Since Pentecost, these blog posts have dealt with the work and ministry of the Spirit, based upon references to the Spirit in the New Testament. This blog — the final one in this series — provides a summary of the Spirit’s work.
The Spirit works to make God’s salvation — the transformation of our hearts and minds, conforming us to the image of Jesus — a reality in our lives.
The Spirit draws us to God, leading us to open our lives to God — what John’s gospel calls being born again, from above.
The Spirit teaches us the ways of God that Jesus taught, leading us into deeper spiritual understanding of God and God’s ways.
The things of God the Spirit teaches us nurtures within us a freedom in our relationship with God — what Paul called the spirit of adoption. We learn to trust and rest in God’s grace and forgiveness.
The things of God the Spirit teaches us produces a transformation in how we think — what Paul called the renewing of our minds. We learn to think with the wisdom of God and the mind of Christ.
The things of God the Spirit teaches us confronts the deeply engrained attitudes and spirit out of which we live. The attitudes and spirit out of which we live are dimensions of the interior realm — the heart. In calling us to deal with these attitudes and spirit, the Spirit is cleansing our heart so that our hearts and minds are transformed by the Spirit’s work.
The Spirit moves us beyond the anxiety and fear, negativity and angst which are a part of our default nature, empowering us to live out of a spirit of inner peace and joy.
Through this transformation of our hearts and minds, the Spirit empowers us to love as Jesus loved and to love those Jesus loved.
As the Spirit transforms our hearts and minds, empowering us to love as Jesus loved, how we view and treat others changes. We no longer view differences (diversity) as a threat. Understanding that we are all one in Christ, the Spirit empowers us to embrace one another as brothers and sisters. We are all beloved children of God.
As the Spirit transforms our hearts and minds, empowering us to love as Jesus loved, we use our gifts, abilities, knowledge, life experiences, and material-financial resources on behalf of others. We live out of a servant spirit, seeking to make a difference in the life of another in the name of Jesus.
The Spirit empowers us to live in unity within spiritual community as the body of Christ and the temple in which God dwells on earth.
The Spirit empowers us to do what we cannot do in our own strength.
Through the Spirit’s transforming work, we become a new creation. Christ lives in us and through us.
The Spirit is God’s guarantee — earnest money — that all of that of this will become a reality before God is through with us.
Our role is to walk in the Spirit, keeping in step with the Spirit as the Spirit leads us.
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