Examples of Faith: III - Spirit ...

Wed, May 4, 2016. Faith has to do with the spirit of God. Without the Holy Spirit we cannot live faith - and without him we do not experience what we need to experience. The spirit is there to explain, to help, to confirm, to open up! Of course, there can be abuse of this idea of the spirit … one has to take care, but it is also fantastic and full of glory and wisdom and love and truth! Let us look one layer deeper!

Revealed through the Spirit …

The apostle Paul explains that when people live with Christ, then the spirit of God comes into their heart and their mind. They start to fully understand what Jesus has done, and what his role is for mankind. There is deep wisdom, which the spirit brings. Without the spirit, you cannot understand!

Let us look into this passage in 1 Corinthians 2:

8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 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”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 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.

12 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. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 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. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2: 8ff)

Fantastic Spirit …

Before we come to a big bucket full of joy, let us think about an important warning. One can misuse the words about the spirit. Some people claim that they only know the truth, that they only can interpret the biblical texts correctly. But what the spirit brings is not some exclusive doctrine, but personal insight into the love and mercy of God, into the sinful nature of mankind, into truth and love and support as it can be and will be when we fully live with God, when eternity has embraced us completely.

But when the spirit comes into your heart, it brings joy. It brings deep insight into your own soul, into its good character features, and into its destructive parts. Remember that the salvation through Jesus is needed to heal my and your heart, and with the spirit you gain a clear view into your heart, and into the love of God, who overcomes where we fail completely.

It is highly interesting to learn about the spirit of Jesus, about God himself. It is like a fresh morning, like a green landscape, like mountains and lakes. God's creativity and holiness is indescribable, only with strong images you can try to generate a faint impression. But creation reflects his majesty. And the spirit links us to him on a personal level. And all who are filled by the Holy Spirit feel and experience a unity which is beyond understanding. Great stuff! (RWEP) ... more texts