Naaji,
what you have said is so true.. how can I as a Christian claim that the inner peace I have, knowing that God lives in me and is indeed guiding me through my life, when some of those feelings are common to all men following a religion.
I do have an answer for you on that one.. I am a Scout Leader, and in Australia as a Scout Leader we lead the youth in programs that meet their needs spiritually, physically, emotionally, intellectually and socially.
Notice the recognition that we are not only physical, emotional, intellectual and social beings, we are also spiritual beings.. ie there is a spiritual part in each of us that needs feeling to make us complete human beings.
when Adam was created, He had an intimate relationship with God.. infact God came and walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening in the Garden (Gen 3). Only after the fall was that relationship broken and the spiritual part of man disrupted.. that now man hides himself from God, in the fear and in recognition of his sin and disobedience.
Romans describes it this way ...."since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them... for since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made... so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:19 -20)
Furthurmore, the bible also states in that God has set eternity in the hearts of man (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
You were created with a spiritual void... Only God can fill that emptiness. We try and fill it with so many things.. even religion, but.. as the Bible teaches.. it will all stay like dry bones in a valley until God himself put's his spirit in us.. and Ezekial 37:14 states "Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.
Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to try and cover up their embarrassment.. around the world, people of all cultures and religious pursuasions have tried their utmost to find a way to fill that spiritual void.. even non believers in religion fill their lives with so much activity to quenc the inner longing and desire to fill it.
2Cor 3:3 and Ezekial 36:24-27 speak of a time, when the external Holy Spirit will live within believers.. and Jesus himself says the same thing in John 14:17 and in 16:5-11.. and only then will the dry bones become full of life again. Ezekiel 37
Now could this Comforter/Holy Spirit be the angel Gabriel? Definately not, for two reasons..
1. Angels are messengers, sent by God (Hebrews 1:14) .. which like all angels is the role of Gabriel throughout the new and old testament appearances of him
Daniel 8:16, 9:21 (notice a man's voice commanded and told Gabriel what he was to say.. Gabriel was under authority .. he did not act on his own and the command given him was specific.
and in Luke 1:19-26, we see the only other reference to him in the scriptures.. as a messenger sent by God to the virgin Mary to tell her of the coming baby who would be the Messiah.
2. The role of the Holy Spirit .. well he is known as the spirit of the Lord in Judges 3:10, he is referred to as God in the OT in his creative and redemptive acts (Job 33:4, Psalm 51:10, Exekiel 37:14)
Now, the Bible states some specific things about angels.. they are distint from God, though identified with Him (Exodus 3:2-6, Judges 13:2-22). and it speaks of the Holy Spirit as being one with Him (Genesis 1:2, Nehemiah 9:20 and Psalm 139:7 and Isaiah 63:10-11)
You can grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30), infact blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.. speaking against him, is the only unforgivable sin. (Matthew 12:31 and Isaiah 63:10). Jesus even went as far as saying that that sin was greater than speaking against Jesus (the Son of Man) himself. (Matthew 12:28 -32)
The writer to the Hebrews says " He (God) makes his angels' winds, his servants flames of fire)
There is a definite difference between angels and the Holy Spirit.
God promised His spirit would come into my life and lead me.. both in Ezekiel 36.. right after he had clensed me from all my sin and my impurities and the idols and other religions I had tried to fill my life with before becoming a believer and Jesus as the Son of God promised it in John 14 and John 16, when He promised the Father would send another Comforter after Jesus had died, risen and gone back to the Father.. and that comforter would be in me for ever... and He also called Him the Counsellor ... Interestingly, on the day He came and lived in me, it was as Jesus declared in this verse... "On that day, you will realise that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you" (John 14:20)
But.. does he lead my life... well all I can say is.. on the basis of the above verses yes! For I haven't just got an impersonal life force living in me.. I have God Himself. As Paul said.. and I have to use these words, even though they are from the New Testament and the words of Paul, because I know what he means by them
"Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He annointed us, set is seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor 1:21-22)
For me there is no warm fuzzy feelings all the time (though there are those sometimes).. it's more a deep inner peace of the fact I am forgiven, I am a child of God and all that He has promised is mine, and I will spend eternity with Him. That never feeling never, ever leaves me, no matter what goes on around me!
It's long, but I hope it helps explain my faith
Carol