This devotional first appeared in https://www.revivalandreformation.org
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 1 Corinthians 2:12.
It is not because of any restriction on God’s part that the riches of His grace do not flow to men. His gift is godlike. He gave with a liberality that men do not appreciate because they do not love to receive. If all were willing to receive, all would be filled with the Spirit. By resting content with small blessings, we disqualify ourselves for receiving the Spirit in … unlimited fullness. We are too easily satisfied with a ripple on the surface, when it is our privilege to expect the deep moving of the Spirit of God. Expecting little, we receive little.
The necessity of the Holy Spirit’s working should be realized by all. Unless this Spirit is accepted and cherished as the representative of Christ, whose work it is to renew and sanctify the entire being, the momentous truths that have been entrusted to human beings will lose their power on the mind. It is not enough for us to have a knowledge of the truth. We are to walk and work in love, conforming our will to the will of God. Of those who do this the Lord declares, “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10). God is the mighty, all-powerful agency in this work of transformation. By His Holy Spirit He writes His law in the heart.
Thus divine relationship is renewed between God and man. “I will be to them a God,” He says, “and they shall be to Me a people” (see Exodus 6:7; Jeremiah 31:33). “There is no attribute of My nature that I will not freely give in order than man may reveal My image.” When we allow God to work His will in us, we shall harbor no sin. In the refining furnace all dross will be consumed.
When the Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost, it was like a rushing, mighty wind. [The Spirit] was given in no stinted measure; for He filled all the place where the disciples were sitting. So will it be given to us when our hearts are prepared to receive Him.—The Review and Herald, June 10, 1902.
