“THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU”
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Luke 17:21 - Neither shall they say, Lo here!
or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Col. 1:27 - 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. 3:3 - For ye are dead, and your life is hid
with Christ in God. |
I believe the greatest day of my life was when I realized
that there is a separation of "soul and spirit" and that I am truly a
spiritual "being" (a new creation) that lives in this earthly
tabernacle (the body). That is so real to me, that it is almost a constant
reality. I know that I would not want to live forever in this body the way it
is now. If Jesus said: "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you"
then it must be true and I say that we would be foolish not to look
therein......I say that it is high time we start "being" the Body of
Christ and live as if He really does live in us and that our lives are hid with
Christ in God.
John 14:15-21
- "If you love me, you will obey what I command. [16] And I
will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with
you forever-- [17] the Spirit of truth. The
world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But
you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. [18] I
will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. [19] Before
long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because
I live, you also will live. [20] On that day you will
realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
[21] Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who
loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show
myself to him."
What (or I should say who?) is the Spirit of
truth? The Greek word here for Spirit is pneuma,
which comes from the Greek word pneo, which is "breath"
and has different connotations depending on how it is used.
By analogy, a spirit such as the human or rational
soul such as our soul or spirit
being.
By implication, the vital principle or mental
disposition such as: "She is in good spirits
today" or "That horse is very spirited."
Or super human such as: Angels
or demons. i.e "spirits"
Or divine such as: God, Christ's
spirit or the Holy Spirit. Or ghost,
life, mind........
Spirit - pneuma, pnyoo'-mah, Greek 4151; from
Greek 4154 (pneo); a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by
analogy or figurative a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul,
(by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman)
an angel, d'mon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit:
- ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare Greek 5590
(psuche).
So if we would dissect that word "Spirit
of Truth" it would seem to me to be the "divine"
definition of the word "pneuma."
"But
you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you" What does this
mean? To me it is saying very plainly that this Spirit of Truth that Jesus is
speaking of is HIS SPIRIT. It has to be because he say that "you
know him for he lives with you" in speaking of himself. "And
will be in you." He then goes on to say: "you will
realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." How can he be
"in" us except through his own spirit. If you will
also notice in the Greek definition, it says:
"I
will come to you. [19] Before long, the
world will not see me anymore, but you will see me."
How was he to come
to them? How were they to "see" him? The only answer that I can come
up with in studying this out, is that he lives in us through His spirit
which is the SPIRIT OF TRUTH.
God, Christ's
spirit or the Holy Spirit. The
word Christ's is written with an apostrophe, which denotes
"possession" of the next word, which is spirit.
So in essence it is saying that the spirit belongs to God and Christ.
Nowhere does it say that the Holy Spirit is a person separate
from God or Christ. It is the life of God/Christ. That is the
only way that we can be one with the Father and the Son and that is by being
born again by the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit that is in essence
God/Christ. That is how he is can be "in" us.
HEBREW STUDY OF THE
KINGDOM OF GOD - By Phoebe Clevenger
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