Coming off of Sunday’s sermon in Joel 2:18-32, this is a great quote from Richard Hays’ “The Moral Vision of the New Testament”.
“God is present in power in the church, changing lives and enabling an obedience that would otherwise be unattainable. The Holy Spirit is not a theological abstraction but the manifestation of God’s presence in the community, making everything new. Those who respond to the gospel have entered the sphere of the Spirit’s power, where they find themselves changed and empowered for obedience.”
The pouring out of God’s Spirit on all of His people truly creates a remarkable community. It is God’s grace to us that we get to be a part of and experience such a community.