All posts tagged one spirit

The divine Spirit mingled with our human spirit is one spirit.

The One Street of New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:21b says, “And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” Prior posts have considered the golden street as the divine nature in which we walk beginning from our regeneration. Now we should look at “the street.” In New Jerusalem there is only one street, in contrast to modern man-made cities which have thousands of streets. The one street in New Jerusalem indicates that we do not have options; we have only the way of the divine nature and this one way is more than sufficient for all of God’s people.

We find the one street, the one way, in Jesus Christ. He declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Our unique walk on the one way in Jesus Christ is described variously in the New Testament:
•__Romans 6:4  “walk in newness of life”—the life which is Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
•__Romans 8:4  “walk…according to the spirit”—where we are one with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17).
•__Ephesians 5:2  “walk in love”—the love which is God who abides in us (1 John 4:16).
•__1 John 1:7  “walk in the light as He is in the light”—the light is God (1 John 1:5) in Jesus Christ, who is the light of life (John 8:12).
•__3 John 1:3  “you walk in truth”—the truth which is Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

Colossians 2:6  “As therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him.” We have received Him, believing into Him, and now we walk in Him. He is our one way and we walk in Him. This walk will continue into New Jerusalem and for eternity.

by Don on May 4, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Characteristics of New Jerusalem, Life and New Jerusalem
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Posted by Don on May 4, 2012

http://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/the-one-street-of-new-jerusalem/

The Spirit with Our Spirit

Having been born again of the Spirit in our spirit (John 3:6, 8 – see the prior post), we are in the condition described in Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” When we receive Jesus, He makes us children of God, born of God (John 1:12). This is the fact. Outwardly we have the Bible confirming this fact to us. Inwardly the Spirit witnesses with our spirit to confirm this fact. It is not that our spirit and the Spirit each witness separately but that they witness together as one. This is 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.”

There are many verses in the epistles that include the word “spirit.” In some of these verses the word clearly refers to our human spirit and in some it clearly refers to the Holy Spirit. An example is Romans 8:16, quoted above. However, in other verses we cannot say clearly that the reference is to the divine spirit or to our human spirit. This is because the Spirit is one with our spirit. Romans 8:4 is such a verse saying, “walk according to the spirit.” Our walk is not solely in our human spirit nor solely in the divine Spirit. Instead, we walk according to the Spirit who is one with our spirit. This is the case in Revelation 21:10: to be “carried away in spirit” to see New Jerusalem is to be carried away in the Spirit mingled with our human spirit.

(English New Testaments almost always use capital S for the divine Spirit and small s for our human spirit. Which to use in is the translators’ decision because when the New Testament was written, and for at least seven centuries afterwards, Greek writing was all capitals.) 

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by Don on January 14, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in New Jerusalem is Spiritual
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Posted by Don on January 14, 2012

http://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/the-spirit-with-our-spirit/

God’s New Testament Building is Spiritual

God’s New Testament building is God Himself with His people. Although today we often refer to a building with a steeple or a cross as a “church building,” in the New Testament a physical building is not God’s building, God’s dwelling place.

God’s building with His people is in spirit. In Ephesians 2:22 we “are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.” Here God’s dwelling place is our human spirit. This matches 2 Timothy 4:22, “The Lord be with your spirit.” A number of English Bible translations end verse 2:22, “in the Spirit.” We should remember that the Spirit is one with our human spirit. In John 3:6 the Spirit causes our spirit to be born anew by imparting the divine life into our spirit. In Romans 8:11 the Spirit dwells in us, specifically in our spirit where the two witness together that we are children of God (v. 16). Therefore, we can say that God’s building is in our spirit mingled with the Spirit.

First Peter 2:4-5 declare that our Lord is a living stone and that by coming to Him we also, “as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house.” We, built together with the Lord, are the spiritual house.

Revelation 21:3 tells us that New Jerusalem is “the tabernacle of God.” This tabernacle is the dwelling place of God, the consummation of the spiritual house. Because the city is spiritual, John says in Revelation 21:10 that he was carried away in spirit (or in the Spirit) to see New Jerusalem.

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by Don on November 19, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in New Jerusalem is Spiritual
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Posted by Don on November 19, 2011

http://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/gods-new-testament-building-is-spiritual/

Coinherence

In a previous post I touched the matter of coinherence—two persons, each dwelling in the other. This is not possible in the physical realm but is a reality in the spiritual realm. Here I present more about coinherence as a base for future posts about New Jerusalem.

Coinherence is an attribute of the Triune God. God is one God yet also three. We know this from the Bible and we say “amen” to this fact despite our lack of comprehension. In John 14:10 the Lord Jesus told us, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?” This is coinherence. He repeated this in the following verse, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” His exhortation to us is to believe. Thus, it possible for us to believe (and He has not required us to comprehend).

The coinherence among the three of the Godhead has been extended to the believers. John 14:19-20 says, “Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer, but you behold Me; because I live, you also shall live. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” We believers know that we are in Christ and Christ in us from the day we began to live because of Him. This means from the day of His resurrection, after His “little while” in the grave.

Again, the Lord tells us in John 15:4-5, “Abide in Me and I in you….I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit…” Both chapter 14 and chapter 15 speak about location yet even more they speak about life and living. The knowing in 14:20 comes out of the living in 14:19, and the abiding in 15:4-5 is illustrated by a living organism. In chapter 15 The Amplified Bible has “Dwell in Me and I will dwell in you.—Live in Me and I will live in you….Whoever lives in Me and I in him.”

Romans 8:1-2 state that we are in Christ Jesus and verse 10 states that Christ is in us. This again is something of life and living, which are often mentioned in the first half of this chapter. Colossians 1:27 speaks about Christ in us and verse 1:28 about us full-grown (again, a life matter) in Christ.

The Spirit is the reality (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13) of the coinherent life we have with Christ. This Spirit is the reality of all that Christ is to us and all aspects of our Christian life. In 1 John 5:6 the Spirit of reality testifies and in verses 11 to 13 this testimony is about the eternal life that God has given to us in His Son.

The Spirit is within us. It testifies in oneness with our human spirit (Romans 8:16). These two spirits are one. “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17). How wonderful that we are joined to the Lord, Jesus Christ, and are one spirit with Him. In this one spirit we have the reality of Christ in us and the reality of our being in Christ.

The scripture quotation from The Amplified Bible is copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

4 Comments
by Don on November 4, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Life and New Jerusalem
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Posted by Don on November 4, 2011

http://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/co-inherence/

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