Kazi ya Roho katika WokovuThe Spirit's Work in Salvation
Jinsi Roho anavyomletea mwamini wokovu: kuzaliwa upya, kukaa ndani, kutiwa muhuri, kufanywa wana, ubatizo kuingia katika mwili mmoja, na kujazwa RohoHow the Spirit applies salvation to the believer: new birth, indwelling, sealing, adoption, the baptism into one body, and the filling of the Spirit
1. Roho Anafanya Nini ndani ya Yule Anayempokea1. What the Spirit Does in the One Who Receives Him
Katika sehemu iliyopita tuliona Roho akimwagwa juu ya wote wenye mwili siku ya Pentekoste, akitolewa bure kwa kila mtu anayemgeukia Kristo. Sasa tunauliza swali la karibu zaidi: Roho hufanya nini ndani ya yule anayempokea? Jibu linashangaza mno. Roho hamtembelei tu mwamini wala hamsaidii kutoka nje; humpa uzima mpya, huja kukaa ndani yake, humtia alama kuwa mali ya Mungu, humhakikishia kwamba yeye ni mtoto wa Mungu, humwunganisha na mwili wa Kristo, na humjaza ili aishi maisha matakatifu. Tutayaangalia haya moja moja, kwa maana kila mojawapo ni kazi ya Roho wala si yetu, kipawa cha bure cha Mungu kwa wote wanaoamini. Kile ambacho Agano la Kale lilikitamani na Pentekoste ikakianzisha, Roho sasa anakifanya katika kila moyo unaomtumaini Bwana Yesu, tena anakifanya si kwa sehemu bali kikamilifu, si kwa msimu bali milele.In the last unit we saw the Spirit poured out on all flesh at Pentecost, given freely to everyone who turns to Christ. Now we ask a closer question: what does the Spirit do in the one who receives Him? The answer is breathtaking. The Spirit does not merely visit the believer or assist him from the outside; He gives new life, takes up residence within, marks the believer as God's own, assures him that he is a child of God, joins him to the body of Christ, and fills him for holy living. We will take these one at a time, for every one of them is the Spirit's work and not our own, the free gift of God to all who believe. What the Old Testament longed for and Pentecost began, the Spirit now does in every heart that trusts the Lord Jesus, and He does it not partly but fully, not for a season but forever.
2. Anatoa Kuzaliwa Upya2. He Gives New Birth
Kazi ya kwanza na ya ndani kabisa ya Roho katika wokovu ni kuzaliwa upya. Nikodemo alipomjia Yesu usiku, Bwana alimwambia, "Mtu asipozaliwa kwa maji na kwa Roho, hawezi kuuingia ufalme wa Mungu. Kilichozaliwa kwa mwili ni mwili; na kilichozaliwa kwa Roho ni roho" (Yohana 3:5-6). Hatujipi wenyewe kuzaliwa huku, kama vile mtoto mchanga asivyojipa kuzaliwa kwake kwa kwanza; ni Roho anayeifanya roho iliyokufa kuwa hai. Paulo anasema Mungu "alituokoa, kwa kuoshwa kwa kuzaliwa upya, na kufanywa upya na Roho Mtakatifu" (Tito 3:5). Kuzaliwa huku si kazi ya ubatizo wa maji, kana kwamba sherehe inaweza kumfanya mwenye dhambi kuwa mpya; ni kazi ya Roho Mwenyewe ya kutakasa na kufanya upya, akimpa moyo mpya yule ambaye asingeweza kamwe kuuzalisha. Ndiyo sababu Yesu alimwambia Nikodemo, "Imewapasa kuzaliwa mara ya pili" (Yohana 3:7), na akakifananisha kuzaliwa upya na upepo uvumao upendako (Yohana 3:8); tunaona matokeo yake ingawa hatuwezi kuamuru utendaji wake. Pasipo kazi hii hakuna mtu awezaye kuuona ufalme wa Mungu.The first and deepest work of the Spirit in salvation is the new birth. When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, the Lord told him, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:5-6). We do not give ourselves this birth any more than a baby gives itself its first birth; it is the Spirit who makes a dead soul alive. Paul says God "saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). This birth is not the work of water baptism, as though a ceremony could make a sinner new; it is the cleansing, renewing work of the Spirit Himself, granting a new heart to one who could never produce it. This is why Jesus said to Nicodemus, "You must be born again" (John 3:7), and likened the new birth to the wind that blows where it wishes (John 3:8); we feel its effect though we cannot command its working. Apart from this work no one can see the kingdom of God.
3. Anakuja Kukaa Ndani3. He Comes to Dwell Within
Roho yule yule anayetoa kuzaliwa upya kisha huja kuishi ndani ya yule aliyemfanya hai. Hili ndilo jambo lile lile ambalo Ezekieli alikuwa ameliahidi, kwamba Mungu angetia Roho yake ndani ya watu wake. Sasa limetimizwa ndani ya kila mwamini. Paulo anaandika waziwazi, "mtu awaye yote asiye na Roho wa Kristo, huyo si wake" (Warumi 8:9). Roho anayekaa ndani si fursa ya Wakristo wachache waliopiga hatua kubwa; yeye ndiye alama ya kuwa mali ya Kristo kabisa. Mwili wako, Paulo asema, "ni hekalu la Roho Mtakatifu aliye ndani yenu, mliyepewa na Mungu" (1 Wakorintho 6:19). Mungu wa mbinguni amekuja kuishi ndani ya waamini wa kawaida. Ndiyo sababu maisha ya Kikristo si suala la kujitahidi zaidi kwa nguvu zetu wenyewe, bali la kujitoa kwa Yeye ambaye tayari anakaa ndani. Kila mwamini, aliye dhaifu kabisa na aliye na nguvu kabisa vivyo hivyo, ni makao ya Mungu kwa Roho wake.The same Spirit who gives the new birth then comes to live within the one He has made alive. This is the very thing Ezekiel had promised, that God would put His Spirit within His people. Now it is fulfilled in every believer. Paul writes plainly, "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). The indwelling Spirit is not the privilege of a few advanced Christians; He is the mark of belonging to Christ at all. Your body, says Paul, "is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God" (1 Corinthians 6:19). The God of heaven has come to live inside ordinary believers. This is why the Christian life is not a matter of trying harder in our own strength, but of yielding to the One who already dwells within. Every believer, the weakest and the strongest alike, is a dwelling place of God by His Spirit.
4. Anatutia Muhuri Kuwa Mali ya Mungu4. He Seals Us as God's Own
Roho pia humtia mwamini muhuri. Paulo anasema kwamba katika Kristo, "mlipoamini, mlitiwa muhuri na Roho yule wa ahadi, aliye Mtakatifu; ndiye arabuni ya urithi wetu" (Waefeso 1:13-14). Katika ulimwengu wa kale mfalme alibonyeza pete yake ya muhuri katika nta laini juu ya hati muhimu, na muhuri huo uliitambulisha karatasi hiyo kuwa mali yake, chini ya mamlaka na ulinzi wake. Vivyo hivyo Roho Mwenyewe ni alama ya Mungu juu ya mwamini, akitangaza kwamba sisi ni mali yake. Ndiyo sababu Paulo angeweza kumwita Yeye "ambaye kwa yeye mlitiwa muhuri hata siku ya ukombozi" (Waefeso 4:30). Muhuri pia ni malipo ya awali, hakikisho kwamba urithi kamili hakika unakuja. Roho tuliye naye sasa ni rehani ya Mungu kwamba atakamilisha kile alichokianza na kutufikisha nyumbani salama. Muhuri siku zile ulimaanisha mambo mawili kwa wakati mmoja, umiliki na usalama: hati iliyotiwa alama hivyo ilikuwa mali ya mfalme na ilikuwa salama chini ya mamlaka yake. Vivyo hivyo Roho anatangaza kwamba sisi ni wa Mungu na pia kwamba tunalindwa na Mungu, hata siku ile atakapowadai walio wake.The Spirit also seals the believer. Paul says that in Christ, "having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:13-14). In the ancient world a king pressed his signet ring into soft wax upon an important document, and that seal marked the paper as his own, under his authority and protection. So the Spirit Himself is God's mark upon the believer, declaring that we belong to Him. This is why Paul could call Him the One "by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). The seal is also a down payment, a guarantee that the full inheritance is surely coming. The Spirit we now possess is God's pledge that He will finish what He has begun and bring us safely home. A seal in those days meant two things at once, ownership and security: the document so marked belonged to the king and was safe under his authority. So the Spirit declares both that we are God's and that we are kept by God, until the day He claims His own.
5. Anatuhakikishia Kwamba Sisi Ni Watoto wa Mungu5. He Assures Us We Are God's Children
Roho anayekaa ndani pia humletea mwamini uhakika. Hatuna haja ya kujiuliza kama Mungu ametupokea, kwa maana Roho Mwenyewe hushuhudia kwamba ametupokea. Paulo anaandika, "mliipokea roho ya kufanywa wana, ambayo kwa hiyo twalia, 'Aba, yaani, Baba.' Roho mwenyewe hushuhudia pamoja na roho zetu, kwamba sisi tu watoto wa Mungu" (Warumi 8:15-16). Ni Roho anayemfundisha mwenye dhambi aliyejaa hofu kumwita Mungu mtakatifu Baba yake. Neno Aba ni jina la upole na la kuzoeleka ambalo mtoto humwita baba yake mwenyewe, na ni Roho anayeliweka neno hilo vinywani mwetu, akiuhakikishia moyo wenye shaka kwamba kweli ni mali ya Mungu. Ushuhuda huu ni mojawapo ya kazi zake tamu kuliko zote, kwa maana huwageuza watumwa kuwa wana, na hofu kuwa ujasiri wa mtoto anayejua kwamba anapendwa.The indwelling Spirit also brings the believer assurance. We do not have to wonder whether God has received us, for the Spirit Himself testifies that He has. Paul writes, "you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:15-16). It is the Spirit who teaches a frightened sinner to call the holy God his Father. The word Abba is the tender, familiar name a child uses for his own father, and it is the Spirit who puts that word in our mouths, assuring the doubting heart that it truly belongs to God. This witness is one of the sweetest of His works, for it turns slaves into sons and fear into the confidence of a child who knows he is loved.
6. Kubatizwa kwa Roho Kuingia katika Mwili Mmoja6. Baptized with the Spirit into One Body
Yesu alikuwa ameahidi kwamba wanafunzi wake wangebatizwa katika Roho Mtakatifu, na siku ya Pentekoste jambo hilo lilitimia. Lakini ubatizo huu si fursa ya kundi maalum la waamini; ni kweli kwa kila Mkristo. Paulo anasema, "katika Roho mmoja sisi sote tulibatizwa kuwa mwili mmoja... na sote tukanyweshwa Roho mmoja" (1 Wakorintho 12:13). Kubatizwa kwa Roho ni kuwekwa, wakati wa kuokoka, ndani ya mwili wa Kristo, kuunganishwa na Bwana na watu wake wote. Angalia neno sote: si baadhi, bali wote walio wa Kristo wamebatizwa na Roho mmoja kuingia katika mwili mmoja. Hili ni jambo lililokwisha kuthibitika lililotimizwa tunapookolewa, si uzoefu wa baadaye uliowekwa kwa ajili ya wachache waliopendelewa. Hatuna haja ya kutafuta baraka fulani ya pili ili kutufanya kuwa wa Kristo kikamilifu, kwa maana ikiwa sisi ni wake kweli, Roho mmoja amekwisha kutubatiza kuingia katika mwili wake mmoja.Jesus had promised that His disciples would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and on the day of Pentecost it came to pass. But this baptism is not the privilege of a special class of believers; it is true of every Christian. Paul says, "by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body... and have all been made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13). To be baptized with the Spirit is to be placed, at conversion, into the body of Christ, joined to the Lord and to all His people. Notice the word all: not some, but all who belong to Christ have been baptized by the one Spirit into the one body. This is a settled fact accomplished when we are saved, not a later experience reserved for a favored few. We need not seek some second blessing to make us fully Christ's, for if we are His at all, the one Spirit has already baptized us into His one body.
7. Mjazwe Roho7. Be Filled with the Spirit
Ikiwa ubatizo wa Roho hutokea mara moja, kujazwa Roho kumekusudiwa kutokea tena na tena. Paulo anaamuru, "msilewe kwa mvinyo, ambamo mna ufisadi; bali mjazwe Roho" (Waefeso 5:18). Ni ulinganisho wa kushangaza. Mtu anayetawaliwa na kileo hutawaliwa nacho; maneno yake na hatua zake si zake tena. Mwamini anapaswa kuwa chini ya utawala wa Roho kwa kiasi hicho kikamilifu, si kwa mvinyo bali kwa kujitoa kwa Mungu. Mfano huu unapatikana katika Maandiko yote: Hana alipoomba kwa bidii nyingi, Eli alidhani amelewa (1 Samweli 1:13-14), na Roho aliposhuka siku ya Pentekoste umati ulisema kwamba waamini wamelewa kwa mvinyo mpya (Matendo 2:13-15). Maisha yaliyojazwa Roho yanaweza kuonekana hivyo kwa ulimwengu unaotazama, yakifurika na bila aibu, yenye furaha katika Mungu kupita yale ambayo mvinyo peke yake ungeweza kutoa. Nasi tunaweza kujazwa tena na tena, kama wanafunzi wa kwanza walivyojazwa, kwa maana wale waliokuwa wamejazwa siku ya Pentekoste walijazwa upya walipoomba (Matendo 4:31). Paulo anaeleza jinsi maisha yaliyojazwa yanavyoonekana: yanasema na kumwimbia Bwana, yanashukuru siku zote, na yanawatumikia wengine kwa unyenyekevu (Waefeso 5:19-21). Kujazwa ni kujitoa kwa Roho mara kwa mara, tukimwacha ajaze kile tunachokimwaga mbele zake kila siku, ili atawale maneno yetu, ibada yetu, na mwenendo wetu.If the baptism with the Spirit happens once, the filling of the Spirit is meant to happen again and again. Paul commands, "do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). It is a striking comparison. A man controlled by strong drink is ruled by it; his words and steps are no longer his own. The believer is to be that fully under the Spirit's control, not by wine but by surrender to God. The likeness runs all through Scripture: when Hannah prayed in deep earnestness, Eli thought she was drunk (1 Samuel 1:13-14), and when the Spirit fell at Pentecost the crowd said the believers were full of new wine (Acts 2:13-15). The Spirit-filled life can look like that to the watching world, overflowing and unashamed, glad in God beyond what mere wine could ever give. And we may be filled again and again, as the early disciples were, for those who had been filled at Pentecost were filled afresh when they prayed (Acts 4:31). Paul describes what the filled life looks like: it speaks and sings to the Lord, it gives thanks always, and it serves others in humility (Ephesians 5:19-21). To be filled is to be repeatedly yielded to the Spirit, letting Him fill what we daily empty before Him, so that He may govern our speech, our worship, and our walk.
8. Swali la Lugha na Karama Leo8. The Question of Tongues and the Gifts Today
Popote kazi ya Roho inapojadiliwa, swali la kunena kwa lugha na karama za miujiza huibuka, nasi tunapaswa kulizungumzia waziwazi na kwa upendo. Siku ya Pentekoste waamini walinena kwa lugha halisi, hivi kwamba mataifa yaliyokusanyika yalisikia Injili kila mmoja kwa lugha yake. Paulo aliandika mengi kuhusu karama kama hizo katika barua zake kwa Wakorintho, na huko aliweka kweli ambazo zinapaswa kutuongoza. Karama hugawanywa na Roho kama apendavyo, wala si sawa kwa kila mtu; Paulo anapouliza, "Wote wanena kwa lugha?" (1 Wakorintho 12:30), ni wazi anatarajia jibu liwe hapana. Anauweka upendo juu ya kila karama, na anasisitiza kwamba kila kinachofanyika kifanyike kwa ajili ya kulijenga kanisa na kwa utaratibu mzuri. Wakristo wa kweli hutofautiana juu ya iwapo karama za ishara zinaendelea leo kama zilivyokuwa mwanzoni, au iwapo zilitumikia kipindi cha kuanzishwa kwa kanisa na kukamilishwa kwa Maandiko. Wengine hushikilia kwamba karama hizi zilitumika kulianzisha kanisa na kuuthibitisha ujumbe wa mitume wakati Maandiko yalipokuwa bado yakiandikwa, na hivyo zilikoma kazi hiyo ilipokamilika; wengine wanaamini kwamba zinaendelea hata leo. Katika jambo hili makanisa yetu yanapaswa kuoneshana upendo na kutogawanyika juu ya jambo ambalo Maandiko hayalifanyi kuwa kipimo cha ushirika. Lakini wote wanaweza kukubaliana juu ya vipimo ambavyo Roho Mwenyewe hutoa: kila kilicho cha Roho kweli kitamtukuza Kristo kama Bwana, kitapatana na Maandiko, na kitatawaliwa na upendo. Tutaziangalia kwa karibu zaidi karama za Roho, na upendo kama kuu kuliko zote, karibu na mwisho wa kozi hii.Wherever the Spirit's work is discussed, the question of tongues and the miraculous gifts arises, and we ought to speak of it plainly and with charity. At Pentecost the believers spoke in real languages, so that the gathered nations heard the gospel each in his own tongue. Paul wrote much about such gifts in his letters to Corinth, and there he laid down truths that should guide us. The gifts are distributed by the Spirit as He wills, and they are not the same for everyone; when Paul asks, "Do all speak with tongues?" (1 Corinthians 12:30), he plainly expects the answer to be no. He sets love above every gift, and he insists that whatever is done be done for the building up of the church and in good order. Sincere Christians differ on whether the sign-gifts continue today as they did at the first, or whether they served the founding age of the church and the completing of Scripture. Some hold that these gifts served to found the church and to confirm the apostles' message while the Scriptures were still being written, and so passed away when that work was complete; others believe they continue to this day. On this our churches must extend charity to one another and not divide over what Scripture does not make a test of fellowship. But all may agree on the tests the Spirit Himself gives: whatever is truly of the Spirit will exalt Christ as Lord, will accord with the Scriptures, and will be governed by love. We will look more closely at the gifts of the Spirit, and at love as the greatest of them all, near the end of this course.