This morning I am reflecting on a single verse from Paul's letter to the Roman's. It really is quite mind-blowing when you consider the reality of what is said by Paul. Here is the verse - Romans 8:11 NIV:
"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.'
What an amazing thought - the Holy Spirit living within us is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit will give life to our mortal bodies (our physical body) by His mere presence. He brings us gifts such as life, some of which just flow out of Him from His presence when He is here. I was just reminded of the image of the stream flowing from the temple (Ezk 47:1-12). So imagine that Ezekiel is seeing a prophetic picture of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and Son, and bringing life to all He touches - imagine that picture looked like a river. Here is what he described - Ezekiel 47:8-12 NIV:
[8] "He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. [9] Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. [10] Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds---like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. [11] But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. [12] Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. ”
I believe that this is somewhat what Ezekiel was seeing, a representation of the Holy Spirit flowing upon the earth. Jesus talked about how we have the Spirit within us which is a fount of living water, here is how John recoded it - John 7:37-39 NIV:
[37] "On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified."
So it is clear, we all, who have received Christ, have the Holy Spirit living within us, and this Holy Spirit is a river of living water that is meant to flow out of us. In addition to flowing out of us, it also affects us as well, bringing God's life to us! If the stream brings life to those it touches down stream it certainly brings life to the source point, our very bodies. So as not to be confused, I thought I would look at exactly what Paul was saying by the phrase "give life". It should match what Ezekiel saw (in my opinion), and what Jesus described. The Greek word Paul used is 'zoopoieo" and it is defined as follows:
1) to produce alive, begat or bear living young
2) to cause to live, make alive, give life
a) by spiritual power to arouse and invigorate
b) to restore to life
c) to give increase of life: thus of physical life
d) of the spirit, quickening as respects the spirit, endued with new and greater powers of life
3) metaph., of seeds quickened into life, i.e. germinating, springing up, growing
When we look back at the prophetic imagery Ezekiel recorded, we see the river brining life, making dead waters fresh, bringing life to everything around it, causing the fish and fruit to produce bountiful harvests and release healing to those it touches. This imagery is very much in line with the definition of 'zoopoieo'. So what does that look like in our actual lives, in our mortal bodies?
If we limit our thinking just to our physical bodies, then Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit, by His presence within us brings regeneration, invigoration, restoration, increase of life, spiritual power, the ability to cause others to grow. If we look at the original context of this verse, Paul is speaking about the Holy Spirit raising Jesus from the dead, in victory over sin and death. This same power is in us!
As I was thinking about this, and wondering about why we often don't seem to experience the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit living within us, I saw a picture of an IV and a bag of healing medicine, and fluids necessary to restore one who is sick. At the bottom of these IV bags is a little spigot that is used to increase or decrease the flow of medicine and fluids into one's body. If we wanted to, we could turn that spigot off, and stop the flow of medicine. If someone didn't know that this flow of liquid was to provide healing and life, and were unaware of how to open the spigot, they would not receive any of the medicine. However, if we were to open the spigot, or have the doctor or nurse do so, we would begin to receive the benefit of that which heals and is meant to restore us to life.
So this morning, I am encouraged to ask for an increase of the flow of the Holy Spirit, out of me and through me! I want more of His life, more of His healing to flow out of me! The focus is outside of me, to those around me and those that come in contact with me, but I benefit too. Lord, I do desire to see restoration, regeneration, invigoration, an increase of life and Spiritual power in my own life and in the life of those down-stream from me! This is no ordinary stream but the stream of Life, the Holy Spirit! I want You to open wide the spigot!
Amen and Amen!
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