Month: September 2015

Sharing In His Suffering.

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For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. – Romans 8:15-17 ESV

These three verses contain some incredible promises to us who are believers in Jesus Christ. First of all, we have been adopted into God’s family. Paul puts it this way: “Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:12-13 ESV). There was a time when we were alienated from God because of our sin. But because of Jesus’ death on the cross in our place, we have been made right with God. Not only that, He has adopted us into His family and made us His children. That phrase, “Abba! Father!” can literally be translated, “Father, my own Father!” He is not only our God, He is our Heavenly Father and we are His children and heirs. Adopted. Family members. Heirs. That’s incredible news. But Paul adds a rather sobering caveat. He includes the somewhat surprising condition of suffering.

Our adoption as sons and our new-found position as God’s children have their ultimate fulfillment in the future. Our inheritance awaits us somewhere out there in eternity future. As the old hymn states, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.” At one time we were alienated from God, now we are aliens living in a strange land. Which is why Peter tells us, “So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as ‘foreigners in the land’” (1 Peter 1:17 ESV). The fact is, God saved us and made us His children. But we are not yet living in His home with Him. We find ourselves living on this earth, having to deal with our old sin nature, the attacks of a formidable enemy and the hostility and hatred of a world system that is diametrically opposed to us. This is our time of “suffering”. Peter reminds us, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21 ESV).

The apostle Paul described his earthly life in very honest terms. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:7-10 ESV). This life is not an easy one. Living Christ-like lives in the midst of a sin-saturated society is far from a walk in the park. But Paul gives us some words of encouragement. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV).

One of the things we have to realize is that our future glorification is preceded by what the Puritans called mortification – the daily dying to self. Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24 NLT). He also told us, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT). Paul warned Timothy, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV). So the path to our future glorification will take us through our own mortification or death to sin and self. But Paul felt this journey well worth the effort. Which is why he could say, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18 ESV). What we endure now is nothing compared with what we will inherit later. Yes, the cross precedes the crown. Mortification comes before glorification. Suffering will be our lot until the time God calls us home or sends His Son to take us to be with Him. But our suffering is far from wasted. It is perfecting and purifying us. It is transforming us into the likeness of Christ. We share in His sufferings in order that, one day, we may share in His glorification.

Jesus came to earth and took on human flesh. He endured hunger, thirst, temptation, lack of sleep, rejection, ridicule, weariness, false accusations, humiliation, physical pain and, ultimately, death. Paul succinctly described the suffering and glorification of Jesus. “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8-11 ESV). We are the children of God and joint-heirs with Christ. We will one day share in His glory, but for now, we share in His suffering. The writer of Hebrews tells us that even Moses went through what we are experiencing. “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26 ESV).

We Are Debtors.

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So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. – Romans 8:12-14 ESV

There is a sense in which, as Christians, we relish the idea of redemption. And we should. After all, the overwhelming debt of our sin has been paid for by Christ’s death on the cross. We have been released from our indebtedness and that is good news, because the wages or payment for our sin was our own death. But Jesus Christ became our sin substitute, taking our place on the cross and bearing the righteous wrath of God as our unblemished, sinless sacrifice. As a result, Paul tells us, “we are debtors, not to the flesh” (Romans 8:12 ESV). We have had our debt cancelled. Our sin ledger has been reconciled, and it now shows a zero balance. No sin. Nothing owed. But wait. Even as good as that news is, there is something missing. Our sin debt has been paid, but we need righteousness. Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20 ESV). The absence of sin is not righteousness. Having our sin debt paid was just part of the equation.

Justification1Justification

Paul gives us the rest of the good news. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV). Earlier in his letter to the Roman believers, Paul states that Jesus “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 4:25-5:1 ESV).

You see, in verses 12-14 of Romans, Paul was careful in his sentence structure. He said “we are debtors”, but not to sin. The Greek word he used was opheiletēs and it means “one who owes another, one held by some obligation, bound by some duty”. Yes, we are free from slavery to sin. Our sin debt has been cancelled in full. But we “owe” Christ for our righteousness. He has deposited into our account the righteousness we could never have produced on our own. We are debtors to Christ. And we will never be able to pay Him back for what He has done. But we can live according to the Spirit. We can show our gratitude for all He has done for us by living our lives in obedience to the His Spirit who lives within us. Paul states that it is by the Spirit that we are able to put to death the deeds of the body. We should want to distance ourselves from our old way of life – our sin-controlled, debt-filled life before Christ. We have been given the righteousness of Christ and are therefore, justified in the eyes of God. He sees us as righteous and just. And we owe it all to Jesus.

Earlier in his letter to the Romans, Paul states, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Romans 6:22 ESV). Peter provides us with a similar admonition. “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves” (1 Peter 2:16 NET). We tend to overlook the fact that God paid a high price for our salvation. He gave His only Son as the payment for our sin. Peter reminds us, “you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19 ESV). Which is exactly why Paul unapologetically tells us, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV).

We are sons and daughters of God. Not only have our sins been paid for and our debt forgiven, we have been adopted by God and placed into His family because we have had the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. And we have had the Spirit of God placed within us. So we are to live according to our new standing as God’s children, with the help of God’s indwelling Spirit. We are debtors to God. Our lives belong to Him. Our righteousness is not our own, but was made possible because of His Son’s death on the cross in our place. We have eternal life secured for us by virtue of Christ’s sacrificial death. We can’t lose it. We can’t do anything to un-earn it, because we didn’t earn it to begin with. But we can live with a sense of gratitude for all that God has done to make it possible. We can choose to live like children of God and not children of this world. We can choose to live according to the Spirit rather than according to our old sin nature. While we can never repay God for all He has done for us, we can express our appreciation through the way we live our lives.

Resurrection Power.

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If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. – Romans 8:11 ESV

If we think of the Holy Spirit at all, we tend to relegate Him to some kind of subservient, assistant-type role. We take the titles associated with Him, like Comforter and Helper, and interpret them to mean that His job is somehow supportive in nature and, therefore, less than substantive. The end result is that we treat the Holy Spirit like some kind of second-string member of the Trinity, relegated to providing us with help when we need it. He’s like a divine water boy, handing out towels and a cool drink to weary believers as we slog out our existence on this earth.

But Paul would have us view the Holy Spirit with much more reverence, awe, and amazement. He is not some kind of glorified equipment manager handing out spiritual gifts and providing words of encouragement to us as we fight the good fight of faith. He is the Spirit of God who dwells in each and every believer (Vs 9). And just so we clearly understand the unbelievable reality of what that means, Paul reminds us that the Holy Spirit who dwells in us is the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. When Paul makes the statement, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you…”, he is not insinuating that his readers could be lacking the Holy Spirit. He is simply reminding them of exactly what it is that they enjoy and what they can expect as a result. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in them and will one day provide the power to give them resurrected bodies. Paul had just finished telling his readers, “although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10 ESV). In this life, we live in bodies that are still plagued by sin. We are saddled with a sin nature that does daily battle with the Spirit within us. But we have resurrection power at our disposal. The Holy Spirit is not some kind of cheerleader or motivational speaker, providing us with a pep talk along the way. He is the Spirit of God who played a major role in the creation of the world, was instrumental in the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary, anointed and empowered Jesus for His earthly ministry, and raised Him from the dead. And one day He is going to replace these sinful, earthly bodies with new, resurrected ones. It is that kind of power that lives within us.

One of the things Paul has tried to tell us in this passage is that we are to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. We are to have a Spirit-perspective, not an earthly or flesh-based one. We are to think on the things above. You see, the Holy Spirit is ultimately focused on one thing: the resurrection of our bodies and the consummation of our sanctification. He lives within us and empowers us for daily life, but He always has the end in mind. Over in his letter to the believers in Corinth, Paul writes, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV).

It would seem that some of us view the Holy Spirit as simply a resource for this life. And while the Scriptures make it clear that He is our Helper, Comforter, and Advocate as we live in this world, we are never to forget that His primary purpose is that of providing life – the abundant life that Jesus promised, but also the resurrection life that Jesus died to provide and that should be our ultimate goal. We should live in this life with a longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. Our earthly bodies are a daily reminder that we still live in the “not yet” phase of our salvation. As the old hymn says:

This world is not my home I’m just a-passin’ through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore

But while we’re here, we must constantly remember that the power within us is resurrection power. It is life-giving, death-defeating, debt-cancelling, sin-forgiving power that will one day provide us with new, resurrected bodies and make possible our final glorification. That part is guaranteed. In the meantime, let’s live like we believe it. Let’s live like that is the focus of our ambitions and expectations. Why would we settle for the good life now, when we have been promised the glorified life to come?

The Spirit = Life.

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You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. – Romans 8:9-10 ESV

According to verses 5-8, we have choice. We can either set our mind on the things of the flesh or on the Spirit. We can be earthly-minded or heavenly-minded. We can live with our ambitions focused on this world or on the world to come. We can act as if we are purely physical beings living in a material world or we are spiritual creatures whose true essence is not of this world. The flesh and the Spirit are at odds with one another. Paul writes, “for the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7 ESV). Those who choose to live according to the flesh refuse to submit to the law and the righteous reign of God, ultimately proving to be displeasing to Him.

But Paul reminds us that a change has taken place. Those who have placed their faith in Christ are no longer “in the flesh”. In other words, the physical realm is no longer to be our primary focus. We have been placed in the Spirit’s domain, which is why he states that we have been placed “in the Spirit”. We now live under a new set of criteria, a new law, the “law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 5:2 ESV). We have been set free from the law of sin and death. Paul says, “to set the mind on the flesh is death”, but “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 5:6 ESV). When we fail to remember that we are spiritual creatures living in a spiritual realm, under the influence and control of the Holy Spirit, we risk falling back into our old ways, giving in to our old nature. But not only are we spiritual creatures living in a spiritual dimension, we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit Himself. We who were once dead have been made alive, spiritually alive, and given new life and a new capacity to live righteously and obediently.

It is the Spirit within us that enables us to have new life and to live in a new way. The very same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead now lives within us. He has made His home in our hearts. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?,” Paul asks. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV). The Holy Spirit lives in us and lives through us. It is through His power that we are able to fight against our own sinful flesh. It is with His help that we stand against the temptations of the enemy and the attacks of the world. Without His presence and power, we would find ourselves totally helpless against our own flesh. And even with Him living within us we can still find ourselves giving in to the flesh and falling easy prey to our own sinful passions and desires. That is why it is so essential that we set our minds on the things of the Spirit. We must make Him a top priority in our lives. We must learn to trust in Him and lean on Him.

It is the Spirit who makes possible the new life we have been given in Christ. He is the one who equips us to say no to sin and yes to righteousness. Paul reminds us, “no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3 ESV). We can’t live obediently without the Spirit’s help. We are incapable of producing fruit without His divine enablement. In his letter to the Galatian believers, Paul wrote, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). The Holy Spirit, also referred to as the Spirit of Christ, lives in us. It is His presence that makes possible the new life we have been called to live. Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus was that “ according to the riches of his [God’s] glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:16-17 ESV). It was his desire that they know and comprehend the full love of God as expressed in the gift of His Son and to experience the fullness of God Himself. The Spirit is the one who makes it possible for us to comprehend the love of God and to know what it means to experience the fullness of God – which is true life. There is nothing this world has to offer that can compare. The flesh is dead, but the Spirit IS LIFE. Life without the Spirit is impossible. Not only is eternal life impossible without the Spirit, but so is life on this planet. We may live, breathe, walk about, interact with others, accomplish great things, accumulate great wealth and rack up a lot of years, but we will never know true life apart from the Spirit of life.

The Mind-set of a Set Mind.

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For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. – Romans 8:5-8 ESV

What do you think about? Where does your mind go in times of difficulty? What kinds of thoughts fill your minds when things are going well? We are always thinking. Even when we attempt to go to sleep at night our minds are filled with thoughts – some good, some bad, some pleasant and some disturbing. All throughout the day, we worry, daydream, plan, plot, reminisce, regret, decide, doubt, and utilize our mind in a myriad of ways. But in these verses, Paul would have us wrestle with the question: On what is our mind set? Because the answer to that question will inevitably determine our mind-set as we live on this planet. If our mind is set on the flesh, Paul states, it will show up in the way we live our lives. It will be revealed in our mind-set or inclinations and attitudes. The flesh Paul is speaking about is not just referring to our sinful nature, though that is part of the problem. It is life apart from Christ. That is why Paul says the outcome of a mind that is set on the flesh is death, while the outcome of a mind set on the Spirit is life.

In his book, Life By the Spirit, Arthur Wood writes, “Flesh, then is the life of man apart from the touch of God. It is human nature on its material level, divorced from any contact with the spiritual. In a word, flesh is man adrift from God.” Philip Melanchthon, the German reformer and collaborator with Martin Luther, said that the flesh was “the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit.” So the question is, can a believer who has the Holy Spirit of God living within him, live “according to the flesh”? And the answer, according to Paul, is a resounding, “Yes!” That is the whole reason for this passage. Each and every day of our lives we have the choice to live “according to” or in keeping with the flesh or the Spirit. And it all depends on which one of the two we choose to set our mind. To set your mind on the flesh is to live obsessed with the things of this world. It is to operate under the mind-set or attitude that this is all there is, that all of your joy, contentment, satisfaction and pleasure are determined by what this world has to offer. Arthur Wood writes, “What Paul is talking about here is the dominant interest of a man’s life, the bent of his desire, the goal of all his activities.” In other words, he is talking about our ambition.

Paul is contrasting two ways of life. The life of the flesh and the life of the Spirit. He is not talking about live in the flesh, and that is an important distinction. We all have to live life in the flesh. We have no choice. Even Jesus Christ lived in the flesh. Back in verse 3, Paul states that God, “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.” Jesus took on human flesh and yet we are told, “he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). Jesus lived in the flesh, but did not live by or according to the flesh. Jesus did not live for this world. He died for the sins of this world. Jesus did not have an ambition to get rich, comfortable, famous, important, or popular. His intent was to do the will of His Father, to live in obedience to the Spirit of God, even to the point of death. And we are to be like Him. That is why Paul says, “seek the things that are above” and “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2 ESV). John Wesley wrote that those who “mind the things of the flesh” are those who “have their thoughts and affections fixed on such things as gratify corrupt nature; namely, on things visible and temporal; on things of earth, on pleasure, praise, or riches.”

If we live with our minds set on the things of this world, believing that they alone can deliver what we are looking for, we will end up with a mind-set or attitude that leads to spiritual death. No, we will not lose our salvation, but we will miss out on the joy, peace, contentment, power and abundant life that we have been promised in Christ. Life lived according to the flesh, with the mind set on the flesh, will always disappoint. It can never deliver what it promises. But the mind set on the Spirit results in life – abundant life. Those who make it their ambition to get the most out of this life, the life of the flesh, will find themselves disillusioned and disappointed in the end. Jesus made it clear, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT). But do we believe it? Do we live like it? Or do we seek the kingdom of this world above all else, and live according the flesh, thinking that it can deliver all that we need?

So it all boils down to this: On what are you going to set your mind? What will be your ambition, your obsession? Will it be the things that this world has to offer or the things God has promised through His Son? One brings death and disappointment. The other brings life and peace. Sounds like a fairly clear choice, but a choice nonetheless.

The Law of the Spirit of Life!

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There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – Romans 8:1-4 ESV

There are few human conditions worse than slavery. But imagine the lot of an individual who was born a slave, but is totally ignorant of their circumstance. They are oblivious to their condition and know of nothing different or better. Their life is completely controlled by an outside force over which they have no power to refuse or escape. Yet as sad as we may feel for someone faced with that unenviable circumstance, it is exactly the state of every individual who does not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Paul tells us that they are slaves to the law of sin and death, and most of them don’t even realize it. And such was the sorry condition of each of us who have been set free in Christ. In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul states, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV). We were at one time slaves to sin, totally ignorant of our condition, and yet totally incapable of doing anything about it. But we were set free in Christ Jesus by the law of the Spirit of life.

What is Paul telling us in these verses? What exactly is the law of the Spirit of life? Paul provides us with insight back in chapter seven. “For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code” (Romans 7:5-6 ESV). At one time, we were held accountable to God’s law. It was up to us to live righteous lives in keeping with God’s commands. But because of our sinful natures, we were incapable of pulling it off. The law said, “Don’t!” and our sinful nature said, “Do!” Paul gave his own personal testimony regarding this inward battle between the law and the flesh. “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18-19 ESV). This conflicted condition caused Paul to cry out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24 ESV). But he answers his own question. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin” (Romans 7:25 ESV). 

It is the Spirit of life who provides us with the power to live righteously, in spite of our indwelling sin nature. It is the Spirit who provides us with the capacity to live a life like that of Christ. While before we knew Christ we were slaves to sin and all our best efforts were like dirty, polluted rags (Isaiah 64:6) in the eyes of God, NOW we have the Spirit living within us, empowering us to live righteously and holy. He is the Spirit of life and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). The Spirit brings us life, but the life He brings is Christ. The Spirit is the means by which we experience the life of Christ. When Paul refers to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, he is not talking about a set of rules and regulations to keep, but a regulative principle to live by. We must realize that our ability to live as Christ lived, to obey as He did, and to love like He loved, is only possible through this principle of the indwelling power of the Spirit of God. Our new life in Christ is only possible when we submit to and live in keeping with the Spirit of God within us. We have to recognize our incapacity to live a Christ-like life and humbly submit to the Spirit’s control. Paul puts it succinctly and simply: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25 ESV). It is the Spirit who makes it possible for us to live out our salvation in daily life, exhibiting Christ-like fruit and modeling Christ-like behavior. The original law could point out sin, but couldn’t cast out sin. It could set the standard of God’s righteous requirements, but couldn’t do anything to help man live up to those standards. But the Holy Spirit makes righteous living possible. We have within us a new law, a new regulative principle. We are to live by the Spirit. We are to live under the control of the Spirit. We are to live according to the power of the Spirit, not according to the flesh. Which is why Paul tells us, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 ESV).

Filled, Directed and Protected.

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Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. – Matthew 4:1 ESV

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. – Mark 1:12-13 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. – Luke 4:1-2 ESV

These three gospel accounts provide us with a composite picture of what happened immediately after Jesus’ baptism by John. Matthew simply says Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness. Luke indicates that He returned from the river Jordan and then was led by the Spirit in the wilderness. But Mark indicates that the Spirit immediately drove Him out. Mark had a love for the word “immediately,” having used it 46 different times in his gospel. But regardless of how each of these men chronicled the events surrounding Jesus’ wilderness experience, they all clearly state that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. The 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness were part of God’s plan for His life. And Jesus, determined to obey the will of His Father, listened to the promptings of the indwelling Holy Spirit and did as He was commanded.

What amazes me about this entire story is the very fact that Jesus, the Son of God, was filled with the Holy Spirit and followed the Spirit’s direction in His life. Why would Jesus, as the Son of God, need to the filling of and direction from the Spirit of God? We must always remember that Jesus came to earth as a man. He took on human flesh. In order for the sins of man to be paid for, a sinless sacrifice was required. And while the sacrificial system God had ordained in the Old Testament could provide temporary forgiveness for sin, it was impermanent and incomplete. The write of Hebrews tells us, “But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3-4 ESV). The sacrificial system was a shadow of something far greater to come. The death of bulls and goats could never fully satisfy the justice that God required. It would demand the death of a man – a sinless man. “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book”’” (Hebrews 10:5-7 ESV).

It was essential that Jesus become a man. The sins of mankind demanded a payment. But because God is holy, only a sinless sacrifice would satisfy His justice and righteousness. Just as goats and bulls acted as substitutes for the people in the Old Testament, a man would be required to act as scapegoat for the sins of mankind. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “For this reason he [Jesus] had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17 ESV). So Jesus became a man. He took on human flesh. And when the people of His day looked at Him, that is what they saw – a man. We know from the Scriptures that Jesus was fully human and full divine. He was the God-man. But to the disciples and every other individual, He appeared to be just a man. That is why His baptism is so important. As a man, He followed the will of God. At His baptism, He received the indwelling Holy Spirit, confirming His divine Sonship, but also indicating God’s coming plan to fill every child of His with His presence and power. Jesus, as man, was filled by the Spirit of God. He was led by the Spirit of God. He was protected by the Spirit of God.

Why would God require His Son, the Savior of the world, to undergo 40 grueling days without food and water, facing the relentless attack of Satan? Why couldn’t Jesus have just launched into His earthly ministry without having to endure this painful experience? It was essential that Jesus prove Himself to be morally qualified to act as the substitute for the sins of man. It was not enough that He be human. He must also be sinless. Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness would prove His worthiness. But His ability to withstand the temptations of Satan was not self-manufactured. It was divinely provided. It was the Spirit of God who gave His humanity the strength to say yes to God and no to Satan. In this experience we have a foreshadowing of the same divine power that each of us as believers have received. What Jesus did during those days was made possible by the indwelling Spirit of God. And we have that same Spirit within us. That does not mean that you and I can live sinless lives. The key difference between Jesus and us is that we have a sin nature inherited from Adam. Jesus did not. He had no earthly father. Jesus was born without a sin nature. But we can still say no to sin. We can still live in obedience to God, rejecting the temptations of the flesh, the world and Satan. Why? Because we have the Spirit of God living in us. But we must let Him lead us. We must allow Him to empower us. We must daily depend on Him to protect us. Jesus showed us the vital necessity of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. He also demonstrated the victory that comes when we willing submit to His leadership in our lives.

Empowered By the Spirit.

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And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” – Matthew 3:16-17 ESV

As Jesus prepared to begin His earthly ministry, He inaugurated it with His own baptism. This was evidently a private affair with only Jesus and His cousin, John the Baptist present. John knew Jesus well, probably having grown up with Him, but he had not known that Jesus was to be the Messiah. It was he who said of Jesus,  “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’ I did not recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.” (John 1:29-31 NET). 

It is not quite clear when John came to fully comprehend the unique status of his cousin, but when Jesus came to him at the Jordan River asking to be baptized, John expressed his reluctance, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14 ESV). Yet Jesus persuaded John to do as He had asked, saying, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15 ESV). The righteousness to which Jesus referred had nothing to do with Him receiving righteousness or being made righteous. He was simply stating that His baptism was in full keeping with the will of God. It would be an expression of obedience to God, as Jesus willingly submitted Himself to the will of God. And at the same time, it would validate the ministry of John the Baptist. 

John did as Jesus asked. “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him” (Matthew 3:16 ESV). Jesus’ obedience to His Father’s will was immediately followed by the anointing presence of the Holy Spirit and the confirming words of God, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17 ESV). This event does not indicate that Jesus had somehow been lacking the Holy Spirit up until that moment. Matthew has already told us that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel Gabriel had told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called ‘holy – the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35 ESV). So Jesus was not receiving the Holy Spirit for the first time, but the Spirit’s arrival in the form of a visible dove was a confirmation of His public ministry. What He was about to do would be done in the power of God, and with the full authority and backing of God. Jesus would confirm this when He read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19 ESV).

God’s Spirit gave Jesus the power and authority to proclaim God’s message of good news. Time and time again, the Pharisees would question where Jesus got the authority to do the things He did. They wanted to know who had given Him the right to say the things He said. It was God. The Father had placed His Spirit upon Jesus, providing Him with the right, the power, and the divine authority to proclaim God’s message of good news. And we have that same right, privilege and authority. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have received the same Holy Spirit. Like the disciples at Pentecost, we have received fire from on high. We have been anointed with the Spirit of God so that we might fulfill the will of God. We didn’t receive the Holy Spirit so that we might enjoy happy, whole and trouble-free lives. We have been given a power and authority from God so that we might do exactly what Jesus did: Proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and offer liberty to all who are oppressed. It is our God-given, Spirit-empowered responsibility to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. We live in a unique time in history. We live in the dispensation of grace, when God is offering forgiveness of sins to any and all who will accept it. Jesus’ death on the cross and His Spirit-empowered resurrection to new life has made it possible for men and women to experience the grace of God in the form of the total forgiveness of their sin debt and the undeserved gift of Christ’s righteousness. But that gift would never have been made possible had Jesus not done what He had been commissioned and empowered to do. His obedience made possible man’s salvation. Throughout His life He willingly submitted Himself to the Spirit’s leading. Paul tells us, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Colossians 2:8 ESV). All in order to fulfill the will of God in the power of God. And we must do the same. We must rely on God’s indwelling, empowering Spirit to give us the strength we need to fulfill the job we have been given to do. Each of us should be willing to say, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and liberty for the oppressed.”

Conceived of God.

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Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”  – Matthew 1:18-20 ESV

Matthew was rather matter-of-fact in his opening line to his gospel account. He simply said, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.” No timidity or hesitancy. No question as to the validity of his statement. Two times in three verses, Matthew mentions that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not a man. This fact, which many still debate today, is the basis for the Christian belief that Jesus was born of a virgin. In his gospel account, Luke records further details regarding this amazing miracle of God. “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’” (Luke 1:26-28 ESV). Gabriel went on to tell Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31 ESV). Understandably in shock at this surprising visit from an angel and upon hearing this shocking news, Mary asked, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34 ESV). That’s a fair question, right? She was being told she was going to have a baby, and yet she had not even had sex yet. Mary may have been a young, uneducated country girl, but she knew enough about human biology to know that what the angel was telling her required something more. There was something missing. Mary basically told the angel, “This is impossible, because I have never even been with a man!”

But while Mary may have been confused by this angelic announcement and seen all kinds of flaws and impossibilities linked to it, Gabriel simply told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 ESV). This was not going to be an ordinary conception and birth. And while every child born is a miracle of God, this particular child was going to come into the world without the normal contribution of an earthly father. He would be the Son of God. There are still those today who, like Mary, struggle with the virgin birth. They go out of their way in an attempt to discount and disprove what the Scriptures clearly teach. Having a hard time believing the possibility that such a thing could happen, they simply reject it.

But if all things are possible for God, why would the virgin birth prove to be a problem for Him? If God could create the universe simply by speaking it into existence, could He not create life in the womb of a young girl? The thing that amazes me about this story is not that Mary had a baby without the assistance of a male, but that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. That reality gives me a serious case of brain freeze. I have no trouble at all believing that God could create life in the womb of a young virgin girl without the normal interaction of the female’s egg and a male’s sperm. After all, He created Adam out of dirt. But what blows me away is that the Holy Spirit, a member of the Trinity, was the source behind the conception of Jesus. According to Luke, the angel told Mary, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35 ESV). This was to be a miraculous, God-ordained, Spirit-empowered conception. How did it happen? We’re not told. Neither Luke or Matthew provide us with specifics, because Gabriel didn’t provide them. It was enough for Mary and Joseph to know that this child was going to be “holy – the Son of God.”

When I think about this incredible event in human history, I am amazed, not that it happened, but that a similar miracle has resulted in my own new birth. The Holy Spirit has made possible my new life in Jesus Christ. It is He who has made me a new creation. Jesus made this fact abundantly clear in His conversation with the Pharisee, Nicodemus. Jesus told him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 ESV). Like Mary, Nicodemus was confused by what he heard. So Jesus clarified. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6 ESV). Then, knowing Nicodemus was still wrestling with this concept, Jesus said, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:7-8 ESV).

I have been born of the Spirit. I have within me a new sinless nature, just as Jesus did. I can live holy and set apart because I am a new creation, born of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus was. John tells me, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9 ESV). It’s interesting to note that John used the Greek word, sperma, which should be self-explanatory. Here he refers to the Holy Spirit, as the generative force that makes possible our conversion from condemned sinners to consecrated saints – conceived by God through the power of the Spirit of God. And made possible through the sacrificial death of the Son of God.

The Divine Witness.

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But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. – John 15:26-27 ESV

Once again, Jesus is attempting to prepare His disciples for His imminent departure. In a matter of hours, His betrayal and arrest will take place and the disciples will find their world turned upside down by the events that will follow. So in this message, which has come to be known as the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus gave His disciples a glimpse into what was to come, including an assurance that they would have help after He had gone. He would send them a helper or advocate, in the form of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. And according to all that Jesus said was going to happen to them after He was gone, they were going to need the Spirit’s help.

First, Jesus said that the world would hate them, just as it hated Him. And they were going to be first-hand witnesses as to just how much the world hated Jesus when they saw Him brutally crucified. They would watch as the crowds turned their joyful shouts of “Hosannah!” into angry screams of “Crucify Him!” But Jesus let them know that things were going to get even worse after His departure. “I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19 ESV). He warned them that they were going to be persecuted. Why? Because of their relationship with Him and because they were going to be His representatives on earth after He returned to His Father.

So Jesus told them to abide in Him. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV). But this statement had to confound the disciples, because Jesus was telling them that He was going away. He was leaving them. So how were they supposed to abide in Him when He was no longer going to be with them? How was He going to be in them if He was going to be absent from them? And how could Jesus say to them, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full”? (John 15:11 ESV). Joy in the midst of persecution? How were they supposed to have fullness of joy at the thought of the death of their friend and teacher?

That’s where the Helper was going to come in. Jesus knew something they didn’t know. He knew that none of what He was asking them to do was going to be possible without help. They were incapable of surviving all that lie ahead without the aid of the Holy Spirit. The joy that would be in them would come in the form of the Holy Spirit. His presence would provide them with a constant internal reminder of all that Jesus had said and done when He was with them. The Spirit would make it possible for them to endure all the persecution that was coming and be fruitful in the process. They would not only survive, but thrive in the midst of abundant difficulty. They would discover a supernatural capacity to love selflessly and sacrificially, just as they were about to see Jesus do. The Spirit within them would bear witness to them regarding Jesus. The Holy Spirit would make sense of all the seeming madness regarding Jesus’ coming, miracles, teachings and startling death. The Spirit would provide undeniable proof of just who Jesus had claimed to be. His presence within them would prove that Jesus was still abiding with them. And as a result, they would become unwavering witnesses of Jesus, testifying of His resurrection and proclaiming His offer of forgiveness of sin and eternal life to any who would receive it.

It is the Holy Spirit who proves once and for all that Jesus was who He claimed to be and that the salvation He so boldly offered is real. The apostle Paul put it in words that make it so clear: “he [Jesus] has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us” (2 Corinthians 1:22 NLT). In his letter to the believers in Rome, he put it this way: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16 ESV). It is the abiding presence of God’s Spirit within us that provides us with inarguable evidence that Jesus’ offer of salvation was real. It proves that Jesus really did rise from the dead. He does sit at the right hand of the Father. He is going to return some day. The Spirit of God who lives in us is our personal guarantee regarding all that Jesus promised to us. And while we wait for the ultimate climax of all that Jesus promised: His return, we can enjoy fullness of joy and assurance of our salvation. We can experience abundant fruitfulness and express unconditional love. We can sense the reality of Christ’s abiding presence and trust in the promise of His imminent return.