The Power of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit of God is a gift that is given to all who have trusted in Jesus Christ. Apart from the power of the Holy Spirit of God that dwells in the life of every believer, it is impossible to live a life of obedience to God. It is only those who surrender to the control of the Holy Spirit who will experience freedom from the control of sin and the flesh.

Paul explains our need for the Holy Spirit in the first half of Romans 8.

First, the Spirit of God is given to us to ensure our liberty and victory from sin. There are some who teach that if you struggle with temptation and sin, there is something wrong with you. They are wrong. The truth is this: The most faithful and obedient Christians are the ones who face the greatest spiritual battles.

Just as in physical war, in spiritual warfare those who are on the front lines encounter the enemy’s fiercest attacks. Even the most valiant soldiers are vulnerable to injury and discouragement.

In the heat of spiritual warfare, it is vitally important to remember that you are not alone. You might become overwhelmed and feel defeated if you rely on your own strength. Instead, remember who dwells within you. Stop and say, “Spirit of God, I surrender to you,” He will respond and he will help you flee the temptation and rise above fear.

Second, the Spirit of God is given to every believer as a guarantee and a seal. Every genuine Christian is indwelt by God’s own Spirit. We cannot be adopted by God without having God’s name and all the power that comes with that name. Just before His ascension, Jesus told the apostles, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit comes in and He brings the power of God into lives and says, “You are a child of God.” Religion without the Spirit of God is fruitless.

God the Father does not force His children to obey Him. He seeks willing obedience. The Spirit of God comes in and empowers His children to be able to obey Him in every way. It is when you are genuinely submissive to Him that He supernaturally reshapes and redirects you, and will lead you into voluntary conformity to His will.

What is the ultimate purpose of being adopted as a child of God? Is it salvation? Is it forgiveness? Is it justification? Is it cleansing? All are part of it, but the ultimate purpose of your adoption is the inheritance of glory. Romans 8:17 says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”

Each adopted child of the Lord is going to receive the full inheritance. Everything that Jesus Christ received by divine right, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are going to receive by divine grace.

It’s when you die that you inherit your heavenly Daddy’s estate. That is why the apostle Paul could say “to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). For the believer, physical death is not an enemy; it is a friend, because it takes the child of God into the presence of God.

Third, the Spirit of God turns your groans into glory, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Whatever problem you are facing today that is making you groan, He is turning your groaning into glory. All the pain and all the hurt and all the suffering and all the agony, all the disappointment and all the dashed hopes and shattered dreams, all the insults and all the rejection, are all nothing when it comes to the Father’s glory that you will one day inherit. You can’t even begin to compare them.

Rest and rejoice in the Truth that the Spirit of God is giving you the ultimate victory, He is guaranteeing and sealing your adoption, and the He is turning your groaning into glory.