HARDWARE controlled by SOFTWARE…!!

Let’s read John 14:26(NASB), John 3:5-8(NIV) & Romans 8:11(KJV) in tandem

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

 ^“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you”

Before the computers were invented, all hardware was controlled by hardware. In other words all of the machinery were controlled by some or the other form of external equipment or tools through an external force or influence.

For example, when the first gas-lamp traffic lights were installed in London in 1868, they were controlled manually by a police constable who would operate the lights with a lever at the base. But once the computerized traffic signal system was introduced in 1963 in Toronto, the external control of the traffic signal system was minimized to mere supervision. Computer SOFTWARE (set of pre-programmed instructions) controlling the traffic signal HARDWARE (set of traffic lights)…!

Similarly, before the day of the Pentecost (Acts 2) the children of God were controlled by an external force (God’s instruction to men directly and individually; God’s instruction to a nation/nations through His prophets; God’s instruction to mankind, especially to the Jews, through the Law). Even when Christ Jesus was physically present (before His death, resurrection & ascension) on this earth, He controlled His disciples as an external influence. Jesus (the hardware) was controlling the disciples (the hardware) mainly through His speech and by being a living example to them. Some disciples yielded to His influence, while others (like Judas Iscariot) did not. Jesus acknowledged this limitation of being with them and not in them which is why He said “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7)

Computer software at its core, functions on the basis of a binary number system of “0” or “1” which is translated into specific instructions like “Yes” or “No”, “Save” or “Delete” etc.

The Holy Spirit, who is our Spiritual software, also functions in a similar fashion. His communication is basic and clear. But, unlike the computer hardware, our flesh is capable of rejecting the instructions from the software (read Romans 8:1-17 for more light on this!)

Have you let the Holy Spirit God install Himself in you? And is He the Lord of your life?