The sound of a high wind. The ability to speak in foreign languages unlearned by those who spoke. These miraculous occurrences marked the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to indwell and empower the followers of Christ to turn their world upside down (Acts 17:6).
Does the Holy Spirit Have You?
This same all powerful Holy Spirit indwells God's people today. Paul reminded the Christians in Corinth of this truth by asking, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?" (1Cor. 6:19). Why, then, are we so often powerless, defeated, and fearful? The answer is found in our failure to take this truth to heart. We try to live in our own strength. We don't give the Spirit of God full control over our lives. We grieve the Holy Spirit with our disobedience and quench His power in us by our half heartedness (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19).
But we don't have to live this way! God's Spirit lives in us, yearning to help us. To be "filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18), we must recognize His presence, depend on Him, and submit to Him. Then, as we "walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16), He will produce in us "the fruit of the Spirit....love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22-23).
Another benefit of being Spirit-filled is the assurance that we are God's children. Paul wrote, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:16-17). The path to spiritual power and joy is not that of seeking spiritual gifts but that of dependence upon and submission to the indwelling Holy Spirit.
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