EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/31/2025 10:26 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
“Appreciation For The Indwelling Holy
Spirit”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 3:24
Message of the verse: “24 The one who
keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He
abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
I begin by writing about the blessing promised to the
one who keeps His commandments and that is he abides in Christ and He in
him. MacArthur writes “The term translated
abides (from the verb meno, ‘to stay,
remain’) is one of John’s favorite words for salvation (see John 15:4-10) and
is a repeated reference in this letter (cf. 2:6, 10, 24, 28; 3:6; 4:13,
16). (For more on the theme of abiding
see the earlier discussions of 2:6 and 2:28 in chapters 5 and ten,
respectively, of this volume.)” (This
can also be seen on what I wrote about these matters in my earlier blogs on 1
John). “That shared life is possible
only by the Spirit whom He has given (cf. Luke 11:13; 12:12; John 14:16-17, 26;
15:26; Acts 1:4-8; Rom. 5:5; 8:11, 16; Gal. 4:6; 5:16, 22; Eph. 1:13-14; 1 John
2:20, 27; 4:1-2, 13).”
I
suppose that the Person and the work of the Holy Spirit include an element of
the mysterious, they cannot controlled of fully understood by frail, sinful
human beings. However the results of
those working are readily apparent, as Jesus told Nicodemus by means of a
familiar illustration when Jesus said to him:
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the should of it, but do
not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born
of the Spirit” (John 3:8). It is
certainly true that the effects of the wind can be seen, felt, and heard, so
the Spirit’s working in lives is manifest and those who see that work will know
by this that He [Christ] abides in them.
Now
let us go on and talk about something that has happened to every believer as it
was the Spirit of Christ as seen in Romans 8:9 (“However, you are not in the
flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him,”) who made saints’ spiritually dead souls alive (John
3:5-8; Titus 3:5), gave sight to their blind eyes, caused their sinful hearts
to repent (cf. Acts 16:14), and drew them in faith to Jesus (1 Peter 1:2). MacArthur writes “It is through His
illuminating instruction that Scripture comes alive for believers as they read
and meditate on it (1 Cor. 12:13) and gifted them for ministry in the church (1
Cor. 12:7; cf. Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11).
It is through His illuminating instruction that Scripture comes alive
for believers as they read and meditation on it (1 Cor. 2:10-14; cf. Eph. 6:17). The Spirit also energizes the saints’ prayers
(Eph. 6:18; Jude 20) and intercedes for them (Rom. 8:26-27). He leads and guides Christians (8:14) and assures
them that they are children of God (vv. 15-16; Eph. 1:13-14).
“Salvation is not a one-time event but a way of life and entails a willingness to follow Jesus no matter the cost (cf. Luke 9:23, 57-62). The presence of genuine holy affections—gratitude toward God, boldness in prayer, submission to His commandments, fait in the Lord Jesus Christ, and an appreciation of the Holy Spirit’s power in their lives—all characterized and undergirded by a continual love for other believers—marks those who perseverein this true faith (cf. Rom. 2:7; Col. 1:21-23). The presence of those godly virtues gives those who manifest them true assurance (2 Peter 1:8-10; cf. Phil. 1:6; 2 Tim. 1:12b) and confidence that they have been born from above by the power of God.”
1/31/2025 11:04 PM
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