What is a promise? Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “a pledge that one will or will not do something; a basis or cause for high hopes or expectation.” We often use that word in statements we make to our children or to other people to shore up or support what we say. And when we fail to keep our word or promise it reveals something about our character.
God’s promises are unlike our promises. God always keeps His word. He never fails to do what He says He will or will not do. When He makes a promise or gives you His word, you can believe it; He will keep it; it will come to pass.
God gives us a promise concerning the Holy Spirit. He gives us His word through His son Jesus. In fact, He gives us His word concerning the Holy Spirit going all the way back to the New Covenant in Ezekiel 36: 26-27. “I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you... I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them." This New Covenant promise is the foundational promise of the Holy Spirit. God promised to send His Holy Spirit upon His people so that they might live life the way He intended, in His power and in His Glory. Paul wrote in Rom. 6:3 that we “were baptized into Christ Jesus.” It is in Christ that we may live a life in the power of the Holy Spirit, a life guided, empowered and led by the Spirit.
What’s at stake with the promise of the Holy Spirit? The promise is that the Father will send the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name. It is Jesus’ character that is at stake in the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' word is at stake; His work, His life within us is at stake.
The promise of the Holy Spirit has to do with how we live our Christian life. The Spirit is our guide, our leader, our revealer, our illuminator. The Spirit is our life. He is the help we need to understand that we are sinners or not perfect. The Spirit is the help we need to know, to serve, and to love God. He is the help we need to be born again. The help we need every moment of our lives.
May each and every one of us claim the promise that God made through His Son, Jesus Christ, and live a life in His holy Spirit, a life full of grace and peace.
God gives us a promise concerning the Holy Spirit. He gives us His word through His son Jesus. In fact, He gives us His word concerning the Holy Spirit going all the way back to the New Covenant in Ezekiel 36: 26-27. “I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you... I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them." This New Covenant promise is the foundational promise of the Holy Spirit. God promised to send His Holy Spirit upon His people so that they might live life the way He intended, in His power and in His Glory. Paul wrote in Rom. 6:3 that we “were baptized into Christ Jesus.” It is in Christ that we may live a life in the power of the Holy Spirit, a life guided, empowered and led by the Spirit.
What’s at stake with the promise of the Holy Spirit? The promise is that the Father will send the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name. It is Jesus’ character that is at stake in the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' word is at stake; His work, His life within us is at stake.
The promise of the Holy Spirit has to do with how we live our Christian life. The Spirit is our guide, our leader, our revealer, our illuminator. The Spirit is our life. He is the help we need to understand that we are sinners or not perfect. The Spirit is the help we need to know, to serve, and to love God. He is the help we need to be born again. The help we need every moment of our lives.
May each and every one of us claim the promise that God made through His Son, Jesus Christ, and live a life in His holy Spirit, a life full of grace and peace.