This column takes an in-depth look at the heart of pneumatology and the journey of sanctification as taught by Pastor David Jang, using Michelangelo’s Unfinished Slaves as a vivid metaphor. Discover the essence of faith—the struggle to overcome the desires of the flesh and bear the fruit of the Spirit—and encounter the fierce yet beautiful path of inner transformation.
In
the corridor of the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy, Michelangelo’s
series known as The Slaves (The Prisoners) is on display.
These sculptures are often described with the term non-finito—the
“unfinished” technique. The figures appear as though they are struggling to
break free from within a rough block of marble. Though the stone that has not
yet been carved away still presses heavily upon their arms and legs, a strange
tension fills the air, as if a complete life is already stirring within. I
lingered before these statues for a long time, and suddenly felt a tremor—as if
I were staring into the inner world of believers. Though we have received
salvation, we still resemble those slaves in the stone: unable to fully shed
the heavy shell of the flesh, yet straining toward holiness.
Pastor
David Jang (Olivet University) unpacks this existential anguish and the process
of sanctification with deep theological insight. He does not confine the work
of the Holy Spirit to the realm of supernatural miracles or mystical
experiences. Rather, he portrays it as a fierce and essential “process of
sculpting”—chiseling away the rough stone to reveal the image of God hidden
within. The wind of the Spirit that blows into our lives sometimes comes as a
gentle breeze of comfort, and at other times as the strong hammering that
shatters the jagged edges of our ego.
Life
Rising from a Heap of Stone: Beyond the Flesh and into the Spirit
Michelangelo
is often quoted as saying, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I
set him free.” The message woven throughout Pastor David Jang’s preaching
resonates with this same vision. He names humanity’s fallen nature—the result
of sin—as “the works (or desires) of the flesh,” and points out that this is
the fundamental obstacle that severs our relationship with God. What Galatians
describes—sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, strife, jealousy, and more—is
not merely moral deviation. It is Adam’s ancient habit: the impulse to become
one’s own master apart from God. It is the thick, cold slab of stone covering
our souls.
For
the Holy Spirit to dwell within us means that cracks have begun to form in that
hardened stone of self. The inner war between “the desire of the Spirit” and
“the desire of the flesh” is painful, but it is an inevitable part of the
journey. Pastor David Jang exhorts us not to avoid this battle. Just as Paul
cried, “Wretched man that I am,” the very point at which we come face to face
with our weakness is, paradoxically, where the Spirit’s powerful help begins.
The Holy Spirit is both the key that unlocks chains of sin our will can never
break and the only power that transforms fallen nature into holy character.
Dropping
Anchor in Truth and Sailing into the Sea of Grace
The
work of the Holy Spirit does not end in blind passion or emotional highs. True
spiritual presence blossoms only upon the firm foundation of the Word. Pastor
David Jang emphasizes the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth” and insists on
the inseparable relationship between the Spirit and Scripture. Just as a ship
sailing through a pitch-dark sea needs a lighthouse, the Holy Spirit shines
light upon the words of Scripture—words that could otherwise remain difficult
letters—and enables us to hear them as the living voice of God. When, in deep
meditation on Scripture, we move beyond the text to sense God’s heart and even
weep, it is because the Spirit illuminates the spaces between the letters.
The
Advocate, the Holy Spirit, does not leave us as orphans. He makes the love of
Christ’s cross—rather than remaining a historical event from two thousand years
ago—come to us as the present power of the gospel that shakes and reorders our
lives today. Just as Calvin described the Holy Spirit as “the key that opens
the mysteries of faith,” Pastor David Jang likewise stresses that without the
Spirit we cannot truly live out the grace of redemption. The fact that we
recognize our sin through the Word, and then obey that truth by correcting the
direction of our lives—this may be the surest evidence of being filled with the
Holy Spirit.
From
“Me” Alone to “We” Together: A Temple Built in Love
If
Michelangelo’s sculpture embodied an individual artist’s spirit, the
masterpiece the Holy Spirit shapes is a vast temple called “community.” Pastor
David Jang warns against reducing the Spirit’s work to private inner peace
alone. The Holy Spirit is like a “holy adhesive” that binds scattered hearts
into sacred unity. The tongues of fire that fell in the upper room at Pentecost
melted people of different languages and backgrounds into one vision and one
love.
The
fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, and more—cannot be borne by
sitting alone in a secluded room. It is formed in real-life relationships where
we collide and rub against one another: forgiving the brother or sister who is
difficult to forgive, giving what is hard to give. The “church as the temple of
the Holy Spirit,” as Pastor David Jang emphasizes, is proven not by the
splendor of a building but by the depth of love and service that flows among
the saints. Even under the world’s cold gaze, the church becomes a place of
hope because within it runs the warm comfort and restoring grace the Holy
Spirit provides.
We
are still beings “under construction.” We have been saved (Already), yet we
have not reached complete glorification (Not Yet)—and we stand in that tension.
But we need not fear. Michelangelo may have left his sculptures unfinished, but
the Holy Spirit who began a good work within us will never give up. Even today,
the Spirit continues to refine our rough character, remove our hardened hearts,
and ultimately shape us into a complete masterpiece that resembles Christ. To
surrender ourselves wholly to those faithful hands—that is the path of
sanctification we are called to walk today.
davidjang.org
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