We’ve seen in this course that this freedom happens when we come to the cross and put faith in what we see and hear there. At the cross, Jesus entered your darkness (Luke 23:44-46) to rescue you out of it. “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). He was nailed to the cross to break your chains and set you free!
And now, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has given us the Holy Spirit. And this is the key to freedom!
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Galatians 5:16 NIV
Earlier in this course, we learned that we receive the Spirit by hearing and believing the good news about the cross (Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 3:1-5). This truth was illustrated by the Israelites receiving the fresh flowing water when the rock was struck (Exodus 17:1-6). Just like the rock that was struck produced flowing water for them to drink, so out of Jesus’ crucifixion, where He was struck unto death, flows the Holy Spirit to all who believe.
We also learned the importance of coming to the cross daily and often, receiving the good news over and over, and experiencing the ongoing power of the Holy Spirit. The cross and the Spirit are united (1 Corinthians 2:2-5).
So, to be free, what you need to hear is this:
Jesus took your sins upon Himself and suffered and died to forgive you and free you.
Jesus loved you enough to step in front of the arrows of God’s wrath (His hatred of sin), and Jesus died instead of you (1 Thessalonians 1:10), thereby freeing you from all guilt and condemnation!
Jesus became the “bull” that died with your sins on Him and the “Scapegoat” that removed your sins far from you on that great “Day of Atonement” (Leviticus 16).
And if you will believe this good news, the Holy Spirit’s power will enable you to live differently. And His power is what we need to be free.
For the remainder of this lesson, we will look at the work of the Holy Spirit. As we’ve seen before, our role is to learn how to walk by the Spirit so that we don’t gratify the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:16).
We are told in Ephesians 5:18 NIV, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” This verse tells us that there is a substitute available that we can turn to when we want to get drunk; it is the Holy Spirit, whom we find at the cross. We can come to the cross, look up and see our Savior dying for us, receive that good news again, be embraced by Jesus’ love anew, and the Holy Spirit meets us there at the cross. We begin to be filled with the Spirit each time we go to the cross.
Question 3. What does Ephesians 5:18 tell us to do instead of getting drunk (doing drugs/smoking, etc.)?
Next, let’s look together at Galatians chapter 5. Please read the following passage and answer the questions below:
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”
Galatians 5:13-15 NIV
Question 4. According to Galatians 5:13 NIV, what were you called to be?