makesends
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Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Today it hit me for the first time, reading Romans, that I have always sort of glossed over the words, "hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". As always, to me the word, "hope", in scripture conveys expectation, when spoken of concerning the work of God --that much is obvious to me-- but the fact jumped out at me that this hope is BY THE POWER of the Holy Spirit.
We have been discussing Monergism vs Synergism in Sanctification --which it surprised me that someone else began that thread, since it is a subject that has for a long time been on my mind-- and maybe that's part of why I noticed this verse the way I did --I don't know.
But, anyhow, to me --and not to confuse Sanctification with Regeneration-- the whole of creation, from start to finish, is the work of God. The fact that even our Hope, our expectation, is IN HIM in this way, not by anything independent on our part, and not even vaguely "by the Holy Spirit in us", but BY THE POWER of the Holy Spirit, is overwhelming to me, as confirmation of what forever seems new to me: 'the unity of God with us', is one way to put it; "Apart from me you can do nothing."
Today it hit me for the first time, reading Romans, that I have always sort of glossed over the words, "hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". As always, to me the word, "hope", in scripture conveys expectation, when spoken of concerning the work of God --that much is obvious to me-- but the fact jumped out at me that this hope is BY THE POWER of the Holy Spirit.
We have been discussing Monergism vs Synergism in Sanctification --which it surprised me that someone else began that thread, since it is a subject that has for a long time been on my mind-- and maybe that's part of why I noticed this verse the way I did --I don't know.
But, anyhow, to me --and not to confuse Sanctification with Regeneration-- the whole of creation, from start to finish, is the work of God. The fact that even our Hope, our expectation, is IN HIM in this way, not by anything independent on our part, and not even vaguely "by the Holy Spirit in us", but BY THE POWER of the Holy Spirit, is overwhelming to me, as confirmation of what forever seems new to me: 'the unity of God with us', is one way to put it; "Apart from me you can do nothing."
