The Holy Spirit (35)
By Abraham Eli
This study was first taught on June 25, 2013
Topic: The Essence of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives (6.2): The Supplies of Faith (1)
(use the audio to study)
Background
We began last week to study a portion of an important letter sent to all believers in Christ by the hands of Simon Peter; that is, 2 Peter 1:1-11. We noted that there are four parts of the letter as follows: the greetings; the things that have been bestowed on the believer in Christ, through the power of God; the supplies that are needed to make the believer’s faith a living faith and not dead; and, the joy of diligence in the believer’s walk with God. Not concentrating on the greeting, we focused our attention on the things that have been bestowed on all believers in Christ through the power of God; that is, the things which have been freely given to the believer in Christ through the power of God. These bestowals are: all things that are needful for the believer to live a full and godly life, and, the exceedingly great and precious promises of God; the most significant of which is the Holy Spirit!
We saw that the Lord Jesus Christ has done everything that is needful so that every believer in Christ can experience these bestowals in their lives; hence, it is a work of grace—solely done by the Godhead, without human involvement. We noted however, that although these wonderful things have been given to all believers in Christ, without exception, not all believers have the same experience of them, neither have they all had the full experience of these bestowals. We saw that in order to fully experience the full and godly life which has been bestowed upon all believers, you must enter into an intimate and experiential knowledge of God and Christ through the agency of the Holy Spirit, Who brings us into a relationship and fellowship with God and Christ, as we worship God in spirit and truth, hate and depart from sin, and, completely obey God and His word. These are made possible as we yield completely to the Holy Spirit’s operation in our lives. Also, we are able to experience God’s exceedingly great and precious promises bestowed upon us, and as a result, we can escape by flight, the corruption in the world through lust, and, become partakers of the divine nature; because, the Holy Spirit works within the believer to ensure that the promises of God, which are in Christ Jesus, are fully accomplished in his life; and again, we are able to experience God’s promises as we yield completely to the Holy Spirit.
However, we observed that what has been written as having been bestowed on the believer and the believer’s experience in reality, are quite different; because, while the bestowals are a work of grace, experiencing God’s bestowals will require the believer’s input. Thus, the work of grace is but the first step in God’s plan for the believer’s fruitfulness.
Scripture Text(s)
2 Peter 1:1-11
In our study tonight, we shall begin to explore the second part of God’s plan for the believer’s fruitfulness; that is, the input required of the believer. As we study, it is our prayer that the Holy Spirit will bring us all to the place of utilizing His grace which is upon us for fruitfulness, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
The fifth verse of our scripture text challenges the believer in Christ, that in view of the bestowals of grace upon him (v.3-4), he needs to act with all diligence (not slothfully, carelessly, nor mindlessly, but with dedication, earnestness and eagerly) to ensure that he experiences what he professes of the power and promises of God in his life—we need to move from the profession of faith in the bestowals, to the possession of these bestowals. To achieve this, we must be diligent in adding certain supplies to our faith. For example, an undergraduate must have certain essential supplies to successfully graduate at the top of his class—supplies like, textbooks, use of the university library, proper accommodation, pocket money, actually studying and understanding what he is studying, submitting his class assignments when due, etc.
James 2:14-26; Matthew 3:8-10; 2 Corinthians 4:13; Galatians 5:1, 16, 19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; Ephesians 5:1-21; Hebrews 5:12-14; Deuteronomy 29:29; 1 Corinthians 8:1-2; Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20; 3:2-8; Acts 2:1-4; Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 14:1-23; Hebrews 10:32-36; Isaiah 40:27-31.
Conclusion
In order that we benefit from the things which have been freely bestowed upon us as believers in Christ through the Holy Spirit as contained in the word of God, we must make every effort to ensure that we experience, in reality these bestowals—all things that pertain to life and godliness, and the exceedingly great and precious promises through which we shall escape the corruption of the world system through lust, and thus be partakers of the divine nature. This effort is our own part to play if we are to fully experience the power and promises of God in our lives.
Certain things have been made available to the believer in Christ, so that his faith (belief, full persuasion, and trust in God) is not dead faith, but a living faith. There is the work of grace, which is entirely God’s work; and, there are the works of faith, which we must engage in, otherwise, our faith is dead! We must therefore, act out the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, by exhibiting moral excellence and character in our conduct, speech, dressing, interaction with others, etc., on a daily basis. In addition to exhibiting high moral standards, we must also exercise ourselves in seeking the knowledge of all that God has freely made available to us; not for vain glory, but for understanding the will of God for our lives. Our knowledge must not be allowed to get the better of us, where we become judgmental, and think that we are better than others; rather, our knowledge must be tempered or subjected to the control of the Holy Spirit, in word and in deed. And our temperance must not be intermittent spurts of control by the Holy Spirit, followed by a long holiday underscored by control of the flesh. No, we must patiently endure, the work of control which the Holy Spirit is doing in us, patiently waiting on God, persevering through trials and tribulations, and, enduring God’s testing and temptation from the evil one when it does come.
There are more supplies which we shall review next week, but at this time, let us go to God in thanksgiving, for giving us His Spirit to help us appropriate His work of grace as He guides us in doing works of faith. Let us also ask God to enable us yield totally and completely to His Spirit, so that we can benefit fully from His work and see the fruit of it in our lives.
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