“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:11, NLT).
The Apostle Paul describes Christians as people presently living in bodies that will die and be resurrected and then live forever.
“What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did.” (Romans 8:3, HCSB).
Some consider Romans 8 the greatest, most theologically eloquent chapter about Christian spirituality in the New Testament. Certainly, some verses from Romans 8 are the most often quoted, often taught, and often preached of any in the Bible. Here’s a few examples:
“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” Isaiah 64:4, NLT).
To the prophet Isaiah, the plans and purposes of God were formulated outside of His creation–in other words, without the help of human wisdom.
“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:1-5, HCSB).
Commentators differ as to whether Romans 5 belongs thematically with Chapters 3 and 4 where the Apostle Paul argues for the imputation of righteousness through Christ or with Chapters 6-8 where Paul describes the new life in Christ.
I see it as transitional from one theme to the next because it summarizes Paul’s case for righteousness in Christ and then suggest how this new life of righteousness in Christ can be applied to our personal lives.
Continue readingUpdated 3/25/2023
“The Spirit of the Lord will control you, you will prophesy with them, and you will be transformed into a different person. When these signs have happened to you, do whatever your circumstances require because God is with you.” (1 Samuel 10:6-7, HCSB)
In these verses the prophet Samuel is giving Saul instructions on the first thing he should do after he was chosen as the first king of Israel.
After his selection as Israel’s first king, Saul was empowered by the Holy Spirit. In fact, it was this empowering of God’s Spirit that validated Saul’s kingship!
The Holy Spirit not only enabled Saul to prophesy alongside a group of prophets, but this experience would change his life so dramatically that he would be like a different person!
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“As Samson and his parents were going down to Timnah, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the vineyards of Timnah. At that moment the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat” (Judges 14:6, NLT).
Samson was an enigmatic leader who was an inspirational but flawed hero.
“He exiled Israel to call her to account. She was exiled from her land as though blown away in a storm from the east. The Lord did this to purge Israel’s wickedness, to take away all her sin” (Isaiah 27:8-9, NLT).
This verse is a response to a question the prophet Isaiah posed to the hearers of his message: Has God punished His people in the same way He has punished the enemies of His people?
“Lord, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you. O Lord our God, others have ruled us, but you alone are the one we worship” (Isaiah 26:12-13, NLT).
Ultimate control and supreme authority over the universe emanate from the throne room of God, the unseen Kingdom of Heaven where God resides and rules over the universe.
“Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, HCSB).
In Chapters 5 and 6 of 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul discusses specific immoralities that had been reported to him. The misconduct of the Corinthian church that Paul addresses in these chapters are sexual immorality and lawsuits against one another.
“And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2: 2-5, ESV).
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that he did not proclaim the gospel to them using intellectual arguments. He said he proclaimed the simple truth of the gospel through the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit so their faith would not be based on human reasoning but on the life-giving power of God.
Steve's Bible Meditations 