2022_09_12 Insight Post- Kim Feld

  -   September 12, 2022

This week’s reading- 2 Corinthians 5-6

As I was reading 2 Corinthians chapters 5 and 6, I kept coming back to chapter 5, verse 5:

⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

The idea that captured my heart in this verse is about the Holy Spirit. We spend time discussing God and Jesus, but the Holy Spirit often seems a little harder to grasp. Jesus described the Holy Spirit as a gift given in His physical absence (see John 14). He went on to say that the Holy Spirit would teach us and remind us of Jesus’ teachings.

Paul uses this same language about the Holy Spirit in other letters, describing Him as giving us a glimpse of what’s to come. So let’s take a look.

²³ And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Romans 8:23 NLT

¹³ And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. ¹⁴ The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. Ephesians 1:13-14 NLT

We also saw this earlier in 2 Corinthians chapter 1:

²² and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

When I think of the word deposit, I think of putting something valuable in a safe place. God gives us the Holy Spirit as a gift, entrusting us with something extremely valuable. Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is to encourage us and guide us. His presence confirms the promise that we will never be alone or forsaken. He convicts us when we get off track and reminds us of who we are in Christ. How good our God is to give us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us! He knows we need reassurance and comfort in our journey because life is hard.

Prayer:

Father, I’m grateful for the gift of your Holy Spirit giving me a glimpse of eternity with You. May I be open and receptive to His leading and prompting in all areas of my life today.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.