The Spirit of God in the Heart

May 24, 2022

Do you remember the day that you were baptized into Jesus?  That was the singular most important day of our lives.  Magnificent changes took place on that day.  All our sins were washed away by the blood of Jesus, we received a new life, and we were freed from the reign of sin over our lives.  And one of the most amazing things that happened is this: God Himself came to live in your heart on that day.

God Himself came to live within you!  Think of the enormity of that statement!  If that statement is true (and it is), then there must be enormous consequences that stem from this fact.  What changes are being brought about in your life because of the indwelling of the Spirit of God?  Is He making a difference in you?  Are you allowing Him to make a difference in you?

The Spirit who lives within us gives us the power to overcome sin and to put to death our sinful passions and desires!  As Paul writes, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (Galatians 5:16-17, NASB)

The Spirit who lives within us changes us from the inside!  He causes wonderful things to be produced in our lives.  Paul continues, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23, NASB).

What effect is the Holy Spirit having in your life?  Is He changing you?  Are you growing in holiness in your day-to-day life?  Shouldn’t God Himself dwelling within us make a great difference in our lives?  God wants to make a great difference in your life.  He wants to help you overcome sin.  He wants to cause us to produce fruit for Him.  But we must choose to walk by the Spirit.  If we will, God will work amazing things in our lives!  He will take us to a new plane!  He will abide with us!  May we all renew our commitment to walk by His Spirit today.

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

The Transforming Cross

March 30, 2018

The cross of Jesus refers to his crucifixion by the Romans, his burial in a rich man’s previously unused tomb, and his resurrection from the dead. Christians look back on this once for all event as permanently dealing with sins and gaining the victory over death. But Paul also uses the cross as a model for our lives as Christians.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

This daily crucifixion is a putting to death of myself so that Christ may live in me. The voluntary death to self is motivated by the great love that Christ and the Father have for us.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24, ESV)

The above passage from Paul lets us know that this crucifixion of ourselves also has to do the flesh. Flesh in Paul is defined well by the descriptive phrase that follows “with its passions and desires.” In other words, it is a putting to death of sinful desires in our life. It is a life lived by faith (Gal. 2:16), “through the Spirit, by faith” (Gal 5:5), and involves faith working through love (Gal. 5:6). Although we may be engaged in an inner moral struggle for Christian maturity, it is love that motivates us and the Spirit who strengthens us (Romans 8:13, Ephesians 3:16). It is not an unaided struggle.

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14, ESV)

The model of the cross is also a model for putting to death the world on a daily basis. Paul’s use of “world” is not to evoke the beauty of creation around us. Rather it is the world system that is hostile to God. My death to self is to result in a new creation (Gal. 6:15). It will be because I’m walking by the Spirit which is the opposite of gratifying the desires of the flesh (i.e., worldly, sinful desires). I’m to be led by the Spirit (Gal. 5:18) which will produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is a very different lifestyle from the one lived by worldly values. And Paul offers a challenge to us: “let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25).We must pay attention to what it means to let Christ live in us. We must be vigilant that we are not slipping back into worldliness for the new creation is in Christ, it is not in the world.

As you ponder the cross of Christ, also consider your daily crucifixion of self. The cross of Christ is to be a transforming cross.

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Posted by Russell Holden