The Spirit Of Christ

[Beetow]

● Rom 8:9 . . If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Back in the decade of the 1970's, during my era as a relatively new covert to biblical Christianity, I reasoned that if the Spirit of Christ was actually inside my body, I should be able to detect His presence. I mean, how could somebody like that possibly be in there without my knowing it?

When I shared my concern with a pastor, he reminded me that the Spirit of Christ is a sentient paranormal being consisting of something less than thin air, and that as such He can move about imperceptible to any of the five natural senses, viz: hearing, sight, taste, touch, and/or smell. Actually, the same thing can be said of the Devil; he too is a sentient paranormal being consisting of something less than thin air who could be sitting right on your lap this very moment and you'd never know it.

Had the pastor been a Jehovah's Witness, he probably would've explained that the Spirit of Christ isn't a sentient paranormal being, rather, it's a state of mind; so "Spirit" really ought to be spelled with a lower case S instead of capitalized. For example:

"Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil 2:5)

I wasn't then, nor am I now a JW, so that explanation doesn't work for me.
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[B-A-C]

Most of the theologians I know, say this is simply the Holy Spirit.

The first half of that verse usually includes 'the Spirit of God' as well.

[NASB]
Rom 8:9; However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
Rom 8:10; If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11; But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

It seems all the places it mentions 'the Spirit of..." It is really talking about the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit). The one place it says "Spirit of Christ" may mean this Spirit is subject to Christ
as in Jesus is who sends this Spirit to do His bidding, and the Holy Spirit always testifies about Jesus, never Himself.

John 15:26; "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
John 16:7; "But 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 go, I will send Him to you.

 

[Beetow]

The one place it says "Spirit of Christ"

There's a second place located in 1Pet 1:11.

BTW: Were you the pastor that I spoke of in post No.1, how would you respond to my concern?
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[B-A-C]

There's a second place located in 1Pet 1:11.

I meant in that passage,not in the entire Bible.

 

[B-A-C]

BTW: Were you the pastor that I spoke of in post No.1, how would you respond to my concern?

Again, I would take it to mean the Holy Spirit.

1Cor 3:16; Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
2Tim 1:14; Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
1Cor 6:19; Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

I believe there are several ways to detect Him presence.
The first is simply peace... now that may sound flippant or off the cuff... but I mean sincere peace. Do you have a new peace in your life that you didn't have before.

The second way is by the fruit of the Spirit. Which of these two ways describes you most of the time?

Gal 5:19; Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
Gal 5:20; idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
Gal 5:21; envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Gal 5:22; But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23; gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Gal 5:24; Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Gal 5:25; If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Another way is by the power we receive from the Holy Spirit.

1Cor 12:7; But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
1Cor 12:8; For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
1Cor 12:9; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
1Cor 12:10; and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
1Cor 12:11; But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

There are times... It doesn't happen all the time for me... but there are times.... I feel His presence in me. Just an almost imperceptible tingling, an electricity, it's hard to put into words.
There are also times I feel him strongly urging me to do something (more often NOT do something). Almost like a gentle massage behind my ears. It has happened I didn't listen a few
times, I was riding a motorcycle and hit by a car a few seconds after I ignored the warning, but I've learned to listen.

 

[Beetow]

As I was listening to a radio preacher talk about hell-- along about the same time as my concerns about Rom 8:9 back in the decade of the 1970's --something in my mind took over; and I had the strangest sensation of falling off the earth into the vastness of the void and nobody cared, nor did anybody miss me, nor did my disappearance cause any alarm nor make any difference.

The freeways remained busy with frustrated drivers and honking horns, people still got up to go to work, shoppers crowded the supermarkets and department stores, kids caught their buses to school, birds kept right on chirping, grass kept on growing, ocean waves went on rolling onto the beach, trains kept running, airlines kept flying, clouds moved across the sky; and all that.

Everybody else and everything else went on as usual; my absence changed nothing nor disturbed anyone nor anything. The world was utterly indifferent; the earth kept on turning, clocks went on ticking; and nature and man went right on with their business as usual without the slightest hiccup. I had never felt so utterly helpless and alone as that moment.

Well; as one might guess, that experience motivated me to take a very strong interest in resolving my concern with Rom 8:9, and got me to seriously thinking about consulting a pastor because I had been aware of the possibility of my ending up in hell ever since I was old enough to understand, but never so worried about it as I was then.
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[Samson2020]

BTW: Were you the pastor that I spoke of in post No.1, how would you respond to my concern?

If the Holy Ghost resides in you then you should be able to hear him. Be still and know that I am God...Psa 46:10. We have to listen carefully as that voice is very
much a whisper but it can be heard. The carnal mind will war against his voice as it does not want to be in subjection to him. Creates interference.
The Spirit of Christ is developed in you after the Holy Ghost is given, as the Father Baptized Jesus(41st gen) in Jordan with the Holy Spirit and gave life to Jesus and
he became Jesus Christ(42nd gen) (Jesus the anointed). When he had learned obedience to his Father, even unto the death of the cross his Spirit was matured to the
point that after resurrection God pronounced him to be a God and the baptizing in the Holy Spirit was passed to him alone to do.
......"But unto the Son he saith Thy throne O God is for ever and ever.." Heb 1:8. We receive the same Holy Ghost baptism that Jesus got just not as massive in that
he got it without measure, we get a down payment. He heard God and spoke the words that God gave him to speak. John 14:10
We are to do the same. It is when the Spirit of God that dwells in you teaches you, that you become more and more Christ like and your obedience to the Lord increases
and the mind of Christ (The anointed) develops in you so that you have become almost the same as your older brother Jesus Christ who was here to do the will of his Father.
And you will be compelled to do the same. Listen for his voice.
"My sheep hear my voice" John 10:27
I know the first time I heard him I thought was that my imagination or my own conscience as it is similar but the things that he says are not things that you would
normally know or be looking to do and they will always line up with scripture usually to confirm to you who you are in him first then you will get to do a few things
that are fulfilling his will for you as a chosen vessel. His works for you, not your own for him.
Not all are called to do great and mighty things, and the hardest thing to do for the Lord is be still and not interfere when you do not know his will in a matter.

 

[Beetow]

● Ps 23:1 . .The Lord is my shepherd,

The twenty-third psalm is very popular, and some have even taken to chanting it as a rote prayer. But the Lord's sheepfold is an exclusive fraternity; not everyone qualifies.

● John 10:14 . . I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

Nowadays, the sheep whom Jesus calls "my sheep" are identified as his own herd by a special earmark: their physical bodies serve as living tabernacles.

● Rom 8:9 . . If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

This is one of the supernatural aspects of Christianity that separates the genuine sheep from the fakes -- the frauds from the real McCoys -- the identity thieves from the actual card holders.

Anyway; it's easy to see why it's so important to find a way to ascertain which folks have the Spirit of Christ and which don't. It would be tragic beyond words for someone to leave this life and pass into the next honestly believing the Lord to be their shepherd only to discover too late that he never was.
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[Brother Paul]

Most of the theologians I know, say this is simply the Holy Spirit.

The first half of that verse usually includes 'the Spirit of God' as well.

[NASB]
Rom 8:9; However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
Rom 8:10; If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11; But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

It seems all the places it mentions 'the Spirit of..." It is really talking about the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit). The one place it says "Spirit of Christ" may mean this Spirit is subject to Christ
as in Jesus is who sends this Spirit to do His bidding, and the Holy Spirit always testifies about Jesus, never Himself.

John 15:26; "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
John 16:7; "But 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 go, I will send Him to you.

The Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit. It is to become anointed by God. Sadly many so-called Christians have been deceived and think that because they said a sinners prayer or took a bath in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they are the children of God but they are not. Jesus tells us about this in many places but it is often missed. The 10 virgins story is one such example. In this we have all these people who are part of the church, who do all the right church stuff. Yet it bears out that 5 did not have the Spirit nor had they ever striven to be conformed to the image of Christ. When it becomes apparent that He is coming for His bride they seek to now obtain these things, perhaps even to buy what they need however when He arrives the door of true salvation is shut to them and He confesses "I NEVER knew you".

When one has the Spirit of Christ in them, they have the same Spirit He had in Him and over time they become like Him.So after this story in Matthew 25 He goes on to tell us what that Spirit looks like. In verses 31 on we learn the character and heart based motivations of the sheep as opposed to the goats....but this is the Bema Seat judgment and all these in this world were of the Church. Only SOME had His Spirit.

He tells us elsewhere "You shall know them by their fruit" so when we hear or see that someone else is calling themselves a Christian as if that should persuade us, go back to this set of passages and compare...which group does their fruit actually fall into? Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, are His. Peace in His name...

 

[Beetow]

Greetings:

Elements of the story you are about to read are fiction and some are fantasy. Not everything in the story is fiction, nor is everything fantasy; just some of it. Please do not challenge the accuracy of the story as I have already instructed you that some of its elements were not taken from reality.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

One night last week a man, who I am not at liberty to name, had a disturbing dream. He was standing on a small lump of volcanic rock, with the flames of hell licking around his naked legs. The heat was nigh unto unbearable; and the howling, yelping, and bellowing of what seemed to him a million wounded dogs was ringing in his ears.

A barely audible voice-- insistent, demanding, and unstoppable -- saturated the air all round him; seemingly coming from no discernible direction. The voice was as if the air itself were speaking from every available molecule in its structure. The man was immersed in words, which were repeating themselves over and over and over again and saying:

"If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

The voice was also saying:

"It is not yet your time. I have allotted you 24 hours to find the spirit of Christ and obtain it. When the time is up, I will come back for you; and there will be no reprieve then as now."

When the alarm woke him in the morning to rise and get ready for another day at Walmart, the man shook off the dream as a nightmare brought on by eating a plate of spaghetti and meat balls too close to bedtime. But still; the ethereal voice haunted him by its insistence that he had only one calendar day remaining between this life and the next

The man knew some Christians at work; so during the lunch break, he related his dream to some of them and asked about the spirit of Christ spoken of by the voice; the man also inquired how he might go about obtaining it perchance his experience had been a genuine portent. That night, the man passed away in his sleep. His Christian associates, though adequately schooled in all the standard rhetoric, had been no help to him at all.
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[Beetow]

● Rom 8:8-9 . .You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

● Rom 8:10-11 . . And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

There's a tricky nuance in those two passages that's easily overlooked if one isn't aware of it.

In a nutshell; the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is the spirit of a father, whereas the Spirit of Christ is the spirit of a son; for example:

● Gal 4:6 . . Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, calling out, "Abba! Father."

"Abba" is an English transliteration of the Aramaic word abba.

"Father" is an English translation of the Greek word pater.

The Aramaic and the Greek both refer to a male parent. However, there's a tricky nuance in there.

Pater is a simple noun; whereas Abba is a vocative. In other words; when a son has his father's attention, then pater is the appropriate way to address him. But when trying to get his father's attention, then abba is the appropriate way for the son to address him.

To the point: The voice heard in the man's dream was saying to him (in so many words): I want you to be my son. Go and find out how; and be quick about it.
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[Beetow]

● Rom 8:15 . . For you have not received a spirit of slavery again to fear; but you have received a spirit of adoption

The spirit of adoption serves a very special purpose. It imparts to adoptees the heartfelt bond that enables adopted children to feel the love, and the friendship, and the security feelings that natural-born boys and girls feel with their birth parents.

Sometimes adopted children feel somewhat inferior to natural-born children; and I think that's likely a very normal reaction. The spirit of adoption is no doubt intended to prevent those kinds of negative thoughts and insure that everyone in God's home feels just as equally welcome and belonging as Christ.

Let me show you something that's so astounding that it's nigh unto impossible to believe is really a fact.

There's a couple of Greek verbs translated "love" in the New Testament. One of them is agapao (ag-ap-ah'-o) which is an impersonal kind of benevolence, i.e. it's civil, but not necessarily affectionate. Everyone practices agapao from time to time by means of courtesy, sympathy, charity, and kindness, etc.

An example of agapao is located in John 3:16 where it's said that God loved the world; but that doesn't necessarily mean He likes the world. In point of fact, we know from Gen 6:6-7 that God would be content were the world dead and gone.

The other verb is phileo (fil-eh'-o) which always, and without exception, expresses fondness, attachment, and affection. An example of phileo is located in John 16:27 where Jesus stated:

"The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."

It's very difficult for those of us brought up in dysfunctional homes, or the foster system, or an orphanage to believe that anybody, anywhere, feels the slightest affection for us. But there it is in clear type. The Father is attached, bonded, and strongly sentimental with everyone to whom John 16:27 applies.

Knowing that you're loved is quite a bit different than feeling loved. In time, the spirit of adoption makes the Father's paternal feelings just as real for people brought into His home as they are for Christ. Pretty amazing.
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[Beetow]

In matters related to prayer, the Spirit of Christ has somewhat to say.

● Gal 4:6 . . And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His son into your hearts calling out: Abba! Father.

That verse reveals something very important. The Spirit of His son always compels Christ's believing followers to call out to his Father, never to his mother, and the reason for that is actually quite simple. Christ always prays to his Father; never to his mother; ergo: the Father's children exhibit the very same behavior because the Spirit of His son compels them to pray like His son.

That, by the way, is a pretty good litmus test. If somebody is comfortable praying to Jesus' mom, they give away the fact that they lack the Spirit of God's son in their hearts; which means of course that they have yet to undergo adoption into His home.

● Rom 8:15 . . For you have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we call out: Abba! Father.

The Bible instructs Christ's believing followers to pray in the Spirit (Eph 6:18, Jude 1:20). When people pray in the Spirit; they pray in accordance with Mark 14:35-36, Gal 4:6, and Rom 8:15. In other words: they don't pray to Mary and/or angels and departed saints; no, they pray to the Son's Father just as he did.

Bottom line: God's kin should feel an overwhelming compulsion to pray to their adoptive Father without their having to be told to. It should come naturally (so to speak), just as naturally as it came to Jesus. And they should feel an equally overwhelming disgust for praying to somebody else.

So then, people with a habit of praying to Jesus' mom and/or angels and departed saints; obviously have neither the spirit of God's son in their heart, nor the spirit of adoption; and that is a very serious condition to be in.

● Rom 8:9 . . If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
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