There is Liberty
Today’s Verse:
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ~2 Corinthians 3:17
Today, the USA celebrates its independence from the tyranny of political and religious oppression of England. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by our founding fathers. In the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, there is a bell that is aptly called "the Liberty Bell” that symbolizes the freedom and liberty that we attained. There is an even greater liberty that is available to every born-again believer in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We see the Person.
“Now the Lord is that Spirit....” The Holy Spirit is God. He is the third Person of the Godhead. He has all of the essence, eternality, and essentialness of the Father and the Son. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere at all times. He is the Agent producing salvation, or regeneration, in the heart of someone who believes on Jesus to be saved. He is the One Who comes alongside of the believer as his Teacher and Comforter, and He gives glory to Christ. He breathed into man and made him a living soul. The Lord is that Spirit.
We see the possession.
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is....” The Holy Spirit indwells every believer at salvation. He is the earnest of our inheritance, or the down payment of the glory, that will be revealed in us when we leave this life and enter Heaven. He fills every believer who seeks Him out for the filling of the Holy Spirit. Where is the Spirit of the Lord? He is in every believer. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He is the treasure within the earthen vessels of our bodies. We are the possession of the Holy Spirit. We are commanded to walk in the Spirit and to be filled with the Spirit. We are called to have an active, fruitful, and thriving relationship with the Holy Spirit.
We see the provision.
“...There is liberty.” The Holy Spirit gives us liberty from the bondage of sin that we once lived in. He is the anointing of God within us Who teaches us all things. We are not bound by the works of the flesh or the works of the law. The liberty of the Spirit is His power to deliver us from living a powerless life, and, instead, to enable us to live a life that is changed into the same image from glory to glory. As we read the Word of God (pictured as a mirror that reflects what we are on the inside), the Holy Spirit is at work, producing needed change in our lives so that we reflect being in the power of the Spirit. There is liberty from the Spirit for change and separation from the works that seek to pull us away from the Lord.
We see the priority.
The key idea is the need for change. The Holy Spirit makes a permanent change at salvation. After salvation, we must make walking in the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit our high priority. Our praying must be in the Holy Ghost. We must look to the Spirit for our leading and direction. Our liberty is directly correlated to our walk. If we walk in the flesh, then the works of the flesh are manifest. When we walk in the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is evident. True liberty is being under the power of the Spirit and being changed from glory to glory. Don’t be bound or limited to a life in the flesh: let the power of the Spirit prevail in you and experience the liberty that the Spirit of God produces in you.
Have a Spirit-filled God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Psalms 115-118