- 178. Promise of Spirit
Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The promise of the Spirit is that we will have the Holy Spirit living in our spirit affecting and influencing our lives for good. No one knew that the blessing of Abraham would include the promise of the Spirit. No one could have imagined that God could indwell a human being. But since Christ came to earth to die for us, to forgive sins, and to grant eternal life the promised Holy Spirit comes to live within the body and soul of a human person. Faith brings such a blessing and an unimaginable promise.
The Living God, the Creator and Owner of heaven and earth deigns to live within. This is the promise of the Spirit. This is the blessing of Abraham. By faith the promise and blessing first given to Abraham has come true. By faith we have received the promise. By faith God, the Holy Spirit, dwells in a human body.
The promise of the Spirit is God’s very life. God shares His Life with us who are living with death always hanging over us, and within us Death is eating away at the physical body and messing up the human soul. Alongside Death within comes Life within. The battle between Death and Life continues to rage in the spiritual man. The Spirit inside is the guarantee of the Life of God within and the Eternal Life. It is easy for us to forget that the Spirit is with us. We are tempted to think we are alone and that we must handle things by ourselves. This is a lie. God is with us; God is our present Helper; God is our Good Shepherd; God is our fortress and strength; God is always nearby; all of God is always there for us. What have we to fear? What do we have to worry about? Why are we anxious?
The truth of the promise is that we do not have to cope alone. We are never alone; we are never without help in time of need; we can always enter into the peace and joy of the Lord, no matter what is going on around us. We need this promise to take hold of the promised Spirit by faith.