Spirit led lives
Last Sunday, on the 31st of May we celebrated Pentecost also known as the “feast of harvest” (Exodus 23:16) or “feast of weeks” (Exodus 34:22) by Jewish communities. While the context and culture around the celebration of Pentecost has evolved from being traditionally agricultural to being associated to the early Christian church (Acts 1:8), the cause for celebration remains.
Today, the modern Christian celebrates the spiritually fueled event in Acts 2, which paved the way for the spirit-led lives we can live today:
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” - Acts 2: 1-4
God’s presence is no longer contained in the tabernacle or temple alone, but dwells in a new temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), allowing us to obey God and live holy and devoted lives to Him.
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Sean Ma is a young-man who currently studies at Morling College, in pursuit of becoming a pastor. He preached on ‘Spirit Led Lives’ last Sunday, a study on Romans 8: 5-14. In this passage, the radical-persecutor, previously known as Saul who gave his life to Christ and was renamed as Paul, writes to the early Christian churches in Rome. We can learn three things from Paul’s letter, or epistle.
The Spirit obeys God, while the Flesh opposes God (v 5-8)
The flesh (sarx, in Greek) means “human beings” but in the context of Romans 8:5-8, Paul uses sarx to generalise those who rebel against God. Those who are in the flesh lack faith, or do not believe in God and therefore cannot submit nor obey God. However, those in the Spirit can obey God only because of the Holy Spirit that lives within believers bends our hearts and desires towards the likes of God. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to do God’s will.
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”
Those who belong to Christ are certainly in the Spirit (v 9-10)
Though we receive the Spirit and are saved by Jesus’ death from eternal condemnation and separation from God, our physical and human bodies will still be subject to death as a consequence of sin. As Christians, we need to encourage each other and remind ourselves that our fight today and everyday is not against “flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12), but it is of a spiritual nature. Because it is spiritual, we need to fight against it in the spiritual by means of prayer, scripture and worship of God.
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though tour body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness”
As Children of God, we are obligated to deny the temptation of sin (v 11-14). The devil or opposer, Satan, will come to steal, kill and destroy but we have a Holy Spirit and God who has overcome him through the sacrifice of Jesus. We can never deserve the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, but we can live lives devoted to being led by the spirit, which acknowledges the final word of Christ. That involves being on guard against the sins we commit, those that cause us to stumble or cause us to neglect God. Being a Christian was never promised to be an easy road, but it is all the more worthwhile, given the heavenly reward that awaits those who persevere and fight the good fight.
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from he dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation - but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God”
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for teaching us about living Spirit-led lives. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that works within us to do your will. We know that we cannot glorify you in our strength alone, so we pray that your Holy Spirit would continue to help us glorify you in our daily lives.
Amen