Spirit Work

Spirit Work

... our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:5b & 6 NIV

The funny thing for me about being a Christian is that while I know that one must be born of the Spirit (John 3:5), I seem to try and live by the letter of the law... This is wrong. One that has been born of the Spirit must live by the Spirit. But there is this split where as I can't forget the law either, it has its purpose. The law reveals the heart, mind and character of God. The law gives me a glimpse of God our Father. But the law also acts like a mirror for humans. It reflects our depravity, our sin, our differentness from God.

So the law is good. It reveals God's reality to me and it reveals man's reality to himself. But the law has a sort of limited glory. It governs man only until the Spirit of Christ takes up residence in His people. Yes, the law is good, but how much better is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:7-8). The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (v17) and life.

The work of the law is to make plain our sin condition. But the Spirit work is all about freedom from sin and reconciliation to God. The law tells me about God from afar. But the Spirit allows me the privilege and the right to be up close and intimate with Him. With the Spirit, I am no longer at war with God, but I am at peace and indeed, a part of His family. When the Spirit is at work in us, we gain an understanding (or a view) that is held secure in Christ. It is a view of God that only sons and daughters share with their Holy Father. I think I see His smile...