The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Holy Spirit Becomes the Life of the Believer

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5)

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. (II Corinthians 3:6)

When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the blood of Jesus washes away our sins. We then are born again and our new spiritual nature (Christ in us) is raised to dwell in Christ at the right hand of God. At the same time the Holy Spirit of God comes to dwell in us forever. The Holy Spirit becomes our life.

Following the Holy Spirit

Eliezer of Damascus is a type of the Holy Spirit. He was sent from Abraham (the Father) to obtain a bride for Isaac (Christ). Rebecca (the Church) was led back to Isaac by the guidance of Eliezer (Genesis, Chapter 24).

Rebecca never had seen Isaac previously. She may have had a general idea where Isaac lived but she certainly could not have made the trip by herself.

If Rebecca had decided to remain in her home in Mesopotamia and enjoy the gifts that Eliezer had brought with him she never would have seen Isaac. She would have grown old and died while thinking about how wonderful it was that she had been chosen to be the wife of Abraham's son.

So it is with a Christian. He must, upon having accepted Christ, immediately devote his whole attention to going exactly where the Holy Spirit invites him to go.

If the believer, having made a profession of Christ, does not start out on his pilgrimage toward Christ in strict submission to the guidance of the Spirit of God, his conversion to Christ may prove to be fruitless.

It is one thing to start in a race. It is another matter to finish the race. Christ has the wisdom, authority, and power to complete His work in us. We are required to live every day with the same dedication and faith in Christ that was true of us the day we first came to Him (Hebrews 3:14; 10:38).

The Christian discipleship never is static. It is a daily seeking of Christ with the whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. We are to follow Christ at all times, just as was true of the first apostles.

The Christian discipleship is dynamic at every moment. When we cease looking diligently to Christ we are attacked immediately by the forces of decay and death. Eternal life and eternal death constantly are striving for mastery over our conduct in the world. The one who is saved is he who endures to the end. Salvation is not completed in us until we finish our course.

But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (Hebrews 3:6)

To be continued.