2015.08.09_Follow the Law of the Holy Spirit

God is Always at Work

God is doing His work. Though many people admit that God is the Creator, they still consider Him as just a notional being. A farmer doesn’t cease working after sowing the seed; he worksendlessly until the seed sprouts, leaves come out, grow and yields fruit. Likewise, God is presently and continuously at work.

As it is written, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num 23:19), God continues to fulfill His words. For example, as God said, “Let there be light!” (Gen 1:3), that light is still active; as He commanded man to ‘be fruitful and increase in number’ (Gen 1:28),mankind continues to grow in number. The words spoken by God continue on even as time goes by.

Every word of God is a promise. Hence to say God’s word is at work implies that his promises are being fulfilled. Jesus said, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (Jn 14:13), which was His promise to keep working.

God does not rest, not even for a single moment. It says in Psalm 121:4, “Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep”, and thus Isaiah 62:7 says, “And give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” It is meaningless to say that God is almighty if we give Him rest and do not make Him work.

If God desires to work through a particular person but that person disobeys, God will proceed with His work by choosing someone else rather than ceasing or giving up His work. This is why Revelation 3:11 warns saying, “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” When Esau failed to take on God’s work, God moved on to Jacob and accomplished that work. Similarly, when Saul couldn’t handle it, God carried it out through David. In this way, God does not rest.

The Man Born Again of the Spirit is a New Creation

Man isn’t any different from animals in that he was made from dust, yet God gave him special treatment. After forming the man, God commanded Him saying, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:28). To have dominion over the animals means to rule over them like a king. A king is someone who reigns on the earth with authority endowed from Heaven. God didn’t want man to be of the same standard as animals but be superior then them.

God gave such special treatment because man was created in the likeness of His image. From eternity past, God had a plan for His Son. The Son of God wanted to come to the world as the Son of Man, for which a mother was needed to conceive and birth Him. Therefore God created mankind before the Son of Man came into this world, and from them obtained a mother for the Son of Man. Thus man enjoys the glory of the mother who conceives, births and looks after God’s Son.

Though man fell on account of Adam’s transgression, man have been making great efforts to uncover the value that distinguishes him from animals. People’s endeavors to change through discipline or perfect themselves by means of religion are all forms of such efforts. No matter how much a person disciplines his flesh, it cannot bring about a fundamental change. So long as man attempts to find his true nature within his flesh, he will not be able to go beyond that of animals (2 Pet 2:12). That’s the reason God sent His Son to the world.

God made us come into Christ Jesus through baptism and thus become a new creation. The flesh is the primary creature and its traits are no different for both animals and man. The flesh does not submit to God’s law nor can it do so. However the man born again of the Holy Spirit through Christ is different. Being born again means to be born of the spirit, and in turn, means to have become a new creation. It is written in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

God didn’t choose one out of the countless angels that filled Heaven but specially created one spirit which would become the mother of the Son of Man. Concerning this Malachi 2:15 says, “But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring.” Despite there being many great angels like Gabriel and Michael in Heaven, all of those angels put together in worth will still not equal the one spirit that was created for the Son of Man. God had never let any of the angels call Him, “Father”. Angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. On the contrary, the spirit that was created for the Son of Man came to be treated very specially through the merits of Jesus Christ.

Do Everything By the Holy Spirit

If we have truly been born of the spirit, then whether we worship, pray or give service, it mustn’t be done as if for the purpose of self-cultivation. God seeks those who worship Him by the Holy Spirit (Jn 4:23). What’s the use of our worship if it isn’t what God actually seeks? We must also pray in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20). Those who pray in the Holy Spirit do so for the good of their spirit. However many people pray to satisfy their carnal desires. For instance, they ask God to resolve some issues their business is facing, or to win a court case they’re in.

When God took us to be His children, He didn’t just separate some of the flesh breathing on the earth and treat them as His children. God made us into a new creation by making us be born again. Not only did He have us receive baptism to bury our old selves and partake in Christ’s resurrection, He also poured out His Holy Spirit on us. Thus the Holy Spirit cannot be excluded in any of our service to God.

Philippians 3:3 says, “Who worship God in the Spirit”. Being a member of the church choir, serving as an usher, and so on are all ways of serving (worshipping) God, for to serve God, also implies worship in the broader sense, that is, devoting oneself to God. Whatever we do before God, we mustn’t go beyond the help of the Holy Spirit. In serving God, so many people make a great effort in an attempt to overcome their flesh rather than trying to rely on the Holy Spirit. But if people keep battling with their flesh in that way, their faith life will begin to feel like a struggle and they’ll always be grumbling even whilst doing service in church. Hence we need to follow the desire of the Holy Spirit instead of focusing on overcoming the carnal desires.

When we evangelize, we must do so by the Holy Spirit. Some people try to justify themselves by making excuse of their shy personality for not evangelizing. However it’s not because it fits our personality that we evangelize. Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). As long as we have the desire to testify to the Truth, the Holy Spirit will help us do so.

Even in situations where we don’t know what to say, we don’t need to be afraid. Jesus said, “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matt 10:19-20). Whether we preach or evangelize, we must rely on the inspiration given us by the Holy Spirit.

Our personality and behavior also need to be governed by the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says,“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Though we might pursue love, joy and peace, we cannot fulfill God’s will without the help of the Holy Spirit. Our long suffering must be by the Holy Spirit, so should kindness and goodness. It must be by the Holy Spirit that we have faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If we have become a new creation, our carnal nature should be suppressed by the help of the Holy Spirit.

In times when we are physically ill or our business is in a crisis, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt 12:28). Casting out demons was something commanded by Jesus.Nevertheless our concern should not only be in casting out demons only. If we have cast out demons by the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God has come upon us. God’s kingdom is filled with God’s blessedness, and is where the Holy Spirit is at work. If anyone desires to cast out demons and be healed from their sickness, he must be filled by the Holy Spirit.

We, who have become children of God, are not primary creatures but new creations. God rears His children by the Holy Spirit, and blesses them with His happiness by the Holy Spirit. God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will raise us also by the Holy Spirit who abides in us (Rm 8:11). Our existence is not of equal value to that of animals; we are of a higher class such that the Son of Man calls ‘mother’, and receive love equal to that of the Son of God. Thus we must be blessed in the Holy Spirit.