God so Loved the World that He Gave His Son: The greatest Spiritual battle ever fought – part eleven
In my last post I said, “next week we will talk about how we can cultivate that close relationship with the Holy Spirit.” Let’s think about that for a moment. Before we can develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit, we must know who He truly is.
Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
The first we hear about the Holy Spirit is during the very creation process itself. Okay… stop right there. How can we have a relationship with a Spirit that we cannot see? Here is what the apostle Peter said about that:
Acts 2:36-39 (NIV)
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
- According to the apostle Peter, the first thing we must do is receive Jesus as Lord of our life, and we will receive the Holy Spirit!
Where does the Holy Spirit reside when we receive Him after salvation?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
- The Holy Spirit is not someone we must go searching for. If we are saved from our sins by the precious blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is already residing in us!
Romans 8:15-16 (NIV)
15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
- The Holy Spirit speaks directly to our spirit! We have a responsibility to listen carefully to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. We must be intentional!
Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)
30 … do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- The Greek word translated as “grieve” means “to cause sorrow, pain, unhappiness, or distress. It must be our resolve to never cause the Holy Spirit to feel these negative emotions!
Romans 8:8-9 (NIV)
8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
- We are to allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives! As long as we are in this sinful world there will be a battle between sin and being controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Next week we will talk about the powerful assistance the Holy Spirit can provide for us as we wage this war against sin!