"He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." ~ Colossians 1:17

Wednesday, 30 August 2017

Truth, Freedom, and the Holy Spirit

The Prophet Isaiah poses a rhetorical question when he asks, "Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him His counsel?" (Isaiah 40:13). The Apostle Paul provides a tautological answer when he states, "no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11).
He goes on to affirm that without the Spirit, we are blind to spiritual Truth, but with the Spirit, the secrets of God are revealed to us (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). The Spirit thus removes the veil between us and God, allowing us to enter His presence and behold His glory. In the process, as we receive the mind of Christ, we become transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:12-16).
A dramatic shift in  behaviour naturally follows from this transformation, for we become motivated and enabled to live, walk, and worship in obedience - to do what only Christ could do (Romans 8:1-12; Galatians 5:16-25; John 4:24). Indeed, when the Holy Spirit becomes one with our human spirit, It allows us to take captive our own thoughts - the elusive 'holy grail' of philosophy (1 Corinthians 6:17; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Proverbs 20:27). 
It is in this way that the Truth of the Spirit (or, equivalently, the Spirit of Truth) gives us freedom - freedom from sin, death, and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:17, Romans 8:13; John 8:31-36). I find it significant in this respect that one of the articles of the Armour of God is the Belt of Truth, with which we are to gird our loins (Ephesians 6:14) - according to Paul, we require Truth if we are to walk or run unfettered by our own outward vestments.
The world seeks freedom without Truth, but what it finds is merely enslavement to sin (John 8:34, 14:6; Romans 6:16; 2 Peter 2:19). It is only through His Spirit that we can know the Truth that sets us free; it only then that we can be "free indeed".

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