In the last post we saw that the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to communicate to us that we are the children of God. This activity by the Spirit in the heart of a true Christian is called a ‘testimony’, and points us to God as our Father.
As we believe this reality, our hearts are ‘walking in’ the Spirit, and we generate the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
But the Spirit also does many other things as a byproduct of this reality.
Unity in the Spirit
The Spirit of God gives the church unity. Paul encourages the believers in Ephesus to maintain the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). The implication, of course, is that the Spirit in each believer creates unity between the members of the body.
This unity is familial—brothers and sisters in Christ are united together into a single family of God as they are adopted by Him through the blood of Christ.
And this unity that the Spirit creates is threatened by sinful actions, but most especially by a lack of love.
In a parallel text (Col. 3:14), Paul says that the perfect bond of unity is love. This should not be surprising, since love is the first fruit of the Spirit.
Love in the family
But this all begs the question - where does love come from in order that the members of the family love each other?
The answer throughout scripture is that love comes from God!
1 John 4:10 makes it explicit that God loves us, and that is the ‘power generator’ for our love for Him and for others.
And so, the Spirit’s work in telling us we are sons of God does not stop there! He unites us into a family, reveals the love of God to us, produces a love for God and a love for others in us, and unites us together in that love!
