The Spirit Of Christ

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● 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 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 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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[CharismaticLady]

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● 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 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 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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I disagree totally with both pastors. I was in church for 30 years without the Spirit of Christ in me. I had no power over sin, except what I was taught by my parents and the Bible school. I probably would have agreed with either of those pastors about the Spirit not being able to be felt, as I think that is what many unsaved church goers have to believe, in order to believe they are saved. Satan must love that doctrine of demons.

But, oh, was I ever wrong! The night of February 9, 1977 I finally truly repented, and was overcome by the Spirit of Christ. I felt it from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. I felt like I was floating. Since then, 43 years later, I still feel His presence. It is pure love. Do you remember being in love for the first time and that person was always on your mind and you were all tingly with emotion. That's what I have felt ever since. But also my mind is pure as we are given the mind of Christ. My whole nature changed overnight. I finally had power to not sin on purpose, and from a carnal nature. That nature died on that night. Now I can partake of the divine nature of Christ. 2 Peter 1:2-4.

 

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As I was listening to a radio preacher talk about hell-- along about the same
time as my concerns with 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 an abyss 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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● 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 for folks to find a way to
ascertain whether they have the Spirit of Christ. 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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[Webers_Home]

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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.

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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
recounted the dream 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 valid portent. That night, the man passed away in
his sleep. His Christian associates, though adequately schooled in all the
standard "Holy Spirit" rhetoric, had only managed to add to his confusion.
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[Webers_Home]

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● 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'm giving you an opportunity to be my son. Go and find out how;
and be quick about it.
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● 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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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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