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A Spirit–filled gospel AS WE look at God’s gift to us ― the gift of a powerful, faith–filled gospel, we need to see this third aspect, that ours is also a Spirit–filled gospel. My late teens and early twenties were spent in a church influenced by the English Holiness movement. A lot of preaching was about how to overcome sin. And a lot of the preaching was stuck in Romans 6, where we are told to count ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God. I found it rather frustrating, because the logic was confusing and the results were mediocre at best. I had a lot of sympathy with Paul in Romans 7, where he cries out, Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Paul dejectedly admits that he doesn’t do the good that he wants to do, but is quick to do the wrong that he knows in his heart he shouldn’t do. He feels as though his very self is a stinking corpse, an anchor around his neck when he wants to soar with the angels, to rise to heavenly places with Christ himself. I don’t think there would be one person here who doesn’t know just what it is Paul means. We used to hear teaching about the “crucified life” But how can a crucified person live? It’s not logical. Then I discovered Romans 8. Here are the answers. Romans 6 tells you who you are in Christ; Romans 8 tells you how to live it out. I had an article published on the Evangelical Alliance [click link to read] website this week, about Kevin Rudd’s view of Christianity and how it fits in with Government. And I asked the question, how far is the theory being put into practice? If he believes in separation of Church and State, each with its own role in society, then that will influence how Government funds go to private schools, or how far the Government uses Church agencies for welfare services. Similarly, Romans 6 is the theory–statement; Romans 8 is the practical outworking. Romans 6 tells us where we stand in Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who produces practical holiness in us, knows where to find us to start that work, because he knows where we stand. There is so much in Romans 8, but I want to pick up three issues: the renewed mind, the resurrection life, and the inner cry.
The renewed mind In Romans 12, Paul writes, ROM 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God ― this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is ― his good, pleasing and perfect will. Our God is a merciful giver of good things to his people, and our fitting response is to give ourselves to the one who gave so much for us. But there is another interesting point there: as Paul reminds us, 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Transformation comes about through renewal of the mind. It’s what Paul has told us in Romans 8: ROM 8:5 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. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. ROM 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. How we live depends on where our minds are at. And where our minds are at depends on a process set in motion by the Spirit of God. If that process is not going ahead, it means that our minds are still controlled by the flesh, by our human wants, needs and desires. But the Spirit of God can only do his transforming work if we have begun a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He can only change us if we are standing in the right place. Archimedes said, “Give me somewhere to stand and a lever, and I will move the world.” When you and I stand in the right place, when we stand on Jesus, the rock of ages, the Spirit of God, who stands in the Father and the Son, can move you, me and the whole world. The Bible says, If anyone does not have the Spirit of God, he does not belong to Christ. Don’t listen to those who say you don’t have the Holy Spirit unless you speak in tongues or prophesy or do something else. The truth is that you do have the Holy Spirit if you are a believer ― regardless of your gifts. Our Pentecostal brothers and sisters have done much to restore the Holy Spirit to his rightful place, but they are wrong about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I repeat: if you have truly acknowledged your sins, if you have repented of them and if you are trusting in Jesus alone for your salvation, then, on the authority of God’s word, I declare to you that you are baptised in the Holy Spirit, that he indwells you, and that he is already active in your life. That means he knows where you stand, and can move you. Further experiences of the Holy Spirit can be wonderful, but that is not baptism. There’s a saying, “One baptism, many infillings.” But remember above all else is that the work of holiness occurs in our minds. Marriage is an example. You get to know each other, you get married, you go away on honeymoon, and then you start really living together in ordinary, day–by–day life. Every bride enters married life dreaming that her knight in shining armour will mow every weekend and leave the seat down. He doesn’t. And every groom arrives thinking that his princess will treat him like his mother did, and roll the toothpaste tube just like he does. And she doesn’t either. It’s called reality. And you have to work to overcome the shock. You are married; you adjust your thinking so you can work together, That’s what love is like. You know, we Christians are the Bride of Christ. We are married to him with no possibility of divorce. But it is a shock after the first excitement wears off, and you have to begin learning to think and to act like him. That’s what holiness is ― becoming like Christ. It is the Holy Spirit’s work to help us adjust our thinking so that we grow more like Jesus. That’s why Paul warned the Ephesians not to grieve the Holy Spirit, not to make him sad, not to exasperate him. In Ephesians 4:25 and following verses, he tells us to put off falsehood, to speak truthfully, to not let the sun go down while we are still angry, to not give the devil a foothold. In verses 28 and 29, he tells us to steal no longer, but to do useful work, to share with those in need and not to let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths. This is the context where he warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. The entire focus is right relationships, living morally with others. Sin grieves the Spirit. Conversely, obedience to the Spirit’s promptings leads you away from sin. Haven’t you experienced it yourself? You are faced with a moral choice. You are tempted. And the Spirit gently reminds you, “You are a Christian, aren’t you? Are you really going to let down the Lord who bought you with his own precious blood?” He doesn’t condemn, because There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus... No condemnation, just a gentle question. Similarly, the Spirit also prompts us into action. In I Thessalonians 5, Paul warns the Church not to quence the Spirit, not to put out his fire. He particularly tells them not to despise or undervalue prophecy, because that was a problem in Thessaloniki. The Spirit not only puts the brakes on and prompts you in being good to others, he will prompt you to serve and minister to them, too. I had a Catholic friend through my work many years ago, who always phoned when things were getting me down. I told her once, and she said that she prayed for her contacts every day, and expected that God would guide her to phone the right people who needed support. She knew planning, but, above all, she was a pastor to Town Planners. That’s one way the Spirit prompts us into action, one way he lights his fire within us. Don’t put his fire out!
Resurrection life But we come to a further aspect of the work of the Spirit, because he fills us with resurrection power ― if we are willing to accept it. Paul writes, 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Jesus does not literally indwell the believer, because he was raised bodily from the dead and now ...sits at the right hand of God the Father, from whence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. He indwells us by the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 15: 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. The indwelling Spirit of God is the living presence of the risen Jesus in our lives. Not physical presence, but real presence by the Holy Spirit. And it is a power within us ― resurrection power! As I said in the first of this series, the gospel is a powerful gospel, and that is God’s loving gift to us. Today we are seeing how that power hinges on the risen Christ in us. Polycarpo visited a few weeks ago. His name is the name of a famous martyr of the middle second century. Poycarp was an Asian bishop, put on trial for his faith. He was an old man, well–loved, and even the tough Roman judge had compassion for him. If only Polycarp would just deny Jesus, he need not suffer. But Polycarp said that he had served Jesus man and boy for over 80 years, and Jesus had never failed him: he could not fail Jesus now. People through the centuries have faced horrendous suffering because Jesus has done so much for them, and because they trusted, they knew by faith, that, no matter what the world did to them, they would share in Jesus’ resurrection. As the writer to the Hebrews said, 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. That is the kind of faith that gets us through the toughest times; and it is the Spirit’s work within us to keep the image of Jesus before us and strengthen us to endure.
The inner cry Finally, the Spirit works in us through an inner cry to God the Father. As we read, ...those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” This is a most initimate family relationship. Paul isn’t saying that we cry out to God, “Oh Thou most awe–inspiring and charitable Father.” He is saying that, by the Spirit, we know we are God’s well–loved children, who can call out, “Daddy!” as we come. I’ve known Christians who couldn’t think of God like that. All I can say is that they were not very open to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. In that marvellous movie, The Apostle, Sonny Dewey’s wife leaves him and his church throws him out of the pastorate. He goes up into his room to pray about it. And he is on his knees, talking to God, shouting at him, disturbing all the neighbours in the middle of the night. But, all the way, it is a man talking to a Father who loves him and who loves and trusts his Father, even when he might be angry with him. It’s an important part of the film. That’s the kind of relationship we can all have with God. But there is even more to the Spirit’s work. Not only does he lead us into that close relationship with the Father, he also makes up for what we are unable to handle for ourselves. Do you sometimes wonder if you are covering all the bases in your prayers? I can tell you that you are not. I laughed when Paul Keating said about Peter Costello, “Poor Peter: all tip and no iceberg!” He had a point. But the reality is that all of us are mostly iceberg, there is a little that others see of us. There are even things they see that we don’t. And there are parts of ourselves that we see that others don’t see. But there is a lot that you don’t see, and I don’t see ― no one sees. Except the Holy Spirit sees it. So the Bible tells us, ROM 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. We don’t know what our needs are, because so much is hidden from us. But don’t despair; God is good; his Spirit, who indwells us and sees the hidden parts of our hearts, intercedes when we don’t even know we need his intercession! All the bases are covered! Through the Spirit, we approach God as our loving Dad, and we trust that the Spirit within us makes up for every shortfall in our own prayers. Isn’t that a great gift from a loving God?
Conclusion We have seen, over the past three weeks, what a loving, giving God our God is. He has given us a powerful gospel, a faith–filled gospel, a Spirit–filled gospel. He has given us a message, a guidebook, filled with good things for all who will receive it. And all the goodness of the gospel is summed up in Jesus, God’s greatest gift of all, who gave himself entirely for you and for me. Our God is a wonderful and loving God. The good news he declares to us through Jesus is news of salvation and live. Come today: come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord! AMEN
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© Peter R. Green 2007. Permission is granted for quotation in full for non-commercial purposes provided that authorship is acknowledged and this copyright notice is displayed with the text. Portions also copyright The Bible, NIV (Zondervan Ltd.) |
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