Conduits
When you give your life to Jesus and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you have the source of all that is good residing in you, which can flow like a river from you to others! As New Creations in Christ, you are meant to be a conduit through which the Holy Spirit flows and does His work! It is an integral part of the New Covenant promise and hope. The goal of Jesus was not just to give you eternal life; it was to provide you with life in abundance and to baptize you with the Holy Spirit so that you would be endued with power from on high.
John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus had to first die to pay for the world’s sins on the cross. Then He had to rise again to prove He had dealt with sin completely and conquered death, hell, and the grave. Then He had to ascend in bodily form back to heaven, where He would be seated at the right hand of the Father. All this was leading up to that long-awaited and important moment when Jesus could release the Promise of the Father He had been given, which is the Holy Spirit.
The New Covenant Gospel is filled with Holy Spirit. The first apostles frequently spoke about the Holy Spirit in their preaching. Peter’s first major message preached at Pentecost is unapologetic about the Holy Spirit. Peter is very direct when he brings up the Holy Spirit, and Peter speaks very direct about repentance, water baptism, and the importance of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The idea of being baptized in the Holy Spirit permeates the book of Acts in the Bible.
Here are just a few passages you can read for yourself and see where the Holy Spirit is directly mentioned with purpose:
Acts 1:16, Acts 2:4, Acts 2:33, Acts 2:38, Acts 4:8, Acts 4:31, Acts 5:32, Acts 6:3, Acts 6:5, Acts 7:51, Acts 7:55, Acts 8:15, Acts 8:17, Acts 8:18&19, Acts 9:17, Acts 10:38, Acts 10:44&45, Acts 10:47, Acts 11:45, Acts 11:24, Acts 13:2
There are way too many times the Holy Spirit is at the center of what is going on and is being pointed to by the Apostles for me to add them in today’s devotional.
He is directly and significantly mentioned 93 times in the New Testament. To leave out the Holy Spirit when seeking to instruct others in the gospel is to offer an incomplete gospel and leave off a major part of the purpose for Jesus doing all He did.
It is true that Jesus shed His blood and gave His life to forgive you of your sins, but it doesn’t stop there. As amazing as that alone can be, it is not all that Jesus accomplished on your behalf. Jesus shed His blood, died, and rose again so that you could be baptized with the Holy Spirit and, as a New Creation, live a life filled to overflowing measure with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’s invitation is to come and drink and get so saturated in the Spirit as you believe in Him that you become a river source to others. Which gospel did you receive? One that only speaks of you being forgiven of your sin, or one that is more complete and speaks of your sins being forgiven, and you being baptized in the Holy Spirit as a New Creation in Christ designed to be filled as a source point for the flow of the Holy Spirit to others?
I want to realize my full New Creation potential in Christ and receive all He has so graciously and freely offered to give to me. I trust that you do as well. I encourage you to pray today to be filled with the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised and to experience the flow of that river Jesus said would occur in your life. It is your destiny in Christ to be always full of the Holy Spirit and be that river of life to others. Grace and peace to you in Jesus’ name.
