Christians Without The Spirit Of Christ?

2009-02-21 21:29

If anyone without the Spirit of God says he is a Christian, he is a liar and a false Christian. The Bible says, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." (Romans 8:9).

The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit and the eternal life. This life is the light of men, and this life and light is in the Word. It is written, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4).

The Word is God who was with God from the beginning. The Bible says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14). From what the testimony says, we can know that God, the Word, who was with God, is not God the Father but the Son of the Father. A sheep gives birth to a sheep, and God gives birth to God. The life of the Father and the Son is one, but the Father is the Father, the Son is the Son.

Originally, His many sons who would later become His sons were hidden in God the Father. Among these many sons, the firstborn is Our Lord Jesus Christ. When only one son is born, he is called the only begotten. But if his brothers are born, he is called the firstborn. It is written, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (Romans 8:29). And it is written, "And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'" (Hebrews 1:6).

As the Father has life in himself, so His son has life in himself. This life is not two but one. It is written, "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself." (John 5:26). The life that the Father granted to His son is the Father's life. This life is the Spirit of God.

The words that Christ Jesus has spoken to us are spirit and they are life. He said, "He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me." (John 14:24). And also, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63).

Because the words of His son are the words of the Father, the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of His son are one. Christ is the anointing of God, and the anointing means anointing with the Spirit of God. It is written, "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed." (Acts 4:27). And also, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." (Acts 10:38). Moreover, as it is written, "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us," (2 Corinthians 1:21), to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, God also gave the right to become children of God by anointing them with the Spirit of God, the Word of life.

Therefore, those to whom the word of God came, they are those to whom God who was with God in the beginning came. And so Jesus said, "If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came--and the Scripture cannot be broken--what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?" (John 10:35-36). And also it is written, "...God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the 'gods.'" (Psalms 82:1).

God who presides in the great assembly is the only true God, and all the other gods in it are His children. And so the Lord Jesus said, "How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44). And again, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3).

There is no yet eternal life in those who know only gods, not knowing the only true God. As it is written, "Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God," (1 Peter 1:21), God who raised His son from the dead and glorified him is the only true God.

Therefore, though Jesus the Word who became flesh and those to whom the Word came are all gods, the only true God is God the Father who sent the Word as flesh. It is as if there is the only one head of a family among the family members and the only one king among the people.

Therefore, the Bible says about the Spirit of God, "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." (Romans 8:11). So anyone without the Spirit of God does not belong to Christ Jesus. Thank you, Lord.