Welcome back to our series on the Christian life.
God has given believers everything we need to live an abundant and fruitful Christian life.
In the previous blog, we discussed the goals of Christian living and introduced two primary tools God gives us to help accomplish them. The first is God’s Word. Now, we turn to the second: the Holy Spirit and His power at work in our lives.
God’s power
In the New Testament, God’s power for believers is generally revealed in two important ways.
- The gospel – Romans 1:16-17 describes the gospel as the power of God for salvation. The Holy Spirit is active in this process, convicting unbelievers of sin and pointing them toward their need for salvation (John 16:10). Through the gospel, we see God’s power at work in bringing people to salvation through faith in Christ.
- In the Christian life – God’s power is also available to us as we live the Christian life. Ephesians 6:10-17 gives us a powerful picture through the armor of God. Paul uses the equipment of a Greek hoplite soldier to illustrate how believers can stand strong and access the resources God provides. Christians often wonder how they can experience God’s power in everyday life. This passage gives us a clear picture. Each piece of the armor is also connected elsewhere in Scripture with the work of the Holy Spirit.
- Truth (our belt to prepare us V.14) – Living in truth is a fruit of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:9) and prepares our mind to make proper decisions and actions.
- Righteousness (our breastplate V.14) – A fruit of the Spirit is a holy heart that is set apart to serve God and perceives and rejects sin (Ephesians 5:9).
- Share the gospel (the shoes to carry us to battle V.15) – By telling others the message of salvation we see the power of God to change others and positively affect our society, which is assisted by the Spirit (Romans 1:16-17; 2 Timothy 1:7; John 16:8-11).
- Faith (our shield V.16) – Another fruit or evidence of the Spirit is faith by which we make our decisions and do what God desires from us (Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 14:23).
- Eternal security (our helmet V.17) – The sound knowledge of our security of salvation protects our heads as we face troubles in this world and its function comes from the Spirit (Romans 15:13, Romans 8:16).
- The Bible (our sword V.17) – The power of God we experience in our Christian life is through the action of the Spirit in accordance to the Bible (Hebrews 4:12).
What great truths! What a privilege to know God through His word and live a holy life that pleases Him.
Thank you for joining me today. Please return next time as we continue the exciting discussion of the Christian walk that’s associated benefits in life.
William C. Stewart, MD
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