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I have a love affair with stained glass. Yes I know, very fuddy duddy, but that’s me. God, the Holy Spirit as a dove is the most common representation that I’ve come across but I found this image online. It is framed in Babbitt, Minnesota Evangelical Lutheran Church. They were installed in June, 2003. The artists are Tammy and Kevin Gilmore. Click image to enlarge.
Sanctifying
“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Rom 8:13)
“Sanctification is the gracious work of God in setting the believer apart for Himself and for service in the world.” (Wiesbe 2002) All three persons of the Trinity play an active role in our positional-past (Acts 20:32), progressive-present (Romans 6:1 – 22) and perfect-future (Galatians 5:16 – 25) sanctification. In this process it is the Holy Spirit who shapes our affections (Rom 8:13), sparks our desires (Rom 5:5), moulds our character (2 Cor 3:18) and produces the fruit which validates our Christlikeness (Gal 5:22 – 23).
Conclusion
The doctrine of the Holy Spirit has been catapulted into the forefront of Christian debate in the past few decades. A revival of spiritual and mystical interest in our cultural context means that the church must be on it’s guard, actively defending the Apostolic teachings, developing and promulgating sound doctrine for the good of the church.
Beyond theory, the Holy Spirit is critical to the spiritual health and wellbeing of believers and the body as a whole. It is He who guides us, He who teaches us and He who gifts us. Without complete reliance upon Him we become the dried up, worn out, spent organization that Satan would have us be. With Him we are the unshakable, unwavering, steadfast Church of God. Amen!
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Want to hear the verse in context? Romans 6 |
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Because He Lives 