Being in the Spirit




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“And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” (Is. 11: 2-6.)

A great principle is here revealed in this prophetic Word of God, namely, life out of death. The Messiah Yeshua came as our Savior to the ruined race of man. He was born into our sinful humanity. He took not on Himself the nature of angels, but He took on Himself the seed of Abraham. Humanity had fallen into the ruins of sin when out of its decaying roots sprang this new and heavenly olive tree which was to “blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit.” Christ Himself was true to this principle all through His life and work on this earth. In accordance with it, He went down into death itself and out of the grave He arose in resurrection and triumph, with life and power, to be the Tree of Life for earth’s cursed, dying inhabitants.

In like manner, our former life must come out of death. Every saved soul in Christ was a shoot from the decaying root of a lost evil past. Every sanctified soul in Christ is one resurrected from death, and the glory of a new spiritual life is to come through this death of the old self and the resurrection of a new godly man in Christ.

The qualities of wisdom and righteousness here ascribed to Christ in the scripture above are the inherent qualities of the Messiah that are communicated to Him directly and supernaturally by the Holy Spirit Himself. Here is a radical distinction between human ethics and divine righteousness. Man’s feeble morality is the result of natural virtue and ethical training, environment and culture. God’s righteousness comes down from heaven and is directly communicated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  " After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." - Jeremiah 31:13. Therefore Christ Himself set the example of this new divine righteousness by waiting to start His official ministry until after He received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Although the Son of God, possessed the attributes of deity, He did not exercise them in His own person or power; but humbled Himself and took the place of dependence upon His Father in heaven, and received all the gifts and graces required for His public ministry by the Holy Spirit showing a constant dependence by faith and prayer upon God for the supply of wisdom, strength and righteousness for His whole earthly life.

Such stupendous condescension surpasses all other acts of humiliation on the part of our Master and Savior. Christ consented to be nothing and to receive everything as given Him from His Father above. “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." - John 5:30. The Master received all His gifts and graces just as we receive them: through the Holy Spirit.  "And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.".- John 14:16-17.

And so the Holy Spirit gives to us an instinctive life that is higher than the operation of our reasoning powers and that of earthly carnal men. We know God, and since His Word and Laws are in our heart we know right from wrong and follow in His ways. Yes we know His Word, His directions and commands. God guides us by the leadings of His Spirit as He reveals His ways to us through His Holy Word. Our most delicate instincts and revelations, which we could not for a moment question,  do not appeal to our mortal worldly reasoning powers or our coarser senses, but speak to our consciousness with the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit brings to us the certainty and conviction of our walk in Christ that cannot be explained to the rebellious lost in this world who are trapped in their sinful deceptions and pride.

How marvelously our Savior perceived the thoughts and characters of those who where around Him. How often He answered men without their having spoken a word but knew their inner thoughts. How He sensed their condition, characters and schemes  by something within Himself which was as unerring as it was incomprehensible to normal earthly men. The Holy Spirit will also be to us such an instinct and guide.  The Holy Spirit will give to us understanding in the ways of God, of the truths according to His Word, of right and wrong according to His commandments,  and of the will of God for us in our lives to guide us in the worship of our Mighty Creator.

 

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