The Results of a New Life in ChristSample

EMPOWERED BY GOD

Acts 1:8—A common barrier to trusting in Christ is a reluctance to live accordingly, or a fear of failing in trying to do so. What this misses, though, is the change God works in and through a person who has trusted in Christ. Before Christ was crucified, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to help believers (John 16:13–14). The subsequent events in the Book of Acts supply ample evidence of this promise’s fulfillment (Acts 4:7, 33; 6:8).

The power of the Holy Spirit was not designed solely for the first-century church. Rather, all Christians are indwelt by the Spirit and have His power available (1 Cor. 6:19). However, living under the Spirit’s power must not be thought of as simply allowing the Spirit to take control while the believer does nothing. Believers still must work at living properly, though they do so through the Spirit’s power. Romans 8:13 says, “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” It is the believer who is to put to death the sinful deeds of the body, but the believer does it through the Spirit’s power.

Christians who try to live in their own strength will fail. Instead, by faith, we must appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit each day (Rom. 8:4–5). Practically, this means we trust the Spirit to empower us in specific instances, such as sharing our faith with others, resisting temptation, and living in love. There is no secret formula that makes the Spirit’s power available. It is simply a reliance on the Spirit to help.

This Bible study is an excerpt fromThe OPEN Bible, Published by Thomas Nelson Bibles