Fruitful Living
HOLY SPIRIT III
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law – Galatians 5:16-18.
HOW TO LIVE IN THE SPIRIT
One thing above all distinguishes me from a non-Christian or from myself before I became a Christian: the indwelling life of Christ the Holy Spirit brings to me.
This is not simply an idea. It is a reality. I can know that Christ is my Savior and have perfectly orthodox ideas about Him, but that is different from having His living presence within me. As a Christian I have two natures perfectly united within myself by the working of the Holy Spirit: my human and the living presence of Christ. To live in the Spirit means the living presence of Christ has the authority. To live in the flesh means I have taken over the rule, and Christ does not have freedom to operate in me.
How do I learn to live in the Spirit, to activate the presence of Christ within me? I must take two basic steps.
- First, I must say yes to the Spirit. I must recognize Him and ask for His help. The most natural way to do this is in daily prayer. It seems as if the Holy Spirit thrives on recognition. As I recognize His presence, He makes that presence effectual.
I need to recognize the Holy Spirit day by day, so that He is free to work in me. Then, as I go about the activities of my daily life, I just say, ‘Lord, I’m going through these outward acts, and I am trusting you to work out their eternal dimension. The results both in my inner life and in the lives of the people I touch are up to you.”
One way, then, to release the Spirit within me is simply to recognize Him. Another way, related to the first, is to deal decisively back in its own hands. I simply must not allow the flesh that chance. Paul said, “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” – Galatians 5:16.
Paul didn’t say, ‘Don’t have the desires of the flesh.” Everyone has those desires, and it would be hypocritical to deny it. We are still of the flesh, and there is nothing wrong with the flesh – so long as it is not in the driver’s seat. But we tell the flesh, “No, you cannot have the steering wheel.” Even though we have the desires of the flesh, we don’t have to act them out. And when we say no to the flesh, we free the Spirit to act.
Larry Christenson puts it this way:
I had a disagreement with my wife one morning while we were traveling together in Europe. I was really angry with her. I felt she had been completely off base. We were going to take a train ride, and I was thinking, “If we get a compartment all to ourselves, I am going to really straighten her out.”
As we were riding down the hotel elevator, reedy to check out, I sensed the Holy Spirit saying, “Don’t talk about it.” The massage was very clear. This irritated me, and I mentally started to argue. “No,” the Holy Spirit said, “don’t bother. It’s not worth the time.” I recognize the Holy Spirit speaking, and so I didn’t say any more.
The whole thing was resolved in a far different way from what I had expected. We got a compartment all to ourselves on the train. I said nothing to my wife about our disagreement. She had a real burden to pray about one of our children, and so we had a good prayer time together. When we walked off a couple of hours later, the little thing I had been concerned about had just vanished. It had no more importance at all.
The Spirit, you see, had really wanted us to intercede for our child. All I had to do to release the Spirit was to decline to gratify the desire of the flesh to set my wife straight. The rest just happened; the Spirit took over. But in order for the Spirit to take over, I had to be willing to say no to the Spirit. At the moment of saying no, we may not know precisely what the spirit wants to do. But we can be sure He will tell us later, once we have cleared the way for Him to act.
Most people today have an individualistic mentally. They may have social relationships, but they think of themselves primarily as solitary individuals. This should not be true of Christians. What makes the Christian life so exciting is that we have been removed from a life of solitariness into a life of being united with another. This union needs to be quickened day by day. Day by day we need to become more aware of the presence of Christ living within us. We can do this if every day we say no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit.
Paul says it beautifully in Galatians 5:16-26 – So I advice you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts. Eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
Those who belong to Jesus Christ have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.
EQUIPPED FOR BATTLE
Can the Holy Spirit fight our daily battles for us? There may be emergencies in which we see the Holy at work, and we realize that He has, in a sense, taken over when we are at the end of our resources. But the task of the Holy Spirit is to teach us, to convict us, and to give us a perspective that will make us more effective in fighting our daily battles. He equips us to fight, rather than taking over our battles for us.
Source: Inspired by writings of Larry Christenson.
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4. Correct the falsehood
If someone misrepresents Muhammad (pbuh), teach people who Muhammad (pbuh) really was.
Tell them about his mercy.
Tell them about his justice.
Tell them about his patience.
Tell them about his forgiveness.
5. Report genuine offences
Use lawful channels.
The Muslim does not become the police, prosecutor, judge and executioner.
6. Protect the innocent
If one Christian insults Islam, do not attack another Christian who knows nothing about it.
If one Muslim makes an offensive statement, do not blame all Muslims.
7. Restore peace
After the controversy, bring responsible Muslim and Christian leaders together.
Talk.
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Clarify.
Forgive where forgiveness is appropriate.
And rebuild trust.
Ghana must not become a battlefield of religious provocation
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
Let us look around Ghana.
Muslims and Christians have lived together for generations.
We have Muslim fathers with Christian in-laws.
Christian mothers with Muslim sons-in-law.
Muslim and Christian business partners.
Muslim and Christian neighbours.
Muslim and Christian classmates.
Muslims and Christians serving together in the military, police, public service, universities, hospitals, markets and businesses.
This is Ghana.
We must protect this peace.
Religious freedom is precious.
But religious freedom comes with religious responsibility.
A microphone is not a weapon.
A pulpit is not a battlefield.
A smartphone is not a licence to spread hatred.
A viral video is not a fatwa (religious decree).
And anger is not evidence.
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A word to Muslim scholars
To my fellow Imams and Islamic scholars:
Allah has placed a trust upon our shoulders. You are the best of generations selected for the guidance of mankind. Quran chapter 3:110.
When people are angry, we must calm them.
When people are confused, we must educate them.
When people want revenge, we must teach justice.
When people want violence, we must remind them of Allah.
Our microphone should extinguish fire—not pour petrol upon it.
The Prophet said:ِ
لَيْس َ الشَّدِيد ُ بِالصُّرَعَةِ، إِنَّمَا الشَّدِيد ُ الَّذِي يَمْلِك ُ نَفْسَه ُ عِنْد َ الْغَضَب
“The strong man is not the one who can overpower others; rather, the strong man is the one who controls himself when angry.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, 6114; Sahih Muslim, 2609)
This is strength.
Self-control is strength.
Restraint is strength.
Wisdom is strength.
Justice is strength.
A word to Christian preachers
And to our Christian brothers and sisters, especially those who preach:
We Muslims deeply revere Jesus (peace be upon him)
He is not an ordinary man in Islam.
He is ʿĪsā ibn Maryam عليه السالم, a mighty Messenger of Allah.
The author is the Chief Imam of Katamanso Municipal and Certified Counsellor and Governance Expert.
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When Paul tells us that our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” he had summarized in the previous two verses what such an attitude was: selflessness, humility, and service. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” – Philippians 2:3-4.
In other words, the attitude a Christian should reflect is one that focuses on the needs and interests of others. Without question, that does not come naturally to us. When Christ came into the world, He established a whole new attitude to relationships with others. One day when His disciples were arguing among themselves regarding who was to be greatest in His kingdom, Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” – Matthew 20:25-28. Jesus is teaching us that, when we become preoccupied with our own things, it can cause conflicts and other problems with people we know. Instead, God wants us to have an attitude of serious, caring involvement in the concerns of others.
Paul speaks more about this Christ-like attitude in his letter to the church in Ephesus: “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.– Ephesians 4:22-24. Many religions of today, including the New Age philosophies, promote the old lie that we are divine or that we can become gods. But the truth of the matter is that we will never become God, or even a god. Satan’s oldest lie was promising Adam and Eve that, if they followed his advice, “- and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5, NKJV.
Each time we try to control our circumstances, our future, and the people around us, we’re only demonstrating that we want to be a god. But we must understand that, as creatures, we will never be the Creator. God doesn’t want us to try to become gods. Instead, He wants us to become like Him, taking on His values, His attitudes, and His character. We are meant to “be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” – Ephesians 4:23-24.
Finally, we must always keep in mind that God’s ultimate goal for His children is not our comfort, but the transformation of our minds into the attitude of godliness. He wants us to grow spiritually, to become like Christ. This doesn’t mean losing our personalities or becoming mindless clones. Christlikeness is all about transforming our minds. Again, Paul tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” – Romans 12:2.
It is God’s will that we develop the kind of mindset described in the Beatitudes of Jesus – Matthew 5:1-12, that we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23, that we emulate the principles in Paul’s great chapter on love – 1 Corinthians 13, and that we strive to pattern our lives after Peter’s characteristics of an effective and productive life – 2 Peter 1:5-8.
Establishing our actions in righteousness
Every person is commanded to live up to divine standards.
a. In the words of Jesus
“ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect” – Mt. 5:20, 48.
Every person in the world is required to live up to that standard. You say, “You’ve got to be kidding!” No, I’m not. You are obligated to live up to that standard with a pure inside as well as a right outside. But you say, “I can’t!” You are absolutely right. That’s why we are given the solution…
b. In the words of Paul
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;– Rom. 3:10, 21-22a.
Though you can’t obtain on your own the righteous standard Christ set, you can receive His righteousness if you are one of those who believe. Isn’t that great? God set the holy standard. And when you acknowledge that you can’t live up to it, He says, “My Son is not only the Lawgiver, but He is the Redeemer as well, who makes it possible for you to live on that level.” Beloved, it’s a fantastic thing! The standard is so high we can’t obtain it. But Christ met that standard and imputes to us His righteousness. Oh, what a blessed thing!
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