“God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” [1]
She was a recent convert to Christ, and she was in tears when she phoned me. The lady was suffering from disquieting events that were occurring each night. Each evening after retiring to her bed, a malevolent presence would terrify her, filling her with a sense of overwhelming dread followed by loud knocking on the side of her house until she was forced to get out of bed and cower in the living room pleading for whatever it was to leave her alone. After several sleepless nights, she phoned, begging for help. “Mike, what can I do? What if my children are harmed? I’m terrified!”
Lynda and I visited this young convert to pray with her, to pronounce the peace of Christ on her and her family. I inquired about her past, seeking to discover why an apparent evil spirit would torment her. She revealed that a few years before, while still in her teen years, she had played with a Ouija board. She ceased using that board when she realized that some powerful entity appeared to take control of the board, responding to questions with revelations that no person could have known. I suggested then, and I still hold, that she had opened herself to the spirit world and that malicious spirits were now seizing that opening to torment her.
I informed this lady that sinister spirits will not easily relinquish power when they have begun their terrorizing. I encouraged her to remember that she was a follower of the Risen Christ and that the spirits were subject to His followers. Then, I urged her to memorize a Scripture that she was to recite whenever she became aware of that wicked entity that was tormenting her and her family. I urged her to memorize the words Paul penned in the text chosen for this day: “God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control” [2 TIMOTHY 1:7 CSB].
Later, this dear woman related that the entity did attempt to assail her peace that very evening. She commanded the spirit to leave her and her family alone, and she reminded the evil presence that she was a follower of the Risen Christ. Therefore, she claimed the power of God’s Spirit to vanquish the wicked one and his minions. She was never again tormented by such an evil presence.
What I recommended is not some magical incantation to be recited during times of stress, the verse is a reminder of who we are in Christ. It is a means of reminding the follower of the Christ that the Saviour has placed His Spirit in us, and that the power of the Risen Saviour is given to each one of His children. This is not power to do evil, nor is it some magical rite allowing us to amaze the world by performing miraculous deeds. God has entrusted to His people power to glorify His Name. And in glorifying His Name, we reveal His power at work in us. The Spirit of Christ lives in each redeemed individual, just as Jesus promised. He said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” [JOHN 14:16-17]. Child of God, meet the Holy Spirit.
WHAT KIND OF SPIRIT IS THIS? “God gave us a spirit.” On one occasion, Jesus and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee when a powerful storm swept down on them. The boat was being swamped by the waves, but Jesus slept on, unperturbed by the violence of the wind. At that moment, the disciples wakened Him, pleading with Him, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” Jesus’ response was not what they expected, for He first rebuked them, asking, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then, the Master stood in the face of the raging seas and the violence of the storm and with one word, “Hush!” the wind immediately ceased blowing and calm settled on the sea.
Having witnessed His power, the disciples were frightened. In their fear, they began to ask one another, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him” [MATTHEW 8:27; this incident is also recorded in MARK 4:36-41 and LUKE 8:22-25]? What sort of man is this, indeed! And what sort of Spirit does He give to those who follow Him? This is the question we must explore at this hour.
Let’s establish a truth that must be trumpeted to each follower of the Christ. When you came to faith in the Son of God, He placed His Spirit in you! Yes, the Spirit of God inhabits the church, which is the Body of Christ, but He lives in each believer.
Describing the assembly of the righteous, Paul reminded the Corinthians, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” [1 CORINTHIANS 12:13]. Think about that! Whenever we gather in assembly, the Spirit of Christ is right here with us! He sees what we are doing; He observes us as we worship. He is delighted when we glorify His Name, and He is grieved when we dishonour Him by exalting our own interests. Here, in this place, we are on holy ground, because the Spirit of God has sanctified this gathering.
Elsewhere, Paul warned those same Corinthian Christians against treating the congregation with disdain. He based his warning on what we are in reality when he wrote, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you” [1 CORINTHIANS 3:16]? It is important to note that the Apostle uses the second person plural verb and the second person plural pronoun. In Texan, we could say the Apostle wrote, “Do you all not know that y’all are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in y’all?” Then, making the point stronger still, Paul appends the following sentence, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you (second person plural pronoun) are that temple” [1 CORINTHIANS 3:17].
The congregation of the righteous is the Temple of God, and God’s Spirit lives in this Holy Temple! Think about that! When you come to the services of the New Beginnings Baptist Church, when we meet in assembly, you are not simply going into a building, you are uniting as the Body of Christ, and this assembly becomes the Temple of the Holy Spirit. When you join in assembly here at 10221 18th Street in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, you come into the Temple of the Holy Spirit. It should be our prayer that He will prepare our hearts each time we come together as a congregation. It should be our fervent prayer that He will reveal His grace and power so that we are equipped to worship the Risen Saviour in spirit and in truth.
In his Second Letter to the Corinthian assembly, the Apostle to the Gentiles has appealed to the congregation to remember they are the Temple of the Holy Spirit when he writes, “What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.’”
[2 CORINTHIANS 6:16-18]
Christ has done something even more exciting, however, in that He has placed His Spirit in each individual who follows Him as Master over life. Jesus promised His disciples, and thus He promised us, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness” [JOHN 15:26-27a].
The Spirit of truth, the Spirit of Christ, bears witness about Christ. It is important to recognize that it is not the act of confessing Christ that saves, it is faith in Christ that saves. And when one places faith in the Risen Saviour, the Spirit of Christ takes up residence in that individual’s life. This residency is made evident when the Apostle, writing the Corinthian saints, teaches, “I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” [1 CORINTHIANS 12:3].
The words are far less significant than the attitude that lies behind uttering the words. One cannot glorify the Saviour unless the Spirit of Christ energizes that effort. Likewise, when the Spirit of Christ controls one’s heart, it will be impossible to treat Christ as accursed. Singing Gospel hymns is a meaningless exercise unless the Spirit of Christ energizes that singing. Reciting prayers is a meaningless exercise until the Spirit of Christ directs our prayer. Underscore this truth in your mind—there is no worship where the Spirit of Christ does not control the worshipper!
Again, this truth is emphasized as Jesus prepared His disciples for His exodus. Jesus taught them, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
“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. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” [JOHN 16:7-15].
The evidence that this is the case is demonstrated in a discussion pleading for sexual purity in the saints. Our world is not the first culture infected with an unhealthy preoccupation with sex. The struggle for purity was evident millennia past. And Corinth was not the first society to be consumed with an unhealthy appetite for sexual dalliances, and ours certainly is not the last society to be so inflamed. The Corinthians came to faith in a society in which sex was uppermost in the minds of all.
Paul was compelled to warn the Corinthian Christians against sexual immorality, which was rampant in the City of Corinth during the days of his ministry to the saints of the city. Paul wrote, “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything. ‘Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” [1 CORINTHIANS 6:12-18].
It is quite obvious that Paul is speaking of the physical body as he writes these words. However, it is at this point that he adds one sentence that becomes essential for our understanding concerning the Spirit of God and our own lives. The Apostle writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” [1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20].
As a twice-born individual your body has become a Temple of the Holy Spirit. Christ lives in you! The Spirit of Christ has taken up residence in your life. Elsewhere, Paul testified to us who follow the Risen Saviour, “In [Christ] you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory” [EPHESIANS 1:13-14 CSB].
Earlier, I pointed to the words of the Master who testified that the Spirit Whom He would send, would teach the disciples, reminding them of all that Jesus taught. Our Lord testified to His disciples that the Helper Whom He would send was in fact the Spirit of Truth. Here is something that is vital for spiritual health—when one comes to faith in the Risen Saviour, the Spirit of Truth takes up residence in that individual’s life. From that point, the individual has a new worldview, a perspective that permits him or her to see as Christ sees.
That this is the case is made evident when the Apostle writes, “We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 2:7-16].
As one who is born from above, you no longer think as you once did. In fact, you cannot think as you once did because you now hold the worldview of Christ the Lord. When government officials promote actions and attitudes that are opposed to biblical teaching, you cannot be comfortable with giving assent to what is promoted. You don’t necessarily enjoy being contrary, but you can’t go along to get along with the crowd. This is because you now have the mind of Christ. You can’t just set aside morality and integrity in order to make the world feel comfortable.
The Spirit of Christ searches your mind, revealing those dark secrets you previously tried to hide, compelling you to renounce what dishonours the Saviour. The Spirit of God living in you does not permit you to be comfortable with what once was acceptable, because God seeks what is best for you and what honours Him. We see the import of this when James writes, “Do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God caused to live in us jealously yearns for us” [JAMES 4:5 ISV]?
If you have followed the argument to this point, you understand that as one who is born from above, the Spirit of Christ lives in you. And because the Spirit of the Risen Saviour lives in believers, when we come together in assembly, the church that is formed becomes a Temple of the Holy Spirit. The body of each Christian is a Temple of the Holy Spirit, and when we unite in worship, the congregation formed likewise becomes a Temple of the Holy Spirit. God ensures that His Spirit directs us and guides us as we worship and as we build one another. Now, what is that Spirit like?
THE SPIRIT IS NO WIMP! “God gave us a spirit not of fear.” During those distant days when I wore the uniform of a United States Marine, our platoon was guided by a gunny sergeant who was blessed with a marvellous sense of sarcasm. In the early days of training, when the platoon had been given an order, which inevitably was not executed as the sergeant wished, he would assist his charges by helpfully reciting a bit of doggerel:
When in danger, when in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout!
The pithy rhyme didn’t actually ensure that his orders would be executed, but it did emphasize his displeasure at being tasked with turning a disorderly herd into a smart team that could work together to accomplish impossible chores.
The Saviour promised those first disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” [ACTS 1:8]. It has always interested me to note that from earliest days, unspiritual people have sought the power of the Spirit for themselves. They saw the disciples perform what we mortals call miracles, and these unspiritual individuals associated the Spirit’s power revealed through His people as the ability to amaze and astonish.
Among the first of a long line of unspiritual people seeking the power of the Holy Spirit was a man named Simon, for whom the sin of simony was named. Simon had previously practised magic in the city of Samaria, amazing the people with his prestidigitation, his acts of legerdemain. For a long time he had drawn people to himself, as they said, “This man is the power of God that is called Great” [see ACTS 8:9-11].
An account of his unholy yearning for power is recorded in the Book of Acts. There, we read, “When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.’ And Simon answered, ‘Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me’” [ACTS 8:18-24]. This man, Simon, saw the Spirit’s power as a path to personal aggrandizement. To this day, a surprising number of people seek the Spirit’s power in order to draw attention to themselves.
The Holy Spirit emboldens God’s people to testify to the grace of the Risen Saviour, just as Jesus promised. Remember what He promised in ACTS 1:8? “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Those who are Spirit empowered are equipped to witness to the Risen Christ!
Years ago, I appeared on a phone-in talk show during my service before the Lord in San Francisco. The show, Pastor’s Corner, consisted of a panel of pastors from the Bay Area who would field phone calls from listeners. On my first evening to appear on this particular show, I was empaneled with an older Baptist pastor from a somewhat liberal congregation and a charismatic pastor. The first questioned phoned in was from a woman who wanted to know whether Christians should be filled with the Holy Ghost as evidenced by speaking in tongues.
The charismatic pastor immediately seized the opportunity to present his apologia advocating the need for every Christian to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost as evidenced by speaking in tongues, an unlearned language that was not commonly spoken by any language group on earth. His primary appeal was to the account of the events recorded of the disciples who were filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. He read, “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” [ACTS 2:4 KJV]. He presented his case and then turned to the older Baptist pastor. To my astonishment, that older man said, “I can’t disagree with you,” and said no more.
At that, I said, “I don’t wish to be disagreeable, but I must dissent from your assessment.” And with that, I began to move through the Book of Acts. I pointed out that all the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and what they communicated was of far greater significance than how they communicated. These disciples, when they were yet without the filling of the Spirit of God, cowered in the upper room in fear of those who had crucified the Master. Now, filled with the Spirit, testified in the languages of the multiple groups gathered in Jerusalem, telling “the mighty works of God” [ACTS 2:5-12]. Spirit-filled people are not fearful; rather, they boldly proclaim Christ to those who do not know Him!
Again, Peter and John were haled before the Jewish Council to give an account of why they were preaching in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth? The council demanded that they answer for what they had done. They asked, “By what power of by what name did you do this?” At this, we read, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’” [ACTS 4:8-12].
Spirit-filled people boldly point to Jesus. People who are filled with the Spirit have no fear of those who question them. They are not troubled by the challenge of an unbelieving world. Rather, in their hearts they “honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks [them] for a reason for the hope that is in [them]… [They] do [this] with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when [they] are slandered, those who revile [their] good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. [They know] it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” [1 PETER 3:15-17].
After they were released by the Sanhedrin, Peter and John sought out the church; and the response of the church was to pray; and what a prayer they lifted up to the Saviour. The prayer offered is recorded in ACTS 4:24-30 NET BIBLE. “Master of all, you who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, who said by the Holy Spirit through your servant David our forefather,
‘Why do the nations rage,
and the peoples plot foolish things?
The kings of the earth stood together,
and the rulers assembled together,
against the Lord and against his Christ.’
“For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen. And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage, while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Take special note of what happened following the prayer offered by these saints. “When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” [ACTS 4:31]. The believers prayed, and resulting from their prayer, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” There was no ecstasy, no wild gibberish—filled with the Spirit of Christ, these saints spoke boldly! If you seek an evidence revealing the fullness of the Spirit, it must surely be boldness to testify of Christ the Lord. As a Spirit-filled follower of the Risen Saviour, your spiritual fulness will be evident by the manner in which you speak, for you will speak the Word of God boldly!
On the first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas were opposed by an evil man named Elymas who sought to turn from the Faith a proconsul in the city of Paphos. Confronted by this wicked man, Paul was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” When the Apostle was thus filled, he boldly confronted this man who held sway over the proconsul. The account of Paul’s response is recorded in ACTS 13:9-12. “Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at [Elymas] and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.’” The result of this pronouncement was that Elymas was struck blind and the proconsul believed. One demonstration of the fullness of the Spirit is more powerful than tens of thousands meaningless words! Christians filled with the Spirit will boldly confront the wicked to declare the mind of the Lord.
Later, these first missionaries arrived in Antioch of Pisidia. When the message of life was preached in Pisidian Antioch, though the most of those gathered in the synagogue rejected the message, there were numerous Gentiles who heard the message of life and turned to the Faith in large numbers. The Jews, jealous because of the success of the Gospel message, incited the devout women and the leading men of the city in order to stir up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, driving them from the city. However, it was too late because the disciples, those who had believed the message of life were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit [see ACTS 13:48-52]. Disciples filled with the Spirit are joyful in service before the Lord.
This accords with the prayer offered for the Christians gathered in Rome when Paul prayed, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” [ROMANS 15:13]. Spirit-filled saints are marked by joy and peace and they always abound in hope.
The entire time I was speaking on the radio that evening in San Francisco, the charismatic pastor was saying, “I’ve never seen that.” “I didn’t know that.” Dear people, when you read the Word, don’t settle for a portion of what God offers, read the context so that you understand what God is doing. Don’t forget, ANY TEXT OUT OF CONTEXT IS PRETEXT.
Christians cower in their homes, fearful that they may offend government dicta. They are uncertain if they can meet, and if they do meet, they are fearful that they should not sing lest some government official dissent. The faithful have never looked to politicians to determine whether they can worship or whether the worship they present is acceptable. We hold to the command that admonishes us, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” [HEBREWS 10:24-25].
We must never permit ourselves to be pugnacious or combative, nor may we ever advocate speaking ill of those who choose caution rather than boldness in service before the Lord. Rather, we must live boldly because we are determined to walk in the power of the Spirit. And we refuse to live in fear of what may lie in the unforeseen future. Whatever fear may motivate some, whatever those saints who seek governmental approval for their actions may claim, do not let them profess to be bold followers of the Christ. Know that those who are fearful, those who are cowardly, stand in poor company according to what is revealed in the Word of God [see REVELATION 21:8 AV, ERV].
Let those who are determined to seek governmental licensure to worship crouch down before their masters, licking their hands and seeking permission to worship. May their chains rest lightly upon them, and may posterity forget that they ever walked in sweet concourse with us. However, let all who are filled with the Spirit kneel before the Risen Saviour, confessing, “Jesus Christ is Lord!”
GOD’S SPIRIT IN YOU — “God gave us a spirit … of power and love and self-control.” Christians filled with the Spirit of Christ are not fearful of the unknown. Rather, they are marked by power, love and self-control. The Spirit of Christ manifests Himself through the life of His child by these notable characteristics. Mark the person who walks in power, and you will see a Christian. Love and self-control define who this person is.
When we speak of the power of the Spirit, we are not speaking of amazing feats designed to astonish the world. Neither are we speaking of an event that makes us feel good about ourselves. We are speaking of power to transform lives, power to glorify the Son of God. Paul writes of spiritual power when he pens these words in the Ephesian encyclical. “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” [EPHESIANS 1:16-23].
Tease apart what the Apostle’s prayer is, and you will see that he is praying for readers to be empowered to know God and to walk in wisdom. He is praying that those who read what is written may realize the riches of the inheritance God has reserved for them. Those blessed saints who receive an answer to this prayer will realize the power of the Spirit—power to raise the dead by turning them from death to life in the Son of God, power to glorify the Saviour through instructing others in His righteousness, power to conquer the evil one by standing firm in the Faith, power to live for eternity rather than living for this moment we call now. This is real power!
Spiritual power equips the one so empowered to declare the message of life in a meaningful way that transforms the lives of those who hear what is declared. Paul writes, “Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” [1 THESSALONIANS 1:5a].
The power of the Spirit of Christ at work in His people enables each Christian to be strong in the Faith, enables each follower of Christ the Lord to walk in love, enables each saint to understand the love of the Living God. This is evident as the Apostle writes in this same Ephesian letter, “I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” [EPHESIANS 3:14-21]. Amen, indeed! God’s Spirit enables and equips the child of God to walk in power. As the follower of the Christ allows himself or herself to be guided by the Spirit, that one reveals the power of the Risen Saviour through the life that is lived out before the world.
The twice-born child of God becomes bold in proclaiming Christ, gentle in exercising the ministry entrusted to him or her by the Spirit, and effective in what is communicated and in what is done. This speaks of the power God gives by His Spirit, but He also enables the one who is indwelt by His Spirit to know the love of the Father.
The concept of love is gravely distorted in this day into an emotion, a feeling—and emotions are all important! What I feel is more important than actually loving another. Love means that I esteem the one loved. Love means that I actually dare risk the relationship in order to elevate and ennoble the one loved. Love means that I am prepared to do whatever is necessary to make the one loved better as result of my love. Here is love in action as described by the Apostle: “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” [ROMANS 13:8-10].
Love leads the child of God to invest her life, to invest his life, in the life of another. Listen to this earnest appeal by Paul for the Christian in Rome to pray for him. “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company” [ROMANS 15:30-32]. The love fostered by the presence of the Spirit of Christ leads us to be sufficiently concerned for our fellow saints that we plead for their welfare before God.
When Paul speaks of self-control, he speaks of thoughtful awareness of what is best [2], of what honours the Lord who redeems us. The concept conveyed speaks of the ability to understand how to make wise decisions. [3] Therefore, the Spirit guides the one who is Spirit-filled to act with wisdom because they are guided by God Himself.
Recall what the Apostle has said concerning the control of the mind of one who is guided by the Spirit of God. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 2:7-16]. We have the mind of Christ! God controls the mind of the one who has submitted to Him and who allows His Spirit to direct their thoughts.
Power! Love! Self-control! The Spirit living in you because you are one who is born from above, ensures that these qualities are resident in your life. And as you actively allow Him to direct your life, these qualities become more evident with time. Recall the promise delivered so long ago by Solomon, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise” [PROVERBS 13:20a]. Who could be wiser than God? And He lives in your life as a Christian. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (United Bible Societies, New York, NY 1996) 752
[3] Ibid., pg. 383
