Living by the Spirit or by the Flesh, Part 10: The Parable of the Ten Virgins by Leopoldo B. Solis (Notes) on Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 10:00pm VIII. The Five Wise Virgins, Part B Beloved of God, it’s a choice we all have to make and there is no middle ground: to be guided by the Spirit or by rules and regulations in living life. Grace is a Spirit dependency-based life while the law is performance-oriented kind of life. The first is a restful while the second is wrest-full. Living under a lifestyle of law-compliance only breeds two things: defeat if you are honest and hypocrisy if you are not. I heard a preacher said and I tend to agree that law practitioners are actually hypocritical at their best, and losers at their worst. One of the difficulties people have in accepting Grace is the acknowledgement of the false front. To admit that this "face" of mine is a pretension, “not me," can be very daunting, particularly if the "front" is doing me well. Some people succeed many years chasing this falseness. But eventually and hopefully, it catches up, and like the prodigal son, people come to their senses (though not of purest intention as far as the prodigal was concerned), and open up to His acceptance. Romans 7:6 says, “But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit." To the wise believers this truth is very clear and they live by this truth. They know beyond the shadow of doubt they have been set free from the bondage of the law and therefore, from the bondage of sin. The law at work in them is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Jesus’ complete and finished work met all the righteous requirements of the law. To those who put their faith in Him and His finished work, it is as if they had fulfilled it as well. They no longer follow the sinful tendencies of the flesh but instead follow the leading of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:4). Galatians 5:18 says, “But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.” As “the Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness,” (Mark 1:12) and so are the sons of God should be led by the Spirit of God to do His will and the things that pleases Him. Our part is to believe, and that faith manifest it genuineness through its obedience. Wise believers are led by the Spirit into all truth and are taught and reminded by the Spirit of Jesus’ words. Believers who live and walk by the Spirit are at peace with God and with themselves. Those who walk not after flesh but according to the Spirit are free from condemnation, guilt and shame (Rom 8:1). The power of the life-giving Spirit has freed them from the power of sin that leads to death. Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is at work, there is genuine freedom (II Cor 3:17). It is the Spirit alone who can make us live wisely as He makes His witness in and through us. He comes to indwell us in order to change us from the inside out. If we allow Him, He will thoroughly clean the house, take all the trash out and burn them (Luke 3:17). Imitating the Christ-kind of life is impossible because only Christ can live it. The only way to live that life is to allow Christ to live His life in and through you. The wise men of old from the east were guided by the Holy Spirit that they were able to find the child Jesus and worship Him. Believers then and today need His guidance and empowerment that they might boldly preach the gospel and proclaim freedom, deliverance and healing to the people (Acts 1:8). The anointing and enablement of the Holy Spirit is crucial in everything we do. Acceptable results to God do not happened by sheer physical efforts and will power. The Holy Spirit is the life-giving energy behind the success of whatever we do. What the world needs to see is a fuller expression of the life, power and work of the Holy Spirit in and through the Church. Rest assured that the Holy Spirit does not act independently nor contrary to the Father and the Son. He acts and moves in unity with them to testify of Jesus. He leads people to the revelation of Christ and His finished work. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (also called the law of love, law of faith, or law of perfect liberty) is woven into the fabric of our new creation being. I believe that grace is best defined as the divine influence working from deep within teaching us godly living. Giving the Holy Spirit the pre-eminence in our lives, He strengthens us, keeps us growing in grace, teaches us what and how to pray and prospers us to the glory of God. The Spirit is our divine connection to the throne room. He makes known to us the latest bulletin from heaven. You might have noticed by now that in this section of the study I am focusing on the works and ministry of the Holy Spirit. If we have to live by the Spirit we must have a high level of intimacy with Him. I love Paul’s benediction in his second letter to the Corinthian believers which drives this point I am talking about. II Corinthians 13:14 (The Message) says, “The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.” To live by the Spirit is to live freely, animated and motivated by the Holy Spirit so that the unholy tendencies of the flesh and the erratic compulsion of the religious self may not be able to dominate. The law of the Spirit of life is more than just a concept or an idea. It is a spiritual reality that must be allowed to operate in every detail of our lives. Any theology, doctrine, concept or idea is not of much value if it does not lead to the end of transforming us from within. Religious law compliance is imposed externally or from without. That is why its results are temporal. It is only by the working of the Spirit that we can say, “In Christ we live, and move and have our being.” (Acts17:28). (To be continued)
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 20:17:57 +0000
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