Skip to main content

Delighting in the Truth: The Holy Spirit, by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     From January to March, we will be offering a series of devotionals on our Membership Affirmation of Faith. Our aim in this series is to help Glory of Christ grow in our understanding of truth, our love of the God of truth, our love of one another, and our love of unbelievers. The Affirmation is made up of eight articles of faith, the fourth of which is entitled “The Holy Spirit” and reads as follows:
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds in full divine essence from the Father and the Son, who was sent into the world by God the Father to glorify God the Son. We believe that without his work no one would come to faith. We believe that His work in regeneration is not the result of water baptism or any outward ritual. We believe He indwells everyone who trusts in Christ, and helps them make progress in overcoming sin and in becoming more like Jesus Christ in thought, deed, and love for God the Father. (John 14:16-17,26; 15:26-27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26)
     This statement affirms four truths about the Holy Spirit to which I would add a fifth truth. First, the Holy Spirit is fully God and not merely a manifestation of some aspect of God. Second, the Holy Spirit’s main function in heaven and earth is to exalt the glory of Jesus Christ in the eyes of all creation. Third, even as he exalts Christ, the Holy Spirit draws people to Christ and causes some to be born again by the eternal wisdom and will of the Father. Fourth, although it is a great mystery indeed, the Holy Spirit physically indwells every believer, granting them power to see the glory of Christ, be transformed into the image of Christ, and do the will of Christ in the world. To these I would add that the Holy Spirit also grants a variety of gifts to every person in the body of Christ, according to his will, that he might manifest his presence in the church and build up the church into the fullness of the image of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). Oh what a glorious God is the Holy Spirit!
     As you reflect on the Holy Spirit, take some time to ponder the following questions, preferably along with other believers: (1) How can a better understanding of the Holy Spirit help us to worship him? (2) How can a better understanding of the Holy Spirit help us to love other believers? (3) How can a better understanding of the Holy Spirit help us to gain a greater passion to share the gospel with unbelievers near and far?



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

By
Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...
Post a Comment
Read more

When Children Say "I'm Bored" By Julie Lowe

By
This Article is written by Julie Lowe and was originally posted on the CCEF blog.  I highlighted the areas of particular interest. I had already prepared a blogpost on dealing with boredom from a Christian worldview and then came across this. There is much overlap between the two, perhaps this one is more concise while my work attempts to explain the connection between the ability to think and the ability to be happy. You can visit the original blogpost in the link provided below.  https://www.ccef.org/resources/blog/children-say-im-bored   We have a common crisis in our home; it is the calamity of boredom. Our children might even consider it a catastrophe. “I’m bored” is repeated so often it would not be an overstatement to say that these words echo continuously throughout our home especially during any break from school. These are children with limited media time but still children with a Wii and Xbox system, a pool outside our door, multiple games, toy...
Post a Comment
Read more