"Embracing our new identity in Christ, we are filled with the Spirit and free to walk in the covenant’s instructions. This freedom is not a burden but a joyous response to God’s transformative love. It’s the glorious freedom and assurance of salvation in Christ (Romans 8:1-2).
Paul encourages us to ‘work out’ our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13). This doesn’t mean earning salvation through works, but actively participating in sanctification, the spiritual growth that follows justification. It involves growing in holiness, striving against sin, and living out the implications of our salvation in daily life.
Knowing God is not merely intellectual, it’s demonstrated by obedience to His commands (1 John 2:3-6). Jesus walked in perfect obedience to His Father’s commandments. He lived a life of love, humility, and service, always seeking to do the Father’s will (John 5:19). To walk as Jesus walked is to strive to live in obedience to God’s commandments, to love others selflessly, and to proclaim the truth of the gospel in word and deed (1 Peter 2:21).
As believers filled with the Spirit, we are called to work out our salvation, to live out the reality of our faith in Christ, and to grow in conformity to His image, all the while trusting that it is God who is at work in us, shaping us according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit, or the Ruach HaKodesh, is a significant aspect of the believer’s life. The Spirit dwells in us, writing the instructions of the covenant on the circumcised flesh of the heart (Jeremiah 31:33).
We are the tabernacle, bought with a price, and now the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). In a covenant relationship with God, we must advocate the throne and give way to the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. This is beautifully expressed in Romans 8:1-11, where Paul writes about the life-giving Spirit who dwells in believers, setting them free from the law of sin and death.
In conclusion, the assurance of salvation, the transformative power of the Spirit, and the call to walk as Jesus walked are all interconnected aspects of the Christian faith. As believers, we are called to live out our faith in daily life, growing in holiness, striving against sin, and walking in the commandments of the covenant. All of this is made possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who writes the instructions of the covenant on our hearts, transforming us into new creatures in Christ, and enabling us to live in the freedom and assurance of salvation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Comments