2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NIV)
17 Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
“‘The Lord’ in this text can be seen as a reference to the spirit, the sovereign one who softens hearts and changes lives, who brings new life in the present and guarantees it for the future. And this leads Paul to the most astonishing claim of the whole chapter (verse 18). When he looks at a congregation, and when they look at him, and when they look at one another, everybody is looking at somebody else in whose heart and life the spirit, the Lord, has been at work, to heal, to soften, to change, to give life – in other words, to give glory.” (NT Wright, Paul for Everyone – 2 Corinthians)
The presence of the Spirit in our lives means we can and do change. This is exciting news! For anyone who’s ever said “This is just the way things are” or “I’m stuck like this forever,” now as people of the Spirit we have new expectations. As Christians we can and do mature, we can and do experience breakthrough, we can and do experience deeper measures of healing in our lives.
Prayer: “Lord, we pray for a new wind of the Spirit in our campuses and communities. May our gatherings this week be places of freedom where lives are changed and people are set free through the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Let’s worship to “Where the Spirit of the Lord Is” by Hillsong (click here)
– LL