LEARNING DAILY

 

Judges 3:10a, The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel.

 

One of the early judges was a man named Othniel. When the people of the Israel did evil in His sight, He raised up a judge to be used to remove the bondage brought upon them. He had grown up under the influence of his uncle, Caleb; Othniel had a heritage of courage and strength. Yet, that strength came from the verse above. ”The spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel.” This is an important statement to understand about the men and women God used to judge Israel at this time (It is still true today!). The judges were supernaturally empowered by God’s Holy spirit with power and the wisdom needed to perform great works for God and Israel.

 

Let me use the thoughts found in the David Jeremiah Study Bible to explain the work of the Holy Spirit as the third person of the triune Godhead. I will not be able to fully explain the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit because I do not fully understand it. Jesus, the Son, the second person of the Godhead, is always spoken of as the creative agent for God the Father’s specific creation; creation would be an example. We know He was also clearly obedient to the purpose of God the Father; these plans were the Father’s from the very beginning.

 

Before the Son ascended into heaven, He told His disciples that He would send to them a Comforter, a Helper to be with them. The Holy Spirit was given to them and to all who place their faith and trust in the Son today to guide, strengthen, encourage them to do the work of God the Father on earth. The Holy Spirit is shown to have been present or led Old Testament individuals in doing the plan of God as well; Joshua and Othniel were led by the Holy Spirit as previously shown. The work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was to give wisdom and understanding in order to empower that individual with the ability to “stand out or do something extraordinary”. The Holy Spirit led Joshua in the taking of the Promised land and He led Othniel as he judged Israel.

 

Consider Romans 8:9 today. “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, He is not His.” This next statement is important to know and remember: “All believers from the moment of their spiritual birth and faith in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit living in them” (LSSB). This is important for you and me because the Holy Spirit does in us what He did for all those mentioned in the Bible doing His work; the Holy Spirit is equipping you and me to do God’s work on this earth today. He is helping each of us to walk on the narrow way leading to God’s kingdom and is helping us to get as many on that way as possible.

 

It is the Holy Spirit that helps individuals find eternal life through the Son. Jesus, the Son, told Nicodemus that in John 3:5, 16.  The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:13, that the Holy Spirit is the way a person becomes part of the body of Christ.  Once in the family of God, the Holy Spirit begins to show evidence of Christ’s life in believers – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”; this is the fruit of the Spirit living within each Believer. God the Son was raised to sit at the right hand of God the Father and “God the Spirit remains with us on earth, equipping God’s people to carry out God’s work and bring life to a fallen, dying world” (DJSB).

 

The purpose and work of the Holy Spirit in your life and my life is to expand God the Father’s work on this earth. He helps us to understand the writings of Scripture and strengthens us to be the light of God the Son to the world around us. He gives us the abilities or gifts we have to represent Christ to those around us, to possibly be the “only Bible those around us will ever read”. Fill me with Holy Spirit in order to be an open book of the wonderful life You offer!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.