Wednesday
It is not uncommon to hear Christians talk about being “filled with the Spirit”, or “having the Spirit inside them”, but what does this really mean? Just how exactly does the Spirit fill us or live inside of us? Listen to the words of Jesus as He promises this very thing in John 14.
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. - John 14:15-19
The good news for these men is that they would not lose Jesus when the Spirit came. He would remain by means of the Spirit, and he would stay with them. When Jesus says, "I will not leave you orphans." That was surely how they felt, like orphans. The One whom they had learned to love and trust was leaving them. But Jesus promises, "when the Spirit comes, I will come with him." Here he puts his finger on what is probably the most wonderful aspect about the coming of the Spirit: His primary work is to make Jesus real to his disciples. The mark of the Spirit-filled life is not signs, or wonders, or tongues, but an ever-deepening consciousness of the reality of Jesus Christ. That is the Spirit at work!
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” - John 14:20-21
Here Jesus expresses in the simplest words one of the most profound truths in all of Scripture - "You in me." This is our first experience when we come to Christ. We know we belong to another family; we realize that we now are children of God. We are no longer children of darkness, following after a false philosophy. We have been transferred out of the powers of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of his love. "You in me."
But there is another truth that goes right along with the first - that he is "in us." We learn that we are not required to demonstrate how much we can do for God, but what he can do through us! Many Christians take a long time to reach this level. There are far too many Christians toiling away trying to earn the favor of God in through their own efforts, they do not grasp the incredible truth that Jesus will be at work “in” them through the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps you are wondering what difference it really makes that the Holy Spirit lives in us. Is all of this just theological speculation? What practical difference does this make in our everyday lives? Well, if we believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, and not an impersonal force (see Monday’s devotional from this week) then when the Bible talks about being filled with the Spirit, it is telling us that we are filled with a Person, and This makes all of the difference in the world!
Maybe an illustration will help to make this point clear…
In the 1960s, the Mattel toy company came out with a new novelty toy called “The Magic 8-Ball”. It looks like an oversized 8-ball from a billiards table. To use it, you ask it a question, then you simply flip it upside down for your answer. On the bottom of the 8-Ball there is a little window in which various kinds of vague and non-committal answers appear. Answers like; “Most likely”, “Don't count on it”, “Cannot predict now”, and the always frustrating, “Ask again later”.
Jeff Frazier
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1 comment:
You really hit the nail on the head when you say: "We learn that we are not required to demonstrate how much we can do for God, but what he can do through us!" If only the world (any many Christians) knew this truth!
I also like your "Magic 8 Ball" analogy. How much better to have the wise and trusted friend of the Holy Spirit. He will indeed lead, guide, teach, and counsel us. What a great gift He is.
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