Did you know that the popular end to the "grace" we share in church was birth from a verse in 2 Corinthians?
This is a popular verse that we all recited growing up in church, with little attention to the actual words or their meaning. 2 Corinthians 13 vs 14 says "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (NLT). Often times, we add "sweet" before the fellowship.
Looking closely at the verse, we see Paul (who wrote the letter to the Church in Corinth) emphasizing the need for fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Fellowship here means continuous communication, intimacy, close relationship, friendship.
So who is the Holy Spirit?
This topic is very broad and will require multiple posts to piece apart. For today, let us look at the John 16 vs 5 - 15
Jesus mentions that it is best for Him to go away, because if He doesn’t the Advocate won’t come. From here we see that the Holy Spirit is indeed a very important part of the Christian walk and journey. I have never met Christ physically, I wasn’t here when He was on earth, but I believe His words and His sacrifice, and I also believe that He has sent His Spirit to;
- convict us of our sin, God's righteousness, and His coming judgement (vs 8),
- guide us into all truth and teach us (vs 13) - in a world where so may truths exist, it is important to be grounded in the truth of God's word ,
- tell us what He has heard from God (vs 14) - guidance!π. No one can know the God's thoughts except His own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2 vs 11)
- tell us about the future
The Holy Spirit hasn’t come to condemn. Romans 8 vs 15 says we haven’t
received a Spirit that makes us fearful slaves but God’s Spirit of adoption,
which means now we can call Him "Abba Father".
So let us rejoice in this knowledge and more importantly as Paul mentioned, seek that continued fellowship with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis however busy we are. Our prayer should be "Holy Spirit teach me to fellowship with you more, to know you more, ....".
As we do so, I pray that the Lord will reveal Himself to us more, guide us daily, and lead us in all things; however trivial.
You don't know who Jesus is? He is our resurrected savior. He wants to commune with you, to reveal Himself to you, to be your friend. He is knocking at the door of your heart. Will you repent of your sins and let Him in completely? Revelation 3 vs 20 says “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. (NLT).
John 3 vs 16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.(NKJV)
God Bless you and thanks for reading π
Mayowa O.
Thank you Lord for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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