Luke 1:15-16
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God."
These verses are a promise concerning John the Baptist. Before birth, God determined John would be touched by the Spirit as a prophet of God's word, coming with a message preparing souls for the Living Word, Jesus Christ. O that all of us could know the plan Jesus has for us even from the moment of our birth!
While a fairly simple text concerning John's coming ministry, I struggle to know what are we to do with John's apparent touch by the Spirit even before birth. Do these verses tell us God alone determines who will be filled with the Spirit? If so, what is humanity's role in faith, if any? Not simple questions, and quite possibly maybe doctrinal questions we'll not be able to answer this side of Heaven. Still, there are some things we can know, even in the face of these uncertainties.
First, understand that our salvation comes only when the Spirit converts our corrupted natures to the righteousness of Christ, and without a doubt, that miracle occurs at the point of our belief in Jesus Christ. Since John surely could not believe unto salvation from his mother's womb, this verse could not be the determination of John's salvation.
Here's what I think. In God's sovereign foreknowledge, he knew that John would be one who would come to believe, so even from John's conception, the Spirit went ahead and set aside John for a ministry like no other. Maybe that is the way the Spirit does it for all of us. When God for knows our salvation, he determines for us a ministry unto him.
Second, understand that while faith is required for salvation, this faith comes to us from God. It is not a matter of our hearts coming up with enough faith in order to force God to touch us with the Spirit. Faith only comes as a free gift and is not of ourselves. That said, if God determines to send his faith even in our mother's womb, then let God be God and let God's will be done.
Truth of the matter is this. God is sovereign unto salvation, and he has given us a choice to believe.
While I'll not lose any sleep over this one, since my God is big enough to work all this out, I rejoice that God has a plan for us in him. It is only by a touch of the Spirit that we're able to fulfill that plan in our lives.
LORD JESUS
May we come to know the touch of your Spirit at the earliest of ages, making us ready to fulfill God' plans in us so that no time is wasted. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment