Experiencing God's Presence #315

I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

Galatians 3:5

Paul preached the gospel of grace throughout the region of Galatia, and many believed. Jewish Christian teachers came through the region later and insisted that righteousness, even for believers, was a matter of keeping Israel’s law. Paul debated this idea vigorously in Galatians, making the valid point that if we’re saved by grace through faith, we should continue to live by grace through faith, not by keeping the law. The work of God was accomplished in their lives not because of obedience to the law but because they believed.

This verse in Galatians 3 comes in the context of that debate about the role of the law versus the role of faith. That theme takes center stage. But do you see what gets lost in the discussion? One of Paul’s best pieces of evidence is that the Holy Spirit is present in them and working miracles among them because of their faith. It’s clear that this isn’t strictly a theological argument, an exchange of unprovable hypotheses. No, God has given visible confirmation of their faith. When people believe, the Holy Spirit’s work can be seen and miracles happen.

Why don’t we see more miracles? Perhaps because we don’t believe we will. We have two millennia worth of rationalizations to explain all the times we haven’t seen one when we expected to, and the explanations may undermine our faith. Or perhaps it’s because we don’t cultivate the Spirit’s Presence as the Galatians did. Regardless of the reason, we can believe and expect to see evidence of the Spirit’s work. He responds to faith in the message of Jesus. There is power in His Presence.

Holy Spirit, I believe in Your power to do miracles, and I want to see the evidence of Your work. Help me believe fully and expect great things from You.

From the book