SPIRIT AND TRUTH

I see that there is much evil in the world today. The greatest of these evils, however, is inside man’s head, indeed within man himself. The “doctrines of demons” that teach “commandments of men” which were spoken about by the Lord Jesus are upon us. Satan has such a grip on this modern world that many men continually fall prey to his attacks on their lives, their fortunes, and their spiritual destinations. Many religious organizations, that call themselves churches, will take isolated Scriptures that offer some relief from the perils of this earth and build doctrines on them and teaching them as being the “whole truth.” However, I say that it is not the whole truth unless it is the whole word.

We are to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). What is truth if not the word of God? Ah, but what is spirit? In the Gospel of John chapter three and verse three Jesus tells us of our need to be “born again.” How, though, can one be born again. Verse five says,

“Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

At first people didn’t understand what the Lord meant by “born again”- that is until the Day of Pentecost. For the first time God’s Spirit was being poured out on all flesh. Peter and the other apostles began to speak boldly the name of Jesus. Men who were once utterly frightened for their very lives, men who denied knowing Christ and ran into hiding to spare their own lives were now shouting out public sermons to massive crowds with boldness. Why is this? It’s because their Savior had returned, never to leave them again. Now they understood; they got it because the Holy Spirit, Christ in them (Galations 4:6), leads and guides into all truth (John 16:13). Jesus said,

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

What then did the apostles teach to the world- that you must be born again. How- of water and the Spirit. Okay, so how is this accomplished. Being born of water, no doubt, is baptism. Why is baptism important? The word of God teaches that baptism is for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4; Acts 22:16). It washes them away- not because of the water, but because of what is happening to your spirit (I Peter 3:21). It is being renewed, reborn (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:26). The blood of Jesus has totally washed away every black streak from you (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:25; Isaian 1:18). You have been cleansed and are now worthy of a relationship with the almighty God. According to Romans 6:2-4, we must die to sin and to the ways of this world. We must die, be buried, and rise again as Christ did; this is done through baptism. However, it doesn’t stop there. Verse five says,

“For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection.”

What does this mean? It means we must be rejoined with the Father just as Jesus was. Jesus is one with the Father, but He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant. He became a man to save His people (Philippians 2:5-8). Then, after His death, burial, and resurrection, the Lord Jesus ascended back into heaven to sit upon His godly throne (Acts 1:9; Mark 16:19; Luke 1:31-33; Revelation 4:10-11; 5:13-14). Man, however, because of sin has become separated from God (Romans 3:23). Therefore, once our sin has been abolished into nonexistence we need to have a resurrection, or an ascension if you will, of the spirit to rejoin us with the Spirit who is God. This closes the gap of separation between God and us; thus making us whole as we walk in His light. This is what it means to be born again of the Spirit. The Spirit of the living God dwells in you to live in you (I Corinthians 3:16; II Corinthians 6:16). This is what it means to have the Holy Spirit. This entire plan of salvation was outlined in Acts 2:38 when the apostle Peter, after having received the Spirit, proclaimed,

“Repent (turn from sin) and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (washing away) of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Peter went on to say that this experience of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit was for everybody. In verse thirty-nine he states, “For the promise is to you and to your children and to your children’s children and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Everyone has been promised this blessing of really knowing God personally and walking with Him as His Spirit dwells within their hearts and lives.

Although God is willing that none should perish but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9), Satan wants everybody to miss out on what God has for them. If Satan can’t keep you totally away from the Lord he’ll use his secondary tactic. He will offer you something to settle for. However, everything that Satan offers you, no matter what it may be, will be less that what God would have for you. The great conspiracy is the denominations that claim to be Christians but teach that God’s ways are of the devil while their doctrines are full of Satan’s poison. We need to break away from this world, break away from religion, and break away from the devil before it’s too late. Take heed to the word of God, and meditate on it. Fill your heart with it until it is in complete control of what you think, what you do, and what you say. This is the only way to attain true freedom. Know the truth and be free.

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