GALATIANS 3:13-14
"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Just as the Spirit fell upon Jewish believers at the Pentecost celebration in Jerusalem, so would come the Spirit's touch on Gentile believers in a like manner.
With Christ's death, the curse of the law no longer applies to any person, making Jews and Gentiles the same before God, with both needing the salvation offered to us in Christ. And both receive salvation in the same way—through faith in Jesus Christ.
Some argue the Spirit is given only to those who have sufficient faith fpr this blessing, but it should be clear that salvation is only of Christ, and from faith in him we receive the Spirit. There is no filling of the Spirit given as a blessing of our faith. From the moment of salvation, the Spirit is given to all believers as God's gift.
I think God set things up this way so that those of the church would not be tempted to judge each other's faith. No one can look at another believer and claim to be closer to God because of the Spirit's presence. While it is our nature to judge to each other, and this is often the cause of church conflicts, this is not the nature of our God. Instead, the Spirit, Father and Son all live in perfect harmony as the one triune God.
We'd do well as the church to embrace this same harmony in our congregations.
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for the faith we need for salvation and the Spirit which fills us as a testimony of your work in us. Amen.
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