The Lavish of Grace- Part 2

When any manufacturer wants to make a product, they will first establish the primary purpose of the product and this will inform among other things, the materials to be used; the shape and structure; and the features to be incorporated for product to function optimally.  When the specific purpose of a product is unknown/ unclear, abuse of that product is inevitable.   Try using the latest model of a mercedes sedan to pull a plough and till land and within no time the vehicle will break down.  Notwithstanding the vehicle's high quality, it will deliver dismal results if any, as far as ploughing is concerned.

In Genesis 1:26, God said, "Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth."  Genesis 1:28 further elaborates man's mandate: "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."  Prior to God creating man, He established the purpose of man.  That purpose is a working of God's grace because God was not obligated to use mankind to accomplish His purpose, but He chose to anyway.  

For man to subdue and rule, he/ she needed to be in the image and likeness of God.  Thus, during man's creation, God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7).  According to Kirsh (2011) in his book The Pentateuch: the five books of Moses, the image of God “is the highest gift given to any of the orders of creation.”  What does it really mean when we say that we are created in the image and likeness of God?  Mankind was created with physical and spiritual attributes that made him “god”, enabling him to rule over creation and take dominion over the earth as mandated in Genesis 1:28.  Psalms 82:6 states, "You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High."  The Creator of the Universe chose to breath onto Adam and be the source of man's human vitality.    This too was purely a work of grace!

 

From the aforementioned, it is without doubt that prior to creation, God had already established the purpose of man.  In line with man being created in the image of God, God gave man free will .  Adam and Eve used that free will to disobey God and the perfect man fell short of the glory of God (Romans 3:21).  Justice demanded that we die but God's grace prevailed!  Now we can choose to be reconciled to God and to relate with Him intimately, because the penalty of our sin was paid by Jesus on the cross and the blood of Jesus purges our sins, never to be remembered again!  Our redemption was a work of grace.

Salvation restores us to the state in which we can fulfill the purposes of God.  Apostle Paul tells us that we [believers] were created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).  Which are these good works?  They can be summarized by Luke 4:18- To preach good news to the poor; to proclaim freedom for the prisoners; recovery of sight for the blind; release for the oppressed; and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.  This is how Christ described His ministry.  Acts 10:38 records that Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil.  The "good works" that Jesus did are known to us since He had already described these deeds in Luke 4:18.  

Luke 4:18 talks about "the Spirit of the Lord is upon me" while Acts 10:38 states, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power."  Jesus was empowered to fulfill the purpose of God.  He also understood the invaluable and irreplaceable role of the Divine Enabler - the Holy Spirit - in the life of each and every believer.  For this reason, Christ chose to go away, back to His Father, in order that we may receive the Holy Spirit who would empower us to fulfill our mandate (John 16:5-8).  A believer who tries to fulfill his/her purpose in his/her own might is like a foolish man who chooses to use a kitchen fork to till millions of hectares of land.  How much can he/she do?  That is why Christ gave stern instructions to the early church in Acts 1:4- "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about."

The gift of the Holy Spirit to believers is a provision of grace!  It is sad to note though that the Holy Spirit has been pushed to the peripheries of most believers' lives and His promptings ignored forcing Him to be a silent observer, or worse still, depart from us because of sinful living.  Relying on human wisdom and life's experiences, believers today attempt to fulfill the purposes of God but this only results to fatigue/ burn out; feelings of frustration, depression and desolation; doubt of God and His Word; closure of churches; strife and grumbling; huge investments with minimal Kingdom results; and the list is endless.  

The Holy Spirit is the Administrator of the grace that we need to accomplish the purposes of God.  I would also liken a believer to a passenger motor vehicle which has admirable specifications and is in great mechanical condition.  Irrespective of how high the performance capacity of the motor vehicle is, it is of little use if it lacks a propellant- say diesel or petrol.  Actually, if it has no propellant, it can never accomplish its primary purpose of ferrying people from one place to another.  Perhaps it may be placed in a museum for admiration or be converted into a training dummy for engineering students.  However, these are a compromise to the manufacturer's original intent for the vehicle.  The Holy Spirit is the propellant needed for us to fulfill our God-given purpose.  

Ephesians 3:2 states, "Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you."  That grace gave Paul revelation of God's Word and he was able to effectively reach out to the Gentiles with the gospel and achieve Spirit-powered results.  Please note that Paul was a highly learned man, an alumni of a top notch school- Gamaliel school- and a graduate of Law (Acts 22:3).  Yet he confessed in Ephesians 3:7, "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power."    Paul was an eloquent man with great intellectual capacity and yet he boasts not of these endowments, but rather boasts of the Spirit's power as the primary reason for ministry success (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

God created mankind with immense potential for His purpose.  However, the believers who choose to ignore the workings of grace available to them through the Holy Spirit and choose to function in their might and power, sooner than not, will stall in their journey of faith.  Zechariah 4:6 reminds us that we accomplish not God's purposes by might or power, but by God's Spirit.  Today, you and I can live an serve God in the fullness of the Holy Spirit because this is our inheritance as children of God.  Acts 2:39 states that the promise of the Holy Spirit is for you and your children, and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call!

Though I got saved at an early age, I grew up in a Presbyterian home and had little understanding of the Holy Spirit and His workings.  As I grew in the Lord, I learnt to study the Word of God and with time I begun to realize that I would never be able to accomplish the purpose of God for my life unless I got the divine empowerment to do so.  In my seeking, I read scriptures regarding the Holy Spirit and yet I fell short of understanding what I needed to do to receive the Spirit.  I was trying to figure it out with my intellectual mind and that wisdom was too high for my mind to fathom.

My breakthrough came when I became broken and contrite, confessing to God my state: that I did not fully understand what I needed to do and yet I so desperately needed Him to reveal Himself to me.  On one Sunday afternoon in a Christian union meeting during a time of singing to the Lord, I cried out to God in deep agony and tears, "Lord, reveal yourself to me and fill me with your Holy Spirit!"  Within minutes of making that prayer, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly baptised me.  I was slain to the floor and spoke in new tongues.  The attitude of brokenness and contriteness of spirit is essential if we are to receive the Holy Spirit.  We must long for Him; we must seek Him.

What are you to do now that you realize that you need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? 

1. Repent your sins- Acts 2:38; 3:19
2. Ask God for the baptism of the Holy Spirit- Acts 2:39; Matthew 7:7, 9-11
3. Expect and receive- Jeremiah 29:13; Hebrews 11:6

What does God require of believers who are already baptized with the Holy Spirit?

1. Keep in step with the Spirit- Galatians 5:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:19
2. Be filled with the Spirit continually- Being filled with the Spirit is not a one off event.  Our cups often run dry as we go through the affairs of life and serve the Lord.  We must keep asking the Lord to refill us with His Spirit.  Acts 2:4; 4:31; Ephesians 5:18
3. Operate in the gifts of the Spirit- 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6

When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, He gives us spiritual gifts as He wills (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; Ephesians 4:11).  This affirms the position that the grace to minister by the gifts of the Spirit is available to believers for the fulfillment of the purposes of God.  One critical question is, are you aware of the grace of God available to you?  As a believer, are you living (includes serving) in the fullness of God's grace?  In the next part of this series, we shall take time to study the gifts of the Holy Spirit.