Emblems of the Spirit

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.

Luke 24:49

God’s plan is to use people as His instruments to help others come to know Him. The early church found herself completely inadequate in her own strength to accomplish His plan — and we are equally inadequate in ourselves alone. We need the Spirit to work in us and through His work within to flow through us to touch others. The idea means that we are touched and transformed first by Him, and then used by Him in the lives of others. Yet we do not need to become perfect before God can use us, but we do need to know the Source of our life and our strength.

Some misunderstand this principle and say, “Well, I don’t have to be perfect so I will just tell people what I think is the way they should live.” This only resorts in more confusion in people’s lives. They may think, “The pastor is not perfect either, and God uses him, so why not me, too?” What they who think and say such things do not realize is that the person God is using knows the Source of life — God Himself — and it is not just wild ideas that happen to pop into people’s heads. The Church of the Living God is not a collection of people who just happen to want to give out their own good advice.

The tools that God uses are those of His Word, and of His Spirit’s work in our lives, and some people who are deeply devoted to the Word and commune with the Spirit He may use also to help others grow (who take up their cross daily and follow after Christ). The emblems of the Spirit help us to understand this truth. In Scripture He is likened to:

• A peaceful dove — emphasizing the gentleness of the Spirit, Matt 3:16, Galatians 5:22
• A burning flame — emphasizing His purifying nature and His convicting power in hearts, Isaiah 4:4, John 16:8–11, Acts 2:3, and 1 Cor. 2:10
• Refreshing water — emphasizing His life and His purifying and refreshing Presence, Isaiah 41:17–18, John 7:37–38, Revelation 22:17
• The wind — emphasizing His independence, His unpredictability, His refreshing life, and His power, Ezekiel 37:9–14, John 3:8, Acts 2:2
• Oil — emphasizing His healing, His anointing, His enlightenment, His empowering of our lives, Psalm 45:7, Isaiah 61:1, 1 John 2:20,27
• Rain — emphasizing His refreshing nature and how He promotes growth, Psalm 72:6, Hosea 6:3, Gal. 5:22–23, Acts 3:19
• A Voice — emphasizing His guidance, His encouragement, and His authority, Isaiah 6:8, Matt. 10:20, John 16:13

In all of these emblems the Lord has given us insight into His personality and His work within us. As is often the case with studies in Scripture, the sum is greater than the whole of the parts, for there is more to God than can be conveyed to us through words.

The closer we walk with God, the more of our heart we let the Spirit have, the more we surrender to His leadership, the more He will be able to flow through us to touch and teach and encourage others.