“for in Him we live and move and have our being”(Acts 17:28, NKJV)
A final very important aspect of the preceding teaching about the “Spirit of the Lord” which forms part of the seven-fold Spirit of God, is that it suddenly illuminates a very problematic verse in the writings of Paul.
The verse is Rom. 8:8-9: “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
- The Bible Believer’s Commentary notes: “Though there is a question whether the Spirit of Christ here is the same as the Holy Spirit, the assumption that they are the same seems to fit best in the context.”
- Baker’s New Testament Commentary speaks of “the interchange of the designations God’s Spirit and Christ’s Spirit”. According to him the one is thus used as a synonym for the other.
- “By ‘the Spirit of Christ’, is not meant the human soul of Christ; nor his divine nature; nor his Gospel, which is the Spirit that gives life; but the Holy Ghost, the third person in the Trinity, the same which is called the Spirit before …” (John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible).
- Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary argue that: “Again, this does not mean ‘the disposition or mind of Christ,’ but the Holy Ghost; here called ‘the Spirit of Christ’ …”
- In its commentary on this verse, The People’s New Testament makes the following contribution: “Observe that the Spirit is spoken of in this verse both as the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ.”
- The Preacher’s Commentary notes: “It is apparent that Paul moves freely from one title to another when writing about the Holy Spirit. In the verses we are considering, He is called ‘the Spirit of God,’ ‘the Spirit of Christ,’ ‘the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead.’ While each of these descriptions is synonymous with the others, they all point to a different aspect of His personality and remind us of the Triune God.”
- Even Robertson’s Word Pictures likens the two concepts: “‘The Spirit of Christ’ (pneuma Christou). The same as ‘the Spirit of God’ just before.”
From the sentence construction of verses 8 and 9 a clear distinction is made between the two terms. About “the Spirit of God” is said that a believer is in the Spirit if the Spirit of God lives within him (after it has been received through the laying on of hands – Acts 9:17; 19:6). This is followed by the word de in Greek, which can mean “but, moreover, and” (Thayer), or “adversative,” which makes a lot of sense in this context. This offers a clear alternative position to when the Spirit of Christ is mentioned!
It is clear that this contradistinction also carried meaning. If you have the Spirit of God, He is in you. If you have the Spirit of Christ, you are in Him! Selah! It actually becomes very clear if we read this along with what happens when a believer receives the Spirit of God: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14), as well as Gal. 4:6 – “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” A synonym for the Spirit of God could also be “the Spirit of his Son”, or “the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19). The Spirit of Christ Jesus would however be shortened to the Spirit of Christ. [Grammatically, the term ‘Jesus Christ’ places the emphasis on Jesus (it is abbreviated in this way in 182 instances); the term Christ Jesus places the emphasis on Christ (and is used in this way in 71 instances.)]
An important section also concerned with the Spirit of Christ is 1 Pet. 1:10-11: “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”
These verses follow directly on the section that we’ve already spent quite a bit of time discussing, that of 1 Pet. 1:9 – “receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls”. In the teaching of Day 1410-1411 we tried to reformulate this controversial sentence within our new understanding. Paraphrased it can be presented as follows: the sum total of your calling and purpose on your unfolding road of faith started when you became born-again, and it became manifested WITHIN you as living hope that there exists an eternal heritage in the Christ, and it is through this that your soul dimension finds complete fulfilment, namely “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (verse 7), the apokalupsis. No one needs to make the cut, individual souls do not need to be made complete – the born-again soul is already fully saved!
It is concerning the salvation of the corporate soul, WHICH IS ONLY POSSIBLE IN THE CHRIST, that the prophets prophesied in ancient times. After they examined and researched it, they prophesied about this grace that is destined for all believers of the new covenant. It notes that they tried to come to an understanding of at what point it would come into effect, and prophesied it through “the Spirit of Christ”.
For a moment it seems as if the argument is overthrown here, as it speaks of “the Spirit of Christ that was IN them,” but then we have to remember – according to Isa. 11:2 you cannot, by definition, receive the Spirit of Christ if you do not ALSO receive the Spirit of God. When you become born-again you receive the complete menorah, the complete seven-fold Spirit of God, or the anointing of the Messiah, but it is mainly the Spirit of God that functions within you. Naturally the Spirit of Christ must first function WITHIN you, until you, after the unfolding and completion in functioning of the complete seven-fold Spirit, can move WITHIN HIM: “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28).
What is then still interesting is that Old Testament believers do not receive the Spirit of God separately WITHIN them (instead UPON them), but already have the complete Spirit of Christ! John 3:31 says of Jesus: “He who comes from above is above all …” and in verse 34 he continues, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.” It is in Jesus Christ alone that we find the fullness of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, as well as all the rhema-words, the fullness (pleroma) of God. In Eph. 3:19 we are encouraged” to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God”. The statement Jesus makes in John 15:4 is an important marker of this state in which the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ brings us into completeness (pleroma): “Abide in me, and I in you.”
- Selah: Explain the difference between the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ to someone.
- Read: 2-7
- Memorise: 6:1-3 (when did the third day begin?)
