“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:12-14, NIV).
“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God.” What Christians have from God is not common to every human being -- not ordinary!
If you are one of His children, do you really realize the value of what your Heavenly Father has given to you?
God speaks in Ezekiel 36:27, “And I will put my Spirit in you…”
We also read the words of Jesus Christ in John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
And the Apostle Peter said, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off -- for all whom the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:38-39).
According to God’s Word, God gave His Spirit – “I will put MY Spirit in you…” He is giving Himself to us!
While God gave His begotten Son to die for our sins, He gave His Spirit to remain with us forever – “to be with you FOREVER.”
And while Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, the Holy Spirit is the Good Gift – “the gift of the Holy Spirit” – or, as Jesus said in Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
As the Giver is Good – “No one is good -- except God alone” (Mark 10:18) – just how much is the goodness of “the Gift”? How much do we value it?
We read 1 Corinthians 2:12, God gave the Spirit “that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
Others “cannot accept him” – and without the Spirit in them they cannot also understand and even accept “the things that come from the Spirit of God.”
We also read in Romans 8:5-7, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.”
Now, what are some of those things – the other gifts -- that God has freely given us and, if we don’t have the Spirit of God, we would not understand, we would not desire, and we would not accept?
1. ETERNAL LIFE
Jesus Christ said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).
We also read His prayer in John 17:2-3, “For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
2. FAITH
We read in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --and this not from yourselves, it (the faith) is the gift of God.”
And Philippians 1:29 states, “For IT HAS BEEN GRANTED TO YOU on behalf of Christ not only TO BELIEVE ON HIM, but also to suffer for him.”
3. REPENTANCE
Paul wrote Timothy, “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that GOD WILL GRANT THEM REPENTANCE leading them to a knowledge of the truth…” (2 Tim. 2:24-25.)
We read in Acts 5:31, “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”
In Acts 11:18, we also read: “When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, ‘So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.’"
4. FORGIVENESS
Again, we read Acts 5:31, “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give…forgiveness of sins to Israel.”
We could also consider Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:13-14:
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…” “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
5. LOVE
We read in Romans 5:5, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
Consider also 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.”
And in Ephesians 3:16-19, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
6. ENDURANCE
There are those who argue that they need to endure to be saved. But they fail to realize that it also freely given by God. We read in Romans 15:5-6, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
7. JOY
Paul and Barnabas told the crowd in Lystra that God “…has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy" (Acts 14:17). Real joy does not come from health, wealth, or fame. God is the One who fills your heart with it.
Even Jesus Christ was filled with joy through the Holy Spirit, as we read in Luke 10:21, “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.’”
And, of course, we are so familiar with Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”
Without God’s Spirit dwelling in us, we are capable only of understanding and accepting man’s definition of eternal life, faith, repentance, forgiveness, love, endurance, and joy.
Through the Spirit, we experience spiritual healing that we “see,” as Jesus Christ healed those who were physically blind. Through the Spirit, we are born again – made spiritually alive – as the Lord raised to physical life those who had died.
As Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.”
Only then that we will realize that eternal life, faith, repentance, forgiveness, love, endurance, and joy are given to us freely -- by grace. And only then, through God’s Spirit – making us “alive” – that we can truly obey. As God declares, “And I will put my Spirit in you and MOVE YOU to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezek. 36:27).
Indeed what a Good Gift that the Heavenly Father has given to His children! And He even gives Himself to them without limit (John 3:34)!
PRAYER: Our Good Heavenly Father – whose Goodness overwhelms us – we see more our helplessness and unworthiness, because of the grace You lavished on us. We do not deserve to become Your dwelling, yet Your Spirit never leaves us and even enable us to experience more of Your blessings. Thank You so much and we pray, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
