I like to think if God as I would any person: when I make a commitment to that person, I keep it! I don’t just blow them off to do what I wanted to do anyway; I arrange my day and my time accordingly to ensure I can honor the commitment I made.
Q5.6: In the quote from the book, it mentioned “irrational fears” and “imagined noises”. I can relate to that. Feelings can be very powerful if we give ourselves over to them, even if they are based on lies. What we imagine people are saying behind our backs, or when we fail at something and believe we are useless. When we believe these things over the Truth of God’s word, we fear them more than God and hold them as a higher truth than what God says. This dishonours God and honours the lie. The deeper one goes down this downward spiral the harder it is to get out. We need to remind ourselves of the Gospel Truth often with much thankfulness. When we develop a healthy fear of God, the lies lose their power to bring us down.
Well said Dean!
Q 5.5 Time pressures and distractions when wanting to spend more time with God.
Q5.1: Rom 1:21: because God is not honoured or appreciated, their thinking is worthless, godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations.
Eph 4:17-19: Their souls are empty, moral understanding is darkened; reasoning clouded. There is no communion or relationship with God because they are willingly ignorant and spiritually blind. Hard hearted.
Q5.2: We need to realise our old way of life is futile without God. Without God, we will naturally forget Him and the fulfilment His way of life brings. We need to preach the Gospel to ourselves often lest we drift back into old familiar ways, which often become comfortable.
Q5.3: Youthful lusts will distract our focus from God and what is honourable to worldly passions and what is dishonourable. Getting involved in foolish and ignorant speculations will make us critical and argumentative over stupid things. We would be untrustworthy vessels for the good God intends us to carry out.
Investment in the pursuit of righteousness, faith, love, and peace will keep our focus on God and what is honourable. We will be people of integrity in word and deed; trustworthy vessels God can use to carry out His good works.
Q5.4: They distract us from worthy things of eternal value… Godly value. These distractions lead us to putting God aside as unimportant and we will not enjoy His presence. His Word will fail to grow in us, and we will become unfruitful.