In the prior Covenant, God was someone who was separate from us. He gave His people a set of rules; if His people obeyed them, they would be blessed. If not, they would be cursed. God’s spirit came upon very few men and women—judges, kings and prophets. God’s people lived under the constant threat of contamination and becoming unclean through everyday contact with the world.
When God became a man, His ministry of redemption changed all of that.
In the New Covenant, God isn’t something separate from us; instead, God’s Spirit lives in us. Our obedience to a set of rules isn’t judged by a distant God on the outside; instead, God’s Spirit prompts us from the inside to be about our Father’s work. God’s Spirit isn’t available to the select few; instead, God’s Spirit is poured out on all. In the New Covenant, everyday contact with the world doesn’t contaminate God’s people or make us unclean; instead contact with God’s people places the world at ‘risk’ of redemption. God isn’t on defense, God is on offense and engaged in a mission of redemption on a global scale.
Our work is to believe in God and to yield to God’s Spirit. Wonderful fruit results when we yield to God’s Spirit.
And before we ‘help’ a brother or sister that seems caught in sin, we need to pause and conduct a self-check first. If we cannot honestly see the fruit of God’s Spirit in our own life, we need to back away from correcting others. Instead, it is an opportunity for us to learn to more fully yield to God’s Spirit.
God is pleased enough with us to desire to make His home in us; His Kingdom arrives when His Spirit inhabits us.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.