God's Holy Fire: 'Life-Giving Spirit'

Death, the immutable reality of our physical mortality, is an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). Yes, there are times for those who follow Jesus that death is a blessing. The hard reality, however, is that death, and the decay of everything good and precious to us in this world, hold our world captive. They have done so since the sad rebellion in the Garden of Eden. Adam brought this captivity to us, and we have compounded it by our own rebellions, big and small. This decay, and our dance with it, spread the vile smell of death to our relationships, our physical lives, and our dreams. But Christ Jesus, who is God's Messiah, faced death and triumphed. His bodily resurrection began the sure hope of our own escape from our world of decay. His Spirit is now alive in us. The Spirit is our guarantee of ultimate victory over sin, death, and decay (Ephesians 1:13-14). Death no longer holds us captive. The antidote courses through us just as surely as our blood does. God's life-giving Christ is alive in us through the Spirit, and we are assured we will stand with him, redeemed and whole, alive and victorious.