Introduction: Gospel Formed Life

Formed by the Spirit

One time I broke up with myself. I don't mean that in some wishy-washy, hippie self-help guru way. I mean it, literally. It was college, and I had been dating a girl for about four months. Things were getting pretty serious. We “loved” each other as you do at that age and were both trying to decide what was next. The problem, among a few, was the age gap. Well, it wasn't exactly the difference in age as it was in life stage. I was an upperclassman thinking about life after college, and she had just started as a freshman. So one emotional night after a long fight, I looked into her eyes and realized that though she was smitten with me, she needed to be a freshman just like everyone else. I knew she didn’t want to hurt me. So, I kindly dumped myself.

I tell that story because I think about it every time I think about Jesus ascending to the Father after his resurrection. It's an emotional goodbye, and he doesn't want to leave. Yet, he knows that he must go so that the disciples can live fully as they become the good news throughout the world. It's obvious at the ending of John in his heartfelt prayers that you'll read today that Jesus knows he has to break up with himself. He has to change his relationship with the disciples by ascending to the Father so that the Spirit can come. We can never underestimate or fully appreciate the significance that the Spirit of the living God has in our transformation. There's way more to the role of the Spirit in our transformation than we could ever cover in a singular day. Most extensive books even fall short. Yet, I want to make just a few helpful notes today that will lead into the scripture reading about the role of the Spirit in our Gospel formed life.

The Spirit is poured through Jesus.

If you listen well to the passages at hand, you discover that the Spirit is first poured into the resurrected Jesus and then into the church. So Jesus is like the funnel for the Spirit. Since he is the head of the church and the firstborn from among the dead, the Spirit connects his current role in his ascension and our reality here on earth. For example, in Acts 2:33, Peter says to the crowd responding to his preaching, "Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear." You will also read from John 16:7-16. In this reading, pay attention to the relationship between the Spirit, the Church, and Jesus.

The Spirit enables our participation in transformation.

The Spirit is the one forming us into the character of Christ. He encourages our engagement and effort in this transformation, but it is his work in our lives. We get to actively participate with the Spirit in being formed into the Gospel. For example, We will read from Galatians 5 today. This is a famous passage we call the fruit of the Spirit. We can quickly become enamored with the actual fruit (love, joy, peace, etc.), but we fail to recognize the more significant work. This fruit does not come about through our efforts. It is not the fruit of our actions or spiritual disciplines. Instead, it is the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot will ourselves into growing joy any more than a tulip can will itself into growing an apple. Yet, the Spirit allows us to participate with him in cultivating and abiding with the vine so that his fruit may be produced. As you read this passage today, pay special attention to the connection between the Spirit and Jesus. How does the Spirit enable or influence our formation and change?