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A Sign of God’s People
Matt King calls on the symbolism of Pentecost to magnify the role of the Holy Spirit in converting our
minds from a competitive, self-referential paradigm to one that becomes a perfect reflection of God’s
love. Under the Old Covenant, it was physically possible (however unlikely) to keep the letter of the law,
but no more. Under the New Covenant, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to not only keep the letter, but also to understand, absorb, and fulfill that law in its complete spiritual intent. It is to be a sign of God’s People.
The Law
We keep the law because we are becoming God’s children, and are actively taking on His nature. In so
doing, we ought to interact with His creation the way He does.
The two great commandments are to love God and love man. Love is the center of God’s nature. It is
the end purpose of His law, as consistently provided in both the Old and New Covenant instructions.
Christ called it a “new commandment”, not because the Old Covenant law did not address it, but
because without the indwelling Holy Spirit, true Godly love is beyond the capacity of the human mind.
So until Pentecost, real love was yet untried. Love is not just something we do, but rather something we
are to become. Everything we do should spring forth from that basis. Any action not so motivated will
err.
The Importance of Love
Satan knows the importance of love, and that it’s source is the indwelling Holy Spirit. Thus a primary
tool in His battle against us is the spirit of competition. Competition is an expression of His nature. It
stratifies us. It uplifts and denigrates. It encourages a peer-to-peer standard of measure, rather than
the true standard, Christ. Competition is working it’s evil among the individual members and group
fellowships of the Church of God. It influences us to pursue and assert our own “rightness”, from selfish
ambition and conceit. Such attitudes marginalize God the Father and Christ our brother. Competition presumes limited resources, yet there is no scarcity with God. Competition also destroys cohesion
between God’s people. Recognize that the attitude of competition exists and needs to be eliminated.
Establish Christ as the standard, and do not evaluate yourself against any standard other than Jesus
Christ.
