Life with the Holy Spirit
The Spirit Produces Life and the Mind of Christ
In Romans 8:1–11, Paul wrote that there was life through the Holy Spirit and that “those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). We must have God’s Holy Spirit in us to be able to live lives that please God. The Spirit of God must live in us to live as Christ did. Paul made it clear: “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9). His Spirit sets us free from the sinful nature: “The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). That is, freedom from death, because “the Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). True life is available to us only when God’s Holy Spirit is alive in us. Our selfish, ungodly ways don’t produce life; they produce death. The Holy Spirit is the guide in a believer’s new life. That is why Jesus told the disciples, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26) and
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you (John 16:12–15).
Jesus wanted His disciples to know He would guide them through the Holy Spirit after He returned to the Father, and He does so to this day in guiding His followers.
Our old, misguided lives were living the lie Satan sold us, but in our newfound lives in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit will guide us in God’s truth. Therefore, we must listen to what the Holy Spirit teaches us so we can receive direction from God the Father, for the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ. We must understand that
the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men (Romans 14:17–18).
Colossians 3:1–17 and Galatians 5:16–26 contrast our selfish, sinful practices to holy living. We are admonished to “live by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) because living a holy life is possible only through the Holy Spirit working in us. When we “live by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), we will not satisfy our sinful nature; that will be impossible. That’s why Paul encouraged followers to “live by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). God’s Spirit does not participate in sin, evil, or disobedience; otherwise, God would be untrustworthy because there would be conflicting qualities in His nature. The conflict is between the Spirit and the flesh.
Category: Spirit, Summer 2016
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