In one of the churches I went to in college, if the members knew that the pastor was going to be on vacation the next Sunday, attendance would be down by 40 percent. You would think that God wouldn’t be there. But Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered, I’ll be there” (see Matthew 18:20).

The church is a temple of the Holy Spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 3:16). But we look to man. That’s why we don’t have more of the Spirit. If we’re looking to man, any man, we need to stop. He’s a frail creature, and he’s faulty in so many ways, like we all are. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit ministers to God’s people in many ways. Romans 8:1–2 tells us about one of them: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (NIV).

What a beautiful ministry of the Holy Spirit. God not only saves us from the penalty of sin, through the cross of Jesus Christ, but He saves us from the dominion and power of sin—the flesh, the world, the devil. They don’t have to rule us anymore like they used to. Why? Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit has set us free.

You and I don’t have to live like we used to, ruled by sin, the flesh, self-indulgence, selfishness. But the only power that can break the rule of sin in a Christian’s life is the power of the Holy Spirit. If we walk guided by the Holy Spirit, we will not fulfill the desires that used to dominate us.

We can’t defeat bad habits by saying, “I won’t do it again.” We can’t stop that bad temper by determining, “No matter what she says, I won’t get angry.” No. Resolutions, positive thinking—forget it. Only the law of the Spirit of life can change us. The Holy Spirit works in us, producing fruit that so fills our lives that there’s no room for the junk that used to rule us.

Is the flesh still lying dormant inside us wanting to assert itself? Yes. But through the Spirit, we can put our flesh to death daily and live by God’s leading. The Holy Spirit creates desires and thoughts in our minds that are of the Spirit and not our old selfish desires.

In other words, Jim Cymbala is inextricably a mess. God never works with my old nature. He’s not trying to change the selfish people you and I are. We have to stop trying to renovate ourselves. We’re rotten to the core. “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing,” the Bible says (Romans 7:18, KJV). God changes us not by fixing the old person but by giving us new life through the Spirit.

Thank God for the Holy Spirit. He gives us the power, the ability, the grace to be like Christ, to live different lives.

Whenever we see someone acting like Christ and it’s the aroma of his or her life, know this: the Spirit is working deeply in that person’s life. The person’s behavior is not some genetic thing he or she inherited. It’s the Spirit of God working.

Paul the apostle at first was Saul of Tarsus—an angry, belligerent, madman persecuting and killing Christians. Then he became the best Christian we’ve ever heard of as we read of him in the letters he wrote in the New Testament. How did the change come? By the Spirit.

The disciples, even after being with Jesus three and a half years, were failures. When do we see the change in their lives? When the Spirit was poured out in Acts 2. Then, with the Holy Spirit, they became bold as lions. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6, NIV).

I want to help somebody today. I know what your battles are. I’ve had a million more than you. But all power is in the Spirit. The only way to live out the Christian life and minister to others and be like Christ, overcoming bad habits and besetting sins, is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It’s like Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me”—through the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Lord, we thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives in all of us. Teach us to rest in the finished work of Jesus, who took our sins to the cross. May we no longer lean on our own strength or live by our own desires but instead reflect Your love and grace through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If this encouraged you, you can receive Pastor Cymbala’s weekly blog post by email here.

For More Encouragement