The Romance of Romans-Part 81

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.

Comments:

2 Tim 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit (or Spirit) of power, of love and of a sound mind.

Whenever I get the chance to preach about the Person of the Holy Spirit, I like to refer to this verse as a foundation. I believe that Paul is here referring specifically to the gift of the Holy Spirit rather than one of the gifts of the Spirit. As we survey the scriptures we indeed discover that He is a Spirit of power. He is a Spirit of love. These two aspects of the Spirit's Person and work are often referred to. And...this kind of language about him makes sense to us.

But then Paul says that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of a sound mind, or discipline, or self-discipline...depending on the particular translation. To me, this language is strange and has inspired some further research and reflection on my part. It seems to be a neglected aspect of the Holy Spirit and yet it is as vital to a Spirit-filled human life as the first two.

It turns out that this passage is the only place in the whole Bible where this specific Greek word is used. Here is what Adam Clarke the commentator says about this word where I have also put my comments in ( ):

“Of a sound mind”, soophronismou (grk 4995), of self-possession and government, according to some. But a sound mind implies much more; it means a clear understanding, a sound judgment, a rectified will, holy passions, heavenly tempers (thoughts and feelings); in a word, the whole soul harmonized in all its powers and faculties; and completely regulated and influenced, so as to think, speak, and act aright in all things. The apostle says, God hath given the spirit of these things; they are not factitious (artificial, forced, engineered); they are not assumed for times and circumstances; they are radical powers and tempers (internal abiding realities); each produced by its proper principle (i.e. it is expressed from the inside/out).

Related ideas: discipline, self-control, sobering, safe, self-restraint, to admonish

My conviction that it is only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that this kind of virtue can become imputed and genuinely expressed through our lives. The pathway to self-government and self-discipline and a renewed mind begins with the presence of the Person of the Holy Spirit within us. He himself is the spirit...the animating secret...of the kind of sound mind and renewed thinking that living in Christ involves.

An astounding implication of this is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t by-pass and isn’t superimposed upon our personality, but He becomes deeply joined to us in a cooperative and interactive partnership. He literally dwells within us and works through our human faculties. As a result of this reality, we become "supernaturally natural"...maybe you've heard the term before? We are not the Holy Spirit (and this clear distinction between Creator and creature must never be confused), but he enables us to become our truest selves as the faculties of our entire beings come under his divine influences. God wants us to "be ourselves" and also want us to allow him to "be himself". I'm not him and he's not me...but we make a great team! Does this bring as much peace and joy to your heart as it does to mine?

One of the most encouraging experiences we can have in life is to serve others in counsel, prayer, presence, acts of love and kindness...along with many other possible avenues...only to later discover that the Holy Spirit was quietly inspiring what we assumed were our own ideas, words and choices that were simply flowing naturally from our hearts, minds and bodies. But the feedback we receive about how those encounters met the exact needs of folks that we didn't even know they felt, convinces us that it was more than "merely us" who was working in and through us. This is what it essentially means to be "supernaturally natural"... a style of living, relating and ministering that I heartily recommend.