Believe and Glorify
John 7:38-39
The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him. He said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been received because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Jesus gave us the promise of a treasure in this verse, and if we read over it too quickly, we will miss it. He was describing the coming of the Holy Spirit after His death, but the secret to being filled with His Spirit is found here. The Spirit gives life and draws people to Christ. When we are filled with the Spirit, people are drawn to Christ through us.
When we believe in Christ for the first time and receive the gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. The more we submit to that Spirit, the more God will fill us with the Spirit. We can quench the work of the Spirit in our lives by ignoring Him, or we can submit to His leading and receive more power through His work in us.
The key to being filled with the Holy Spirit is found in the very last words of the passage. The disciples had not yet received the Holy Spirit when Christ was teaching because He had not yet died and resurrected. Once His sacrifice was made, God raised Him in glorification. After He ascended into heaven, He sent us His Spirit to live in us, and the disciples received that Spirit at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit did not come, however, until Christ was glorified. In order for the Holy Spirit to fill our lives, Christ must be glorified in us. When we believe Him and our lives glorify His name, the Spirit comes.
The word, “salvation,” means “to be made whole.” When we first believe in the work of the cross and receive Christ as Savior, our souls are saved for eternity, but we still have to live out this life on earth. In our Christian walk, we are being transformed into the image of Christ, and this working out of our salvation is a process. We gain victory over sin and become whole as an individual by grace through faith, just as when we were first saved. When we believe on Christ to help us gain victory over our struggles in life and surrender our self-efforts to Him, He gives us grace to overcome. When we glorify Him for the victory, the Holy Spirit fills our being, and others are drawn to the Christ in us.
Believe in Christ to help you gain victory where you need it today. Surrender yourself to His Holy Spirit, and receive grace to meet your every need. Give Christ the glory He deserves, and satisfy the longing of those around you who desperately need to see a hope that is living and active and welcoming to their own need. Believe in Christ and glorify His name. To this, you are called.
Have a blessed day