The Holy Spirit Accomplishes Your Authentic Christian Life “Because you are his sons,” Paul reminded, “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father” ( Galatians 4:6). Perhaps best of all, the Holy Spirit living in you is proof that you are legitimately adopted into God’s family - one who can now be constantly intimate like no other with your eternal Father. The obvious assumption in all the Scriptures listed above (and more to come) is that Christ’s ever-present Spirit is dramatically active, constantly nurturing new life within you, communicating his never-ending love for you, guaranteeing the promises he made to you. It’s impossible to overstate the enormity of this supernatural residency! The Holy Spirit is no passive, neutral “guest” within your soul. And now, as John recorded, “He lives with you and will be in you” ( John 14:17). So, when the Apostle Paul declared to the Galatians: “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,” (4:6) and when Christ promised, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” ( Matthew 28:20), they were both saying the same thing: Your finite soul has mystically, irrevocably merged with the infinite Spirit of Jesus. Instead, it encompasses all of your human existence, including your physical life, your personality, intellect, memory, emotions, desires, hopes, dreams, thoughts, personal history, will, and anything else you can throw into that kitchen sink of humanity. Biblically speaking, the “heart” has only slightly to do with that aortic pumping mechanism in your chest. This is one of those “intangibly tangible” mysteries, explaining the unseen reality of the Holy Spirit by means of simplified symbolism. That’s a beautiful sentiment, and true, but… what exactly does it mean? When I was a child, we used to sing in church the old hymn, “He Lives.” Perhaps our music leader was a bit melodramatic, but the high point of that song was always when he gesticulated and the congregation roared, “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!” Translated more literally from the New Testament Greek, that capital "S", Holy “Spirit” and lowercase "s", human “spirit,” could read like this: “The Breath gives birth to breathing.” This calls to mind the moment of Creation when God “breathed” life into Adam ( Genesis 2:7) and foreshadowed what Christ would do after his resurrection: “And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” ( John 20:22). The Apostle John quotes Jesus explaining it this way to the Pharisee, Nicodemus: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” ( John 3:6). Yet, by fixating on the “when” rather than the “what,” both sides tend to gloss over this stunning truth:Ĭhrist’s Holy Spirit takes that sin-cancered, corpse-like human spirit within you and miraculously breathes relentless new life into your soul. The non-Calvinist will say this happens after that choice, or simultaneously with it. The Calvinist will tell you this happens before a person chooses to follow Christ. So what does the Holy Spirit do in us today? Let’s explore that now. Instead, the Bible teaches that our authentic Christian life is lived from the inside-out - meaning our daily attitudes and actions are a natural outgrowth of what Christ’s Holy Spirit has done, is doing, and will do within you and me each day. Isaiah described it as having the same value as contemptible “filthy rags” ( Isaiah 64:6). That type of “righteousness” was something Jesus dismissed as disturbingly fatal, akin to “whitewashed tombs” ( Matthew 23:27). You see, the Christian life isn’t meant to be experienced from the outside-in, with behavior modification that’s dependent on whether or not others are watching. Not only is that guilt-ridden, legalistic attitude unbiblical, it’s just an exhausting way to live. I’ve heard it said - well, I had it pulpit-pounded into me - that I’d better be on my best behavior today because I “may be the ONLY Jesus someone sees!” Sigh.
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