The Issue of “The Mystery” is Real Life for Man

By Arthur J. Licursi

The Reality of the Paul’s Mystery Gospel:

Col. 1:26-27 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To 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:

We each need a full realization of the fruit of Paul’s Mystery Gospel of “Christ in you”. This study is to explore the reality or our personal realization of Paul’s “mystery” gospel of “Christ in you the hope of glory”. That reality to be realized by us, simply stated, is that Christ now indwells every believer, individually, making them the living members of “the church, which is His body”; whereby, His life is exchanged for our self-life, in a new normal way of life.

What is Life?

First we must define the word “life”. The Greek word for the “life” we are addressing in this paper is Zoë – for “spirit life that is of God”. It is used for life in the verses we note as evidence that the life that Jesus most often spoke of was spirit life. He did not speak of a better physical life (“bios” for biological life), or for that matter, not the soul life (psuche psychological life).

God Himself is the only genuine life and all such life is of His life.  Psalm 36:9a For with thee is the fountain of life… John 3:16 is perhaps the most famous verse of the Bible among Christians. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The promise of “everlasting life” is the object of this sentence. Most do not fully appreciate just what everlasting life actually is. Most still consider it to be a life that is given to believers at the time of their death, as though it is something separate from God. No! LIFE is the resurrected Christ, Himself. Christ the only genuine LIFE in the universe – all physical life is but a shadow of Christ’s real LIFE.

From Scripture, we could say “God is life” and that would be a true statement; we could say “Christ is life” and that would be a true statement; we could say “the Spirit is life” and that would be a true statement. But to us personally, life is …God… in Christ …as the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus… indwelling us. This is life to us personally; and this is the why of Jesus, who became “the life-giving spirit (1Cor 15:45)”

Object of the Cross:

Resurrection life for the man was and is the objective of the cross, such that God as Father would gain an enlargement of His family with offspring bearing His life. Not only did forgiveness of sins become available via the cross, but the objective of the cross thereby became available – His resurrection life that we call eternal life – which is nothing less than the life of Jesus Christ. That life has been deposited into every believer, to be the believer’s new life, and that life is the eternal life of God. Thus, when we speak of eternal life, we are speaking of the life of Christ Himself. We could substitute the name of “Christ” in place of the word “life”, whenever “eternal life” is mentioned in scripture. Thus, John 3:16 would then read as follows and be quite accurate. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have Christ’s life. This is quite agreeable with John’s 1st epistles. 1 John 5:11-12 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Real Life

Real “life” is God’s “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2a). For man, this LIFE is the issue with regard to the Father’s eternal plan in sending His Son to earth to suffer, die and rise from the dead to become “the life-giving spirit” (1Cor 15:45). The New Testament refers to real “life” and “live” using the Greek words Zoë and Zao, speaking of God’s spirit life, in 126 verses. Concerning Himself and His words as spirit life, Jesus used the word “life”, in the Gospel of John 38 times in 31 verses.

This life is what it is that Jesus of Nazareth spoke of when He came speaking such statements as “I am the … life” and  “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” is “the Spirit of life” (Rom 8:2). In regeneration or rebirth, He has come to dwell within “as many as received Him” (John 1:12), thereby making each recipient the birthed offspring of God the Father. Thus, real salvation is a matter of receiving and living by His life (Rom 5:10). The Greek word, Zoë – for “spirit life”, used for life in these verses, is evidence that the life Jesus spoke of was spirit life. He did not speak of a better physical life (“bios” for biological life), or for that matter it was not the psychological life (psuche) He spoke of.

We see from the verses below that everlasting, or eternal life, is part and parcel of Jesus Christ Himself. In each case, life is Zoë.

John 1:4 In him (Jesus) was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 10:10b … I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Col. 3:4a When Christ, who is our life, shall appear...

Jn 1:12 as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power (privilege) to become the sons of God…

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

1 John 5:11-12. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

The Apostle Paul confirms this, writing to the Church at Colossae “…the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23b), “… the promise of life which is in Christ” Jesus, (2 Tim.1:1b), “Christ who is our life (Zoë)…” (Col 3:4), and to the Galatian Church, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).


Part 2

One Requirement for Having Life – Receiving Christ as the Spirit of Life:

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: To realize “Christ in you” first requires our individually receiving Christ, who then comes immediately to indwell our own individual human spirit with His “Spirit of life” (Zech 12:1b, John 3:6, 1Cor 6:17, 1John 4:13); to be our new “spirit of life.” Though Paul was writing to all the Colossians telling them Christ was in them “corporately”, the fact is that the corporate indwelling of Christ is actually by His being each believer individually, as individual members of the universal “church, which is His body.” (Eph 1:22b-23a).  So each believer has literally received Christ and all that He is into his own spirit to function as the believer’s new life. Now, all we as believers need to do is learn to trust Him in order to enjoy the spontaneous fruit of the very “life” of Jesus Christ Himself, with His self-giving love and grace.

The resurrected “Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus” that raised Christ from the dead is the Spirit of Christ who is in us – enlivening us (Rom 8:11). This Spirit of Christ in the believer’s spirit is what is to animate the Christian to live and “be as Christ is” (1John 4:17), as being the expression of Christ’s life within.

Have We Seen This For Ourselves?

We as believers may receive Christ and even this information concerning His indwelling in our understanding, but it requires a deeper, experiential, knowing of the truth that Christ as life is indwelling our being, in order to make it an effectual reality for us. It requires a God-given revelation of this truth. By example and as a pattern (1Tim 1:16), Paul writes, attesting to the fact, “when it pleased God… “to reveal His Son in me.”

Gal. 1:15-16 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen (Gentiles); immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

Paul must have expected that such revelation was needed for all believers, so he prayed for revelation for the Ephesians. 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, Here Paul prayed for revelation of all the riches of the glory that Christ is “in the saints”.

Revelatory knowledge of His indwelling as our complete sufficiency only comes by the experience of His life. This is how we “learn Christ” Himself, (Eph 4:20). We can study and learn the Bible in words, only gaining “gnosis, knowing as information”, like reading a newspaper. It is not until we receive and realize this life of Christ in us by personal experience and then learn to live by trusting the indwelling life of Christ that we may truly “know” and live as Christians. It is then that we have “come to know by experience.” The Greek word for “know” then is “ginosko”, meaning to come to know by experience, much the same as we may say “Adam knew Eve by experience”. The key to true knowledge is to “come to know Christ in you,” by the experience of His indwelling life. We know we have the experience of the indwelling Christ when we have a peace that is deeper than our mind in a situation whereby we would not otherwise have inner peace and rest. Thus, it is when we are challenged by a troubling situation of life that we have opportunity to come to know Christ in a deeper way. We learn Christ in us by such experiences of life.

What Paul Preached

In fact, this indwelling Christ is the Christ that Paul preached. Note that in v28, following the end of Col 1:27, we have three words from Paul that tell us this is exactly what he preached. Col. 1:27b-28a …“Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach…” Thus, Paul tells us the mystery gospel that he preached is the Christ living in the believer of v28a.

The key to living the Christian life is for one to be a partaker of the genuine “God-life,” which is only available to us “in Christ”, who now is “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2, 2Cor 3:17), who has come to indwell our human spirit. We as Christians today can say “the issue of the mystery is His life in us.”

Vital Knowledge

This indwelling Christ is our portion and as vital to our living in Christ as physical life is to our body; with the physical body, apart from having physical life, our eyes are just non-functioning physical organs intended for vision, our ear as non-functioning organs intended for hearing, etc. Apart from having received, possessing, knowing, and depending upon His life in us, we are a lifeless three-part vessel (spirit, soul and body), having only the … potential to receive Christ’s life and live as expressions of His life.

Real Salvation

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved (sozo, completed) by his life.

Our “salvation” is much more than the precious legal reconciliation we have with God, by receiving Christ’s substitutionary redemptive work on the cross for us – clearing our account. To be saved “much more”, is to have become partaker of the resurrection life and nature of Christ Himself, as our new life (Gal 2:20, 2Pet 1:4).

With this introduction, let us now explore more of how it is that we become partakers of this God-given life of Christ.


Part 3

Life’s Progeny

Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

1 Cor. 15:38-39 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 39All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

Webster’s dictionary defines “organic” as “that which is relating to or derived from a living organism” - whether animal, vegetable or spiritual. The organic relationship of physical life forms, reproducing after their own kind is simple, yet mysterious. Paul tells us the physical creation is a clear picture of our spiritual reality (1Cor 15:46), the physical is the shadow of the reality, which is spiritual. Consider our spiritual union with God as our progenitor Father, as life-giver to His re-born or regenerated children. Real life is eternal life; no other form of life is real life, since none other is eternal. Our spiritual rebirth is more literal and organic than our physical birth because it concerns the divine and eternal life. The visible and physical realm is temporal, but the unseen spiritual realm is eternal (2Cor 4:18).

 

Once this understanding of our literal birthing by Christ’s “Spirit of life” coming to dwell in our spirit is revealed to us, this then becomes a most powerful frame of reference to affect our daily living with peace and rest. As seen earlier, Paul himself had such a revelation of which he spoke. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me… Galatians 1:15-16a.  This, no doubt, is what was fixed in Paul’s frame of reference; writing of the mystery of “Christ in you” (Col 1:27). Such a revelation and realization as Paul had changes a Christian’s life and living as we endure life’s trials. Paul thus prayed for the Ephesians that they would have such revelation of the inheritance of Christ that they would have the spirit wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him who is “in the saints.”

Ephes. 1:17-18 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

 

A Living Relationship

Knowing that we are first and foremost, a literal child born of God as their true Father (Eph 4:6) has an earthshaking and yet grounding impact upon knowing our security in Christ. In this living relationship we are “sons” and not as servants (Gal. 4:7), for God’s work force, or the church organization. No, in John 1:12 every human is seen as a potential “child” of God, as spiritual offspring of God the Father.

 

Just how is it that when a person receives Christ he then becomes a child of God? Let’s consider the earthly to see the spiritual. The children of God we are birthed of His spiritual loins, born of His seed; into His literal unseen family. Our earthly father is our father because his seed was placed into the womb of our earthly mother and we came to birth physically as the offspring of Adam. Similarly, God our Father placed His Seed – Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16, 1Pet 1:23) into the womb of our human spirit and our new life in Christ came to birth – we were regenerated.

 

The apostle Paul uses the term “regeneration” for what actually happened to us, rather than being “born again.” Jesus and John who writes to the Jews uses the term born again because they were speaking to the Jews who so much valued Abraham as their father and being his offspring. Paul writes to the Gentiles as the Apostle to the Gentiles Eph 3:1-4. The Gentiles had no history with Abraham or any promises in Abraham (Eph 2:1-4). Thus Paul, as the Apostle to the Gentiles, spoke of that which actually occurs when Christ as the seed of the Father comes to dwell in Gentiles or Jews – they are “regenerated.” The word regeneration is a Greek word “paligenesia,” with “pali” meaning oscillation and genesia meaning beginning. Mankind has had an oscillation of life, 1) created alive with a human spirit by the “breath of life” from God, 2) but then man became “dead to God” in Adam’s sin, and 3) and then again man can be made “alive” by Christ’s resurrection life to indwell man. This is regeneration. Only receiving the resurrected Christ’s life can give life to the dead.

 

Our Organic Union

The “life” we speak of in this paper is real life – spirit life. This “life”, in Greek is Zoë, meaning God’s unique Spirit-life, in contrast with the “bios” or physical life, or “psuche”, which is the psychological life. Our relationship with God as Father is a life relationship, it is genuinely organic – it is a matter of His life in us that makes us His birthed children. We are born of God’s very own literal life that is in Christ. Christ is the Father’s one seed (seed, Gk., “sperma”, Gal. 3:16, 1Pet. 1:23), now available as the “Spirit of life” (2Cor. 3:17, Rom 8:2), to bring to birth those who receive Christ as the Father’s seed, into their human spirit (Zech 12:1b, Jn 3:6). God’s very own life, by Christ (“the life”, John 14:6) then flows the entire Godhead-life (Col. 2:9) into each believer as that believer’s new life (Gal 2:20). Thus, Paul tells us that we thereby are “complete in him.” Christ as the seed of the Father is total; we receive all of Christ, in seed form, from the moment of our spiritual conception in the womb of our human spirit.

 


Part 4

The Triune God as the Only Genuine Life Source

God’s life is the only genuine life; its both divine and eternal. God’s substance is Spirit (John 4:24). God as Father is a flowing fountain of “life” – the source of all life. Psalm 36:9a “For with thee (God) is the fountain of life:” Being also love (1Jn 4:8), He as Father, flows His life-seed – which is Christ, into our human spirit as a womb (Spirit to spirit, Jn 3:6). This is an act of God’s love. The fruit of that union is His life - in us.

Scripture tells us Jesus Christ is the Father’s seed (“seed” from the Greek, is sperma, see Gal 3:16, 1Peter 1:23). The Father is life-giver to us by His Seed, which is Christ. Thus, we may read Jn 3:16 in this way, “For God (as Father) so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have His Seeded life. (Altered for emphasis)

Scripture reveals to us that… the Father’s life is … in Christ (John 17:21), who now is … the “Spirit of life” (Rom 8:2, 2Cor 3:17) who indwells our human spirit (Eph 4:6), to be the essence and realization of our organic spirit-union with our Father, as His birthed offspring.

Let’s further consider the “Father, Son and Spirit” the Triune God, in the light of being “life”.

THE FATHER

“Father” is the primary title for God. In the four Gospels the name Father is used by Jesus and the writers in 190 verses. It is the most used name for God in the New Testament. It used by Christ relative to Himself and also all those who are His regenerated children by a new spirit birthing. In the Gospel of John the title Father is used of God more often than in any other book.

The title, Father”, speaks of our organic (living) relationship with God as His offspring. Consider that the title “Father” speaks of the source of life, to be in His children – organically or livingly. The life of every father on earth is seen in his children. Note what Jesus told the women who saw Him after His resurrection. John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. This is a most wonderful and powerful statement of our relationship with Father God - as His children.

God is the source of genuine life, the God-life. Fatherhood in itself speaks of His own life flowing to His offspring. Have you considered that God cannot be a Father apart from having children birthed of His Spirit loins? And, we cannot be His children unless He is our Father. He cannot be our literal Spiritual Father, except we be literal offspring of His own spiritual loins.

“Beloved, now are we the sons (literal) of God” (1 John 3:2a, parenthesis added). Our sonship comes by a spiritual birthing, which is an organic, life germinating event; by the only life qualified to be called life - God’s life. This is the eternal, divine, and limitless life. Again, it required a seed from our Father to bring us to have the genuine life – that Seed is Christ.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power (life-force) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12 author’s emphasis added). “Power” in John 1:12 is more completely translated “life-force of competency”. Christ in us is the competent life-force as the seed of life in us, by virtue of the Father’s eternal God-life in Him, now birthed into us as that life. It is Christ “Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life” (Hebrews 7:16 authors emphasis added). All we need to do is receive Christ - not doctrines, not membership, not by keeping Christian codes of conduct, not living by Christian principals, or anything other than possessing the life Christ Himself that is in the person of Christ. When Paul and Silas spoke of Christ to the Philippian jailer, they said simply, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and though shalt be saved…”

THE SON:

The Father’s Only Begotten Son

The term “Son” obviously speaks of the same life relationship, and a life received of the Father, as the “only begotten Son of God.” The Son then bears the very life of the Father. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, now as the Christ, organically bears the Father’s life to those who are rebirthed by the Christ as the Father’s seed (Gal 3:16, 1Pet 1:23) – simply through receiving Christ as life of God (John 1:12). God has only one Son and all believers are born of that one Son-seed - making them also joint heirs, participants in the one Son of God as the members of “the Church, which is His body” (Eph 1:22b, 23).

We are offspring of the Father’s spiritual loins. This organic life comes to us by a birthing, by the living Father placing Christ, as His Son-seed (Gal. 3:16), into our human spirit (2Tim 4:22, 1Pet 1:23). Hence, “that which is born of the Spirit (Christ’s) is spirit (our human spirit):” (John 3:6, parenthesis added).

Many speak of the brotherhood of man and they all being God’s children – this is WRONG! Created humans are not God’s literal children. They are created “as sons” but they are not born “sons” of His loins. The only means of entrance into the literal eternal family of God is by being organically born of God, regenerated, as Paul calls it. James and John call it “born-again”. We are born then of the life of God the Father, in Christ, as the Spirit/Seed in our human spirit womb. By this we gain the literal life of Christ into our spirit. Paul says in Col. 3:4 “… Christ, who is our life,” agreeing with John in this matter of life. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12).

The title “Son” obviously speaks of the life relationship, life received of the Father. It is the Son who then bears the very life of the Father. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, now as the Christ organically bears the Father’s life to those who are rebirthed by the Christ seed. God has only one Son and all believers are of that one Son-seed - making them also joint heirs; participants in the one Son of God as the members of His body. One could not be a son unless he has the literal life of his father in him. E.g., my father in the physical is Joseph Licursi. He right now is in me by his life flowing in my veins. I was in him before I was born; by this I can somewhat see how it is that I was in Christ “before the world began” (Eph 1:4). The physical life of my father lives on in me. With God, His eternal life lives on in all the offspring of His spiritual loins. My earthly father’s human life flows in his veins (the life is in the blood) since I became a recipient of his physical life. I may even look like him and express his mannerisms, etc. Likewise, our heavenly Father has shared His very life and nature with us by the life of His resurrected Son, who is now our very and only life (Gal. 2:20). In time, either here on earth, or hereafter, all His children who are born of His seed, will grow to express His life in them; it’s automatic, by nature. By this we can see that it ought not to be a puzzle or an effort to express Christ, all we need to do is yield to His Spirit that is alive and moving within us. Thus Paul admonishes the believers to simply yield and walk in accord with the indwelling spirit of life (Gal 5:16, 18, 25).


 

Part 5

The Seed of the Father

Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 22:17-18 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven,

 and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

1Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Let’s now look more at this matter of the “seed”. The word “seed” in the above Genesis verses and Heb 11:12 refer to Abraham’s descendent. Note in Gal 3:16 that the seed is singular, not plural, in number. This may seem strange because humanly speaking, if his descendants were to be as numerous as the stars in heaven, then the “seed” should have been plural, but Paul tells us it is emphatically singular. When God was telling Abraham of the multiplicity of his descendants, He used the word “seed” in the singular. Why does He use the singular form of the word? Who is the one seed? In Galatians 3:16, Paul said, God does not say, “and to seeds,” as concerning many, but as concerning one: “and to your seed, who is Christ.” Hence, the seed that God referred to was not many people, but one person – Jesus Christ. This shows us that the One who inherits “the land” and its bounty is the One Seed.

As far as Abraham was concerned, the seed was Isaac. But in a wider context, we must see that the seed is Christ. Isaac was just a shadow, the physical fulfillment; the spiritual fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham is Christ, to both Israel and for “the Church which is His body” – yet with some distinction. Abraham in this context is not the father of Israel, but rather the father of all those who live by faith. “And he (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also” Romans 4:11. We are then of Abraham’s seed, Christ, since we are of them that believe.

In God’s eyes Abraham has only one Seed, that is, Christ. We must be “in Christ” that we may participate in the spiritual blessings that we have by Christ. How can Christ be as the land to the members of the church which is His body? Just as He is the source and sustainer of Israel’s physical life in the land of Israel, He also is “the spiritual land” that appeared out of the death waters on the third day of the creation account, as He is the Land of Israel where the food grows, and as He is the living water that flows from Mount Hermon to water Israel – so He also is our life and our sustainer in spirit. He rose on the third day after His crucifixion out of death; He now is the bread of Life and the water of life to us, as well as our very breath. John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: “Breath” and “spirit” are the very same Greek word – “pneuma”. We have His Holy Spirit (breath), which is our now, our life. Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his

After His Kind

Genesis 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Every life reproduces after its own kind. We see this in the natural as an example of the spiritual. One could not be a physical son unless he has the literal physical life of his father flowing within him.

E.g., my father in the physical is Joseph Licursi. I am his son by his life, right now, flowing in my veins. The physical life of my father lives on in and through me.

On the negative side, as being the seed of Adam, all mankind can be said to have been in Adam when he rebelled and sinned against God, and so all are sinners; “in Adam all die…” (1 Cor. 15:22a).” Thus, I actually existed in my earthly father before I was born. Similarly, on the positive side, I was in Christ “before the world began” Eph 1:4. Thereby, “… in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Cor. 15:22b

Every life has it’s inherent nature (dog, cat, human, or God) passed on in the DNA of its progenitor father; so it is with our new rebirthed spiritual nature (2Per 1:4) from God our Father, in His Seed (Christ) bearing God’s DNA to us. Formerly we were “by nature, children of wrath” (Eph 2:3b), but now children of God (Rom 8:16). Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

In Adam his temporal life lives on via his earthly physical lineage. With God, His eternal life lives on in all the offspring of His spiritual loins, via His seed - Christ. My earthly father’s human life flows in my veins (the life is in the blood) since I became a recipient of his physical life by his physical seed. I thereby may also look like him, express his mannerisms, and express his earthly nature; but it is of the fallen nature of mankind’s federal head and father - Adam. Our heavenly Father has shared His life and nature with us by the life of His resurrected Son, who is now His seed and thereby now our very life. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me….” Galatians 2:20a  


 

Part 6

THE SPIRIT

Now consider the title “Spirit“. The Spirit of Christ is the reality of Christ; for our union with the Fathers organic life, sent in the Son. Christ comes, as the “Spirit of life in the Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2), into a man’s human spirit (John 3:6, 1Cor. 6:17, Zechar. 12:1). Christ then flows out from our spirit via our soul (mind, emotion and will) as the expression or glory of His life (John 7:37-38, 2Cor. 3:18).

By way of analogy, consider the electricity that we enjoy in our homes, as heat, cooling, light, etc. That electricity, which we call power, is the result of and realization of what originated at the power generator and it was carried to our home via copper wire. We may liken the power to be the Spirit of life, which originated with the generator – God, the source of life. We may like the wire that conveys the power to us to be as Christ, who conveys the Father’s life to us. However, we only appropriate and enjoy (the electricity when we turn on the switch to receive the electricity (the power of the generator). Likewise, we only appreciate and appropriate all that the Father has given us, via the Son, when we receive His “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” – as we walk in union with Him, as He empowers us.

Christ was processed to become the all-inclusive “spirit of life” via His experience. The steps include incarnation, human living, and death of the cross, principally to become “the life-giving Spirit”. “… the last Adam, a life-giving spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45b). So we see that “Now the Lord is the Spirit” (2Cor. 3:17).

The word “Spirit” is derived from the Greek word “pneuma”, also translated, breath, wind, or air. Christ’s Spirit of life is like the air, so available to be received and taken in by as many as receive Him (John 1:12, 20:22). We may be able to live without food for several days, without water for about 2 days, but we cannot have His life healthily sustained in us without having first received Him, and then continually breathing in the breath of life that is in our spirit.

The Spirit of Christ is now available to be taken in as our new life by a rebirthing. Yet, we also need to gain Him in our soul’s being (Rom 5:10), where we have been soul-sick since our physical birth. We are renewed by His life day by day (2Cor 4:16). This renewal comes by abiding in union with Him (in our spirit) continually (John 15:5), permitting Him to be Lord (governor) of our life.

First Children, Then Sons

In time, either here on earth or hereafter, all the Father’s organically birthed sons will grow to express His life and nature flowing within their spirit. The promise is that we recipients of Christ may become sons of God. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power (life-force) to become the sons (literal) of God, even to them that believe on his name:” John 1:12 We first are rebirthed to be children of God, but some may grow to become sons, as we learn to obey Him. Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. These sons are the grown up children of God. Compare this to the physical, though we have been born physically – we still need to maintain the health of life by breathing, eating and drinking. Breathing is not as an event that is completed - it must be continual. Receiving Christ’s as the seed of life as the Spirit by our rebirth is a one time primary event; but “abiding in spirit” (John 15:1-6, Gal 5:16, 25) is our daily continual abiding in dependence upon Him. This is key to our daily life of rest and peace in Christ, just as physical breathing is key to our health being undisturbed physically.


 

Part 7

Life Sustained

Christ is the life, the sustainer, and the nourisher of His genuine, eternal, limitless life; by all that He is, as the organic spiritual life-supply to man. He is just as the vine tree, which supplies the life and nourishment to the branches (John 15:4-5).

The following lists some of the elements necessary for God to impart and nurture His life in man. Jesus to us He is all of these.

“Light of life” (John 8:12). In the Bible “light” always precedes the generation of life. In Genesis 1:2-3 we see that darkness covered the earth and that the first element of the recreation was God created “light”. Jesus came first as the “light of the world”. In our own experience God shined His light upon our hearts, personally, before we believed and received Him. Revelation comes by the light of His Spirit shining into our darkened soul and then we submitting to receive and respond to that light of life.

“Breath of life” (John 20:22). Christ, now as “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus”, is our life (Rom. 8:2). “And when he had said this, “…he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost (breath):” (John 20:22, authors emphasis added). Note that the regenerating Spirit came out from Christ. Christ, as the breath of the God-life, now enlivens us with His, eternal. resurrection life.

“Living water” (John 4:10, 7:38) is none other than the water of Christ’s life as the spirit of life. We have been regenerated by the water of His life (Titus 3:5). Recall that, it was out of Jesus’ side that blood and water flowed when the Roman soldier pierced it. The flow of blood was for redemption and the flow of water is Christ’s life flowing out, to bring life to man. Recall that Eve came out of Adam’s wounded side. She was an extension of His very own life. By blood there is both a termination of our “old self,” the old independent self-seeking and self-destructive person, and by the water is the germination of new man, by a new life in Christ. (Rom. 6:3-5)

“Bread of life” (John 6:48) His life has germinated within our human spirit, and that same life nourishes and sustains our soul by the continuous flow of His life within our spirit. In Egypt the Jews ate ALL of the lamb before crossing the Red Sea. The lamb’s blood on the doorpost covered them from judgment. It was the eating of the roasted (judged) lamb, taking of ALL of the lamb into his or her self by morning, which nourished and strengthened them to leave Egypt. Hence Jesus said, “For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed”. John 6:55. We are freed from the tyranny of Sin (Egypt’s Pharaoh) by the shedding of His blood for us; but we also are strengthened to leave the world of Egypt as we enjoy Christ as the bread of life.

The Believer Needs Only Christ, as the Life Within - Nothing Outside of Himself

Isaiah 53:2 says, “For he (Messiah) shall grow up…as a root out of a dry ground” (emphasis added).

We can see here, by this prophetic word concerning Israel’s Messiah. This is Christ as life, though the environment may be dry around Him, He needs nothing to sustain His limitless life because He is and has life within Himself. We already read John 5:26 saying “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;”

Continual Abiding

The fruit of the Spirit flows from us by our maintaining our organic union with Him – abiding in Him. True fruit in our life is the result of an organic union. The fruit is not of us, it is the result of the flow of His life through us. Branches in a vine have no life of their own. They are simply vessels to contain the life that flows through them, and they then only can they bear the fruit that is of the life flowing within the vine. Christ’s life flowing through us produces the fruit – we simply bear the life. The organic life of God, in Christ, as the Spirit, comes into a man and spontaneously flows out of a man, as the fruit of the Spirit of Christ. Jesus said “Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). Here we see that the vine is the source supplying a flow of life to the branches. The branch has no life of its own. The life of the branch emanates from the vine. We bear his life as a dependent branch, bearing His life. We, as branches, are conduit or containers to bear His life, which will ultimately, in its time, produce fruit spontaneously by Christ’s organic life flowing through us. A branch has no part (neither by willpower, trying, or making a good effort) in producing fruit – it is automatic and just happens according to the life flow in the tree, by nature, and in its season. Our only part is to maintain that union - abide in Him. We may note from the following verse that we apparently don’t always abide in Him. 2 Cor. 2:14a Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ…Since we do not always triumph, we must admit we do not always abide in Him. He is always in us, and though it is our default position to be “in Christ”, we sometimes don’t abide in Him and His will – we leave Him, preferring our own way. We then are separated form the flow of His overcoming life.

Trusting the Life of the Root

His life has the power to renew us in soul, by the force of its divine organic life flow. The olive tree discussion by Paul in Roman’s 11 may or may not apply to the regenerated born-again in this dispensation; nevertheless it does demonstrate the principal of life; the vitality of an organic union of root of the “good olive tree” may be seen as corollary to our spiritual union with Christ as our life source. Consider also that the “wild olive tree branches” had to be cut out of the wild olive tree and grafted into the “good olive tree” for union to the divine and eternal organic life of that good tree. The point is that the riches of the root flow from the root and vine to us, the branches. Paul said “… and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18….thou barest not the root, but the root (bears) thee.” “For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree:” (Romans 11:16-18, 24, italics added). From these scriptures we can see that the life and nature of the root is the source to supply the fatness or richness to the tree and branches. The power of Christ’s life flowing from the root automatically transforms the contrary nature of the wild olive tree branches. “…. and if the root be holy, so are the branches” Rom. 11:16b. That flow of the Christ’s life transforms a grafted wild olive tree branch; such as we are - simply by the flow of His life, purging and purifying our souls. God’s transformation power is in the flow of His life, in Christ, as the Spirit of life in us. We are purified by the flow of His life in us just as flowing water purifies a dirty pipe. We branches have no life of our own; but as organic containers we bear and express the life of that Holy Root, Jesus Christ, the Lord.                                                                           <END>