My friend, the gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of the Spirit of Christ. Many do not receive this gift because they are looking unto a third being that is neither the Father nor the Son. By their belief in the trinity they are not looking unto the Son of God but unto God the Son.
The Comforter that Christ promised to give was not another being like the church teaches, but was Christ coming to them in another form. The disciples were having trouble grasping the truths that Jesus was speaking to them, and in order to help them understand He began to use a parable or illustration to help them understand. He used the Comforter to illustrate that though He was physically going away, that He would be with them by His Spirit. Notice how Jesus presents this to them.
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." (John 14:16-18). The word Jesus used for another means another of the same. He was saying that He would come to them in another form. This is evident in the next two verses calling this Comforter the Spirit of truth when He just said in verse 6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life:"
He goes on to say that they already know this Comfort because He dwells with them. He says this referring to Himself. Then He concludes this portion by saying "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." in verse 18. Through the churches belief in the trinity they twist the beautiful meaning of this verse to mean something that it does not.
The beauty of the Comforter is that Jesus is the Comforter that comes to us, not the spirit of another being. Our salvation is more than just the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross, our salvation is manifested by the life of Christ living within us. Christ coming in the flesh, living a holy and righteous life; victorious over sin, sacrificed on the cross, accepted by the Father, is now given to us that the life that Jesus lived, may be our life. This is our salvation.
The Comforter could not be given prior to Pentecost because the perfect and holy life of Christ lived in the flesh was not yet. Speaking of the Holy Spirit Jesus said in John 7:38 "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.", and John goes on to explain in verse 39 saying "(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" The word given is a word supplied by the interpreters and was not in the original text. By adding this word it changes the meaning of the text. Read the way it was in the original it says "...for the Holy Ghost was not yet; because that Jesus was not yet glorified."
My friend, the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, was not yet at that point because the life that Christ was to live in the flesh was not yet accomplished. Today, His life and sacrifice are complete, and the Comforter is given. Today the victorious life of the Son of God, lived in the flesh, is made available to us if we would but believe.
What a beautiful promise is fulfilled in Jesus living His life in us.
God bless,
No comments:
Post a Comment