Title: LIVING BY THE SPIRIT

Focus: The Holy Spirit is the drummer by whose rhythm of grace we live in Christian freedom from the bondage of law and lawlessness.

Function: To encourage the people to go through life with all its struggles under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Text: Galatians 5:16-26

Confession: L.D. 20

INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit seems to be primarily for super saints and super Christians. That’s the impression you may get when watching some charismatic evangelists and television preachers such as Benny Hinn, Richard Roberts, and Kenneth Copeland, for example. They seem to be the “lucky ones,” the ones with a special “Holy Ghost anointing,” or the ones with miraculous powers to cast out demons, to heal the sick, and to speak in a heavenly language. They seem to have a special pipeline to God, receiving internal messages from God, foretelling the faithful what is just around the corner of tomorrow.

It is not for me to judge these men and their ministries today. But I do wish to make clear that the Holy Spirit is NOT primarily for super saints and super Christians with extra-ordinary gifts. Neither is the Holy Spirit primarily for contemplative, monastic Christians who live and work in cloisters and cathedrals. Their lives of prayer and fasting may make us feel small. Their daily devotions, chants, and Scripture readings may testify to deep spirituality. But we should not conclude that therefore the Holy Spirit is primarily for super practitioners of the Christian faith. Rather, the Holy Spirit is the drummer by whose rhythm of grace we live in Christian freedom from the bondage of law and lawlessness. The Holy Spirit, then, is for you and me as well.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE DRUMMER

In Galatians 5:16, the apostle Paul calls us to “live by the Spirit.” In order to do so there is a need for some basic understanding of who the Holy Spirit is. The old English translation of “Holy Ghost,” for example, has led some to think of him as a disembodied spirit. In popular culture we speak of ghosts or spooks as disembodied spirits of those who have died. But surely the Bible does not allow us to think of the Holy Spirit as a creature that is separated from its body.

Rather, together with God the Father and God the Son, the Holy Spirit “is eternal God” (L.D. 20). The Holy Spirit is in an eternal relationship, and that relationship is one of fellowship with our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is truly divine. Such knowledge shapes our attitude and relationship toward the Holy Spirit. Reverence, awe, and respect should always be in our hearts and on our lips as we ponder the mystery and identity of God the Holy Spirit.

But alongside such awe and reverence, we may also cultivate and express a deep desire to be in close fellowship or relationship with the Holy Spirit. After all, the Holy Spirit “…has been given to (us) personally, so that, by true faith, he makes (us) share in Christ and all his blessings, and comforts (us), and remains with (us) forever” (L.D. 20). That’s true: the Holy Spirit is not the primary domain of super saints and charismatic Christians; every believer in Christ Jesus is a recipient of God’s Holy Spirit. The Bible makes clear in Romans 8:14, for example, that “…those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons (children) of God.” And when the apostle Paul calls believers in Galatia to “live by the Spirit,” and to “keep in step with the Spirit,” he is speaking to people of faith. In other words, if a person is a child of God, she is being led by the Spirit of God.

With the drumbeat of the gospel and with divine power, the Holy Spirit makes us spiritually alive in Christ. Apart from the Holy Spirit, we are spiritually dead—as dead as a doornail. But when the Holy Spirit drums into our souls the rhythm of good news and freedom in Christ Jesus, new life enters our hearts, new sight enters through the eyes of faith, and new insights begin to shape our minds. The Holy Spirit is the drummer by whose rhythm of grace we live.

BY WHOSE RHYTHM OF GRACE WE LIVE

Do you know that all people on earth walk around with shackles the moment they are born? There are at least two kinds of shackles or chains that keep us in bondage. The first kind of shackle is our human nature. For example, every human being is born into sin. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” says Scripture (Rom. 3:21). Every human being has a human nature that is, like Adam’s and Eve’s, a sinful, sin-spoiled, pervasively sin-corrupted nature. That human nature holds us all in bondage to the power and the misery of sin and death. The Bible calls that sin nature “the flesh,” or the “old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires…” (Eph. 4:22). Our sinful human nature shackles us and keeps us in bondage.

The second kind of shackle is the law of God. That may sound strange, but it’s true. The apostle Paul, for example, points out one negative aspect of God’s wondrous, life-giving Law. That aspect is one of bondage. Listen: “Before this faith (in Christ Jesus and his saving works) came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we may be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law” (Gal. 3:23).

With the coming and the gift of God the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are no longer in bondage to these shackles of legalism and licentiousness. The law of God no longer functions in the lives of Christians as a measuring rod of self-righteous perfection and good works. For what we could not do—living a perfect, a sinless life, doing God’s will perfectly—Christ has done for us.

Christ has set us free from these shackles of law and lawlessness, of legalism and run-away sin prompted by our corrupt human nature.

We now live by a different drummer, and he comes to us with the rhythm of grace, which is freedom from the bondage of law. And the old self, our sinful human nature, is no longer in absolute control either. For the Spirit of God has given us a new nature, born from above, a new self. And the Spirit of God indwells, moves, controls, and shapes this new self, so that we learn to live by the rhythm of grace, free from the law and free from lawlessness or run-away sin.

When you go south on France Ave and get to Old Shakopee Road you’ll notice construction going on. It was that way already last year. There’s ongoing construction on that site. As a result, that corner on France Ave and Old Shakopee Road tends to be messy, sometimes a bit chaotic. But when you look around carefully, you’ll see improvements and progress.

Our lives are like that. We are always under construction: The old sinful human nature, the old self is at war with our new self. We find conflict and messiness in our actions; sinful vices still bubble up; but there are also virtues rising to the surface. Paul speaks of this construction zone in our lives in his letter to the Galatian churches. Pointing to the conflict, Paul says (vs.17) “…the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”

Paul then proceeds and paints the battlefield of this conflict by stating a list of vices, which he calls the works of the flesh: “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious,” Paul says. He then states a list of 15 vices. In contrast to these vices, Paul then proceeds and gives us a list of 9 virtues, which he calls the fruit of the Spirit.

I think that each one of us recognizes some of these virtues and vices in our own lives. The virtues bring us a sense of wholeness, the vices a sense of frustration, shame, and a spirit of confession. But the amazing thing is this: the Holy Spirit uses these battlefields within us, these construction zones to shape and mold us more and more into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.

Breathing daily his air of grace and forgiveness, the Holy Spirit gives us strength to face each day. Covering us with the blood of Christ, the Holy Spirit drums into our hearts the music of mercy and songs of divine love and heavenly acceptance. Protecting us with his ever-present shield of care, the Holy Spirit nurtures our faith, shapes our character, and eagerly instills his strength as we seek his presence. You see, the Holy Spirit is the drummer by whose rhythm of grace we live in Christian freedom from the bondage of law and lawlessness, from the power of sin and legalism.

So remember: The Holy Spirit has been given to us personally, so that, by true faith, he makes us share in Christ and all his blessings, comforts us, and remains with us forever (L.D.20)

And so do what Scripture calls us to do: live by the Spirit. Engage in battle: Do not give in to the impulses of the sinful human nature, for it has no longer a claim on us. We are set free through Christ our Lord. We have a new self, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). Exercise the virtues prompted within us by the Holy Spirit. In that way, we live by the Spirit. And in that way the Holy Spirit is the drummer by whose rhythm of grace we live in Christian freedom until Jesus comes again and makes all things new.

Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.