Daily Reading: 5-16-16
1 Corinthians 2:1-11 New Living Translation (NLT)
Yesterday, we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit upon a diverse group of disciples. Although many of them were from the same area, they were diverse in their soul’s condition before the work of the Spirit; each one struggled with a different sin or inclination that caused a focus on self. All sin is the same, but we struggle in diverse ways. Sin is always self-focused and self-exalting; sin rejects God and His eternal love.
This human yet diverse condition is true of us today; we too must wrestle our selfish flesh down (submit to God and resist the devil) in order to welcome the liberating and bold work of the Spirit. The Spirit produces spiritual fruit and becomes what we lack in our human condition. Because they trusted God, the disciples were united as One in the Spirit and given the power to witness to the work of the Living Christ within to bring salvation. Each disciple had a different story of how the Spirit had set them free to serve God; many were given different languages so they could tell their diverse stories of the One True God. The Spirit of God is a Gift that is given to help us understand what is truly valuable and eternal; what is from God and what pleases Him.
The Apostle Paul comes to Christ with the inclination to be a hater. He spends a lifetime thinking he knows the mind of God; he abuses people to gain control for God. He welcomes the Spirit and he is then able to identify his wrong spirit, as well as God’s heart. The Spirit humbles him and imparts wisdom. What does the Apostle Paul value now? The answer is the work of the Spirit. Now the Apostle Paul can see the love of God for a struggling and misdirected humanity that has existed from the beginning of time.