The Spirit of God enables new characteristics in the child of God that we could never have produced in our own power. Both the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are well known. But the Spirit also empowers us to things we can no longer do.
First of all, a new child of God cannot curse Christ… “Wherefore, I want you to understand, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
The second thing a new Believer cannot do is continue in a lifestyle of sin… “Whoever is born of God does not continue to practice sin; for His Seed (the Holy Spirit) abides within: and he cannot continue to sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9).
Thirdly, a person cannot hate another Believer or their fellow man… “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer: and you know that no murderer has Eternal Life (the Spirit) abiding in him” (1 John 3:14,15).
The fourth thing a saved person cannot do is hate Israel, which should be clear from the Scriptures about hating one’s fellow man. At the end of the book of Revelation, Jesus tells the Church (His Bride) … “I am the Root and Offspring of David” (Revelation 22:16). Can the Spirit-filled Church hate the nation of her Jewish Bridegroom-King? No. The very love of God for Israel is “poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us” (Romans 5:5).
Lastly, no Spirit-filled Believer can be content with Christ’s absence… “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’” (Revelation 22:17). The Holy Spirit is yearning and calling for Christ’s return from within us… “We who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23).
May we measure and examine our lives by evidence of the Spirit of God within, for He will work as Christ works and love as He loves.
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