As
they imitated the fascination
with demons which destroyed
Israel (1 Cor
10) the Corinthians
refused to listen to the message of God through the voice and words
of the apostle Paul. Having the Mind
of Christ was not
important to them. In his second letter he warned:
But
even unto this
day, when Moses is read, the vail is
upon their heart. 2 Cor 3:15
Nevertheless,
when
it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 2Cor
3:16
Now
the
Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty. 2 Cor 3:17
But
we all, with
open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord. 2 Cor 3:18
Only by turning to Lord
Jesus Christ and Having
the Mind of Christ (Father, Son, Spirit) in Whom full Deity dwells
(Col 2:9), is it possible to understand the Spirit message. This
means abandoning all pagan-like rituals to "help lead the
worshipers into the presence of God."
For
we have not
followed cunningly
devised fables, when we
made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Pet
1:16
For
he received from God the
Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the
excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 2
Pet 1:17
And
this voice which came from
heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 2 Pet 1:18
We
have also a
more
sure word of
prophecy; whereunto ye
do well that ye take
heed,
as unto a light
that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in
your
hearts: 2 Pet 1:19
Taking heed to the word of
Christ which is
Spirit (John 6:63) is the only true defined way to "worship in spirit
and in truth":
Proserchomai (g4334)
pros-er'-khom-ahee; from 4314 and 2064
(includ. its alt.); to approach, i.e. (lit.) come near, visit, or
(fig.) worship, assent to: - (as soon
as he) come (unto), come
thereunto, consent, draw near, go (near, to, unto).
The Bible does not
define a SINGING ritual,
but a SPEAKING of the truth one to another. If you "lift the lid"
from that process you let the Devil in to "take away the keys to
knowledge."
And he gave some,
apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; Eph 4:11
For the perfecting of
the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Eph
4:12
Till we all come in the
unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Eph 4:13
That we henceforth be
no more children,
tossed to
and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by
the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait
to deceive; Eph 4:14
But speaking
the truth in
love, may
grow up into him in all
things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:15
From whom the whole
body fitly
joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the
measure
of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself
in love. Eph 4:16
Peter knew that Jesus was
God Incarnate and
therefore knew that He was the One and only Spirit Being throughout
all eternity:
Searching what, or what manner of
time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did
signify, when it
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that
should follow. 1 Peter 1:11
And
I fell at his feet to
worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy
fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus:
worship God:
for
the
testimony
of
Jesus
is the
spirit
of
prophecy. Revelation
19:10
Paul always associates
"Spirit" with Jesus in
whom dwelled full Deity (Col. 2:9). Furthermore, he associates the
Mind of Christ with the Spirit of Christ. As full deity, this having
the mind of Christ or Spirit was the model to be imitated:
Let
this
mind be in you, which was
also in Christ
Jesus: Philippians 2:5
Who,
being in very
nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped, Philippians 2:6NIV
who,
though he was God, did not
demand and cling to his rights as God, Philippians 2:6LIV
but
laid aside (emptied
Himself) his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave
and becoming like men Philippians 2:7LIV
And
being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:8
Because Christ was God "not
hanging onto" His
Majesty and Glory as His "clothing," when Paul speaks of having the
mind of Christ it is equivalent to having God's Spirit. Look at the
two words together:
Mind
is:
Phroneo (g5426)fron-eh'-o; from
5424; to exercise the mind,
i.e. entertain or have a sentiment or opinion; by implication to be
mentally disposed (more or less earnestly in a certain direction);
intens. to interest oneself in (with concern or obedience): - set the
affection on, (be) care (-ful), (be like-, / be of one, / be of the
same, / let this) mind (-ed), regard, savour, think.
Spirit
is: Pneuma
(g4151)
pnyoo'-mah; from
4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by anal. or
fig. a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by impl.) vital
principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel,
doemon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit: - ghost,
life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind.
God
is not a "Ghost" in any
sense of the word. A ghost to the Greek mind was the demon or
lingering presence of a dead person. God is pure (i.e. Holy) Spirit.
He is pure Mind, immaterial, invisible and incomprehensible to the
human mind.
God
put Himself in the form of
a man in order to reveal His Mind or Spirit or Mental Disposition to
mankind who can never directly grasp the presence or power of pure
spirit. You might as well try to gather up a bucket of wind.
In
the form of a man (a body
prepared for me) Jesus delivered the Mind of His invisible nature in
words. These words were validated or certified by His own miracles
and the miracles of 12 men who would put these words into effect in
real-life situations. They understood their goal as to put their
"memory" in a permanent form for all sincere people who can believe
that God can deliver Spirit or His Mind with words to a humanity
created to understand words.
The
dogma of "original sin"
rejected the Word as all-powerful and demanded of God that they
receive their own visitation of a "person" they called the Holy
Spirit. This was required because the written words of Jesus for "his
dispensation" were no longer of value.
Men
who read the revealed
message, however, rejected a personal visitation from God. For
instance, John Locke was
skeptical of
Calvinists and all charismatic people who found truth directly
without some evidence. For that reason there is an unreasoning hatred
of the mind's rational (spiritual) power to understand the Mind or
Spirit of Christ.
Samuel Butler,
writing of the doctrine of
the Inner Light driving the secular churches said:
- 'Tis
a Dark-Lanthorn of the Spirit,
- Which
none see by but those that bear it:
- A
Light that falls down from on high
- For
Spiritual Trades to couzen by:
- An
Ignis Fatuus that bewitches
- And
leads Men into Pools and Ditches..
It turns out that we do not
have a supernatural
ghost separated from Christ to teach us directly; truth comes to our
rational mind or spirit from God's rational Mind or Spirit (1
Corinthians 2) through the process of revelation. This is having the
Mind of Christ or the Holy Spirit.
To that extent, John Locke
was
right and we do not personally have an antenna to bypass our ears and
mind. We have to be careful and hear God speak through parables
spoken, as Jesus confirmed, to fool those not looking for truth. For
instance,
By
the (1) word
(Dabar or Logos) of the
(2) LORD
(Jehovah is I
Am not We are)
- the
heavens were made,
- and
all their host
- by
the
(3) breath (h7307 spirit) of his
mouth (means of
blowing wind). Ps.33:6
God's Spirit always
works as God's Word or
commandments:
He
gathered the
waters of the sea as in
a bottle; he put the
deeps in storehouses. Psa 33:7
Let
all the earth
fear the LORD, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of
him! Ps 33:8
For
he spoke, and
it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth. Ps 33:9
Paul said that "God was
manifest in the flesh
and justified in the Spirit" 1Ti 3:16. He said that full Deity
dwelled in Christ" Col 2:9. Jesus said that the Father lived in the
Son. If you have seen the Son you have seen the Father as He has
projected His invisible image to become visible. Jesus said that He
was the Comforting Spirit living with the apostles and that He would
be in them after Pentecost.
What is the mystery
of the Spirit of
God?
But
God hath
revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep
(profound mysteries) things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10
Here
is How Paul explained
the Mind of Christ as the Holy Spirit
If
you can understand how your
own mind or spirit understands your total being then you can
understand that the Spirit of God is that by which His "Being"
understands Himself. Remember that Paul's body did battle with Paul's
spirit -- not a person of the Godhead.
But
we speak the
wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom, which God ordained before
the world unto our glory: 1 Cor 2:7
But
God hath
revealed them unto us by
his Spirit: for the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Cor
2:10
For
what man knoweth the
things of a man, save the
spirit of man which
is in him?
even
so the things
of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11
By
being in Christ, we have not
received the spirit or mental disposition of the world but the mental
disposition of God. He warned against getting frenzied-up and
following the gurus out to some location because "the kingdom of God
is within you."
By
having the Spirit or Mind of
God in our own mind, we can understand how God thinks:
Now
we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of
God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of
God. 1 Corinthians 2:12
- The
Holy Spirit
- is
to God
- What
man's spirit
- is
to mankind
The
Apostles were promised and
received supernatural power to know and remember what Christ in the
flesh had taught:
Which
things also
we speak, not in the words which mans wisdom teacheth, but (words)
which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:13
Christ
the Spirit came to Paul
and told him that he would remember what he had been taught and learn
whatever he needed to be an apostle. This Spirit being was called
Lord Jesus and whenever Paul needs instructions it is Christ the
Spirit Who instructs him
But
the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually (figuratively) discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14
But
he that is
spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 1
Corinthians 2:15
Paul
closes the loop and
declares that the Spirit of the Lord is the Mind of the Lord is the
Mind of Christ:
For who
hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we
have the mind
of Christ. 1
Corinthians 2:16
Again, in tabular
form, Paul showed
that:
|
Man
in Image of God
|
Explains
His Creator
|
Whose
Spirit is the mind of Christ
|
|
For who among
men
|
In the same
way
|
For who has
|
|
knows the
thoughts
|
no one knows the
thoughts
|
the mind of the
Lord
|
|
of a man
|
of God
|
that he may instruct
him?"
|
|
except the man's
spirit within him?
|
- except the Spirit of God. (Or the mind of God) 1Co.2:11
|
But we have the mind
of Christ. 1Co 2:15
|
This
same statement was made by Paul in Romans as he
quoted Isaiah:
O
the depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are
his judgments,
and
his ways past
finding out! Ro 11:33
For
who hath known
the mind of the Lord? or who
hath been
his counsellor? Ro 11:34
No second or third person
knows the mind of the
One God. The context is wisdom and knowledge which are mental or
spiritual qualities. This is why Paul used the word "mind" which in
Greek is:
Nous
(g3563) nooce; prob. from the base of 1097; the intellect, i.e. mind
(divine or human;
in
thought, feeling, or
will); by impl. meaning: - mind, understanding. Comp. 5590.
This has much the
same meaning as Spirit in
Greek:
Pneuma (g4151) pnyoo'-mah; from 4154; a current
of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by anal. or fig. a spirit,
i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by impl.) vital principle, mental
disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, doemon, or (divine) God,
Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual,
-ually), mind. Comp. 5590
First:
From this we can conclude that the Spirit of God is the Mind of God
just as our spirit is our mind or inner being. Therefore,
Spirit
=
Mind.
Second: To counsel the mind of the Lord is to counsel
the
Lord. Therefore Mind = Being = Spirit.
If there is any doubt, look
at the statement
Paul quoted and used the word mind. To direct the Spirit of the Lord
would be to teach the Lord just to direct our spirits we direct
ourselves. The Spirit of God then is the "Seat" of attitude of His
Being just as our spirit is the seat of our attitude or mental
disposition because we are made in His image:
Who
hath directed
the Spirit
of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? Is
40:13
With
whom took he
counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of
judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of
understanding? Isa 40:14
Spirit
in Hebrews does not
speak of a third Being but of the innermost being of God and its
expression:
Ruwach (h7307) roo'-akh, roo'-akh; from 7306;
wind; by resemblance breath, i. e. a sensible (or even violent
exhalation; fig. life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extens. a region
of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being
(includ. its expression and functions): - air, anger, blast, breath,
* cool, courage, mind, * quarter, * side, spirit ([-ual]), tempest, *
vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y).
First: The Spirit of the Lord (Isa 40:13) is the
Mind of the
Lord (Ro 11:34). Mind = Spirit.
Second: To direct the Spirit of the Lord is to
instruct the
Lord. Spirit =
Being.
The counsel of God is the
Word of God:
For
who hath stood
in the counsel
of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard
his word? who hath marked
his word, and heard
it? Je 23:18
Therefore, the Mind or
Spirit of the Lord is
communicated by the Word of the Lord.
Within one physical body
there is only
one spirit. There are not, therefore, three
Spirits in the
Godhead. If Father, Son and Spirit have a Spirit then there are six
"persons" in the Godhead! However, there is one Being and one Spirit
of that being:
There
is one body,
and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:4
The expression of Lord
Jesus Christ is the Spirit of the Lord
visibly and audibly.
This makes it very
convenient in understanding
that if the third person is the "Spirit" of the Godhead, this leaves
Father and Son without a Spirit. Colossians makes this clear by
showing that when the Spirit lives within our hearts or spirits
Christ lives within:
To
whom God would
make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Col 1:27
Paul made it clear that the
Lord is the Spirit
and the Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord. This does not make two
"persons." Having the Mind of Christ means to be able to grasp the
Spirit Words He spoke and inspired in Scripture.
Kenneth Sublett
Holy
Spirit Index
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And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; Isa 11: 2