“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Ezekiel 36:27
It seems like there is a lot of confusion among Christians as to what the Holy Spirit actually is and does. It’s one of those things that many grow up hearing about but never really dig deeper into understanding. Of course, there’s a lot to say about that topic, and there are more scriptures about it than we have time to cover here, but this verse from Ezekiel gives us a really good starting point.
We know from the gospels and the rest of the New Testament that believers receive the Holy Spirit when they’re baptized. But what does it really mean to receive the Holy Spirit? Well 1 Corinthians says that Christians are living Temples for God, meaning that God lives within each of us. The way that he does that is through his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the part of God that works and moves in our lives, and that marks us as children of God.
So what does it do for us to have the Spirit? Well that’s where this verse comes in. The Spirit helps us to live the way God wills for us. The Spirit moves our hearts to desire the things that God desires, to want the things that God wants for us. The Spirit is the only way that we’re able to stay true to the path that God has laid out for us.
Most Christians are familiar with the “fruits of the Spirit.” They are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It’s clear that these are the good things that God wants for our lives. That’s what the Spirit does for us, it produces those kinds of fruits in our lives.
Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I pray that your Spirit would live in me and produce fruit and good works that you have planned for me.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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