John 3:34  For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. (NIV)

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John chapter 3 is a masterclass in theology, particularly Christology. Theological nerds like me love grabbing a commentary, settling into our favorite chairs, and luxuriating in the wonderful insights from this chapter. 

One of those nuggets is found here in this verse. After Nicodemus visits Jesus at night, the story shifts back to John the Baptist. John ties together everything he is thinking and feeling about Jesus in verse 30: “He must become greater; I must become less.” 

This is my life verse for the second half of my life, which may be down to the fourth quarter now that I think about it. The New Living Translation renders it this way: “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” Come visit my office sometime. Sit in my desk chair and look up at the wall straight ahead of you. You will find these words there as a daily reminder.

Think with me about the Old Testament characters who had the Holy Spirit come upon them. The Spirit was given for a specific time or a specific task. The Spirit, we are told, rested on them. His empowerment of those characters was for a time, a place, and a particular event. That’s not the case with Jesus. 

This verse tells us that “God gives the Spirit without limit.” What was limited for those Old Testament characters is unlimited for Jesus. This is also true for us. When we come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the Spirit of God inhabits our lives. He empowers us for everything he calls us to be and do. He never asks us to do anything that he has not provided his Spirit within us to make possible. 

If you know Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives within you. Some people talk about getting more of the Spirit. This idea is somewhat backward. We have all the Holy Spirit we’re ever going to have from the time He comes into our lives. The question is, how much of us does He have access to? Is there a walled garden in our lives where we do not permit him to be in charge? Is there a barrier we erect to keep him from expressing his goodness and grace through us in life-changing ministry? 

We are not Spirit-deprived, but we live as if we are Spirit-limited. We see and hear so many crazy things about the Holy Spirit and about bad Holy Spirit theology that we’re not really sure what it means to be filled with the Spirit or empowered by the Spirit. 

Here’s a simple way to begin putting Spirit-empowered life into practice. Invite the Spirit to empower you for ministry today. Ask him to open your eyes to opportunities to serve in the strength he gives. Ask him to give you the courage to reach out your hand to help, to speak kind words, to serve like Jesus would do if he were here in the flesh. 

He who gives the Spirit without limit will most certainly hear and answer this prayer better than you ask it. He will use you to accomplish his purposes and to help people see how good he is. Here on this random day of the week, in this random month, in this random year, everything can change when you realize you are a channel of the Holy Spirit’s power to renew and refresh lives in Jesus’ name. 

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I will live a Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered life that expresses God’s goodness and grace. 

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Our Father, thank you for empowering us from on high. Thank you that you give yourself without limit. Thank you for using people like us to accomplish your purposes on this earth. Make us ministers of grace today so that people may see and know and experience you and all your goodness. Amen.