John 16:12-14 – I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
THEME OF THE DAY: EXPERIENCING THE WORKINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Every believer acknowledges the impossibility of living out the Christian life. The commands in the Word of God are great and uncompromising. In our own strength, there is no hope of one sliver of acceptable obedience to our Lord’s commands. And, praise His Name, God never intended us to attempt to obey Him on our own. His Son made it clear in the Parable of the Vine and Branches how we obey and in whose strength we obey – “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 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 15:4-5).
As one ponders the “abiding life in Jesus”, we know this may rightly be called “the Spirit-filled life”, “the Spirit-controlled life” and “walking in the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-17; Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 5:18-21). Yet, I know from personal experience of failing and observing other struggling Christians that this Spirit-dominated life is a lot like our prayer lives. None of us would deny the importance and challenge of having a healthy and consistent prayer life. Prayer is one of those most talked about spiritual things in our lives and likely one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and neglected spiritual things in our lives. We know a lot of words about prayer but struggle mightily to practice consistent, fervent, and joyful periods of unhurried and undistracted true Biblical prayer. It is like that in the Spirit-filled, led, and controlled life also. We know a lot about Him from Bible knowledge, but really struggle when it comes to knowing Him in an intimate and practical way. Let’s test my theory. What are the two primary works of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian? First, what they are not . . . gifting us for spiritual service, directing us to make life decisions, making us feel comforted in tough times, and giving us emotional highs during times of worship. He does do all those things, but those are not His primary workings in God’s people. Now, the two primary works of the Spirit of God in Christ’s people and Christ’s church.
First, the Spirit of God is foremost committed to the work of exalting Christ. See today’s scripture. He concentrates on honoring and lifting up the Lord Jesus. He never draws attention to His gifts, His guiding hand, or anything else about Himself. We may rightly know if the Spirit of God is working in us by how consumed we are with the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been in too many conversations, read blogs and articles, even heard preaching that contained a lot of “God language” but noticeably absent was emphasis on the Person of Christ. Nothing wrong with talking, writing, and preaching on God, after all Jesus is God, but read the book of Acts and the early church. It was all about Jesus Christ. If we find ourselves lacking intimacy with Jesus, which is what the Spirit wants to give us through Word and prayer, and our Christian fellowship is largely void of talk of Jesus, we may be living ignorant of one of the Spirit’s primary works in God’s people.
Next, the Spirit of God is committed to making Christ’s people like Christ. He forms within us the character of Christ. Again, this is not service or giftedness for Christ. It is about becoming like Christ and that means the development of the Fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Do we see them blossoming in our lives? Better yet, are others being influenced and fed from the “branches of our lives” of this Fruit “hanging from us”? We know the work of the Spirit through Him transforming us to be like the One He came to exalt – the Lord Jesus. Is that happening to us? Let’s strive to ensure we know by knowledge and experience the workings of God’s Spirit in our lives – a consuming passion for Jesus Christ and a consistent conformity into His image.
PRAYER: “Father, help me see that to walk in Your Spirit is to walk exalting Your Son and conforming into His image.”
QUOTE: “One of the clearest evidences of being filled and controlled by the Spirit is living consumed with Jesus Christ”