Pauls Understanding of Holy Spirit Essay -- Religion, Bible, Romans 8

Coming to class today did you guys see anything beautiful? Maybe it was a car. Perhaps a work of art made of glass. Maybe it was jewelry or it is was a flower. If it is really beautiful, you tend to look at it from every direction to appreciate each aspect of it. It just feels good to take in all of the beauty, and satisfying to your senses. Well, I feel that way about the Holy Spirit, how the Holy Spirit leads in our life with an emphasis on His physical direction, how the Holy Spirit leads us spiritually is simply beautiful. Wouldn’t you say? Are you being led by the Spirit? Are you in the Spirit? Does the Spirit dwell in you? It is certainly important for you to be able to answer yes to these questions, but just saying so is not sufficient enough. There is, quite simply, many unscriptural ideas about what these phrases mean. Many people wrongly believe that the Holy Spirit's influence on a person is a "mystical revelation" which overpowers human intentions and that we discern right decisions from wrong ones based on feelings which the Holy Spirit puts directly into our heads apart from Biblical revelation. Many say that the way they feel carries much more weight than the written word. If one can honestly answer "yes" to the questions above, it is only because he has chosen to yield to the teachings and urgings of the Spirit that have been provided to us Christians by God's providence in His Holy Scriptures. You are not really led by the Holy Spirit if you are not living according to His teachings in the gospel. The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, shares a great deal of information to us about this subject in Romans 8:1-17. Romans 8 may be described as falling into three distinct but closely related categories. Vers... ...ristian has a choice. He can either live in the realm of the flesh or of the Holy Spirit. The Christian must choose between these two worlds, the way of the flesh, or of the way of the Spirit. Those who walk according to the flesh are condemned to death. On the other hand, those who walk according to the Spirit are led to eternal life. To walk in the Spirit is to have confidence that God is your Father, and that all guidance and strength comes through the Holy Spirit. "I put my mind on Christ and try to listen and obey the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5), the Holy Spirit will give me life and peace (Romans 8:6). If a man is a Christian, he has the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). His spirit has been made alive (Romans 8:10) The Holy Spirit is giving life back to his body, bringing it back from the deadness of sin (Romans 8:11) and bring abundant new life in Christ."(Graham)