He is the down payment/betrothal and seal of our "being in Christ." He is the foretaste of glory Divine. He is our Lord Jesus dwelling in us through faith, showing us the true knowledge of Him. He is deepening our understanding of spiritual truth and the love of God found through and in God's Son.
That which "gets me the most," is the fact that the Holy Spirit IS the same who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. AND He is our Strengthener, Revelator, Teacher, Guide into ALL Truth.
How can we ignore Him then?
The blessing of the Word of God coupled with the Holy Spirit's wisdom to make God's Words known to our heart in strength and full application to our lives is a blessing we don't want to miss!
So with all that said, may we highlight again some of the Scriptures in Romans 8 as we move along:
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the SONS of God." Vs. 14
"For you have NOT received the spirit of bondage, again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" Verse 15
"The Spirit HIMSELF bears witness with our spirit, that we ARE children of God." Verse 16
"AND if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us." Verse 17, 18
Paul goes on to talk about the sufferings of this present world - how that the WHOLE creation groans because of the present distresses of sin, flesh, and the devil in the world. Even the sons of God suffer - we groan to put on the REST of God's promise - an immortal body without decay or ailments!
Yet in the meantime, what do we believe about how God does want to lead our lives while we still remain in this present world? Take pains with this until you and I truly know.
This is to me, where our hearts and minds need to personally pursue the Holy Spirit's ability to cause us to understand. It's not enough to gather information to our heads (at least to me). I need to personally ask the Lord to strengthen my heart with wisdom and understanding. I need to personally KNOW God's will in all things and how He does indeed want the life of Christ to live and express through me.
God is faithful, He does reveal and will show us. So we can rest while we seek Him in life and peace.
When the Lord reigns in us, He is not going to be lazy, selfish, or self-centered. God is other centered. He is love. He is Life. Yet others will not always know what He is doing through us or working in us.
While as we read the continuing Scripture about a day is indeed coming when the world will dissolve and the glory and kingdom of God will be manifested (as well as the sons of glory), I truly believe we need to allow God to show us the depths of His will and glory through Jesus Christ here and now.
In verse 26 we are brought a Word from God that the Spirit HELPS our infirmities (because of living in a jar of clay yet not immortal). May we RELY on the Spirit of God within our hearts so that the infirmities of our flesh are not choking out the ability of God to cause us to live out His full will.
Faith in the Lord is the key. Faith in Him in us is what it's all about. Paul has written a number of paragraphs to explain that this WHOLE salvation is not about flesh and blood's striving and personal fleshly performance. That all leads to self glorification.
Praise God it is about the ONE who dwells within and His ability - the life of Jesus Christ through the Spirit of God. Being dead to self-effort is a wonderful thing. Being dead to everything BUT to Jesus Christ is indeed the way of the Lord - a wonderful, wonderful reality.
Let us remember that being dead to self-effort is not having NO movement. It simply means we discover the "Wings of Life" in God's Holy Spirit. We are supposed to ALL discover the SAME Person living and dwelling in mortal jars, yet expressed differently in His gifting and ability, making up the WHOLE BODY of Christ.
It's really time for a praise break: "Father, God - how we praise and worship You. It is so powerfully wonderful that we believe in the cross, the resurrection of Your Son - the glorious Gospel message - that through Him we have received Life eternal. Thank you that YOU came to dwell in our hearts - Father, you gave us the GIFT of the Holy Spirit. Open Him up in our hearts like flowers before You - let us KNOW the indwelling Savior and Your life-giving Word like never before. You do EXCEEDINGLY ABOVE all that we ask or think. We so glorify YOUR NAME Father and the name of Your Son, Jesus - the name above all names including ours. May we not bear any name but His. We are grateful, we thank you with all our hearts. In Jesus precious, matchless name - AMEN!"
Sue Gaither
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