“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
Romans 8:12-21
We need the Bible to understand God’s way and His will. We also need a ‘community of conviction’ around us, children of God, sharing our reading of the Scriptures with us, so that we can confirm that we are hearing and applying the Holy Spirit’s revelation to our lives in a Christlike way, free from self-deception. God has called and designed every disciple to be part of the ‘body of Christ’, the church. Without being part of church, we are diminished as disciples.
Where we are in place, in the body of Christ, interdependent with others in His name, we come under the authority of Jesus Christ (Matthew 18.20). Gathered in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are drawn into liberty (2 Corinthians 3.17), liberating us from the bondage to corruption through which the Devil deceives the world (1 John 3.7-8). Mature and holy disciples will help us triangulate - and thereby confirm - what God is truly leading us into, through His Word and by His Spirit. This is the way God chose to communicate to His people after Jesus’ ascension to heaven (Acts 15.28-29). It is the same, in seeking to discern and apply His will and way as directed in the Bible, that God calls us to today.
Father, I thank you that I am freed by Jesus Christ from domination by the Devil. I thank you you have liberated me into a new dimension of life, to be directed and empowered by your Holy Spirit. I thank you I am a person whose identity is enhanced by being part of a people, the Body of Christ. I thank you for those around me, disciples of Jesus Christ, who are also looking to be led by the Holy Spirit. Help us, as church together, to test, confirm and conform to what you are saying. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
