LIVING BY THE SPIRIT (I)

Perceiving the Holy Spirit 

Paul sent a revelation to the Galatian church, saying, "walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." (5:16) In the same revelation he added that "since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (5:25) This serves to reiterate that except we understand the person of the Holy Spirit, his nature and way of life, we will never be able to keep in step with him so as to express his life. Christianity is the expression of the life of the Spirit through faith manifesting itself by love. To be able to express the life of the Spirit, you have to be awake and alert, thus, sensitive to the Spirit. Spirituality, therefore, is sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and to spiritual values. 

The Person of the Holy Spirit

•The Holy Spirit is God

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity. Christians believe and affirm, in keeping with the Shema of the Jews, that "the LORD our God, the LORD is one." (Deut 6:4). The Shema is a Jewish prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening prayer services. "Shema" is the Hebrew word that begins this most important prayer in Judaism, and means hear as in "Hear, O Israel". The whole Shema-prayer combines Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41. The Shema is also a confession of faith, and forms the greatest pillar of the Jewish faith. Every Jewish child learns to recite the Shema and prays it when they go to bed at night and when they rise from bed in the morning. 

Christians believe that Jehovah alone is God, however, as the Bible reveals, Jehovah-God exists in three indivisible persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So then, the Father is God, the Son is God (for he is the Word of God), the Spirit is also God. There are not three Gods but one God existing in three indivisible persons. All three persons of the Godhead have one and the same essence, and thus, are equally God. The Father is greater than the Son only in governmental terms, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. 

•Proof of the deity of the Holy Spirit

The Trinity is meant when God says in Genesis 1:26 NIV, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 

In the ensuing text, Peter under inspiration calls the Holy Spirit God:

‭‭Acts‬ ‭5:3‭-‬4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

[3] Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? [4] Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He intercedes for us in perfect harmony with God's plan and our destiny. 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

[11] For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.


‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

[27] And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Summary 

The Holy Spirit is God. You can pray all kinds of prayer to him and God will answer your prayers. He is so close to you as living in your heart. This calls for intimacy with him in a manner that surpasses the apostles' fellowship with Jesus Christ while he was on earth. These are the days of the Spirit, days of living by the Spirit. You need to know him—what pleases him and what grieves him—and you need to discern the fragrance of his presence in every hour, minute and second of the day so that you do not miss his moves. In your fellowship with the Holy Spirit, you need to revere him as God, for many Christians are not able to enjoy the best of the Spirit due to familiarity.


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  1. Sage WordDecember 11, 2023 at 3:57 AM

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