LIBERTY IN THE SPIRIT

LIBERTY IN THE SPIRIT

by Ps Kong Hee

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

- 2 Corinthians 3:17 -

The Spirit-filled walk is neither characterized by license nor legalism, but liberty. Our freedom in Christ is one of the greatest gifts we have received from our spiritual union with God. Because the Spirit of the Lord is in you, you are free to choose to live a responsible and moral life.

Freedom comes from the Holy Spirit. He never usurps the will or the personality of the believer. He never compels the believer to do anything against his own will or choice. So in order to receive Him, we must voluntarily yield to Him and accept His control. He will never force us to do anything against our own will. Some believers make this mistake when seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit- they erroneously imagine that the Holy Spirit will force them to speak with other tongues. They think they will lose control of their will.

However in Acts 2:4, we understand that the disciples “began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” If the disciples never voluntarily began to speak, the Holy Spirit would not have given them the utterance. So when we speak in tongues, there must be cooperation on our part with the Holy Spirit. If a believer becomes passive and thinks that the Holy Spirit is going to make it happen with or without his cooperation, he will be disappointed. The believer cannot do it without the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit will not do it without the believer!

2 Corinthians 3:17 says the Holy Spirit is indeed “Lord”-as fully as God the Father and God the Son. But He, like the Father and the Son, waits for the believer to acknowledge His lordship. The Holy Spirit will lead and direct the believer to the extent he voluntarily submit to Him. So what does it mean to submit to the lordship of the Spirit? It is the continual yielding to the Spirit’s control in every area of our personality and every department of our life.

The Bible tells us that Jesus did not receive the Holy Spirit by measure (John 3:34). Therefore, the measure is not in God’s giving; the measure is in our receiving. We can have as much of the Holy Spirit as we are willing to yield to Him as Lord over our lives.