Daily Bread – December 26, 2023 (The Third Day – Genesis 1:9-13) Matthew 1:18 – Now, the birth of Jesus the Christ was in this manner. When His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were joined together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s Role In Revealing Jesus Through The Church The Holy Spirit is God, and He’s in charge of the Church and of the life of the saints (John 14:26, 16:12-15; Romans 15:13; 1 Corinthians 2:13 and Acts 5:3, 8:29, 10:19-20, 13:2,4, 15:28, 16:6-7). He is the One Who fills us with the life of Jesus (1 John 3:24). He is the Paraclete Who was sent to us to live and abide with us forever (John 14:16). Although Jesus is the Head over the Church, He communicates everything He does through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11). The Holy Spirit is the One Who reveals Jesus, and makes known to all of the saints the will of the Father (John 16:12-15). He is the One Who comes upon us and changes us into a new creation (John 3:3-5). He is the One Who functions in the midst of the Church to lead us and to guide us. He is the One Who orchestrates everything that goes on in the midst of the Church (1 Corinthians 12:4, 12:7-11). He is the One Who gives the utterance of tongues (Acts 2:4, 10:45-47, 19:6; 1 Corinthians 14:12-16). He is the One Who prophesies through the saints of God (Acts 2:17-18, 19:6, 21:9; 1 Corinthians 14:1,24,39). The Holy Spirit is the One Who we are to depend on to speak, and by the demonstration of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel must be preached (1 Corinthians 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:5). He is the One Who gives us power to be witnesses (Luke 24:48-49; Acts 1:8). He is the One Who gives oversight to the Church, and speaks directly to us concerning the will of God. Just as Jesus did all of His miracles by the Holy Spirit before the cross, He continues to do miracles by the Holy Spirit through His saints. The ministry of Jesus focused on the Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 3:5-6, 4:14,24, 7:38-39; and Luke 4:18; Mark 3:29, 13:11; Matthew 12:28). The ministry and testimony of the early Church focused on the working of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5,8, 2:4,33,38, 4:8,31, and Acts 5:3,32, 6:5, 7:51,55, and Acts 8:15,17,18,29,39, 9:17,31, and Acts 10:19,47,44-45, 11:12,16,24,28, and Acts 13:2,4,9,52, 15:8,28, and Acts 16:6-7, 19:2,6). The ministry of Paul focused on the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2,6; 1 Corinthians 2:4, 14:1-40; and Ephesians 3:16, 5:18; Galatians 5:16, 5:22-25; and Romans 5:5, 8:1-16, 14:17, 15:13). Therefore, if we are going to truly honor Jesus and follow Him, then our lives and ministries must also focus on what the Holy Spirit is doing and wants to do! Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 12/26/2023
