Spiritual Viewpoints

by Rick Smith

Holy Spirit

Inner Peace

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Is a peaceful life something that eludes you? Are you out of tune with the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Those two questions are connected.

As Paul contrasts the life controlled by the flesh and the life controlled by the Spirit, he shares an insight that allows us to understand why we’re searching for lost peace. Those who allow their fleshly desires to dominate/control their behavior will demonstrate sinful behavior and not find peace. Those who allow the Holy Spirit to control their behavior will produce things in line with the Spirit, including a peace only the Spirit can provide. Paul calls these things the “acts of the flesh” (Gal 5:19) and the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22).

The third fruit that Paul lists is “peace.” This word in Greek is used 91 times in the New Testament and it can mean harmony or well being. The word peace in Hebrew and Greek are less about an absence of war and disruption as they are about an inner state of being. When the Holy Spirit dwells in you, the Spirit produces within the believer an inner harmony that will not be shaken by the things of the world. What is more, this inner harmony works as an inoculation against the acts of the flesh because the acts of the flesh are produced by and perpetuate inner conflict.

That means the peace the Holy Spirit brings is not based upon circumstance and feeling. God is constantly working to transform us by the Spirit. This transformation by the Spirit gives Christians a peace and consistency that is not shaken by externals.

Oddly enough, often our churches are not characterized by peace and I cannot help but think that also means that the members who gather are struggling to be in tune with this aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work in their life. This may also have something to do with a denial of the Spirit’s working in the life of the Christian. If we don’t believe the Spirit is at work in our lives then how would we expect to have produced in our lives those things the Spirit alone produces? I say that with one disclaimer and that is this…I don’t think the Spirit is fully limited in what the Spirit can do based upon our beliefs about what the Spirit is or isn’t doing. I refuse to put the Holy Spirit in a theological box.

We must get more in tune with the Spirit. When we do so we will find an inner peace like we have never had before because we are no longer resisting or ignoring the work of the Holy Spirit, rather we are working alongside or in accordance with what the Spirit is doing in our being. We will find that the acts of the flesh are no longer so appealing and that working in partnership with the Spirit is much more fulfilling. We will finally find the peace our soul so longingly desires.

I Want to Know Christ

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The apostle Paul said it succinctly, “I want to know Christ“ (Phil. 3:10). That, in itself is, as we like to say, “HUGE”. He continued by explaining:  “—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10-11). Paul’s desire should be our dream, our wish, our goal.

Instead of writing pages to explain my understanding of this passage, let’s be “pithy” ~ there I go again ~ “fair and balanced” ~ and again.  Let’s look at the first part of knowing Christ ~ “the power of his resurrection”.

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom. 8:11). There was a time when the essence of this verse escaped me, like missing the beauty of a glorious sunrise. Think of it ~ the one who has the power to raise Jesus from the grave lives in us! That, of course, is the Holy Spirit! The Spirit of Almighty God! The opening verse of Romans eight helps us grasp the awesomeness of God’s Holy Spirit within us: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,  because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:1). Just as Jesus was set free from the grave by the Spirit, so we are set free from the law of sin and death, never to fear condemnation as we continue with the Spirit. 

At this juncture, someone will ask, “Are you teaching once saved always saved?” No, but I am forcefully saying that God will never condemn a child of His who is walking in the Spirit, who has God’s Holy Spirit within them. David, of old, understood this as he pleaded with God after committing adultery, murder, and lying. After Nathan confronted him with his sinfulness, he humbly pleaded with God “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). Today, like David, we must always be mindful of our walk with God, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Rom. 8:5). God is looking for pure hearts that are longing for him.

Resurrection power is ours, and what a power it is! “But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Rom. 8:10-11).

We needn’t worry about judgement when we have God’s Spirit within us. “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment”(I John 4:13-18). Listen, hear: “We know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit…love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment…there is no fear in love…perfect love drives out fear”.  When you know Christ, you also know His Holy Spirit lives in you, and that you have eternal life. Awesome!

Amen, and God bless you.