“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring.” Isaiah 44:3
It is a wonderful reality that God has given to us day and night, designating and making clear that time passes, and there is a future. The question becomes, “What is the future?” It is another wonderful thought to grasp that there is no sin in the future, for it has not come. But, with the coming of the future into the present, we know that there will be sin. How is the Christian to live a victorious life with the vision of such great potential blessing, and yet, the very present, and real, spectre of dealing with sin? The answer begins with the matter of magnitude, the Almighty working of God according to His provision and power to deal with sin, Satan, and the world. Our grasp of the magnitude of the work of Christ on the cross is essential if we would then trust God for the power to live it.
On the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion, when partaking of the “Lord’s Supper” before His suffering, He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, “…He gave it to them (the disciples); and they all drank of it.” (Mark 14:23) He then went on to say, “This is My blood of the new testament (…or new covenant), which is shed for many.” (v.23) In declaring the meaning the cup, and HIs blood, the Lord gave to the disciples of His day, and to those of ours, a magnificent, and profoundly powerful spiritual reality. It is as John puts it, “…and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 Jn. 1:7) The simple act of declaring to the disciples the meaning of the provision and power of Christ’s blood to cleans from ALL sin, is monumental, and fundamental, for believing Him, not only for cleansing, but for the anointing and fulness of the Spirit.
In the holiness of God, sin must be dealt with in its entirety, for there is no sin, no darkness in Christ, in God. How is this blood of Christ applied? With the knowledge of God’s provision in the precious blood, comes also, the power to believe it. When faith rises to grasp the absolute reailty of Christ’s words, then light begins to shine in the heart concerning the extent to which sin is dealt with, so that we can come to God with a clean conscience, a pure heart. All through the Old Testament, we see this concept and declaration by God that He cleanses from all sin. Not only does He touch the lips of Isaiah, and remove all sin, but He works in David’s behalf to cleanse him throughly. When we come to the new testament, we see the amplified meaning of being forgiven, or cleansed, from all sin, and this, by the shedding of the precious blood of Christ. When one truly lays hold upon God for the act, and accomplishment of the application of the blood of Christ, to the soul, spirit, and body of the believer, there is the preparation for the anointing, and fulness of the Spirit.
In the book of Isaiah, after speaking to Israel concerning a “new thing,” giving to her a new beginning, He speaks to her of the outpouring of the Spirit upon her. As the Lord Jesus used the simple illustration of the cup, so in Isaiah, He uses the illustration of water, even floods of water, being poured out. When Pentecost came, and the church of Christ, His body, was born, there was the outpouring. We discover that the beginning and continuance of all blessing in the believer’s life is by the Spirit. The presence of the Spirit can be seen, and illustrated by water, wind, and fire. However, there is a difference between the presence of the Spirit, and His fulness. The outpouring of the Spirit is the “flood,” the abundance of life.
Dear Father, Pour out today Thy Spirit upon us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.