Johnlove said:
[SIZE=16pt]The Holy Spirit is one with God, and is God. Jesus said God would make a home in those who proved they loved him by living God’s Commandments. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt](John 14: 23) “Anyone who loves me will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him.”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt](John 14: 21) “Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them will be one who loves me; and anybody who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and show myself to him.” [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=16pt]God’s home is the kingdom of God, and a sinner, one who does not live God’s Commandments will never enter the kingdom of heaven.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=16pt](1 Corinthians 6:9-19) “You know perfectly well that people who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God: people of immoral lives, idolaters, adulterers, catamites, sodomites, thieves, usurers, drunkards, slanders and swindlers will never inherit the kingdom of God.”[/SIZE]
You are misquoting scripture. Jesus said that those who love Him will keep His word. You changed "word" to "commandments" to justify your ideology that the Holy Spirit is not given until one has cleaned up his behavior. The bible says otherwise. In every case where we see people receive the Spirit in Acts, it was simply by the hearing of faith. There was no mention of them jumping any behavioral hoops. In fact, Paul used that exact term in his letter to the Galatians in asking them if they received the Spirit by the works of law or by the hearing of faith. You are insisting that it is by the works of law. You are in error. Paul did not give both equal status. It was one or the other. Paul also told the Corinthians that we have received the Spirit of God that we might know the things freely given by God (1Cor.2:12). In Rom.8:32, we find that all things come to us freely through Christ. This is also confirmed in the 5th chapter of Romans, where both life and righteousness are called free gifts. In your world, righteousness is not a gift. In your world it is a conscious decision, which is rewarded by the indwelling of the Spirit. There's nothing free about that.
But you have made this error, I assume through someone teaching you. What is missing is the understanding that once a person has come to the cross, his old man is considered to be crucified with Christ. A detailed study will reveal that the sin in us is attributed to the old man. However in the new birth we have been given a new spirit, born from God, which is our new man, which is created according to God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph.4:24).
As well, if you examine Rom.7, you will find that Paul because of his mindset in agreement with the law, no longer connected his identitiy with his sin. And this is the part that has escaped your comprehension. Because we have been crucified with Christ already for our sin and because we have a new nature within us, our eternal identity before God has also changed. We are no longer identifed according to our
own behavior. We are identifed by grace, through faith, and through the new creation, as eternal and righteous. And it is all due to the righteousness and obedience of ONE MAN> (Rom.5:18,19).
And this is how and why in John 5:24, Jesus could make the incredible promise that those who hear His word and believes in HE who sent Him,....get this....HAS everlasting life....shall NOT come into judgement(unto condemnation)...and HAS passed from death to life. Back to the first point I made. Jesus said he who hears My word. What word? Try John 3:16 for starters. Try John 6:50,51 for starters. Want to be seen keeping His word? Try believing it for starters. As for keeping His commandments....1John3:23...." and this is His commandment; that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He has given us commandment".
In no way, shape, or form are we under a system by which we are justified by way of keeping the commandments of law.
As for His indwelling, my initial evidence 33 years ago was the giving of the gift of tongues. But my continuing evidence is in the assurance and guarantee of my inheritance, and the knowledge of that which is freely given by God. I do not produce any evidence from my own resources. It is within me as part and parcel of the free gift.