IN THE BEGINNING…THE WORD
DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, August 3, 2011
THE WORKING OF THE SPIRIT
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
God said by the mouth of the prophet Isaiah: “ I WILL DO A NEW THING; NOW IT SHALL SPRING FORTH; SHALL YE NOT KNOW IT? I WILL EVEN MAKE A WAY IN THE WILDERNESS AND RIVERS IN THE DESERT” (Isaiah43:19). What is this new thing? He reveals it on the day of Pentecost when he breaks down every confining barrier and sets us free to be one in Christ Jesus, thus giving us rivers of water in the desert. Yes, the new thing is the pouring out of His Spirit for mankind to be free. No longer must mankind be imprisoned by nationality, class, gender or race; in Christ Jesus we are equal and we are one!
The Holy Spirit manifested this oneness on the day of Pentecost when language barriers were brought down: The disciples who had been gathered together in the upper room and filled with the Spirit spoke languages of several nations, amazing onlookers: " And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia in Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya and Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jew and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:7-11). This breaking down of language barriers was a sign of God’s intention to bring unity and oneness. This was the working of God’s Spirit.
Language is one way that mankind is divided, but we are also divided by financial status, racial designations, gender and on and on are the distinctions, the barriers that the Holy Spirit comes to break down. The day of Pentecost shows us that the Holy Spirit comes to bring freedom. Our sons and our daughters are free to prophecy; whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How wonderful is the reality that “the Spirit is given to every man (every believer) to profit withal.” The Holy Spirit came to baptize us into one body, Christ Jesus. Again in I Corinthians 12:13 we are told: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. And this one Spirit divides spiritual gifts severally, as he will. And we know that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. In other words, The Holy Spirit pours out several gifts to members of the body, without apology or need of explanation.
Today, let us rejoice over the WORKING of God’s Spirit in the earth!
