I’ve been posting about the Holy Spirit as the Sent One to the church. I said that believing Him is what feeds our soul. Remember when Jesus met the woman at the well.
The disciples went off to the city to get lunch, and left Him alone. When they returned they saw that revival had broken out.
Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
John 4:31-32
What did Jesus tell the people about this spiritual food that feeds your soul? Believe the one God has sent.
Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
John 4:33-34
According to Jesus, His food was to do the will of the One who sent Him. That means He heard, believed, and obeyed the Father. But how did He hear from the Father; how did they communicate?
I think the answer is obvious – it was by the Holy Spirit. So, what’s required to finish the work? Continue hearing, believing, and obeying.
Now I want to look back to the crowd in Capernaum that I talked about in my last post. They started arguing with Jesus about this spiritual food. They told the Lord that if He would do a miracle they’d believe Him. Incredibly, these are the same 5000 that He had just miraculously fed with the loaves and fishes.
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:32-33
We need to understand this. The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven. Who is the One from Heaven in our generation?
In talking about the prophets of old, Peter said…
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
1 Peter 1:12
Who is now sent from heaven? It’s the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. He comes from heaven; He’s the spiritual bread to us. He’s the One who gives life to the world.
This is an important truth for us to grasp. It’s one of the main reasons the church is lacking in power these days. Without a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit, we’ll lack the spiritual nourishment – the vitality – to see God’s power work through us.
In my next post I’ll take this thought a step further.
Question: How have you been strengthened as you spend time with the Holy Spirit?
© Nick Zaccardi 2015
The Spirit and the Word 