By His Spirit
The good news is that man can receive the Spirit of God. The Spirit of Christ has been poured into hearts. The divine Spirit can flow into the human spirit. This makes God known. God desires to be known. Christ asked the Father that the Spirit be given so we may know Him. We have a human spirit that can receive and know the divine Spirit.
The outpouring of the Spirit formed the church. The disciples announced this good news. The gift of the Spirit was now accessible. In Christ, one could have a new beginning and experience being made a new creation. The past could be left behind. There is now a new and living way available to everyone, without exclusion or distinctions.
The promise and potentiality are astounding in magnitude and almost too good to be true.
Greater works than these will he do, for I go to the Father.
The promise is given in seed form, which still needs the right environment and nourishment to grow, flourish, and develop into its full manifestation. Christ now is the cultivated tree in which the believers abide through a grafting accomplished by the Spirit, made one with our spirit. Whether as a seed or a grafted branch, the goal is the full development of something with a human form that carries a divine payload.
The essence of God is spirit. The essence of man is also spirit. The two spirits can therefore become one spirit. Symbolized as breath and wind, the spirit is invisible yet can be sensed. The spirit is also transmittable. This joins heaven to the earth and makes the work of God in humanity practicable.
The Spirit gives divine life. Jesus is begotten of the Holy Spirit. Then, the Spirit sent by the Father causes man to be born again. The Spirit regenerates. Like Christ, man then has both human and divine life. Sonship is no longer exclusive but now inclusive. Through a process, the last Adam [Christ] became a life-giving spirit. Adam is a living soul, while Christ is a life-giving spirit. Through the Spirit, we become children of God and come to know God as Father.
Every life has its nature. The divine life causes one to also partake of the divine nature. That changes our tastes, preferences, and priorities. We develop a taste for the literature of the spirit, finding delight in what is inspired and that which bears witness. The way we look at things and our feelings about them also change. Often, this puts us at odds with what lacks the divine nature. But Christ is not separate from creation or from humanity.
Every life also possesses consciousness. Life and nature are difficult to understand directly in detail. However, we are aware of our consciousness. We know it intimately, both in joy and in suffering. Only we fully understand it; our consciousness is the truest reflection of ourselves. It is our “I am.” I comprehend all things only as they affect my consciousness. I cannot truly know external things as they are. I can only perceive them as my consciousness perceives them. The deeper we perceive things, the more they influence our consciousness. The divine life carries with it divine nature and divine consciousness.
The Spirit baptizes, immersing us and marking acceptance into the Body of Christ. The Father’s acceptance leaves an indelible mark, melting our hearts and never being forgotten. The Spirit’s role is to convey God's acceptance, providing assurance and marking a pivotal point in our journey. This change in mind, or metanoia, occurs at that point.
The Spirit then leads us. Jesus is thrust into the wilderness by the Spirit. The Spirit leads apostles: Set apart for me now, Barnabas and Saul… Christ’s simple instruction: Follow Me, is worked out through His Spirit and His Body. My sheep hear My voice. The Spirit functions by speaking to us and speaking through us.
The sheep need to learn to recognize the Shepherd’s voice. Without that, we are more prone to being thrown into the confusion of whether the kingdom is here or there. We can learn to know the leading of the Spirit by presenting our whole being. A sense of life, peace, strength, and clarity will be present in our consciousness.
Transcending the mind and default consciousness is important. It may initially require times of disengagement from the outer world or closing your eyes to pray. With practice, one can do this amidst outer activities. A contemplative walk works. Meditative reading as well. Remembrance is key. The mind turns from the outer to the inner with remembrance of Him. The default stream of consciousness is put on pause. The mind is set upon the Spirit.
The Spirit is given freely, as a gift. He gives the spirit not by measure but as a bountiful Divine Supply. The Spirit is given without making any demands or setting any expectations. There is no quid pro quo arrangement. There may be a free-will offering made by us, multiple times, as we walk by the Spirit on the course set for us. But the Spirit is a gift freely given. With human giving, we may fear hidden or implied demands that are attached. With the Spirit, there is no need for such fear.
Jesus breathed on the disciples: Receive the Holy Spirit. The Spirit now includes the benefits of His death and resurrection, which are necessary for the Christian life. There is the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. The Spirit fills the disciples. It brings joy. The Spirit empowers the apostles’ work and speaking.
With Christ as both the high priest and the lamb without blemish, the Spirit now opens the way to the Holy of Holies through the riven veil. The glory of God is made known by the Spirit to our spirit. The way and its entrance become accessible. Christ’s accomplishments become applicable by receiving the Spirit. The anointing becomes the qualification to enter the Holy of Holies.
This new thing is called The Way. The Spirit now gives access to the Father. There is a complete putting aside of all human forms, quixotic quests, and traditions held dear. Everything is re-interpreted in light of the Spirit. The inner, the invisible, and the mystical take precedence over the outer, the visible, and the physical. It upsets the world.
But the Way spreads rapidly. The Spirit of reality testifies and teaches with words and works of power. The Spirit is received simply by hearing the speaking, or is transmitted by the laying on of hands. The Spirit is active in the sending of disciples and, at times, even forbids them from going and speaking in certain places. The Spirit cuts across all barriers, starting with the Jew-Gentile and Jew-Greek divides. A network of diverse yet connected church communities begins to form around the known world.
The Spirit is the reality that reveals the things of God. The Spirit bears witness that we are children of God and brings the love of God into our hearts. The Spirit of the Lord brings freedom to the soul weighed down by many concerns. The Spirit brings with it both the evidence and the experience we need.
The effect of the Spirit on our being is symbolized by a sealing —a mark of ownership. The Spirit writes on our hearts, impressing us with divine intention. The Spirit is a given as an initial pledge of a fuller inheritance.
The Spirit indwells us, making us the temple of God. The Spirit is active in washing, renewing, sanctifying, interceding, carrying out the work of God in our being, and bearing fruit. We are strengthened by the Spirit into the inner man, turning our attention from the outer to the inner.
Spirit brings fellowship with one another, a distinct way of connecting that brings the joy of the Spirit. We are not to grieve or quench this Spirit as Paraclete (to call beside) that advocates, comforts, and counsels. Our service and our worship of God are in the Spirit.
The role and function of the Spirit is portrayed as comprehensive, intimate, and engaged. We begin with the Spirit, continue by means of the Spirit. All things are “by My Spirit.”
The Spirit is the living water promised by Jesus in his invitation at the feast to all who thirst. Such a Spirit from the glorified Jesus is available now to receive freely. That is the essence of the good news of the gospel.
Revelation concludes with the simple invitation:
Take freely the water of life.
