ARCHIVE.PHP

Tag: Holy Spirit

The Practical Work of the Holy Spirit

Posted on by Bob Christopher

Apart from God’s Spirit, we do not have the power to live the Christian life. But with Him in our lives, we can experience Christ’s life in abundance. Here are six key ways that He makes this a reality for you.

  • God’s Spirit makes you alive in Christ.

Titus 3:4-5 (NIV)
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

  • He assures you that you are a child of God.

Romans 8:16 (NIV)
 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

  • He, as your comforter and counselor, guides you into all truth by taking the things of Jesus and making them known to you.

John 16:13-14 (NIV)
 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

  • He gives us the power to understand and experience the love of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

  • He works in you to will and to do of God’s good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 (NIV)
 For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

  • He expresses the fruit of His life through you.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The disciples recognized that what happened to them at Pentecost was, as JB Phillips wrote: “…quite plainly the invasion of their lives by a new quality of life altogether. They do not hesitate to describe this as Christ living in them.” You have received the same gift. God’s Spirit is alive in you, and manifesting the life of Christ through you.

The Temple That God Built and the Purpose of Pentecost

Posted on by Bob Christopher

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples they would “be baptized by the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4, 5). Jesus described it this way: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” What it all meant, they were not sure, but it had to do with the Holy Spirit and power.
On the morning of the day of Pentecost, their wait was punctuated by the sound of rushing wind, and tongues of fire. These men, the disciples, were filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke languages unknown to them.
The sound brought Jerusalem to life. Activity in the city began to move at a rapid pace as the people hurried to the place where the disciples had gathered. They were curious. What is this strange thing that is happening?
Peter stood and offered the words of the prophet Joel as the explanation–the long awaited gift of God’s Spirit had come. God had a new dwelling place on earth–the hearts of men.
His dwelling place was once in the tabernacle that Moses built. This tabernacle traveled with the people of Israel through the wilderness. Within the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies, which was considered to be God’s earthly dwelling place. Exodus 40:34 says the “glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” God’s presence was seen as a cloud on the tabernacle by day and a fire by night.
David envisioned a more permanent dwelling place for God, a temple built according to the pattern given to Moses. But God prohibited David from building it. That assignment fell to Solomon, his son. When the construction was complete, Solomon dedicated the temple.
2 Chronicles 7 records the scene: “As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, ‘For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.'”
Solomon’s temple was destroyed. A new one was built years later and was refurbished by Herod, but God’s glory never filled this new one. God had something else in mind, a temple not built by human hands.
On the day of Pentecost a new temple was dedicated, and God’s glory filled it by the giving of the Holy Spirit. The tongues of fire and the sound of rushing wind indicated His presence. Believers in Christ had now become the dwelling place of God.
Jesus’ death on the cross made this reality possible. He cleansed us once and for all so that He could take up residence in our hearts. Paul described it as Christ living in us, our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). This event happens afresh every time a heart responds in faith to the message of Christ, and the fire of God comes to live inside.
Where does God live today? In the hearts of his people. We are the temple of God. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

You Can Say "No" to Sin…

Posted on by Bob Christopher

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Learning to say “no” is the by-product of saying “yes” to the Spirit.
It is important to understand this distinction. So many well-intentioned believers spend a life time trying to overcome sin in their lives. They wake up each morning with this prayer on their lips: “Lord, please help me to not sin today.” At the end of the day, they look back only to see their prayer went unanswered.
A better prayer is this: “Lord, teach me to abide in you and to follow the leading of God’s Spirit in my life.” God’s Spirit is never going to lead you into sin. He leads you to trust in the Lord, to live righteous and upright lives. He leads you to love and serve others. In living out the Spirit’s work in your life, you will automatically be saying “no” to sin. Peter put it this way:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:3-4

Walking in the Spirit is trusting God to complete the work He began in you. You can count on Him to complete this task, even when you do not fully cooperate. This is His promise: “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…”
When we do get off course, and we will, the Holy Spirit merely recalculates our journey and continues His work in conforming us to the image of His Son. He does so without condemnation. Nor does He manipulate us with fear or guilt to get us back on track. He uses our mistakes, reminding us of the forgiveness we have in Christ, and works them together for our good. He comforts our hearts with this amazing promise: “that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
You are not alone on your journey. Jesus is there with you every step of the way. Trust Him, rely upon Him, and live out what He is working in your life. When you do you will be saying “no” to sin and “yes’ to the will of God.

One Baptism or Two?

Posted on by Bob Christopher

A caller to yesterday’s broadcast suggested that both water baptism and spiritual baptism were necessary for salvation. With this as his premise, he wondered why Paul used the phrase “one baptism” in Ephesians 4:5. If you missed the broadcast, you can listen to the conversation here.
Paul does have it right. There is only one baptism that saves. To the surprise of many, it is not water baptism. To the Corinthians who wrestled with this very question, Paul was very clear concerning water baptism: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel–not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17).
The Holy Spirit is the One who regenerates us and baptizes us into the body of Christ. This means we have been baptized, or placed, into Christ’s death, burial and resurrection according to Romans 6. It also means we have been added to the church as members of Christ’s body. Though we are many, Paul wrote, we form one body.
There are many people in this world who have been baptized in water. Simon the Sorcerer was one such person. Luke recorded in Acts 8 that Simon believed and was baptized. Did this act save him? Of course not. He went through the motions in hopes to add to his mystic and his financial empire. Peter called him out saying that he was still captive to sin. Water baptism didn’t change his heart. Just because someone has been baptized in water doesn’t mean that person is saved.
However, when it comes to spiritual baptism, here is a claim that is true. Everyone who has been baptized by the Spirit of Christ into the body of Christ is saved. John the Baptist said it best; “I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). It’s the “one baptism” by the Holy Spirit that matters. Let’s rejoice together in His work.

How the Bible Comes to Life

Posted on by Bob Christopher

At the beginning of my freshman year at the University of Georgia, I had determined to be God’s guy. Reading the Bible daily, I thought, was the key to getting me to that goal. The first morning of my college career I picked up my Bible and started reading the Gospel according to Matthew. I read four chapters that day, and four the next, and so on for several months.
I have to confess. I didn’t get very much out of what I was reading. If someone asked, I could tell them the chapters I read, for example, Matthew 9 – 12, but I couldn’t speak with understanding about the content of what I read. Honestly, it was nothing more than words on a page. But why? What was I missing?
It was four years before the answer came. When it did, the Bible came to life. Here is what I learned and what I am continuing to learn.

  •  The Bible is about Jesus; it is God’s testimony concerning His Son. Jesus put it this way: “These are the Scriptures that testify about Me” (John 5:39). We are to read the Bible to know Jesus and discover all that He has done for us. That is what I missed. I was reading to ascertain the rules and regulations I was to live by in order to be God’s guy. For some reason I was trying to make the Bible about me. But the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, points us to Jesus. The Bible is His story, and when we read it with that understanding, we grow in our knowledge of Him.
  • God’s Spirit teaches us the meaning of the Bible. We cannot figure out the mind of God through human intellect, logic or reason. Our finite minds are not capable of such an enormous undertaking. Paul made this point to the Corinthians: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”– 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV). God wants us to know what He has prepared for us. He never intended for His love and grace to be unlocked mysteries. He sent His Spirit to us so that we can understand what He has “freely given us.” Apart from God’s Spirit, we cannot comprehend the meaning of the Scriptures. When reading the Word of God, do so with a dependent attitude, a teachable spirit, trusting God’s spirit to open your heart and mind to the meaning.
  • The Spirit of God reveals the meaning of the Bible to us through the lens of the New Covenant. As believers in Jesus, we live in the New Covenant, not the Old. Trying to blend the purposes of these two covenants leads to great confusion. Everything in the Old Covenant was written to point us to the New. The Old consists of shadows and types and examples. In the New Covenant, we see and experience the realities of all that God has for us in Christ. Those days in college, I approached the Bible with an Old Covenant mindset. I was looking for rules, regulations and commandments. I was reading the Bible with a veil over my eyes and I missed Jesus. Seeing the Bible through the New Covenant lifts the veil and enables us to see the glory of God in the face of Christ.

The Bible is unique among all other books. It contains the very words of God, and specifically His word, or testimony, concerning His Son. God wants us to know Jesus and to share His life. The next time you open the Bible, do so knowing that God’s Spirit will take the message of Jesus and make Him real in your heart.