The use of Spirit
in the Bible.
Spirit: 'An intelligent being from the spiritual reality which is a super-set of the physical reality'.
Please see the note for Galatians 6:1 the verses which use the term spiritual
.
While there is only one definition / interpretation of a Bible word, there can be many applications of it. In the case of the word spirit
, there are three categories of applications: God's Holy Spirit
, Man's Spirit and other Spirits. The Outline of Applications within this Study (below) provide a list application for each of the three categories for this word within the Bible. After each application is a list of verses which show that particular application within the Bible. Each verse reference is also a link to a note furthe on within this Study which explains the application of that verse and has a link which goes to the Book Study for that Bible book or the link goes to the Bible if there is not a Book Study on for that particular book of the Bible. Where there are Book Studies, those Studies show the verse within the sentence that it belongs to and the note for that sentence has the structural analysis of the sentence, explains the context of the sentence, explains every phrase within the sentence and provides word definitions and links for Word Studies. All of this should provide the reader with an extensive amount of support material for their own personal study.
There is a Biblical doctrinal difference between the use of the phrase Holy Ghost
and God's Holy Spirit
, but I can not specify what that doctrinal difference is at this time. Both are identifiers of the Third Person within the Trinity. Please see the link for God's Holy Spirit
for links to the various applications where this other identifier of the Third Person is used. The phrase Holy Ghost
only occurs within the New Testament. Below are links to where the phrase Holy Ghost
is used.
Matthew 1:18; Matthew 1:20; Matthew 3:11; Matthew 12:31-32; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:8; Mark 3:29; Mark 12:36; Mark 13:11; Luke 1:15; Luke 1:35; Luke 1:41; Luke 1:67; Luke 2:25-26; Luke 3:16; Luke 3:22; Luke 4:1; Luke 12:10; Luke 12:12; John 1:33; John 7:39; John 14:26; John 20:22; Acts 1:2; Acts 1:5; Acts 1:8; Acts 1:16; Acts 2:4; Acts 2:33; Acts 2:38; Acts 4:8; Acts 4:31; Acts 5:3; Acts 5:32; Acts 6:3; Acts 65; Acts 7:51; Acts 7:55; Acts 8:15; Acts 8:17-19; Acts 9:17; Acts 9:31; Acts 10:19; Acts 10:38; Acts 10:44-45; Acts 10:47; Acts 11:15-16; Acts 11:24; Acts 13:2; Acts 13:4; Acts 13:9; Acts 13:52; Acts 15:8; Acts 15:28; Acts 16:6; Acts 19:2; Acts 19:6; Acts 20:23; Acts 20:28; Acts 21:11; Acts 28:25; Romans 5:5; Romans 9:1; Romans 14:17; Romans 15:13; Romans 15:16; 1Corinthians 2:13; 1Corinthians 6:19; 1Corinthians 12:3; 2Corinthians 6:6; 2Corinthians 13:14; 1Thessalonians 1:5-6; 2Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 2:4; Hebrews 3:7; Hebrews 6:4; Hebrews 9:8; Hebrews 10:15; 1Peter 1:12; 2Peter 1:21; 1John 5:7; Jude 1:20
Verses within this Study.
Genesis 6:3, 41:8, 41:38, 45:27; Exodus 6:9, 28:3, 31:3, 35:21, 35:31; Leviticus 19:31, Leviticus 20:6, 20:27; Numbers 5:14, 5:30, 11:17, 11:25, 11:26, 11:29, 14:24, 16:22, 24:2, 27:16, 27:18, Deuteronomy 2:30; 18:11, 34:9; Joshua 5:1; Judges 3:10, 6:34, 9:23, 11:29, 13:25, 14:6, 14:19, 15:14, 15:19; 1Samuel 1:15, 10:6, 10:10, 11:6, 16:13, 16:14, 16:15, 16:16, 16:23, 18:10, 19:9, 19:20, 19:23, 28:7, 28:8, 30:12, 23:2; 1Kings 10:5, 18:12, 21:5, 22:21, 22:22, 22:23, 22:24; 2Kings 2:9, 2:15, 2:16, 21:6, 23:24; 1Chronicles 5:26, 10:13, 12:18, 28:12; 2Chronicles 9:4, 15:1, 18:20, 18:21, 18:22, 18:23, 20:14, 21:16, 24:20, 33:6, 36:22; Ezra 1:1, 1:5; Nehemiah 9:20, 9:30; Job 4:15, 6:4, 7:11, 10:12, 15:13, 20:3, 21:4, 26:4, 26:13, 27:3, 32:8, 32:18, 33:4, 34:14; Psalms 31:5, 32:2, 34:18, 51:10, 51:11, 51:12, 51:17, 76:12, 77:3, 77:6, 78:8, 104:4, 104:30, 106:33, 139:7, 139:13, 142:3, 143:4, 143:7, 143:10; Proverbs 1:23, 8:22, 11:13, 14:29, 15:4, 15:13, 16:2, 16:18, 16:19, 16:32, 17:22, 17:27, 18:14, 20:27, 25:28, 29:23; Ecclesiastes 1:14, 1:17, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26, 3:21, 4:4, 4:6, 4:16, 6:9, 7:7, 7:8, 7:9, 8:8, 10:4, 11:5, 12:7; Isaiah 4:4, 8:19, 11:2, 19:3, 19:14, 26:9, 28:6, 29:4, 29:10, 29:24, 30:1, 31:3, 32:15, 34:16, 38:16, 40:7, 40:13, 42:1, 42:5, 44:3, 48:16, 49:6, 54:6, 57:15, 57:16, 59:19, 59:21, 61:1, 61:3, 63:10, 63:11, 63:14, 65:14, 66:2; Jeremiah 51:11; Ezekiel 1:12, 1:20, 1:21, 2:2, 3:12, 3:14, 3:24, 8:3, 10:17, 11:1, 11:5, 11:19, 11:24, 13:3, 18:31, 21:7, 36:26, 36:27, 37:1, 37:14, 39:29, 43:5; Daniel 2:1, 2:3, 4:8, 4:9, 4:18, 5:11, 5:12, 5:14, 6:3, 7:15; Hosea 4:12, 5:4; Joel 2:28, 2:29; Micah 2:7, 2:11, 3:8; Haggai 1:14, 2:5; Zechariah 4:6, 6:5, 6:8, 7:12, 12:1, 12:10, 13:2; Malachi 2:15, 2:16; Matthew 3:16, 4:1, 4:24, 5:3, 8:16, 8:28, 8:33, 9:32, 10:1, 10:20, 12:18, 12:22, 12:28, 12:43, 12:45, 14:26, 22:43, 26:41; Mark 1:10, 1:12, 1:23, 1:26, 1:27, 1:32, 2:8, 3:11, 3:30, 5:2, 5:8, 5:13, 5:15, 5:16, 5:18, 6:7, 6:49, 7:25, 8:12, 9:17, 9:20, 9:25, 9:26, 14:38; Luke 1:17, 1:47, 1:80, 2:27, 2:40, 4:1, 4:14, 4:18, 4:33, 4:36, 6:18, 7:21, 8:2, 8:29, 8:36, 8:55, 9:39, 9:42, 9:55, 10:20, 10:21, 11:13, 11:24, 11:26, 13:11, 23:46, 24:37, 24:39; John 1:32, 1:33, 3:5, 3:6, 3:8, 3:34, 4:23, 4:24, 6:63, 7:39, 11:33, 13:21, 14:17, 15:26, 16:13; Acts 2:4, 2:17, 2:18, 5:9, 5:16, 6:10, 7:59, 8:7, 8:29, 8:39, 10:19, 11:12, 11:28, 16:7, 16:16, 16:18, 17:16, 18:5, 18:25, 19:12,19:13, 19:15, 19:16, 19:21, 20:22, 21:4, 23:8, 23:9; Romans 1:4, 1:9, 1:11, 2:29, 7:6, 7:14, 8:1, 8:2, 8:4, 8:5, 8:6, 8:9, 8:10, 8:11, 8:13, 8:14, 8:15, 8:16, 8:23, 8:26, 8:27; 11:8, 12:11, 15:19, 15:30; 1Corinthians 2:4, 2:10, 2:11, 2:12, 2:14, 3:16, 4:21, 5:3, 5:4, 5:5, 6:11, 6:17, 6:20, 7:34, 7:40, 12:3, 12:4, 12:7, 12:8, 12:9, 12:10, 12:11, 12:13, 14:2, 14:14, 14:15, 14:16, 14:32, 15:45, 15:46, 16:18; 2Corinthians 1:22, 2:13, 3:3, 3:6, 3:8, 3:17, 3:18, 4:13, 5:5, 7:1, 7:13, 11:4, 12:18; Galatians 3:2, 3:3, 3:5, 3:14, 4:6, 4:29, 5:5, 5:16, 5:17, 5:18, 5:22, 5:25, 6:1, 6:8, 6:18; Ephesians 1:13, 1:17, 2:2, 2:18, 2:22, 3:5, 3:16, 4:3, 4:4, 4:23, 4:30, 5:9, 5:18, 6:17, 6:18; Philippians 1:19, 1:27, 2:1, 3:3; Colossians 1:8, 2:5; 1Thessalonians 4:8, 5:19, 5:23; 2Thessalonians 2:2, 2:8, 2:13; 1Timothy 3:16, 4:1, 4:12; 2Timothy 1:7, 4:22; Philemon 1:25; Hebrews 1:7, 1:14, 4:12, 9:14, 10:29, 12:9, 12:23; James 2:26, 4:5; 1Peter 1:2, 1:11, 1:22, 3:4, 3:18, 3:19, 4:6, 4:14; 1John 3:24, 4:1, 4:2, 4:3, 4:6, 4:13, 5:6, 5:8; Jude 1:19; Revelation 1:4, 1:10, 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6, 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:6, 3:1, 3:6, 3:13, 3:22, 4:2, 4:5, :, 11:8, 11:11, 14:13, 16:13, 16:14, 17:3, 18:2, 19:10, 21:10, 22:17.Note:
'All spirits
are beings who are part of the spiritual reality. The spiritual reality is a super-set of the physical reality.' A simple analogy would be to think of the building that you are in as representing all of the physical reality. Everything outside of that building would then represent the spiritual reality.
The Bible tells us that God is a Spirit
Who stood, sat or did whatever spirits do while working and took stuff from the spiritual reality to make the physical reality. A lot of preachers say that God stood on nothing and made the world out of nothing but that is not what the Bible says. The Bible tells us God said..
and the Bible teachers that God's Holy Spirit
ual Word has the power to create. God made Adam a living soul
with His spiritual breath. God's Word and God's breath are parts of the spiritual reality.
The Bible lets us know that spirits
are beings who reside in the spiritual reality. The spiritual reality is different than the physical reality and is taught about indirectly using allegories and other figures of speech because our physical senses don't work for the spiritual reality. Because of this limit, many people deny the spiritual, even though the absolute (indirect) evidence of the spiritual proves its existence. Further, we find that the spiritual can manipulate the physical and often (evil) spiritual beings will hide their existence because it is easier to manipulate the physical when people are not aware of their influence.
Comprehending the true Biblical meaning of spirit
requires using each and every one of the spiritual gifts of knowledge
, wisdom
and understanding
. Finding the similarities and differences found within verses of the Bible that tell us about spirit
requires using the Biblical gift of understanding
while Biblical wisdom
and knowledge
show us how to apply these truths. The verses that tell us about spirit
actually involve far more of the Bible than just the few verses that use the word of spirit
, but this paper only deals with the verses which use the word of spirit
. Therefore, it is not the 'final ' word on this subject.
As we study these verses, we find that the Bible uses (capitalized) Spirit
for the Spirit of God . In addition, we find that the Bible uses spirit
for other types of spirits . Therefore, God expects His preachers, who have the spiritual gift of wisdom
, to use that gift and teach His people about the differences between the Spirit
of God and other types of spirits
. Further, we find that the Bible talks about man's spirit which is deeply personal (innermost part of man) and, therefore, is very much requires the spiritual gift of knowledge
. In consideration of all of these things, it needs to be acknowledged that this paper only provides the most basic level of Understanding
how God uses the word spirit
within the Bible. In fact, while each verse was considered in context and according to sentence structure, those notes were not (initially) written up and provided here. That expansion may occur at a future date, one or more verses at a time.
The definition from Webster's 1828 dictionary is provided and should be read for a basic definition of the word spirit
. Please keep in mind that this is an English dictionary and, therefore, may include definitions used by man but not used by God within His Word.
God's Holy Spirit
:
- The Spirit of God was involved in Creation. (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; 33:4; Psalms 104:30; Zechariah 12:1)
-
The Spirit of the LORD
is above all men and all other spiritual beings in all measurements (Isaiah 40:13; Matthew 12:28). -
The Spirit of the LORD
iseternal
God (Hebrews 9:14). - There is a
Spirit of Christ
that is similar tothe Spirit of the LORD
but is also as different as the Son of God is different from God the Fathe (1Peter 1:11). - God's Holy
Spirit
fulfils the promises found inthe book of the LORD
(Isaiah 34:16; Micah 2:7; Haggai 2:5; Matthew 12:28). Please also see the points below as many of them show the fulfillment of a promise of God. - Receiving God's Holy
Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises. (Proverbs 1:23; Isaiah 44:3; 48:16; Joel 2:28, 29; Luke 11:13; John 3:5; John 4:23, 24; 6:63; 7:39; 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; Acts 2:4, 17, 18; 1Corinthians 3:16; 15:45; 2Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13; 2Thessalonians 2:13; 1John 3:24; 4:13). - After our initial profession of salvation,
the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes ussanctified
andjustified
(Romans 1:11; 8:1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 26, 27, 1Corinthians 6:11; 2Corinthians 3:3, 17, 18; 1Thessalonians 5:23; 2Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 10:29; 1Peter 1:2). Note: just as we have to bewashed
several times throughout our physical life, so also do we need severalwashings
throughout our spiritual life. These three actions (wash
,sanctified
andjustified
) bythe Spirit of our God
are not one-time events but are repeated as part of our ongoing personal relationship with God, which is true Biblical salvation. That is what it means tobe in subjection unto the Fathe of spirits
(Hebrews 12:9). These actions are part of why the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is our Saviour along with God the Fathe and our Lord Jesus Christ. - Saved are to live by following
the Spirit of our God
(which gives ussanctification
) and not by obeying religion (Galatians 3:2; 3:3, 5, 14; 4:6; 5:5, 16, 17, 18, 22, 25; 6:1, 8, 18; Ephesians 2:18; 3:16; 4:23, 30; 5:9, 18; 6:18; Colossians 1:8; 2:5; 1Thessalonians 4:8; 5:19; 1Peter 1:22). -
The spirit of God came upon him
: This phrase is in several verses which directly says that the Spirit of God came upon a man. We also see this truth in other verses where it is stated directly or indirectly. In addition, we see the spirit of devils come upon men and we call thempossessed
. (Please see other Spirits below.). Both God and other spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. Within these verses we also see the promise of God giving His Holy Spirit which is fulfilled in the New Testament Church Age. (Numbers 24:2; 27:18; Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1Samuel 10:6, 10; 11:6; 16:13; 19:20, 23; 1Chronicles 12:18; 2Chronicles 15:1; 20:14; 24:20; 36:22; Ezra 1:1; Psalm 139:13; Proverbs 8:22; Isaiah 32:15; 59:21; 63:11; 63:14; Ezekiel 2:2; 3:12, 14, 24; 8:3; 11:1, 5, 19, 24; 37:1, 14; 39:29; 43:5; Daniel 4:8, 18; 5:11; 5:14; 6:3; Micah 3:8; Zechariah 4:6; 7:12; Matthew 10:20; 22:43; Acts 6:10; Revelation 16:14). -
The Spirit of God
can be seen in men by other people including lost people. (Genesis 41:38; 2Kings 2:9, 15; Job 27:3; Daniel 4:8, 18; 5:11; 5:14; 6:3; John 3:8; 1Corinthians 6:20; Ephesians 2:22). - Those that receive
the Spirit of God
(arejoined unto the Lord
) areone spirit
because when we receivethe Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 6:17; 12:3, 13; 2Corinthians 4:13; Ephesians 2:18; 4:3, 4; Philippians 1:27; 2:1). - God's Holy
Spirit
isgood
(Psalms 143:10; Micah 2:7). - God gives
thy good spirit to instruct them
(Nehemiah 9:20). - God gives
the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship
. God's HolySpirit
works through each man's life in these areas and how God works is different for each man because God makes a difference between each of these gifts. (Exodus 28:3; 31:3; Deuteronomy 34:9; 1Chronicles 28:12; Ezra 1:5; Proverbs 1:21-23; Daniel 5:12; Haggai 1:14; 1Corinthians 12:4, 7, 8, 9, 11; Ephesians 1:17; 3:5). -
The spirit of prophecy
isthe testimony of Jesus
and is given to the saved (Revelation 19:10). -
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
(Isaiah 11:1-5; 42:1; 61:1; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 3:16; 4:1; 12:18 [referencing Isaiah 49:6]; Mark 1:10, 12; 2:8; Luke 2:40; 4:1, 14, 18; John 1:32, 33; 3:34; 7:39; Romans 1:4; 1Timothy 3:16). Thespirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit. - God has a
spirit of judgment
and aspirit of burning
which is ultimately revealed by the Great Tribulation (Isaiah 4:4). God's judgment is sent against all religious leaders who claim their position makes it OK for them the sin (Isaiah 28:1-8; 29:10; 61:3; 65:14; Malachi 2:16). - There are
seven Spirits of God
found in: Revelation 3:1; Revelation 4:5; Revelation 5:6. - God made marriage a spiritual matter
That he might seek a Godly seed
(Malachi 2:15). -
The Spirit of the LORD
can use men to speak. That is,the Spirit
talks to men and tells them what to say in His authority. (2Samuel 23:2; Nehemiah 9:30; Matthew 10:20; 22:43; Acts 6:10; 1Corinthians 14:2, 14, 15, 16; 2Corinthians 3:3, 1Timothy 4:1; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; 22:17). -
The Spirit of the LORD
can move (or stop movement of) men and other beings. (1Kings 18:12; 2Kings 2:16; Ezekiel 1:12, 20; 21; 10:17; Luke 2:27; Acts 8:29, 39; 10:19; 16:7; Revelation 17:3; 21:10). Sometimes the Spirit does this by talking to men. - The LORD's spirit
shall not always strive with man
, God' Spirit causes fear in those wise enough to avoid being forsaken by God (Genesis 6:3; Job 4:15; 6:4; 15:13; Isaiah 57:16; 61:3).the LORD weigheth (judges) the spirits
(Proverbs 16:2). - God's Holy
Spirit
brings judgment: (sword of the Spirit
[Ephesians 6:17],consume that Wicked
[2Thessalonians 2:8], Hebrews 10:29). - God can take the way that His Spirit works in our life and pass His Spirit to others to work in the same way. (Numbers 11:17, 25, 26, 29; 2Kings 2:9, 15; Luke 1:17; 2Corinthians 12:18; 1Timothy 4:12).
- Men could loose
the Spirit of the LORD
in the Old Testament. (1Samuel 16:14; 1Kings 22:24; 2Chronicles 18:23; Psalms 51:11) However, at no time could men go someplace that God's HolySpirit
couldn't reach them (Psalms 139:7). That is: God can always reach us but there are times when He chooses to not do so and lets us suffer the consequences of our sins. - Men can die, in the New Testament, if they
tempt the Spirit of the Lord
(Acts 5:9). - God's
law
isspiritual
(Romans 7:14).
Man's Spirit:
- The God of the Bible is
the God of the spirits of all flesh
(Numbers 16:22; 27:16). - Our spirit/life is from
the breath (Spirit) of the Almighty
(Job 33:4; Isaiah 42:5; Zechariah 12:1; Luke 8:55; Revelation 11:11). (Please see the documents on Miracles in the Bible .) - Men die when God
gathe unto himself (God) his (man's) spirit and his breath
(Job 34:14; Ecclesiastes 8:8; Isaiah 40:7; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59; James 2:26). We do not stop existing but go to one of several places for spirits (1Peter 3:19). - We are made spiritually alive when God's Holy
Spirit
quickens
our spirit (John 6:63; Romans 8:11; 1Corinthians 15:45; 2Corinthians 3:6, 8; 1Peter 3:18; 4:6). - The
spirits of just men (are) made perfect
through a personal relationship withJesus
(Hebrews 12:23). - We are
in the Spirit
when we and God agree for it to be so (Revelation 1:10; 4:2). - We are to
commit (our) spirit
to God becausethou hast redeemed me
(Psalms 31:5; Luke 1:47). When we do that, God canstir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spiritstirring
our spirit. Please see point 3 (salvation) under God's HolySpirit
above (Acts 17:16; 18:5; Romans 1:9; 2:29; 7:6; 8:1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 26, 27; 12:11; 2Corinthians 7:1). Please also see the Book Study on Romans which explains how there are saved people (in the Church Age) who are not BiblicalChristians
because they refused tocommit their spirit
after beingredeemed
. - It takes
the power of the Spirit of God
to do the work of God, such asfully preaching the
gospel of Christ ( Acts 11:28; Romans 15:19; 1Corinthians 2:4, 10, 11, 12; 2Timothy 4:22; Philemon 1:25). That's why God gives us His Spirit at salvation (Please see point 3under God's HolySpirit
above) and why He gives special spiritual gifts to men (Please see point 8 under God's HolySpirit
above) and why we mustcommit (our) spirit
to God, as in the point above. -
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace
(Romans 8:6).But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neithe can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned
(1Corinthians 2:14). The point above said that we have to have salvation to receive things from theSpirit of God
and this one says that the unsaved can not receive things from theSpirit of God
but what they receive is actuallydeath
. God says the same thing in a positive way and in a negative way so that this truth is clear no matter how men think about it. - Those who
have not the Spirit
aresensual
(Jude 1:19). Many religions claim thatsensual
things, such as an 'emotional high ' or the feelings from a beautiful ceremony, are spiritual. - When we are sincerely trying to serve God in our spirit, but are wrong in our actions or doctrine, God will send someone to correct us (Acts 18:25).
- We are to
seek
Godwith (our) spirit
(Isaiah 26:9). - We are to have
the love of the Spirit
(Romans 15:30). -
his spirit (was/was not) troubled
- our spirit can be troubled. (Genesis 41:8; 1Samuel 1:15; 1Kings 21:5; Job 7:11; 21:4; Isaiah 54:6; Daniel 2:1, 3; 7:15; Mark 8:12; Mark 9:17; John 11:33; 13:21; 2Corinthians 2:13). - Our spirit can be revived. (Genesis 45:27; Judges 15:19; 1Samuel 28:8; 30:12; Job 10:12; 1Corinthians 16:18; 2Corinthians 7:13)
- That revival comes from God's
free spirit
(Psalms 51:12). -
every one whom his spirit made willing
our spirit can make us willing to suffer loss in the service of God. (Exodus 35:21; 1Chronicles 5:26) - Our spirit can be with
no guile
(Psalms 32:2). - Our spirit can be
faithful
(Proverbs 11:13). - Our spirit can
rejoice
(Luke 1:47; 10:21; Philippians 3:3). - We can receive
the spirit of glory
if ye be reproached for the name of Christ
(1Peter 4:14). - We can have a
strong spirit
(Luke 1:80; 2:40). - We can have
an excellent spirit
if we have God'sunderstanding
(Proverbs 17:27). - We can have a
contrite spirit
(Psalms 34:18; Isaiah 57:15; 66:2). This is similar to Psalms 51:17 and Proverbs 17:22, which tell us that we can have abroken spirit
, which is calledthe sacrifices of God
and means that we havea broken and a contrite heart
. - If our spirit is right then it
sustain (our) infirmity
. However, we will find it hard tobear
awounded spirit
. Therefore, we need to protect our spirit (Proverbs 18:14). - We are
Blessed
when we arepoor in spirit
(have little of our own human spirit and willing to receive God's HolySpirit
) [Matthew 5:3;]. - Our spirit can have strength when our flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38).
- We can have
a right spirit
but it requires that we first havea clean heart
(Psalms 51:10). - We can
rule
our spirit and God values that very highly (Proverbs 16:32; 25:28; Ecclesiastes 10:4; 1Corinthians 4:21; 14:32). - We can be
in the spirit
, which is so set upon doing ourpurpose
that not even Godly men can turn us from ourpurpose
(Acts 19:21; 20:22; 21:4). - The ability to
discern
different spirits is a gift from God (1Corinthians 12:10). - We have
erred in spirit
when we turn our back on God and choose religion instead (Isaiah 29:24; 30:1). - When God cuts us off from His blessings due to sin, our spirit can (and should)
make diligent search
to see what we need to do to get right with God again (Psalms 77:6). -
they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage
' life can cause anguish to our spirit which, in turn, can cause us to not listen to the truth. (Exodus 6:9) - Men can loose their
spirit
or have their spirit beoverwhelmed
, which means they give up hope. (Joshua 5:1; 1Kings 10:5; 2Chronicles 9:4; Psalms 76:12; 77:3; 142:3; 143:4, 7; Isaiah 38:16; 61:3; Ezekiel 21:7) - Our spirit can be
broken
by sorrow of the heart
(Proverbs 15:13). -
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall
(Proverbs 16:18). If we 'let go ' ofPride' and an haughty spirit
, we can avoiddestruction and a fall
. If we followPride' and an haughty spirit
, they will lead (goeth before
) todestruction and a fall
. -
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
(Proverbs 16:19; 29:23; Ecclesiastes 4:6; 7:7). - A
meek and quiet spirit is in the sight of God of great price
(1Peter 3:4). - We demonstrate the type of spirit that we have by our actions and life. God rewards or punishes us for our demonstrated spirit. (Numbers 14:24; Proverbs 20:27; Ecclesiastes 2:26; Malachi 2:16; Acts 11:12; Hebrews 4:12)
- The works of this world and of the flesh (
all the works that are done under the sun
,envy
) arevanity and vexation of spirit
(Ecclesiastes 1:14; 2:11, 17; 4:4, 16; 6:9). So is man'swisdom
,madness and folly
andknowledge
(Ecclesiastes 1:17). -
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
(Galatians 4:29). - Men can
turnest thy spirit against God
(Job 15:13; Psalms 78:8; Ezekiel 18:31; 36:26, 27) - Our spirit can be
provoked
(Psalms 106:33). Without God's help when that happens, we will do somethingunadvicedly
. - We can be
hasty of spirit
, which means that we are notslow to wrath
and that we lackgreat understanding
and that weexalteth folly
(Proverbs 14:29; Ecclesiastes 7:9). - Men have
a breach in the spirit
when there isperverseness
in their spirit which is demonstrated by a lack ofa wholesome tongue
(Proverbs 15:4). - We can have
the spirit of jealousy come upon
us. (Numbers 5:14, 30; James 4:5) - Men's spirit can make them think that they have the
understanding
that comes from God. (Job 20:3; 32:8, 18) - Men can
follow their own spirit
while claiming to beprophets
of God (Ezekiel 13:3; Micah 2:11). - Man's spirit can be
hardened
and God will do that to some people. (Deuteronomy 2:30) - God can move men's spirit to punish God's people when God decides to judge them. (1Chronicles 5:26; 2Chronicles 21:16; Nehemiah 9:30; Isaiah 59:19; Jeremiah 51:11)
- No man can say that man's spirit
goeth upward
. We believe this by faith in God's Word (Ecclesiastes 3:21; 11:5; 12:7). - That which is physical is not spirit (Isaiah 31:3). In Matthew 12:43 and Mark 6:49 the disciples thought they saw a spirit because Jesus was doing what is not physically possible. (Please see the documents on Miracles in the Bible.) In (Matthew 26:41; 14:26; Luke 24:37, 39; John 3:6; 1Corinthians 5:3, 4, 5; 7:34, 40) we see a distinction made between the physical and spiritual. In John 3 Jesus clearly teaches that we must have a spiritual birth (by God) in addition to a physical birth if we are to be saved. Also see 1John 5:6-8 .
- There are other types of
spirits
in Heaven which apparently are not angels but which we do not have a complete description of (Zechariah 6:5; Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). It is argued that these are actually different perspectives of God'sHoly Spirit
. Please see the Book Study on Revelation for more on this argument.
Other Spirits:
- A study of angels, devils and other spiritual beings is not included here. These references are only to where the word
spirit
occurs in the Bible and where the reference is not to God's HolySpirit
or man's spirit. Please also see the section called Jesus and Devils, in the Study called Significant Gospel Events, for links to every place whereJesus
dealt with devils. -
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whethe they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world
(1John 4:1-3).We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error
(1John 4:6). God's Word clearly warns us that there are other spirits and we will suffer the consequence of following any spirit, including our own, which is not the God of the Bible. We know that the spirit we are following is the God of the Bible when that Spirit directs us to follow (obey) what God had men literally write in His Word. We also see this truth in 2Thessalonians 2:2 and in 2:8. - Angels are
spirits
(Psalms 104:4; Hebrews 1:7, 14). Since devils are fallen angels (Isaiah 14:9-19), they are alsospirits
(Matthew 8:16). - All
unclean spirits
are devils (Revelation 16:13). - Some men, foolishly, deny the existence of other
spirits
(Acts 23:8, 9). - Both God and other (devils,
unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils. (Matthew 4:24; 8:16, 28, 33; 9:32; 12:22, 43, 45; Mark 1:23, 26, 32; 3:30; 5:2, 8, 15, 16, 18; 7:25; Luke 4:33; 8:29, 36; 11:24; Acts 8:7; 16:16; Acts 16:18; 19:12; 19:13). - God has power over these
unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples (Matthew 10:1; Mark 1:27; 3:11; 5:13; 6:7; Luke 4:36; 6:18; 7:21; 8:2; 11:26; Acts 5:16; 8:7; 19:13; 19:15). (Please see the documents on Miracles in the Bible.) - God choses to honor authority given by
Jesus Christ
to some men and makes devils obey the commands of the men. (Luke 10:20). - Men
preach another Jesus
, which gives menanother spirit
(2Corinthians 11:4). -
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neithe seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God
(Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:11).A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
(Leviticus 20:27; 2Kings 21:6; 23:24; Isaiah 8:19). God says in many other verses that these people are against God. The New Testament concept of antichrist is the same. Please see 1Samuel 28:7, 8 . 1Chronicles 10:13; 2Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 29:4) When the way of this world (the spirit of Egypt
) fails, people will seekidols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards
(Isaiah 19:3). the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err
(Hosea 4:12; 5:4).- These spirits can give powers (
spirit of divination
) beyond human abilities (Acts 16:16). - We can have
a spirit of infirmity
(Luke 13:11). - A
dumb and deaf (foul) spirit
caused a boy to not be able to speak andtare him
and made himfall on the ground, and wallowed foaming
(Mark 9:17-26; Luke 9:37-42; Revelation 18:2). - God can send an
evil spirit
or aperverse spirit
or aspirit of slumber
when men are determined to sin and God decides to judge them. (Judges 9:23; 1Samuel 16:15, 16, 23; 18:10; 19:9; 1Kings 22:21, 22, 23; 2Chronicles 18:20, 21, 22; Isaiah 19:14; Romans 11:8). - other spirits can
quiet
God's HolySpirit
in people (Zechariah 6:8). - We can have
the spirit of the world
(1Corinthians 2:12; Ephesians 2:2; 2Timothy 1:7). - People can claim to speak with the Spirit of God but their actions cause people to ask
whose spirit came from thee?
(Job 26:4; Luke 9:55) - Men believe that animals (
beast
) have spirits (Ecclesiastes 3:21). - Sometimes something can be one thing physically while it is something else spiritually (Revelation 11:8).
- God is going to eliminate the influence of these other spirits in the Kingdom of Christ (Zechariah 13:2).
Spirit per Webster's 1828
- Primarily, wind; air in motion; hence, breath. All bodies have spirits and pneumatically parts within them. This sense is now unusual.
- Animal excitement, or the effect of it; life; ardor; fire; courage; elevation or vehemence of mind. The troops attacked the enemy with great spirit. The young man has the spirit of youth. He speaks or act with spirit. Spirits, in the plural, is used in nearly a like sense. The troops began to recover their spirits.
- Vigor of intellect; genius. His wit, his beauty and his spirit. The noblest spirit or genius cannot deserve enough of mankind to pretend to the esteem of heroic virtue.
- Temper; disposition of mind, habitual or temporary; as a man of a generous spirit, or of a revengeful spirit; the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. Let us go to the house of God in the spirit of prayer.
- The soul of man; the intelligent, immaterial and immortal part of human beings. See Soul. the spirit shall return to God that gave it. Ecclesiastes 12 .
- An immaterial intelligent substance. Spirit is a substance in which thinking, knowing, doubting, and a power of moving do subsist. Hence,
- An immaterial intelligent being. By which he went and preached to the spirit in prison. I Pet. 3. God is a spirit. John 4 .
- Turn of mind; temper; occasions; state of the mind. A perfect judge will read each work of wit, with the same spirit that its author writ.
- Powers of mind distinct from the body. In spirit perhaps he also saw Rich Mexico, the seat of Montezuma.
- Sentiment; perception. You spirit is too true, your fears too certain.
- Eager desire; disposition of mind excited and directed to a particular object. God has made a spirit of building succeed a spirit of pulling down.
- A person of activity; a man of life, vigor or enterprise. The watery kingdom is no bar to stop the foreign spirits, but they come.
- Persons distinguished by qualities of the mind. Such spirits as he desired to Please , such would I choose for my judges.
- Excitement of mind; animation; cheerfulness; usually in the plural. We found our friend in very good spirits. He has a great flow of spirits. -To sing thy praise, would Heaven my breath prolong, Infusing spirits worthy such a song.
- Life or strength of resemblance; essential qualities; as, to set off the face in its true spirit. The copy has not the spirit of the original.
- Something eminently pure and refined. Nor doth the eye itself, that most pure spirit of sense, behold itself.
- That which hath power or energy; the quality of any substance which manifest life, activity, or the power of strongly affecting other bodies; as the spirit of wine or of any liquor.
- A strong, pungent or stimulation liquor, usually obtained by distillation, as rum, brandy, gin, whiskey. In America, spirit, used without other words explanatory of its meaning, signifies the liquor distilled from cane-juice, or rum. We say, new spirit, or old spirit, Jamaica spirit.
- An apparition; a ghost.
- The renewed nature of man. Matt 26 . Gal. 5 .
- The influences of the Holy Spirit. Matt. 22 .
SPIR'IT, n. L. spirits, from spirit, to breathe, to blow. The primary sense is to rush or drive.
Verses-Spirit
Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the Heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, above, for links to verses which
prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' Basically, Jesus
did not use His own power as the Son of God, except in two instances to fulfill legal requirements. He lived as a weak physical man using the power of the Holy Spirit so that He could be our example. This verse tells about the time that He started His ministry as a physical man. There is a lot of doctrinal truth in the saying of: What Did Jesus Do?, but we need to actually search the Gospels for our answers and not trust what liars tell us. In addition, to that consideration, the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study also deals with this verse and doctrine. There we see that this verse is equated to the one where God the Fathe said This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
When we receive God's Holy Spirit, and follow Him, we please God the Father. The notes for Mark 1:10, Luke 4:1 and John 1:32 are parallel to this verse as they tell about the same incident.
Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, above, for links to verses which
prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit', which shows us that Jesus is our example in the flesh of how to live using the power of God's Spirit
Many people make excuses for denying what this verse literally says, or they claim there is a conflict in the Bible with James 1:13-14 which says: Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neithe tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
However, we need to keep the context of James (same sentence) in mind and realize that the comments in James are limited to tempted with evil...he is drawn away of his own lust
. In our
current verse the Spirit
did not tempt with evil
, but the Spirit
was proving that Jesus was ready for the requirements of His ministry, which was just starting. After the Spirit
proved that Jesus was ready, then Satan did tempt with evil
. However, as many know, Jesus did not fall for the temptations of Satan. The notes for Mark 1:12 and Luke 4:1 are parallel to this verse as they tell about the same incident.
Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not.' This verse tells us that devils
are 'other Spirits' who make people act in a way that God does not want them to act and that the people do not want to act.
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'We are Blessed
when we are poor in spirit
(have little of our own human spirit and willing to receive God's Holy Spirit
)'. This verse is part of the 'Sermon of the Mount / Beatitudes'. As explained in th note for this verse, in the Book Study on the Gospel, this sermon uses so much symbolic language, these things must be understood symbolically. The phrase poor in spirit
is symbolically descriptive of people who are humble.
Matthew 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Angels are spirits
. Since devils are fallen angels they are also spirits
.' This verse literally tells us that devils
are 'other Sprits' who make people act in a way that God does not want them to act and that the people do not want to act.
Matthew 8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not.' This verse tells us that devils
are 'other Spirits' who make people act in a way that God does not want them to act and that the people do not want to act.
Matthew 8:33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not.' When we look at this story in the full context we see these men changed their behaviour, in a way that was very evident to other people, as a result of having the devils
cast out. While many lost people are not possessed by devils, true salvation should make a similar, if less dramatic, change in the visible life of anyone who truly gets saved.
Matthew 9:32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not.' Once more we see that while many lost people are not possessed by devils, true salvation should make a similar, if less dramatic, change in the visible life of anyone who truly gets saved. In context, we are told that the dumb man possessed with a devil And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake
Likewise, the truly saved will be willing to speak
for God, and the things that truly belong to God, in a way that they were not willing to speak while lost.
Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point that tells us 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples'. It also references Miracles in the Gospels document. In this verse we see that Jesus gave His disciples power to do what he had done. It is His power, not theirs and not due to keeping some religious rules. In addition, this happened after they had received a lot of training from Jesus. He did not give this power to all of His disciples nor did He give it to anyone who was spiritually immature. People who are maintaining their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and receiving the spiritual maturing that results from maintaining that ongoing relationship, can also expect Him to give them power to witness for God in a way that they could not do when they were lost or spiritually immature.
Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Fathe which speaketh in you.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of God came upon him:
'This phrase is in several verses which directly says that the Spirit of God came upon a man.' This chapter started out with Jesus sending His disciples not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rathe to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Then Jesus started prophesying of what will happen to them after His death and resurrection because the things prophesied did not happen immediately while they did happen later. Thus, this particular verse is talking about things like when Peter and John were arrested by the Temple guards for preaching in the name of Jesus
. This was after they had received the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost, which makes this an example for saved people to follow today. When challenged religiously, we are to not answer out of our own ability but are to pray for guidance from God and answer how the Holy Spirit
guides us.
Matthew 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, at the start of this Study, for links to verses which prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' Basically, this verse fulfilled (that) which was spoken by Esaias the prophet
in Isaiah 42:1. Matthew 12:17-18 tell us that using God's judgment
in our life shows the world that we are following God's Holy Spirit
.
Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not.' As already mentioned in a note above, one of the evidences of our having a God caused change in our life is that we will speak of the glory of God where we were dumb
before. Another evidence is that we can see spiritual things and not just things of the flesh. This second verse within this Gospel makes this truth the basis for doctrine that is to be believed by all saved people.
Matthew 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God's Holy Spirit
fulfils the promises found in the book of the LORD
.' It is also found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'The Spirit of the LORD
is above all men and all other spiritual beings in all measurements.' This verse lets us know that the evidence which shows that a saved person is truly in the kingdom of God
is when the Spirit of God
does things through the person which could not be done using the power of our flesh.
Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not.' This is part of a teaching by Jesus that when God's Spirit
makes us free from the power and influence of an unclean spirit
, we had better keep allowing God's Spirit
to protect us through letting God's Spirit
stay active in our life. Otherwise, the last state of that man is worse than the first
. A lot of people believe the foolish doctrine that if you are saved then unclean spirits
can't hurt you but the truth is that many saved people got addicted to something after they were saved. The only protection is in an ongoing personal relationship whereby we allow God's Spirit
to continue to work in and through our personal life.
Matthew 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not.' Please see the note above since that verse and this one are part of the same teaching from Jesus.
Matthew 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual. The disciples thought they saw a spirit because Jesus was doing what is not physically possible.' This is the start of the story where Peter ended up walking on water. Their reaction of fear
shows that these men had enough sense to know that the spiritual is more powerful than the physical.
Matthew 22:43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point that identifies several verses which use the phrase the spirit of God came upon him
, or similar wording. Here Jesus is challenging the religious doctrine of men who claim that anything spiritual from God comes from obeying their religious rules. Here Jesus literally says that when king David prophesied that he did it in his spirit
which was listening to God's Spirit
.
Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled his spirit (was/was not) troubled
'Our spirit can have strength when our flesh is weak'. Notice that this spirit
is lower case. That means that it is talking about the spirit
of men and not God's Spirit
. Our spirit
can be overcome by our flesh
if we are not receiving strength from God's Spirit
. In this case, Jesus
was chiding His disciples for falling asleep when they were supposed to be praying. In circumstances like the disciples experienced, we can only pray if we truly connect to God's Holy Spirit
.
Mark 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the Heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, above, for links to verses which
prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' Basically, Jesus
did not use His own power as the Son of God, except in two instances to fulfill legal requirements. He lived as a weak physical man using the power of the Holy Spirit so that He could be our example. This verse tells about the time that He started His ministry as a physical man. There is a lot of doctrinal truth in the saying of; What Did Jesus Do?, but we need to actually search the Gospels for our answers and not trust what liars tell us. In addition, to that consideration, the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study also deals with this verse and doctrine. There we see that this verse is equated to the one where God the Fathe said This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
When we receive God's Holy Spirit, and follow Him, we please God the Father. The notes for Matthew 3:16, Luke 4:1 and John 1:32 are parallel to this verse as they tell about the same incident.
Mark 1:12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, above, for links to verses which
prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit', which shows us that Jesus is our example in the flesh of how to live using the power of God's Spirit
Many people make excuses for denying what this verse literally says, or they claim there is a conflict in the Bible with James 1:13-14 which says: Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neithe tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
However, we need to keep the context of James (same sentence) in mind and realize that the comments in James are limited to tempted with evil...he is drawn away of his own lust
. In our current verse the Spirit
did not tempt with evil
, but the Spirit
was proving that Jesus was ready for the requirements of His ministry, which was just starting. After the Spirit
proved that Jesus was ready, then Satan did tempt with evil
. However, as many know, Jesus did not fall for the temptations of Satan. The notes for Matthew 4:1 and Luke 4:1 are parallel to this verse as they tell about the same incident.
Mark 1:23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' Several places in the Gospels tell us about Jesus freeing someone from a devil. Today, many people need to be made free from addictions, which are the result of demonic influence, even if people refuse to see the spiritual part of addiction. However, we need to keep the warning of Matthew 12:44 and Luke 11:24 about a person being worse off in the end if they get rid of a devil / an addiction and do not maintain their personal relationship with God. Without the ongoing help of God, people fall back into the same (or words) addiction / possession. Please see the note for Mark 1:24 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study which deals with the same incident and provides references to parallel passages in the Gospels.
Mark 1:26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' Please see the note above as it is speaking of the same incident and has links to related verses. As we see here, a devil only wants to hurt people. Addictions are from devils, even if people refuse to see this truth. Addictions treat people the same way as devils do.
Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' Please see the note above (for Mark 1:23) as it is speaking of the same incident and has links to related verses. As we see here, a devil only wants to hurt people. Addictions are from devils, even if people refuse to see this truth. Addictions treat people the same way as devils do.
Mark 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' Please see the note above (for Mark 1:23) as it is speaking of the same incident and has links to related verses. As we see here, a devil only wants to hurt people. Addictions are from devils, even if people
refuse to see this truth. Addictions treat people the same way as devils do.
Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy
Spirit.' Please also see the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study which provides links to the parallel passages in other Gospels and a link to the note which covers the full story with the contextual considerations. As explained in those verses, this story uses the names of Jesus
and Son of Man
to emphasize His humanity. Thus, Jesus
is our example of how to live in this world using the power of the Holy Spirit. In this story, He used His spirit
as any literal physical person can, if their spirit
is in tune with the message from God's Holy Spirit
. Please notice that this verse uses a lower-case spirit
, .which lets us know that this verse is not speaking of God's Holy Spirit
.
Mark 3:11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' Please also see the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study which provides links to the parallel passages in other Gospels and a link to the note which covers the full story with the contextual considerations. As mentioned there, when the devils declared that Jesus
was the Son of God
within the Gospels, He shut their mouths because they were trying to use a truth to set up future support for a lie that Jesus
did what He did through His own power, which means that other people have an excuse to prevent God from doing the same through their own life.
Mark 3:30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit .
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' This verse is actually part of a sentence which starts in Mark 3:28 and gives us the definition of the 'unforgivable sin', which is blaspheme against the Holy Ghost
. That definition is in another Equivalent Section of the sentence and Jesus
said this against the scribes
who came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils
. Thus, their sentence matches our current verse. In addition, the notes for that part of Mark's Gospel explain the difference between the working of God's Holy Ghost
and of devils. Further, the context tells us that Beelzebub
, devils
, the prince of the devils (Satan)
, are all unclean spirits
.
Mark 5:2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' All of the references, in this Word Study, for Mark 5 are part of the account of the 'mad man of Gadara'. The notes for this account, in the Book Study on the Gospel of Mark, has references to where other Gospel accounts also deal with this incident. In this account, we see that Jesus freed him from the devils and he sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind
. Before he ran naked and wild and his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains
. Thus we see the difference in behavior between people who are motivated by devils and people who are motivated by the Holy Spirit
.
Mark 5:8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit .
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' All of the references, in this Word Study, for Mark 5 are part of the account of the 'mad man of Gadara'. The notes for this account, in the Book Study on the Gospel of Mark, has references to where other Gospel accounts also deal with this incident. In this verse we see that Jesus
can free someone from a devil that is possessing them but they have to be willing to truly accept Jesus
as their personal Lord
and serve Him. No, that is not in this single verse but it is in the context of the verse and part of the entire account. Taking verses out of context is the way of Satan.
Mark 5:13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' All of the references, in this Word Study, for Mark 5 are part of the account of the 'mad man of Gadara'. The notes for this account, in the Book Study on the Gospel of Mark, has references to where other Gospel accounts also deal with this incident. In this verse we see that pigs would rather die than be possessed by devils. That should be considered to be a comment on the foolishness of people who participate in activities which allow devils to take possession of them.
Mark 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' All of the references, in this Word Study, for Mark 5 are part of the account of the 'mad man of Gadara'. The notes for this account, in the Book Study on the Gospel of Mark, has references to where other Gospel accounts also deal with this incident. Where the other verses, in this account, said that he was possessed with...an unclean spirit
, this verse uses the word devil
. Thus, we have the Biblical definition that an unclean spirit
is a devil
. In addition, our verse also says that he was possessed...the legion
. Thus, an unclean spirit
can actually be due to many devils
.
Mark 5:16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' All of the references, in this Word Study, for Mark 5 are part of the account of the 'mad man of Gadara'. The notes for this account, in the Book Study on the Gospel of Mark, has references to where other Gospel accounts also deal with this incident. Here we read the eyewitness account given by people who were there to other lost people. When we read the full account, we see that these other lost people asked Jesus
to leave. They were more concerned about loss of material things than they were about the everlasting loss of their soul and their destiny in Hell. Unfortunately, this is true of many people, including many who claim to be saved.
Mark 5:18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' All of the references, in this Word Study, for Mark 5 are part of the account of the 'mad man of Gadara'. The notes for this account, in the Book Study on the Gospel of Mark, has references to where other Gospel accounts also deal with this incident. Here we read the proper response of someone who is truly saved. They want to be with Jesus
. The response from Jesus
was a command for him to be a missionary to the lost people around him. All truly saved should want to spend time with Jesus
, but H truly wants His people to reach the lost who are
around them.
Mark 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' This is part of the account where Jesus
sent out the twelve to do missionary work as part of their training. Some things you only learn from experience. In addition, God only gives some blessings to people who are willing to truly sacrifice their own desires in order to serve Him. From my own experience I can testify that some blessings are not given until someone is truly willing to become a foreign missionary. The twelve did not have power over unclean spirits
until they were ready to go out and do missionary work.
Mark 6:49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual.' Here we see that these people were aware , enough, of spiritual things that they understood a manifestation of a spirit
and they also understood that a spiritual being is not restricted by physical laws like they were. That is: spiritual beings, including devils, can work miracles unless God stops them from doing so. Further, our verse tells us that they were afraid (they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out
). Thus, they had enough sense to know that devils wanted to hurt them. It is a shame that so many people of today lack the same fear.
Mark 7:25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' In this account, this woman was a Gentile. And, we are told that Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs
. Her answer was: And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
Thus, we see that she was willing, and even agreed, to be called a female dog ('bitch'). In this account, she received her wish because she was willing to humble herself and accept anything that Jesus
required in order to have her daughter freed from the devil and saved. She is an example of someone who has the attitude that God wants all saved to have.
Mark 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled his spirit (was/was not) troubled
'our spirit can be troubled.' Please notice that this verse uses a lower-case spirit
to mean the human spirit
of Jesus
. He was a 'literal physical man' and could get just as tired as other men. In this case, He had already done countless miracles and His own disciples showed that they lacked true Biblical faith
in His ability to provide. Because of their lack of faith
, they misunderstood a spiritual message that He gave to them. Then the Pharisees came demanding another sign
, and, thereby, proved that it did not matter how many signs
Jesus
gave them. They refused to believe and be saved. Thus, the ministry made Jesus
weary in His human spirit
and, as the next sentence in Mark's Gospel says: he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side
.
Mark 9:17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled 'A dumb and deaf (foul) spirit
caused a boy to not be able to speak and tare him
and made him fall on the ground, and wallowed foaming
'. It is also found under Man's Spirits for the point titled his spirit (was/was not) troubled
'our spirit can be troubled'. The four (4) verses in this Word Study, that are all in this chapter, are all part of the same account and should be all considered together. In this account, the disciples had cast out devils before this incident, but could not cast out this devil because that had not been fasting and praying
. Thus, we see that the amount of our power with God depends upon our doing our part to maintain our relationship with God.
Mark 9:20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled 'A dumb and deaf (foul) spirit
caused a boy to not be able to speak and tare him
and made him fall on the ground, and wallowed foaming
'. The four (4) verses in this Word Study, that are all in this chapter, are all part of the same account and should be all considered together. Some devils are more harmful than other devils. We need to avoid possession by all devils.
Mark 9:25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled 'A dumb and deaf (foul) spirit
caused a boy to not be able to speak and tare him
and made him fall on the ground, and wallowed foaming
'. The four (4) verses in this Word Study, that are all in this chapter, are all part of the same account and should be all considered together. Notice that Jesus
acted When Jesus saw that the people came running together
. They wanted entertainment and the work of God is not for our entertainment.
Mark 9:26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled 'A dumb and deaf (foul) spirit
caused a boy to not be able to speak and tare him
and made him fall on the ground, and wallowed foaming
.' The four (4) verses in this Word Study, that are all in this chapter, are all part of the same account and should be all considered together. Here we see that the devil did not want to give up the boy that he had possessed and did his best to kill the boy out of spite when he was cast out. Thus, we see the potential consequence of letting a devil possess us.
Mark 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled 'Our spirit can have strength when our flesh is weak.' The doctrine of this verse is dealt with, in detail, in Romans 7. This verse uses a lower-case spirit
for the human spirit
. We can want to do the right thing in our 'inner-most being' even while our flesh can override that desire and cause us to sin, just as the disciples did in this account by sleeping when they should have been praying.
Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God can take the way that His Spirit works in our life and pass His Spirit to others to work in the same way.' Please notice that our word spirit
is lower-case. Our verse is saying that the spirit
of John the Baptist will be like the spirit
of Elias
(Elijah). Further, our verse says what the ministry of John the Baptist will be. Please see the Doctrinal Study on John the Baptist for more details.
Luke 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.' It is also under the point titled 'Our spirit can
rejoice
.' This verse is the second half of the testimony of Mary, the physical mother of Jesus
when she met her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. When they met the baby John the Baptist leaped in the womb of Elizabeth and the two women had a praise service. This verse fulfills the requiremwent of John 4:24: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
.
Luke 1:80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We can have a strong spirit
.' This verse tells us that John the Baptist grew his 'inner-most being' (spirit
) more than most people do. Please see the Doctrinal Study on John the Baptist for more details.
Luke 2:27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can move (or stop movement of) men and other beings.' Here we read that God's Holy Spirit
told the old holy man when to go to the Temple to see God's Messiah / Christ
. God's Holy Spirit
did the same with the holy woman named Anna.
Luke 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way'. This verse tells us that, like John the Baptist, the child Jesus
grew his 'inner-most being' (human spirit
) more than most people do. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit for more details on how Jesus
did the ministry of God while being a literal physical man.
Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, above, for links to verses which prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' Basically, Jesus
did not use His own power as the Son of God, except in two instances to fulfill legal requirements. He lived as a weak physical man using the power of the Holy Spirit so that He could be our example. This verse tells about the time that He started His ministry as a physical man. There is a lot of doctrinal truth in the saying of; What Did Jesus Do?, but we need to actually search the Gospels for our answers and not trust what liars tell us. In addition, to that consideration, the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study also deals with this verse and doctrine. There we see that this verse is equated to the one where God the Fathe said This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
When we receive God's Holy Spirit, and follow Him, we please God the Father. The notes for Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10 and John 1:32 are parallel to this verse as they tell about the same incident.
Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, above, for links to verses which prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way'. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit. The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. Our verse tells us that there went out a fame of him through all the region round about
because of the miracles that He did, using the power of the Holy Spirit
, and because of the wisdom and understanding that He had of what the Bible truly said.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 1recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way'. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit. In this verse, Jesus
has returned from His temptation after being baptized and starting His ministry. He has returned to the synagogue, on the Sabbath day, of the town where He grew up and where His physical family live. He has quoted Isaiah and used that Bible reference to announce that he is God's Messiah / Christ
. The people reacted by trying to kill Him.
Luke 4:33 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. In this verse we see that devils have no problem going to church. In fact, they enjoy going there to spread deceit and lies. However, when the Truth
shows up then they complain loudly and try to prevent the Truth
from revealing their deception.
Notice that this verse has a lower-case spirit
while the prior verses, in this chapter, had an upper-case Spirit
. They were speaking about God's Holy Spirit
while this verse plainly says that it is speaking about a devil
. This is just one example of a consistent rule of the Bible whereby an upper-case Spirit
always speaks of God's Holy Spirit
and a lower-case spirit
is always speaking about a devil or a human spirit
. This rule holds true even when the Bible speaks about the human spirit
of Jesus
.
Luke 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This is in the same account as the prior verse in this Study. Here we read that Jesus
displayed power and authority that only belongs to God. This does not prove that He is 'God in human flesh', because other godly prophets also were given this type of power. The volume of miracles, and other evidences, did prove that He was/is 'God in human flesh'. However, this account is at the start of His ministry and proved to the Jews in His home town that He was, at least, a man of God
because He displayed the signs that Jews looked for. At a minimum, their religion required them to accept and obey the message that He delivered from God. Instead, they rejected His message.
Luke 6:18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits : and they were healed.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This verse is right after Jesus
named the twelve (12) disciples who were supposed to become apostles. This verse is part of the spiritual conception of the church. Right after appointing the twelve (12), Jesus
did the miracles mentioned here and in the sentence which this verse is part of. The miracles were to prove that He was 'God in human flesh' and had the power and authority to change their religion and the start Hid church. Right after He did these miracles, He gave the 'Sermon of the Mount', which this chapter of Luke has a summary of. That sermon is the basic doctrine for His new church. What we see in this verse is that Jesus
will not allow devils to remain in His true church.
Luke 7:21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This verse is part of the answer that Jesus
sent to John the Baptist when he was in prison and facing death. John the Baptist had sent to Jesus
and asked: Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
The answer from Jesus
was evidence that He was/is the Messiah / Christ
.
Luke 8:2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This is the start of a chapter with a theme of 'Jesus deals with people who accept Him as King'. Here we see that Jesus
frees the subjects of His kingdom from control by other spirits.
Luke 8:29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. As with the prior verse, in this Study, this is the start of a chapter with a theme of 'Jesus deals with people who accept Him as King'. Here we see that Jesus
frees the subjects of His kingdom from control by other spirits. The context of this account shows us how much better off a person is serving Jesus
as opposed to serving devils.
Luke 8:36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels.
This verse is part of the account of Jesus
freeing the 'mad man of Gadara' from many devils.
Luke 8:55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Our spirit/life is from the breath (Spirit) of the Almighty
.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This maiden
had died and Jesus
raised her from the dead. Notice that our verse says her spirit came again
. That means that her spirit
had abandoned her body when she died. At the command of Jesus
, her spirit came again
and she was resurrected.
Luke 9:39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
This verse is found under Other Spirits for the point titled 'A dumb and deaf (foul) spirit
caused a boy to not be able to speak and tare him
and made him fall on the ground, and wallowed foaming
.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. There are also another couple of references in the reference table.
This account tells us about a devil that the apostles could not cast out after they had gone out preaching and healing the sick and casting out devils. When they asked Jesus
why they could not do the job, he said: This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
(Mark 9:29). This lets us know that there are some devils who have more power than other devils. Also, it would appear that the parents failed to keep the child away from things which would allow a devil to possess him. Things like drugs, alcohol, sexual play and other things can allow a devil into a child.
Luke 9:42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
This verse is found under Other Spirits for the point titled 'A dumb and deaf (foul) spirit
caused a boy to not be able to speak and tare him
and made him fall on the ground, and wallowed foaming
.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. �n this verse, we see that an unclean spirit
is a devil
.
Luke 9:55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'People can claim to speak with the Spirit of God but their actions cause people to ask whose spirit came from thee?
' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found. This verse is part of James and John wanting to call down fire on a village of Samaritans when they didn't want Jesus
and His disciples to spend the night. They were upset with the perceived insult. They thought they were following the example of Elijah when he called down fire to consume a sacrifice and prove to the Jews that God was greater than Baal. Thus, when Jesus
said: Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of
, He was speaking to the difference in the motivation between these two and Elijah.
Not only were the motives different from Elijah, but the results would also be different. We see this in the rest of the answer from Jesus
when He said: For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them
. Elijah brought God glory and salvation to men by turning them from devil worship. Jesus
was bringing grace and truth
(John 1:14, 17) to men. What James and John wanted to do would have the opposite effect. One way that we display the type of spirit
we have is by how well we consider the results of everything which we do before we act.
Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in Heaven.
This verse is found under Other Spirits for the point titled 'God choses to honor authority given by Jesus Christ
to some men and makes devils obey the commands of the men.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This follows a promise that God will give power
over devils and things like poisonous snakes. But, the people who receive the promise must meet the conditions found in the context of the promise and explained in the notes for the related sentences.
Luke 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, of Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Our spirit can rejoice
.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. Please notice that this verse uses a lower-case spirit
. This means that Jesus
rejoiced in His human spirit
even though He was / is 'God in human flesh'. He did this in His human nature, not as God.
Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' This is the conclusion of a section of doctrine which started in Luke11:1 with the 'Model Prayer' and then went into a parable to illustrate God's willingness to answer prayers from His children which fulfill His requirements for answered prayers. After that, Jesus
gave three analogies to show that God will give good things to His children. Our current verse concludes all of that. Here we see that the Holy Spirit
is the best thing that God can give to His children, both in initial salvation and in sanctification, after initial salvation, with the Holy Spirit
providing guidance in how to live in a way which provides spiritual maturity and the best blessings from God.
Luke 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This verse does not make it clear if this devil left the person by the devil's own decision or it was forced out. What we see here is the danger of casting out a devil and not replacing that possession with the indwelling Holy Spirit
. Only the presence of God's Holy Spirit
can stop this from happening if the devils want to return to the possessed person.
Luke 11:26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This verse is part of the same account as the verse above. What we see here is the danger of casting out a devil and not replacing that possession with the indwelling Holy Spirit
. Only the presence of God's Holy Spirit
can stop this from happening if the devils want to return to the possessed person.
Luke 13:11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'We can have a spirit of infirmity
' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. We are not told that she just had an infirmity
, like other incidents found in the Gospel accounts, but that she had a spirit of infirmity. This wording indicates that she had a devil causing the infirmity
. We do not know what she, or her parents, were doing to let this devil plague her. In John 5 we read about Jesus
healing a man who had an infirmity
, not a spirit of infirmity
. Thus, the Bible makes a distinction but this distinction is no great enough to get into a doctrinal dispute over.
In addition to those considerations, Luke 13:15-16 is part of Luke's report on this incident and, therefore part of the contextual consideration of this sentence. There we read: this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound
. Since Satan
had bound
her, and all devils report to Satan
, we have a second witness that her condition was the result of devil activity. Further, God's word says that two witnesses makes it part of God's law and something that everyone must believe.
Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit : and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Men die when God gathers unto himself (God) his (man's) spirit and his breath
. We do not stop existing but go to one of several places for spirits.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This is when Jesus
literally chose to die and let devils take His spirit
into Hell. Once they had taken Him there (He did not break
into Satan's domain), He bound Satan and all of the devils by Himself, He took the keys of hell and of death
(Revelation 1:18) and then rose from the dead using His own power as God. Thus, the devils thought they had won the war, at this point, but Jesus
only changed the location of the war.
Luke 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. Many people of today foolishly believe that this physical world is all that there is because devils don't appear and correct their erroneous belief. This error causes many people to reject the Gospel and die lost. At the same time, many people in third-world countries know that spirits
are real, but call them 'gods' because spirits
are not limited to the laws of the physical reality and can do harmful miracles if God does not stop them. In addition, this incident happened before they received the indwelling Holy Spirit
and His protection. Thus, these people had every right to be terrified and affrighted
.
Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual.' The Book Study on the Gospel of Luke explains how this verse is used within the context where it is found and also shows the parallel section in the other Gospels. This reference is the same incident as the prior reference and here Jesus
offers physical proof that He is not a spirit
but is the physically resurrected Lord
.
John 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, above, for links to verses which prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence. Basically, Jesus
did not use His own power as the Son of God, except in two instances to fulfill legal requirements. He lived as a weak physical man using the power of the Holy Spirit so that He could be our example. This verse tells about the time that He started His ministry as a physical man. There is a lot of doctrinal truth in the saying of; What Did Jesus Do?, but we need to actually search the Gospels for our answers and not trust what liars tell us. In addition, to that consideration, the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study also deals with this verse and doctrine. There we see that this verse is equated to the one where God the
Father said This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
When we receive God's Holy Spirit, and follow Him, we please God the Father. The notes for Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10 and Luke 4:1 are parallel to this verse as they tell about the same incident.
John 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
A very important doctrine, which many people do not know today, is the fact that the Son of God set aside all of His own power and position to be born as a literal physical man. When death
and God meet, death
looses. Therefore, the Son of God could not die as God. This purpose, along with His experiencing being a weak human as explained in Hebrews, are why He set aside His own power and position as God when He was conceived in Mary. The power of God's Holy Spirit was what He used until after He died and was taken into Hell by Satan and His devils. God would not be righteous to force His way into Satan's domain but God tricked Satan into taking the Son of God there by his (Satan's) own free will. Once there, the Son of God took back His own power as God, defeated Satan and all of the devils by His own power, took the keys to Hell and death
. (Revelation 1:18) and rose from the grave.
Our sentence tells us the time when He received God's Holy Spirit, and the power of God's Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit that all saved receive. The main difference is that He had all of the gifts / fruits of the Holy Spirit in full measure. People argue about if we each get all of the gifts / fruits of the Spirit, but there is no argument about the fact that we receive less than the full measure and that there is variance in the amount of a particular gift / fruit that each has when we compare one saved person to another. We get less than a full measure but Jesus Christ received the full measure of every gift / fruit. This sentence tells us when that happened.
Home John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence. The note for this verse, in the Book Study on John's gospel, has a considerable sized note explaining the context and doctrine of this verse. Basically, all life begets similar life and life can only come from similar life. Therefore, someone can truly spiritually be born
of God's Holy Spirit
. If someone does not truly have God's life in them then they cannot enter into the kingdom of God
.
Now, one thing which is important to understand is that the kingdom of God
is: 'God's character in us'. Thus, our verse is really telling us that we can not get 'God's character in us' unless God's Holy Spirit puts it in us and then causes it to grow within our life.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit .
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spirit. In many places within the Bible, we see a distinction made between the physical and spiritual. In John 3 Jesus clearly teaches that we must have a spiritual birth (by God) in addition to a physical birth if we are to be saved.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence. Basically, our spirit
can only be made spiritually alive by God's Holy Spirit
. This verse is a clarification of the verse above and the explanation above also fits this verse.
John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'The Spirit of God
can be seen in men by other people including lost people'. In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
John 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
This is a critical sentence to understand of we are to avoid doctrinal error, especially the second half of this sentence. Since Jesus Christ
is God and the Creator (John 1:3), He had/has His own power as God. However, since He is also the resurrection, and the life
(John 11:25), He could not die for our sins while keeping His own power as the resurrection, and the life
. Therefore, when He was conceived in Mary, He set aside His own power as God so that He could live and die as a literal physical human man. In order to do the miracles which He did during His life on Earth as a literal physical human man, He used the power from God's Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit which God gives to all saved. The difference is that He has all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
and without measure
while we only have some of the gifts
and those are measured
according to our amount of faith
(Romans 12:3).
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence. Please see all of the notes for John 4, especially the one for John 4:24 , which is the summary of this section. Most of John 4 is the story about Jesus going through Samaria and dealing with the women at the well. He has gotten her attention and made her face her sin. She starts a theological discussion to avoid dealing with her sin. This verse tells us that while true worship
was not happening, God would fix the problem. As we see in this section,
neither religious answer is correct. True worship
must have a personal component even when the person is part of a public worship
.
The word in this verse is a lower-case spirit
, which means that it is our personal spirit
. 'Spiritualist Religions' such as Pentecostal and neo-Evangelicals, confuse emotions with the true spirit
. Therefore, their worship
is not truly from their personal spirit
. Our spirit
is 'our innermost being'. If their worship
was truly from their personal spirit
then their lives would not be full of sin. However, such religions make excuses for sins, especially lifestyle sins which they justify holding onto because they 'feel good' as a result of their so-called 'worship'. One of the ways that we can know this is because their lives do not obey God's truth
, which is in God's word.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence. Further, there is a separate Study written about this verse that is called God is a Spirit. It brings
together the Summaries from the Studies on Truth, Worship, and this Study and shows how all of them come
together in this verse. Please see all of those Studies for details related to this verse.
There is a major difference between the spiritual reality and the physical reality. The first three chapters of 1Corinthians explain how the wisdom of God
and the wisdom of this world / man
go in opposite directions. In addition, the wisdom of God
gives us spiritual truth and is concentrated on the eternal spiritual reality while the wisdom of this world / man
is concentrated on how to get the most out of this temporary physical reality. Therefore, the wisdom of this world / man
can not lead us to pleasing God.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are made spiritually alive when God's Holy Spirit
quickens
our spirit.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence. As explained in the Book Study on the Gospel of John, this verse is critical to understanding all that Jesus
says in this chapter. There were several Jews who were debating with Jesus
and kept misunderstanding His answers because they were trying to understand spiritual saying using physical and religious methods. Jesus
is literally saying that we must understand and believe these words in our spirit
in order to be quickened
and have spiritual life
. In addition, the th
, in the word quickeneth
, means that this life
'keeps on keeping on'. That is: this is everlasting life
. Beyond this concept. the word quickeneth
, includes the idea of maintaining this life
and not just giving it initially while ignoring the requirements to maintain life
.
John 7:39 (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.)
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
The entire sentence is within parenthesis, which means that it was added by the translators to retain the message of the original Greek even though there were not Greek words in the original text. The KJV is not a 'word-for-word translation' like many writers erroneously claim. This verse, and all others within parenthesis, prove that claim to be a lie and this distinction is critical because a 'word-for-word translation' is erroneous. There are NO errors in the 1611-KJV.
Moving on, we see that this sentence starts with the word But
, which means that it is continuing the subject from the prior sentence while going in a different direction. In addition, the phrase he spake
is referencing what Jesus
said in the prior sentence. Thus we see that the phrase out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water
, in the prior sentence, was a reference to God's Holy Spirit
,
which this sentence literally tells us. In addition, we see that the phrase He that believeth on me
, in the prior sentence, is clarified by this sentence to mean: which they that believe on him should receive
. Thus we see that, during the 'Church Age', the
truly saved would receive God's Holy Spirit
. An earlier sentence within this chapter tells us that Jesus
had started the 'Church Age'.
This sentence uses the capitalized Spirit
in reference to God's Holy Spirit
.
John 11:33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled his spirit (was/was not) troubled
'- our spirit can be troubled.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
In this verse we see a lower-case spirit
for Jesus
even though He is God. In this verse, it is talking about His human spirit
because, as a human being, He was upset y the pain caused to His human friends. Yes, as God, we can assume that He knew the end result and the spiritual blessings which they would receive and that those spiritual blessings would far out-weigh their pain in the physical world. However, He also knew that they did not know about the spiritual blessings, not of the need for their pain. He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities
(Hebrews 4:15), as shown in this verse.
John 13:21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled his spirit (was/was not) troubled
'our spirit can be troubled.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
In this verse we see a lower-case spirit
for Jesus
even though He is God. As with the note above, this verse uses a lower-case spirit
for Jesus
to show that it is speaking about His human nature and human spirit
. Please see the note above for
more details.
John 14:17 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.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
This is the prophecy and promise of the Indwelling Holy Spirit which all saved receive during the 'Church Age'.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' In addition, to the things found at the start of this Study, the note for this sentence, within the Book Study on the Gospel of John, provides the contextual considerations, the sentence structure and analysis based upon that structure, and the doctrinally significant word definitions for this sentence.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.'
The Bible uses Holy Ghost
when the Third Person of the Trinity is affecting this world and uses Holy Spirit
when the Third Person of the Trinity is doing spiritual work. In this sentence, our second phrase tells us what He did in this world. Notice that our third phrase uses the identifier of Spirit
because His work through a spiritual gift is a spiritual work. Their speaking was a physical work but what they said was a spiritual work. Therefore, our sentence illustrates how God uses His people to do spiritual work.
Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' This is a quote of Joel 2:28-32 by Peter at the start of his message on Pentecost. Joel gave us the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit
. Peter announced the fulfillment of the promise with the birth of the church.
In John 4:23-24, Jesus
tells us that the time is at hand when people will worship God in Spirit. That is what gets the different results between what we saw reported in John 1:24 and what is reported as a result of this verse. Also, Philippians 3:3 says For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh
. Notice that the Bible tells us that when we worship God in spirit, we have no confidence in flesh, which includes the good works
of religion. That verse supports what I'm saying is the difference between Philippians 1:24 and this verse.
Acts 2:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' This is a continuation of the quote of Joel 2:28-32 by Peter at the start of his message on Pentecost. This particular spiritual gift was very prominent before the word of God
was completed.
Acts 5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Men can die, in the New Testament, if they tempt the Spirit of the Lord
.' Here this couple conspired to lie to the church
and claim that they sold some land and gave all to the church. They wanted people to think well of them but they were not really willing to give all. So they lied about it. But, as Peter told them, they did not lie to men but to God's Holy Spirit
. They were being used by devils to try and turn a Spirit motivated church to a fleshly motivated church and God's Holy Spirit
did not allow their attempted corruption.
Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits : and they were healed every one.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples'. In the early days of the church, Peter, and the other apostles, were used by God's Holy Spirit
to do miracles of healing and cast devils out of possessed people.
Acts 6:10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point that identifies several verses which use the phrase the spirit of God came upon him
, or similar wording. In our sentence, we see that God's Holy Spirit
told Stephen what to say and how to say it. Saying things in an acceptable way can be as important as saying the right thing. However, as we see further on in this report, with some people what is said and how it is said makes no difference. There are always religious fools around who have closed minds and who would rather murder someone than consider the truth.
Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Men die when God gathers unto himself (God) his (man's) spirit and his breath
. We do not stop existing but go to one of several places for spirits.' Here, we see that Stephen stated his expectation of being received into Heaven.
Acts 8:7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them : and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples.' This sentence is part of the account of the deacon and evangelist named Philip who took the Gospel to the half-Jews. He was the first reported to go to the Samaritans and he led the Ethiopia eunuch
to salvation. In this sentence we see that God provided evidence of His approval on the preaching of Philip by doing miracles and by casting out devils from possessed people.
Acts 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can move (or stop movement of) men and other beings.' Earlier, Philip received a
message from the angel of the Lord
. Then, all he was told was: Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert
. He was not told why nor any detail on what he would do until after he obeyed. Now, Philip gets his next set of instructions from different me4ssenger. We need to obey God no matter what messenger He uses. In addition, God's Holy Ghost
will use Philip to explain the scripture, lead this man to true Biblical salvation and baptize him before sending him to take the Gospel to his home country. Remember, God uses men but it is God Who does all true spiritual work.
Acts 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can move (or stop movement of) men and other beings.' In this sentence, we have the ending of the report about Philip being used by the Lord
to lead the Ethiopian eunuch to true spiritual salvation. The eunuch was a government official and, as explained in the Book Study, he asked to be baptized so that he, symbolically, changed the spiritual kingdom which he was identified with from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ
. Since this whole account is about Philip obeying our Lord
, it was the Spirit of the Lord
Who sent Philip on his way after he completed the job which our Lord
gave to him.
Acts 10:19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can move (or stop movement of) men and other beings'. This is part of when God had Peter take the Gospel to a Gentile named Cornelius along with his entire household. Corneliuswas the first Gentile saved and the saved Jews had a fit because they believed that Gentiles could not be saved. God's Holy Spirit
was Who was acting is this entore account and it was God's Holy Spirit
Who proved that Gentiles could be saved. In this particular sentence, Peter has just received a vision which he did nor understand. Cornelius had been told to send for Peter and the men thayt he sent were at the door of where Peter was staying. God's Holy Spirit
told Peter that they were there so that Peter dealt with them instead of trying to figure out the vision. God's Holy Spirit
revealed the truth to Peter in His way and His time. When we don't understand whay God is doing, we need to trust God and wait for God to clarify things for us.
Acts 11:12 And the spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:
This verse is found under Man's spirit for the point titled 'We demonstrate the type of spirit that we have by our actions and life. God rewards or punishes us for our demonstrated spirit.' Most people would think that this verse is speaking about God's Holy Spirit
. But the word is lower-case. Therefore, Peter's spirit
understood the message from God's Holy Spirit
and told him what to do.
Acts 11:28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled It takes the power of the Spirit of God to do the work of God, such as fully preaching the gospel of Christ
'can use men to speak'. In this sentence, we see the prophet speak using his own (lower-case) spirit
. However, God's Holy Spirit
is Who let him know this truth. It was his personal choice to leave the Jerusalem Church and go to Antioch to avoid most of that punishment from God. (The Jerusalem Church refused to let God correct their doctrine.) He also chose to tell others about this truth which God's Holy Spirit
revealed to him.
Acts 16:7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can move (or stop movement of) men and other beings.' The sentence which contains this verse also says that the mission team were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia
. Thus, the Third Person of the Trinity did the same thing three different ways. First, God's Holy Ghost
used things in this world to prevent the team from going into Asia. Then, God's Holy Spirit
dealt with their spirits to prevent them from going in another wrong way. This second time they were more sensitive to the leading of God's Holy Spirit
and He didn't have to use things in this world to prevent them from going in the wrong way. Then, as the third way, we read, in the second next sentence, that Paul had his Macedonian vision
. Thus, we see God's Holy Spirit
directly leading this mission team.
Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' In this particular sentence, the spirit
is a devil.
Acts 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' In this particular sentence, the spirit
is a devil.
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.' In this verse, Paul was motivated to start preaching even while he waited for Silas and Timothy to catch up with him.
Acts 18:5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.' In this chapter, Paul had been reasoning in the synagogue every sabbath
, but he had not been preaching
and proving that Jesus was Christ
using the Old Testament scriptures. That changed with this verse.
Acts 18:25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'When we are sincerely trying to serve God in our spirit, but are wrong in our actions or doctrine, God will send someone to correct us.' That is what happened to Apollos in this section of Acts. And, unlike many preachers of today, he accepted being corrected in doctrine by church members. As a result, he went on and became very powerful in the ministry. Unfortunately, preachers who are too proud to accept a similar type of correction, find that God resists
their ministry.
Acts 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God has power over these unclean spirits
and can give that power to His disciples. These are references to being possessed by devils'. This sentence tells us that God did these miracles through Paul to confirm that Paul taught the true message from God and that the unbelieving Jews, who spake evil of that way before the multitude
, were liars telling doctrines of devils. Please see the Doctrinal Study called Significant Events in the New Testament for links to other miracles reported in the New Testament). This sentence tells us that God did this, before the New Testament was written, so that people would know who preached the truth of God and who was a lying representative of devils.
Acts 19:13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. This reference is to a man who was possessed by a devil'. In this verse, we read about certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists
Who tried to use the power Jesus whom Paul preacheth
when they did not have a personal relationship with Jesus
nor did they have the authority to use His power to overcome any devil. Because they were lost exorcists
, they had cooperation with certain devils for those devils to come out when they commanded so that people would believe the false religion which they preached and end up in Hell. But they were not dealing with a devil that they had an agreement with. And, they refused to acknowledge that God is a person Whom we need a personal relationship with. Like many false religions, they regarded Jesus whom Paul preacheth
as some impersonal force that they could command if they said the right 'magic words'. As the full report tells us, they learned otherwise through a painful personal experience.
Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. This reference is to a man who was possessed by a devil'. The report goes on to tell us how this devil beat up these seven unbelieving Jews who though they could use the power of God which Jesus
gave to Paul. Their doctrinal mistake is one preached by almost all Eastern religions and other religions which believe in spiritual power but not a personal God. They like to say: 'May the force be with you'. Please also see the note below as that verse is added to this verse.
Acts 19:16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Both God and other (devils, unclean spirits
, etc) spirits can take control of us but while other spirits will take away our free will, God will not. These are references to being possessed by devils.' Here we see that a devil can use a possessed person to do
incredibly things. When we are controlling our body, we are limited by fear of damaging our body. But a devil possessing a person has no such fear. And, the devil in this report decided to give these seven foolish Jews an attitude adjustment. They assumed that they could command Jesus
by claiming the authority that He gave to Paul. Here, we clearly can not 'claim' some authority not given to us. In fact, before Paul died, this ability was removed from him. We do not command our Lord Jesus Christ
but He chooses if He wants to fulfill our prayer requests or tell us 'wait' or tell us 'NO'. Please also see the note above as that verse is added to this verse.
Acts 19:21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We can be in the spirit
, which is so set upon doing our purpose
that not even Godly men can turn us from our purpose
'. God gave each of us a free will. James 4:15 says: For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that
. Here, Paul said that he planned to go to Rome. Which he did. But he did not go to see Rome
but went as a prisoner and ended up being beheaded there. Thus, as James tells us, we always need to recognize God's right to override our plans.
Acts 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We can be in the spirit
, which is so set upon doing our purpose
that not even Godly men can turn us from our purpose
.' In this verse, Paul testified that he was bound in the spirit
. Some people criticize Paul for going when the Holy Ghost
testified, everywhere, that he would suffer. However, they ignore this phrase. He felt that he had no choice if he was going to obey God. The truth was that God was building his testimony of obedience in spite of knowing what would happen to him. We are to follow his example.
Acts 21:4 And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We can be in the spirit
, which is so set upon doing our purpose
that not even Godly men can turn us from our purpose
.' 1Corinthians 13:12 says: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known
. In that verse, Paul is writing that it is hard to see spiritual things clearly. None of the people giving a message to Paul had the authority to order him around. He was an apostle and they all had positions of lesser authority. If God's Holy Spirit
really did not want Paul to go, God's Holy Spirit
would have told that to Paul instead of telling him to go. No, I believe that God's Holy Spirit
told these others that Paul would suffer tribulation and more but they misunderstood the message and assumed that they were to tell him to not go. That is easy to do with spiritual messages when you get the message but are trying to figure out how the message is applied in the physical world. The true message was a testimony of Paul's obedience. He was doing what His Lord
commanded him to do regardless of any consequence in this physical world to himself.
Acts 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit : but the Pharisees confess both.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Some men, foolishly, deny the existence of other spirits
.' This verse, and the next verse, are from when the Jewish Religious Council tried to kill Paul. The high priest first made it clear that he was unreasonable and refused to listen to anything that Paul said, even though he was supposed to judge Paul. Since he was closed minded and refused to listen or be reasonable, our Lord Jesus Christ
had Paul exploit a political disagreement within the council. They ended up fighting among themselves and Paul was spared their intent to kill him. As crazy as it was, the high priest who condemned Jesus
to be crucified and had the apostles beat and tried to have Paul killed was a Sadducee. How messed up does your religion have to be to choose, as your top representative to God, a man who denies the existence of God? And, consider that there are many today who also choose a blind eye to all evidence of the existence of spirits and their doing supernatural things and claim that such an attitude makes them superior, intellectually, to people who believe in spirits.
Acts 23:9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Some men, foolishly, deny the existence of other spirits
.' This verse, and the prior verse, are from when the Jewish Religious Council tried to kill Paul. The high priest first made it clear that he was unreasonable and refused to listen to anything that Paul said, even though he was supposed to judge Paul. Since he was closed minded and refused to listen or be reasonable, our Lord Jesus Christ
had Paul exploit a political disagreement within the council. They ended up fighting among themselves and Paul was spared their intent to kill him. As crazy as it is, the prior verse said that the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit
. Therefore, Paul used the political division. The Pharisees were convinced that the Sadducees wanted to kill Paul strictly because he believed in spirits. And, if they let them kill Paul for that reason, their own deaths would be next. And, the Sadducees were known liars. Therefore, the Pharisees refused to listen to anything that they said was a different reason for their wanting to murder Paul.
Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. (Please see that outline point, above, for links to verses which
prophesied this event and links to parallel verses in the 4 Gospels which tell us about it.) That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' This verse is also part of the foundational sentence of Romans 1:1-7. Please see the note in the Book Study on Romans as it gives the context and structure of this sentence. This note assumes that the reader has read that note. In addition, the note for 1:6 under Jesus Christ, the notes for 1:3 and 1:4 under Son and the notes for 1:3 and 1:7 under Lord Jesus Christ (in the Lord Jesus Christ Study) all provide additional information about this opening (and foundational) sentence for the epistle to the Romans. Basically, in this verse and sentence, we see that the spirit of holiness
provided proof (according to
) that Jesus was / is the Son of God
because no one can be holy
unless God makes them holy
. In John 1:12 we read 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:
. Notice that received him
is past tense while to become the sons of God
is future tense. This means that becoming a son of God
happens after our initial profession. This sentence tells us that we also have to receive the spirit of holiness
before we are recognized as a son of God
. One more important point is that this verse is part of the Gospel of God that Paul said he was separated unto
in the first sentence of Romans. Part of our 'Good News' from God is that we can also be holy
if we accept His spirit of holiness
(Leviticus 20:7; 1Peter 1:15-16).
Romans 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
Spirit
is used 29times in the epistle to the Romans with the first mention being the spirit of holiness found in the first (foundational) sentence of this epistle. Now, in the third sentence, we see Paul say that he served God with my spirit
. Paul already identified himself as an apostle
, which meant he was a church leader and example to us for how we are to serve God. This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.' Notice that when God's Holy Spirit
stirred Paul's spirit he served God in the gospel of his Son
. (Please see the notes for this verse in the Word Study on Gospel and in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for details on this phrase.) When we truly serve God in our spirit
we will do His work in His gospel and give it a priority that removes, from our life, the temptations and distractions of this world. Paul wrote that he didn't have a wife and indicated that it was by choice so that he could concentrate on serving God. Paul also writes that this choice is not for everyone. While most people
won't go to this extreme in their service to God, how many other things (houses, lands, toys) could we give up when they interfere with our personal service to God? Paul is our example. We are supposed to serve God in our spirits
also. The question that God will ask us is why we couldn't at least pray for missionaries and others who serve God full time like Paul did? He will also ask us why we didn't at least seek to visit them and encourage them like Paul was trying to do.
Romans 1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' Please see the note for Galatians 6:1 for the verses which use the term spiritual
. That note references most of the 28 times that the word spiritual
is used and gives a quick survey of the use of this word in the Bible.
Twice before this Paul has used Spirit
in this epistle and each use was significant and provided part of the foundation of this epistle. Now Paul literally says that he longed to see you
, and one of the main reasons that he wrote this epistle, was so that he could impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established
. Thus, in order for us to receive this spiritual gift
today, we must understand this epistle from a spiritual
point of view.
The second thing that we see in this verse is that the purpose of receiving a spiritual gift
is so that we can be established
. Notice that this established
is applied to ye
, which means that 'each and every one of us personally' are to be established
. As explained many places on this site, when God establishes
something, it is more reliable than the laws of nature because this world is going to be replaced. The only way that we can have something established
that way is if God's Holy Spirit
does it for us personally. This is the basis upon which martyrs went to their death singing praises to God.
The next verse is also part of the sentence that this verse is in and the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Romans provides the division by punctuation and the explanation of context. Within that consideration, we see that part of imparting...some spiritual gift
is that both the giver and the receiver are comforted togethe with you by the mutual faith both of you and me
. We get blessed when we bless others spiritually
.
Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.' This verse is part of the concluding sentence of chapter 2 where Paul dealt with the religious claim that outward
physical and religious
characteristic mad the difference in spiritual matters. The conclusion of this chapter and sentence is that we need to look at the inward
characteristics which are that of the heart
and in the spirit
and which shows a person who seeks praise...of God
and does not seek the praise of men
.
Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
This entire chapter in Romans links death
to sin
and religious law
. This verse tells us that our spirit
is no longer held
in death
, and the context makes it clear that the change is
due to our ongoing personal relationship with God through Christ
. The opposite of death
is life
, which is what our spirit
is supposed to show as we serve
God. Please consider the following verses which use spirit
and life
. Just reading these verses should show the reader the change that this verse is telling us that God wants to bring into our life. Please read: 1Samuel 28:9; Job 10:12; Job 33:4; Proverbs 15:4; Ecclesiastes 2:17; Isaiah 38:16; John 6:63; Romans 8:2; Romans 8:6; Romans 8:10; 2Corinthians 3:6; Galatians 6:8; Revelation 2:7; Revelation 11:11 and Revelation 22:17.
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Romans 7 tells us how that sin
used God's law
to work death
into man. During his explanation, Paul tells us that God's law
has God's nature (is spiritual
) and was created for our good
. However, God's nature is that He gives blessings for obedience and cursing for disobedience. So while God created His law
as a means to bless man, sin got man to disobey God and, thereby, used God's law
to bring cursing upon man. This verse uses spiritual
to tell us that God's law
has God's nature (is like God's Spirit
).
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
Our sentence tells us that a major requirement of our being in Christ Jesus
is that we walk after the Spirit
. As shown in the Study called Relational Prepositions, Several places in the Bible tell us that certain blessings from God are conditional upon our remaining in
our personal relationship with God. Jesus
said that he would never leave us or forsake us, but He also will not take away our free will. That means that we can leave Him. He is currently sitting on the right hand of God getting blessings for us. As Christ
, He chooses personal blessings for each of us which are different from blessings that others receive because each of us have different gifts, jobs and lives. Christ Jesus
then gives God's Holy Spirit
instructions on how to lead each of us personally. As we walk after the Spirit
, Christ Jesus
can give us those personal blessings. However, if we stop walking after the Spirit
and start walking after the flesh
, like our sentence tells us is the only other option, then we lose all of those personal blessings and we are no longer in Christ Jesus
.
It is only by remaining in Christ Jesus
that the Spirit of our God
'can wash
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also only by remaining in Christ Jesus
that 'we commit (our) spirit
to God so that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work.' Please see the notes for this verse in the Book Study on Romans and in the Lord Jesus Christ Studies for extensive notes which cover the context and other doctrinal issues of this verse. 8:13 is
similar to this verse and extends what is said here. In that verse we are told through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body
. This is so that we shall (not) die
.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
Notice that our verse starts with For
. That means it gives the reason for all of the doctrine found in the prior sentence. (Please see note above.) There we were told that we could walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit
so long as we were in Christ Jesus
. Now our current verse tells us that this is possible because God made (us personally) free from the law of sin and death
when He put us under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
. . Please see the note for Romans 6:14 for links to every verse, in Romans, which uses any form of the word law
along with a the Webster's 1828 definition and considerations about several laws
which apply to saved people during the church age.
People believe the doctrinal lie that saved people are not under any law
during the Church Age. Those notes point out the truth literally said in this verse, which is that God changed the law
we are under. He did not make us 'lawless'. Paul goes on in the rest of this chapter to explain what he means by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
. Just look at all of the verses below, within this Study, that are within Romans 8. Consider Romans 6:3; 6:16 and 7:1 which all use Know ye not
to talk about laws
of God that are so obvious that even lost people, who never heard of the God of the Bible, know them. One of those things that are so obvious is that 'lawless' people, such as pirates, have laws imposed upon them by any government that wants to. The only way that we are free from one set of laws
. is when we are under another set of laws
and the government that enforces the laws
which we obey also protects us from other governments. In the case of saved people during the Church Age, it is only when they remain in Christ Jesus
that He protects them from the law of sin and death
.
Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
The phrase ( who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit
is the same as in 8:1 and the note above covers this phrase. In addition, there are extensive notes for this verse in the Book Study on Romans and in the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. Basically, as explained in those notes, sin
used the law
to condemn
us. The Son
fulfilled the law
and condemned sin in the flesh
. God now offers us an alternative plan to our trying to keep the law
in our flesh
, which does not give us righteousness
but condemns
us. God's alternative plan is that we walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit
by obeying personal commands that Christ Jesus
passes to us personally through the Holy Spirit. Those people who are willing to do this receive not only the righteousness
of Jesus
at salvation but also receive the additional righteousness
of Christ
.
Romans 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
This sentence is explained in the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans. That note points out that there is a major doctrinal difference between mind the things of the Spirit
and mind the Spirit
. This doctrinal difference can keep us from following false prophets
. Please see that note for details and try the spirits
(1John 4:1) as our Bible tells us to do.
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
This sentence makes a very clear relationship between what controls our mind
and the result that we have. Carnally minded
means death
. Spiritually minded
means life and peace
. Lots of people claim that they want peace
, but are not willing to do what God's Word tells them to do in order to get it. Please see the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans for more details of what this sentence is telling us.
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.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
This verse makes a very clear distinction between the Spirit of God
and the Spirit of Christ
. Having the Spirit of God
makes us saved. having the Spirit of Christ
requires us to be in Christ Jesus
as explained in the notes associated with the note for 8:1. (Go to that note and follow links to the Book Study on Romans and the Lord Jesus Christ Study and other Studies with links in that note.) There is a doctrinal distinction between people who are in the flesh
(lost) and people who walk in the flesh
(saved but carnal
) and people who walk in the Spirit
(saved and maintaining their personal relationship that is in Christ Jesus
). Please see the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans for more details of what this sentence is telling us. In addition, please see the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for how this verse uses Christ
in a way that is deliberately made different for how Spirit
is used in the two ways that it appears in this verse.
Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
Something that is dead
can not actively tempt you. The Bible uses because
to tell us a reason that is in the past. In the past, sin
used our body
to
tempted us to do wrong. That is why our ongoing personal relationship in Christ makes the body dead
. That way it can not be used to tempt us to do wrong. At the same time, God's Spirit
is used to guide us into righteousness
so that God can increase His life
that is in us. Please see the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans for more details of what this sentence is telling us. In addition, please see the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for how this verse uses Christ
in a way that is deliberately made different from how it uses Spirit
.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
The note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans is quite extensive and provides a lot of details about the difference between how God's Spirit
works in the lives of saved people because the Spirit...raised up Jesus
and how God's Spirit
works in the lives of saved people because the Spirit...raised up Christ
. We find that we have salvation because the Spirit...raised up Jesus
. We find that we have revival after our initial profession because the Spirit...raised up Christ
.
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
This sentence tells us that through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body
is the polar opposite of live after the flesh
. (Please see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Romans for details of context, sentence structure and meaning of mortify
). This is similar to 8:1 where we were told to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit
. Live through
gives the Spirit much more control of our live than walk after
. Thus, we can see a progression within this chapter where we move from the basic requirement to more control, and more blessings, which are through the Spirit
.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
This sentence tells us that we have to follow (are led by
) the Spirit of God
in order to become one of the sons of God
. Since this sentence uses a conditional phrase (as many as are
), our being sons of God
is not guaranteed simply because we are saved. In fact, John 1:12 makes it clear that
becoming a son of God
is something that is added to our life after we receive him
. Please see the note for this sentence within the Lord Jesus Christ Study which is extensive and has links, along with notes, for the verses which use the phrase sons of God
as well as for the verses which use the phrase children of God
. It explains the difference between the two phrases and shows how this sentence is related to others in context which relates to our becoming sons of God
.
Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
This verse and the next are directly tied togethe by the fact that one follows the other in the epistle to the Romans. (Please also see the next note.) As explained in the note for this verse in the Book Study on Romans, this verse has a two Step process in it. First, we have to realize that each and every one of us personally (ye
) have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear
. Devils get people to preach 'liberty' and try to make people fear
that God is denying them things. That was the temptation to Original Sin (Genesis 3). We were denied experiencing death, despair, sin, and a lot of other things which we wish we had never experienced. Reformers Unanimous does a good job of explaining how these boundaries are for our protection and not to deny us any good thing and that God's boundaries keep us from bondage
.
After we get the First Step right, we then can realize that ye have received the Spirit of adoption
. Anyone who has been raised some by one set of parents and then is adopted by a new set of parents has to learn a new way of living and a new set of values and character traits. One of the basics of true Biblical salvation is that God changes us to cause us to 'Stop our Sinning'. That way, he can remove the consequence of sin from our personal lives. He also wants to change our character so that we become the sons of God
, as explained in for Romans 8:14. These changes are what the Spirit of adoption
brings to us. Please note that this is a capitalized Spirit
. That means that this is God's Holy Spirit
and that one of His roles is to teach us what is involved in our adoption
. Please see the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans for more details of what this sentence is telling us.
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
This verse immediately follows the verse where we were told that we can cry, Abba, Father
. There are times that we are under attack by the world, the devil and our flesh and those attacks (almost?) always contain doubt, despair and other nasty things designed to make us believe that we are not saved or, if saved, that we don't deserve the help of God. Not that we deserve the help of God, but when we cry, Abba, Father
we remind ourselves, and others, that we get help only because of a relationship and not because we earned the help. We are also reminded that God gives His children much more than just help and that the closer we get to God, and become like Him, the more help we can expect. Further, we are reminded of promised future rewards. Look at the next sentence which starts with For
and gives us the reason why Paul said what he did in this sentence. There he says For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
All of this, and more, is the witness with our spirit
that is given by God's Holy Spirit
. Please see the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans for more details of what this sentence is telling us. Please also see the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. The two notes have considerable detail related to this verse. Please also notice that this verse tells us that the Spirit...beareth witness
while we are...joint-heirs with Christ
. Here we see the difference between the role of God's Holy Spirit
and the role of Christ
. God's Holy Spirit
is a messenger. It is Christ
Who gets us gifts and blessings from God. It is Christ
Who promises our future inheritance
. Beware of any doctrine that confuses these two different persons of the Trinity and confuses their roles.
Every sentence from Romans 8:16 until 8:31 are part of a single unit of thought about God's Holy Spirit
which needs to be considered together. Every sentence, after 8:16, starts with a connecting word, which means that God, through Paul, wanted us to consider all of these things togethe and not take them out of context. Our first sentence tells us the difference between the children of God
and the sons of God
. Then the sentences after that give us details about the additional things that God gives to the children of God
in order to make them into the sons of God
. Please see the note for Romans 8:14 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. It is extensive and has links, along with notes, for the verses which use the phrase sons of God
as well as for the verses which use the phrase children of God
. It explains the difference between the two phrases. It is God's Holy Spirit
Who brings us what we need to make this transition. Please see all of the notes for these verses in the Book Study on Romans as there is considerable detail about how God's Holy Spirit
works within those notes.
Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
Every sentence from Romans 8:16 until 8:31 are part of a single unit of thought about God's Holy Spirit
which needs to be considered together. Every sentence, after 8:16, starts with a connecting word, which means that God, through Paul, wanted us to consider all of these things togethe and not take them out of context. Our first sentence tells us the difference between the children of God
and the sons of God
. Then the sentences after that give us details about the additional things that God gives to the children of God
in order to make them into the sons of God
. Please see the note for Romans 8:14 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. It is extensive and has links, along with notes, for the verses which use the phrase sons of God
as well as for the verses which use the phrase children of God
. It explains the difference between the two phrases. It is God's Holy Spirit
Who brings us what we need to make this transition. Please see all of the notes for these verses in the Book Study on Romans as there is considerable detail about how God's Holy Spirit
works within those notes. Please also see the
note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans for details particular to what this sentence is telling us.
This verse tells us that we have the firstfruits of the Spirit
. As explained in the Book Study on Romans, these firstfruits of the Spirit
are given specifically to help us spread the gospel. Lots of people want to have these fruits
to help themselves, even if it is only to feel like they are a good person. However, the note for this verse in the Book Study on Romans has every verse in the Bible which use the word firstfruits
, along with a small note on how the word is used in each verse. What we find is that firstfruits
always have special spiritual significance, they are to deny the desires of the flesh and to bring honor to God. Making us feel good doesn't fit within that definition. Enabling us to spread the gospel does.
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
Every sentence from Romans 8:16 until 8:31 are part of a single unit of thought about God's Holy Spirit
which needs to be considered together. Every sentence, after 8:16, starts with a connecting word, which means that God, through Paul, wanted us to consider all of these things togethe and not take them out of context. Our first sentence tells us the difference between the children of God
and the sons of God
. Then the sentences after that give us details about the additional things that God gives to the children of God
in order to make them into the sons of God
. Please see the note for Romans 8:14 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. It is extensive and has links, along with notes, for the verses which use the phrase sons of God
as well as for the verses which use the phrase children of God
. It explains the difference between the two phrases. It is God's Holy Spirit
Who brings us what we need to make this transition. Please see all of the notes for these verses in the Book Study on Romans as there is considerable detail about how God's Holy Spirit
works within those notes.
This verse has three Equivalent Sections which tell us different ways that God's Holy Spirit
helps us. That explanation is in the Book Study on Romans along with every verse in the Bible which uses any form of infirmity
. This sentence tells us that God's Holy Spirit
does what we can't do and helps our lack of knowledge and understands our spiritual needs. Please see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Romans for a detailed explanation of these three things.
Romans 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.'
Every sentence from Romans 8:16 until 8:31 are part of a single unit of thought about God's Holy Spirit
which needs to be considered together. Every sentence, after 8:16, starts with a connecting word, which means that God, through Paul, wanted us to consider all of these things togethe and not take them out of context. Our first sentence tells us the difference between the children of God
and the sons of God
. Then the sentences after that give us details about the additional things that God gives to the children of God
in order to make them into the sons of God
. Please see the note for Romans 8:14 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. It is extensive and has links, along with notes, for the verses which use the phrase sons of God
as well as for the verses which use the phrase children of God
. It explains the difference between the two phrases. It is God's Holy Spirit
Who brings us what we need to make this transition. Please see all of the notes for these verses in the Book Study on Romans as there is considerable detail about how God's Holy Spirit
works within those notes.
Where the prior sentence (verse / note above) told us that God's Holy Spirit
makes intercession
for us, this verse says that he that searcheth the hearts (Christ) knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit
and that Christ maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God
. The Holy Spirit
says 'Here's where and how this child of God wants to spread the Gospel' and Christ asks the Fathe for the particular gifts and helps that that particular child of God needs to do that particular job. The Holy Spirit
is not concerned about our personal needs to do the job, that is the role of Christ. The Holy Spirit
is concerned with identifying the spiritual job that needs to be done which the child of God is praying about. Please also see the
note for this sentence within the Book Study on Romans for details particular to what this sentence is telling us.
Romans 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'God can send an evil spirit
or a perverse spirit
or a spirit of slumber
when men are determined to sin and God decides to judge them.' Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on Romans. It has links to several verses in the Bible which all show us that God hardens
people in the error that they insist upon following. If we don't want to be hardened
in some error then we need to keep our heart and mind open to what God tries to teach us, even when it goes against what our religion taught us. This spirit of slumber
is one way that God does this because people chose to fall asleep when God's truth is being revealed, especially when it goes against what they want to believe.
Romans 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.' Reformers Unanimous does a good job of explaining the war between our spirit
and our flesh
for control of our life, attitudes and actions. This sentence tells us that control of our life, attitudes and actions is to be by our Lord
and the Holy Spirit. There are considerable sized notes for this verse in the Book Study on Romans and in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. Please see them for more details.
Romans 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'It takes the power of the Spirit of God
to do the work of God, such as fully preaching the gospel of Christ
.' This verse is talked about in the note for the Book Study on Romans and in the note for the Lord Jesus Christ Study and in the in the note for this verse in the Book Study on Gospel. This sentence has a double-negative and is easy to misunderstand. It is important to understand the doctrine within it, which is explained in these notes, in order to understand what this sentence is saying about the power of the Spirit of God
.
At the time that Paul was doing this preaching the New Testament wasn't written. As explained in those other notes, everything that Paul preached is based upon Scriptures that existed at that time. This is shown by the many verses that Paul quoted and referenced and by the many Old Testament verses which are referenced in the studies already mentioned as well as studies on other writings of Paul. However, that was not sufficient when Paul was preaching because, unlike us, he did not have a New Testament to point people to. Thus, as our sentence tells us, Paul had mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God
.
It is important to note that these mighty signs and wonders
were by the power of the Spirit of God
and not by some other spirit or by any other claimed force. His evidence and preaching matched God's Holy Spirit
and the written word of God
. These mighty signs and wonders
showed that Paul truly represented God. Likewise, we see that God still gives evidences to His people that He is working through their lives. We do not have the mighty signs and wonders
that Paul had because we have the New Testament. However, the signs and wonders
that God gives to His people today still must match the God's Holy Spirit
and the written word of God
.
Romans 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive togethe with me in your prayers to God for me;
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to have ' the love of the Spirit
. The capitalized Spirit
, in this phrase, makes
this the Holy Spirit. The and
adds the love of the Spirit
to for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake
. Basically, every reason given (in the Book Study on Romans and in the Lord Jesus Christ Study) for us to act in obedience to the Son of God also applies to our receiving the love of the Spirit
and sharing that love
with other people. Simply put, our obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ
increases the love of the Spirit
that is in us and that flows through our life to others.
1Corinthians 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'It takes the power of the Spirit of God
to do the work of God, such as' fully preaching the
gospel of Christ. Please note that there are several verses within this chapter which use the word Spirit
. Please consider all of them togethe as they are all talking about the same subject. Acts 4:13 says Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
They were considered unlearned and ignorant
because they never had upper level Bible School training. However, Acts also says they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus
. It is not education but the direct influence of the Son of God working through God's Holy Spirit
that changes lives. Paul had the education and, once submitted to God, he was used more than these other apostles who were unlearned and ignorant
. However, like a lot of people who get a Bible education before truly getting saved, Paul tried to use his education to preach the Gospel and all that he did was make people want to kill him. Before he got saved, his Bible education made him want to kill the truly saved. Since the education was only causing him problems when he tried to be used by God, when he got to Corinth he acted like he describes here. Later on other preachers tried to discredit Paul for not demonstrating his education, but that is a separate problem. The context of this verse is that Paul is explaining that we must rely upon direction from God's Holy Spirit
if we want to be effective in the work of God. Yes, God can use our Bible education, but only if we subject it to the direction of God.
1Corinthians 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'It takes the power of the Spirit of God
to do the work of God, such as fully preaching the
gospel of Christ. Please note that there are several verses within this chapter which use the word Spirit
. Please consider all of them togethe as they are all talking about the same subject. Our verse and note above introduced man's wisdom
and the chapter continued by telling us that we could not learn about the things of God using man's wisdom
. Then we come into our current verse which tells us that the deep things of God
are only revealed...his Spirit
. Let me explain with an illustration. I used to tell people that they needed to use the 1611KJV in order to get saved, because that was what I was taught. However, I've since learned that any version that lost men consider to be a Bible has the basic plan of salvation in it and if the basic plan of salvation is perverted too much, then even the lost admit that it is not a real Bible but only a book with Bible stories in it. I also learned from this verse and this chapter that people can't understand the deep things of God
until after they get saved and receive the Holy Spirit
, because only God's Spirit
, can reveal these things to them. Therefore, they can't understand the difference between the 1611KJV and a perversion until after they get saved. This type of argument is a distraction from Satan which interfered with me showing people how to get saved. Now, I refuse to discuss anything beyond the plan of salvation with lost people and many more lost people make a profession than when I was arguing with lost people about things that they could not understand until after they got saved.
1Corinthians 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.' Please note that there are several verses within this chapter which use the word Spirit
. Please consider all of them togethe as they are all talking about the same subject. This verse makes it very clear that our knowledge
comes from the spirit
that is within us. If all that a person has within themselves is the spirit of man
, then he can not know the things of God
, no matter how religious he is. However, if a person has the Spirit of God
in them, they still have to be listening to the Spirit of God
in order to know the things of God
. That is the mistake that a lot of people make. They think that they know the things of God
because they have the Spirit of God
in them, but they fail to listen to Him and listen to the spirit of man
that is also within themselves. That is why James 1:8 warns us that A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
1Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'It takes the power of the Spirit of God
to do the work of God, such as fully preaching the
gospel of Christ. Please note that there are several verses within this chapter which use the word Spirit
. Please consider all of them togethe as they are all talking about the same subject. In particular, the two verses which precede this verse are just above and those two notes provide the context of this verse. This verse literally tells us that God gave us the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God
. James 4:4 warns us that Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
. As explained in the Word Study on Adultery, this verse in James makes it clear that a virgin can be classified among adulterers and adulteresses
because they violated their covenant agreement to make God the Lord
of their personal life when they were saved and received God's Holy Spirit
. Our actions reveal the spirit
that is motivating us and 1John 4:1 tells us to ...try the spirits whethe they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Our current verse literally contrasts the spirit of the world
with the spirit which is of God
and expects us to know the difference by how we (and others) live. Otherwise, we could not obey our God given command to try the spirits whethe they are of God
. (Notice that both verses use of God
.) Please also notice the semicolon in this verse. That means that this is a two-step process and we can not know the things that are freely given to us of God
unless the spirit which is of God
tells us about them. And since this verse says that we might know
, that knowledge
is not guaranteed even if we are saved and have the spirit which is of God
.
1Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neithe can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point that quotes Romans 8:6. That point goes on to say: ' The prior point said that we have to have salvation to receive things from the Spirit of God
and this one says that the unsaved can not receive things from the Spirit of God
but what they receive is actually death
. God says the same thing in a positive way and in a negative way so that this truth is clear no matter how men think about it.' Please note that there are several verses within this chapter which use the word Spirit
. Please consider all of them togethe as they are all talking about the same subject. The 3verses (and notes) above provide all of the context leading up to this verse, except 1Corinthians 2:13, which tells us Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Notice that it uses Holy Ghost
instead of Spirit
. Then the next verse in this chapter, is under the note for Galatians 6:1 because it uses the word spiritual
. Thus, there are several verses and notes within this Study to provide the context of this verse. The religious natural man
tries to claim that they are spiritual
but our verse tells us that such claims are impossible. No one can have results that only come from someone that they receiveth not
. People become spiritual
as a result of obeying spiritual
commands. However, before anyone can obey spiritual
commands, they must first discern
them. People need the correct spiritual
basis before they can have the results of a spiritual
life.
1Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' This chapter starts out with Paul telling them that they were spiritual babes
and that he could not give them the meat
of the Word. Then we have that well-known verse which says I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
And, Paul goes on to explain that people prove that they are spiritual babes
when they try to prove a doctrinal point by saying 'Doctor Diaper-digger (or any other person) said.'. He also says that our true foundation...is Jesus Christ
. Since the Bible is our God given picture of Jesus Christ
, the truly spiritual person answers a doctrinal question with 'The Bible says..' and makes sure that their claim matches what the Bible really says using the literal interpretation with consideration of context, Bible word meaning and punctuation. That is why our current verse tells us the Spirit of God dwelleth in you
. It is the Spirit of God
Who gives us this interpretation that we are to use. In addition, between the parts of this chapter and our present verse, we are reminded that our works
will be tried by fire
. If our works
are religious and not as commanded by the Spirit of God
, then they will be destroyed. The gold, silver, precious stones
are the result of our letting God work through our life to accomplish His purpose and we do that by obeying the Spirit of God (that) dwelleth in you
. In addition, our verse also tells us Know ye not that ye are the temple of God
. The chapter continues with If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy
. It is one thing to not let God work through our life but another thing to defile the temple of God
by doing profane
things in our body. Paul finishes this chapter talking about the works
that we do in this life and what is (to be) the true motivation behind those works
. Paul contrasts the motivations of the wisdom of this world
to the motivations of Christ
which come through the Spirit of God (that) dwelleth in you
. Thus we see that our verse is pivotal to the entire chapter and that the chapter is teaching us the consequences of whethe (or not) we obey the Spirit of God (that) dwelleth in you
.
1Corinthians 4:21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'We can rule
our spirit and God values that very highly.' This verse is the summary of a chapter that deals with saved people judging other saved people. They had even started judging, and criticizing, Paul and his doctrine because, as he said back in 1Corinthians 2:1, And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
The verse before this one says For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power
. Paul deliberately did not show his religious knowledge but, instead, relied upon the power
of the gospel
, That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Now religious people came to these spiritual babes
and convinced them that true evidence of God working in them was with enticing words of man's wisdom
and not by the power
which produced their own salvation. Our chapter tells us that Paul sent Timothy to them to straighten them out gently. Here he is warning them that if they refuse a gentle correction that he will come unto you with a rod
. These religious people who were challenging Paul's authority thought they won when Paul went to Jerusalem. They got him arrested and, eventually, had his head cut off. Then God sent the Roman Army in to kill all of these people and their families and followers. God also had the Temple torn down so that it would be impossible to do their religious commands of keeping the religious part of the Mosaic Law. Today we have a lot of people calling themselves Christians
while they hold unto religious error. The condition that America is in is because of God's people following error, not because of the lost. A lot of people are preaching the return of Christ
so that God's people don't have to reap the consequence of the error that they continue to sow. All through the Bible, including in this verse, we are warned that we will reap destruction if we continue to sow doctrinal error.
1Corinthians 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual.' This verse and the next two are sequential in the same chapter and all three, with their notes, should be considered together. Our current verse literally says I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit
. We see that Paul's presence
was spiritual
while also being absent in body
. Therefore, the basic application ('That which is physical is not spiritual.') is proven. Paul was present in spirit
because he was personally and intimately familiar with them, their culture and their circumstances. He was a part of that church and could feel how they felt. If he did not have this personal intimate knowledge, it would not have been right for him to have judged already, as though I were present
. However, his having personal intimate knowledge, and his ongoing personal involvement with this church, made enough of a difference for this action to be OK.
1Corinthians 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual.' This verse, and the prior and the next, are sequential in the same chapter and all three, with their notes, should be considered together. In particular, since this verse and the next are in the same sentence, they must be interpreted togethe in order to avoid doctrinal error. Please also see the
note for this verse, and the note for the next verse, in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for considerations of the names / roles of the Son of God that are involved in church discipline. As pointed out there, Lord Jesus Christ
is used twice in this verse to make this the basis of doctrine to be accepted by all saved. All judgment and church discipline is to be done according to instructions from our Lord Jesus Christ
and not according to any other considerations. Paul adds and my spirit
because he personally demonstrated how to follow the Lord Jesus Christ
and he did not want them using the example of religious leaders who opposed the authority of Paul, and of the Lord Jesus Christ
, in order to teach doctrinal error.
1Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual.' This verse and the prior two are sequential in the same chapter and all three, with their notes, should be considered together. In particular, since this verse and the prior are in the same sentence, they must be interpreted togethe in order to avoid doctrinal error. Please also see the note for the prior verse, and the note for this verse, in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for considerations of the names / roles of the Son of God that are involved in church discipline. Notice that here we see, again, the separation of spirit
and flesh
when action is done. Notice also that they are not to just kick the man out and forget about him but are to positively, and continuously, pray To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh
. Since the flesh
was leading this person into sin, they were to pray for the destruction of the flesh
. The quickest way for an addict to see the error of their ways is for them to quickly reap the consequences of their sin. Slow consequences allow them to think they are getting away with their sin, get them more entangled, and allow them time to encourage others to join them in their sin. In addition, as explained in the note for this verse, in the Lord Jesus Christ Study, the day of the Lord Jesus
is different from the day of the Lord
. In this case, Paul is talking about the judgment seat of Christ
[Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11]. There we see that the terror of the Lord
will be given to some saved people. The way to avoid this is to confess our sins
, but 1John 1:9 also says that we must let Him cleanse us from all unrighteousness
. If we refuse His action and cling to our unrighteousness
then we do not have a promise that He will forgive us our sins
and we are risking experiencing the terror of the Lord
for at least 1,000 yearss. Therefore, our command To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh
is the most merciful action that we can do for them because the spirit may be saved
, at the judgment seat of Christ
, only if they truly forsake their sin and let Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin
.
1Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' Please also see the note for the this verse, in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for considerations of the names / roles of the Son of God that are involved in judgment. This chapter starts out with Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
and continues to deal with legal terms and considerations. In our verse, samctified
and justified
are legal terms and the legalities are dealt with by the Son of God within His role as Lord
. However, this verse also uses Jesus
and the Spirit of our God
. The note for this verse in the Book Study on 1Corinthians provides the context and general doctrine of this verse. The note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study tells how the roles of Lord
and of Jesus
are involved. However, we need to see that God's Holy Spirit
is also involved. Please notice that within this sentence word are
is present-tense and written to people who were initially saved in their past. Thus, are washed
and are sanctified
and are justified
are ongoing actions which were started at out initial profession but continue to have active parts of our ongoing personal relationship with God so long as we are in this life and our sentence tells us that God's Holy Spirit
is involved in these ongoing present tense actions. The Bible uses Jesus
for when the Son of God is our example of how to live in this flesh using the Power of the Holy Spirit. In this case, God taking care of these legal matters requires us to change how we act in the flesh. However, we are not capable of doing that on our own. Therefore, the Spirit of our God
is in us and shows us, in the Bible, how Jesus
acted so that we can act the same way and have the results that are listed in this verse.
1Corinthians 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. This verse uses a lower-case spirit
for our spirit
that is joined to God's Spirit
and changed to become one
. Please also see the note for the this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for considerations of how the name / role of Lord
is involved in the joining
of this verse. In the two prior verses of this chapter Paul has been using being joined to an harlot
as an illustration of how we are joined unto the Lord
. The more that two people are joined
togethe in sex the more they become like each other. When two people are joined
togethe by marriage, it is first a legal joining
that includes an agreement for joining
togethe in other ways (physically, emotionally, mentally, life, etc). The more that this joining
occurs in other ways, the more the two people become like each other. However, God will not become like sinful flesh and all changes are done to and in us so that we become more like God every time that we experience joining
with God after our initial profession. Thus, we are legally declared to be one spirit
with the Lord
at our
initial profession and that one spirit
becomes more of a reality every time that we experience being joined unto the Lord
after our initial profession.
1Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'The Spirit of God
can be seen in men by other people including lost people'. It is also under the point titled 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. This verse starts with For
and gives the reason why your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own
. The Son of God paid the price for our salvation and sanctification. When God changes our spirit
through salvation and sanctification, it comes our in our life because our spirit
is our 'innermost being'. However, God will not take away our free will and force Himself on us. Therefore, our verse tells us to glorify God in your body, and in your spirit
because we have the controlling decision and we have to decide to allow God to make the changes which are required. Our chapter warns us that is we refuse God may make us sick or kill us, but those are only some of the consequences which could come later. At the time of the decision, we decide whethe or not we will glorify God in your body, and in your spirit
.
1Corinthians 7:34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit : but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may Please her husband.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual.' This entire chapter is talking about human relationships of married and of unmarried people and how a person's married state affects their relationship with God. Basically, when someone is married they have to spend time and effort to maintain that relationship. When someone is unmarried they have more time to spend on spiritual concerns. Please also see the note for the this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for more details.
Home 1Corinthians 7:40 But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'That which is physical is not spiritual.' Please also see the note for the prior verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for more details. This sentence starts with a But
and has the same subject as the prior sentence while going in a different direction. There we saw that it is OK for a saved widow to get married again so long as she marries a saved man and they agree that the Lord
rules their marriage. However, Paul is recommended that the widow and widower stay not married and devout their life to spiritual matters. That is what this sentence is saying. As for the phrase and I think also that I have the Spirit of God
, Paul is admitting that this advice is from himself as a human preacher, and not a direct commandment from our Lord
. However, Paul is also saying that he is pretty sure that the Spirit of God
is advising him to put this down. The difference between this way of saying it, and it coming from the Lord
, is that this advice applies to most, but not all, single people. Yes, some people will be happier married, but most will be happier single.
1Corinthians 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. Please also see the note for the this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for more details. As explained in more details there, our saying Jesus is Lord
as, Paul uses the phrase in this verse, is claiming the Gospel of Your Salvation. It is to say 'God in the flesh died to clear the legal record of sin and become my personal Lord
'. In this verse, Lord
is used in reference to legal matters and Jesus
is used as 'God in human flesh '. This isn't saying that no man can say the words Jesus is Lord
from their mouth but that no man can say those words from their heart, unto salvation, without the leading of the Holy Ghost
.
This truth can also be seen in the context. This sentence is providing the foundation for all that is said within this chapter. After this sentence, which establishes salvation, Paul is talking about differences in spiritual gifts among the saved within the church. People do not have these spiritual gifts until after they are saved. Each saved person has a different spiritual gift but the same salvation. In the first sentence of this chapter, Paul said I would not have you ignorant
, with ignorant
meaning 'lacking knowledge'. Then in the
second sentence he says Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led
. They were led
into error because they 'lacked knowledge'. In this chapter Paul is providing 'knowledge' and that starts by distinguishing what comes from the Spirit of God
and what comes from devils behind dumb idols
. It also includes distinguishing between what we all get in salvation
and what is given to us personally which is different from what God gives to other saved people.
One other thing to note here is that this sentence makes the Spirit of God
equivalent to the Holy Ghost
because both are leading our speech.
1Corinthians 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God gives the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship
. God's Holy Spirit
works through each man's life in these areas and how God works is different for each man because God makes a difference between each of these gifts.' One of the definitions for diversity
is 'variety'. We can have two chairs and two people. Chairs and people are different but the meaning of the number two is the same. The two chairs is one application of the number two while the two people is another application of the number two. Thus, we see the difference between interpretation (definition) of the number two and the multiple applications of the number two.
Likewise, we see this principal used all throughout the Bible and we still today see people making the mistake of thinking that one application of the Bible is the interpretation. For example, people claimed that the definition of Jesus
was 'God in human flesh'. While that is the main application, it does not fit two instances in the Bible where the name Jesus
is used. People went from saying 'Jesus is God in human flesh' to saying 'Jesus is God' then to denying His humanity and to God having 1John and 2John written to warn us about these Biblical antichrists
, who were denying the humanity of Jesus Christ
and the doctrine that He is our example of how to live in this flesh using the power of the Holy Spirit. All of this error started by people not understanding the difference between the interpretation of a Bible truth and the application of that same truth. In this sentence Paul is clearly saying that there is the same Spirit
(interpretation of Spirit
) but diversities of gifts
(a variety of applications of that same Spirit
). Also, please consider all 7 notes within this Study that are for verses within the same chapter, and also see the note for the verses within the Book Study on 1Corinthians, as all of these verses deal with the same subject.
1Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God gives the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship
. God's Holy Spirit
works through each man's life in these areas and how God works is different for each man because God makes a difference between each of these gifts.' This verse uses an upper-case Spirit
to mean God's Holy Spirit
. Please see the notes for: Romans C16S33 and 1John-Manifest for Word Studies on manifest
and Romans C3S20 for a Word Study on manifested
. There we see that manifest
means 'made available for extensive examination that uses multiple means to accomplish the examination'. Webster's 1828 defines withall
as: 'with and all'. Thus we see that this verse means 'God's Holy Spirit
is made available in a saved person's life for extensive examination that uses multiple means to accomplish the examination with the result that that person and everyone he interacts with are profited by the work of God's Holy Spirit
in and through that person's life.'
Also please notice that this verse starts with But
. That means that it has the same subject as the prior sentence while going in a different direction. There we read And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
This sentence starts with a But
and is a change in direction from diversities of gifts
, differences of administrations
, and diversities of operations
found in the three prior sentences. Thus, we see Paul talking about diversity
then changing directions to tell us about the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
. Basically, the manifestation of the Spirit
in each of our lives is different (diverse
) but each of those manifestations
are to accomplish the same purpose of to profit withal
.
other sentences within the context support this doctrine. The Holy Spirit works through your life one way to profit withal
and He works through my life a different way to profit withal
Thus each of us are needed for different functions and for God to accomplish all that He intends within the church. Also, please consider all 7 notes within this Study that are for verses within the same chapter, and also see the note for the verses within the Book Study on 1Corinthians, as all of these verses deal with the same subject.
1Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God gives the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship
. God's Holy Spirit
works through each man's life in these areas and how God works is different for each man because God makes a difference between each of these gifts.' This verse also immediately follows the verse for the note above and immediately precedes the verse below. Thus, they are critical for contextual considerations. This verse starts with For
and tells us why we see a diversity
in the manifestation of the Spirit
between different saved people's lives. Our explanation is that the Spirit
decides that one person should manifest
the spiritual gift of wisdom
and that another person should manifest
the spiritual gift of knowledge
. Since the Spirit
in this verse is upper-case, it means that God makes the decision of who gets what spiritual gift and we don't get to question God's decision or to complain but ate to be thankful for what we receive. Also, please consider all 7 notes within this Study that are for verses within the same chapter, and also see the note for the verses within the Book Study on 1Corinthians, as all of these verses deal with the same subject.
We find forms of the word wisdom
occurring 234 times in 222 verses of the Bible, 53times in 50 verses of the New Testament, and 18 times in 15 verses within 1Corinthians. Please see the note for this 1Corinthians 1:17 for the verses within 1Corinthians which use the word wisdom
. Please see the note for Romans 16:19 for the verses within Romans which use the word wisdom
. I regularly tell people that the main spiritual gift
of preachers, especially of pastor, is the gift of wisdom
. This gift is needed to show people how to apply the word of God in their life. Since people are at different levels of spiritual maturity, and since there are different ways that God's Word is applied for each level of spiritual maturity and circumstances of life, the preacher definitely needs the wisdom
of God to know the correct application to use for various situations.
The note for Romans 6:3 has links to every place in the Bible which uses the phrase Know ye not
and which (effectively) ask 'How could you not know something that is so obvious?'. Please also see other Word Studies for links to other notes which deal with this word. Please also see the note for 1:16 for links to every sentence in this epistle which use any form of the word know
. Basically, this is not what people think of as 'head knowledge' or even what they think of as 'heart knowledge' but is knowledge
that only comes from personally and intimately experiencing the working of God's Holy Spirit
within their life. While a lot of us have these types of experiences, it takes the working of God's Holy Spirit
for someone to make the connection between the experience and the spiritual working of God's Holy Spirit
.
1Corinthians 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God gives the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship
. God's Holy Spirit
works through each man's life in these areas and how God works is different for each man because God makes a difference between each of these gifts.' This verse also immediately follows the verse for the note above and immediately precedes the verse below. Thus, they are critical for contextual considerations. This verse names two more spiritual gifts which are given to people by the Holy Spirit
. As we saw in the notes above, it is God's Holy Spirit
Who decides what gift is given to whom. Thus, if God's Holy Spirit
no longer decides to hand out the gift of healing
, then people don't have it no matter what people may claim.
Several places on this site I have talked about the man who was in the next bed of a Critical Care Unit who wanted me to try his church's healer, even though he would not do the same. I have had many miraculous healings, but it was through the spiritual gift of faith
and not some healer. I'm not denying their existence, I just haven't met any true ones that live. However, as also explained many times, faith
is an action verb whereby we obey the command of God, in order to prove that He has permission to work in and through our life, and we believe that he will keep His attached promise but also with the understanding that He decides when, where and how He keeps that promise. There have been several times that I saw the promise of God in His Word, obeyed His command, and received His blessing. Then when I tell others they find my testimony incredible but refuse to act themselves even with a testimony before them. However, we have to accept what Romans 12:3 says when it says as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith
. Some people have a greater measure of faith
and we each must act upon what God has given us.
Please see the note for 1:9, within the Book Study on 1Corinthians, for links to every verse in 1Corinthians which uses a form of the word faith
. This is a gift that has a lot of doctrinal error taught about it. Basically, every promise in the Bible that is available to people during the Church Age has an act of faith
attached to it. The devil accuses God of being like him and taking away people's free will when God puts His 'overwhelming grace' in them. God will never do that. To prove that the devil is a liar, God has us do the 'act of faith' before He acts so that there is no doubt that we used out own free will to give God permission to act in and through our life. In addition, faith
is progressive. After we act in faith
, God's Holy Spirit
gives us the ability to do an act of faith
that is at the next level. Thus, there are no 'great leaps of faith' but are only a series of greater 'steps of faith' with each step
being only a little greater than the prior step
.
We find forms of the word heal
occurring 138 times in 132 verses of the Bible, 75 times in 73verses of the New Testament, but only 3times within 1Corinthians, and all are within this chapter. Webster's 1828 defines heal
as: 'v.t. L. celo; Heb. to be whole or entire, all. 1. To cure of a disease or wound and restore to soundness, or to that state of body in which the natural functions are regularly performed; as, to heal the sick. Speak, and my servant shall be healed. Matt.8. 2. To cure; to remove or subdue; as, to heal a disease. 3. To cause to cicatrize; as, to heal a sore or wound. 4. To restore to soundness; as, to heal a wounded limb. 5. To restore purity to; to remove feculence or foreign matter. Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters. 2 Kings.2. 6. To remove, as differences or dissension; to reconcile, as parties at variance; as, to heal a breach or difference. 7. In Scripture, to forgive; to cure moral disease and restore soundness. I will heal their backsliding. Hos.14. 8. To purify from corruptions, redress grievances and restore to prosperity. Jer.14. 9. To cover, as a roof with tiles, slate, lead, etc.
HEAL, v.i. To grow sound; to return to a sound state; as, the limb heals, or the wound heals; sometimes with up or over; it will heal up or over'.
Thompson Chain Topics provides links for heal
as: 'The Gift of: Mt 10:1; Mr 3:15; 16:18; 1Co 12:9. Examples of Christ's: Mt 4:23; 8:3,16; 9:35; 12:13,22; 14:36; 15:30; 17:18; 19:2; 21:14; Mr 1:31; 10:52; Lu 7:21; 13:13; 17:14; 22:51; Joh 4:50; 5:9; 9:6. Examples of Apostolic: Ac 3:7; 5:16; 9:34; 14:10; 16:18; 19:12; 28:8. The Dumb Healed: Isa 35:6; Mt 9:33; 12:22; Mr 9:25. Spiritual: Ps 41:4; 147:3; Isa 53:5; 57:18; Jer 3:22; 17:14; Ho 6:1; Lu 4:18; Re 22:2. (promised to the obedient): Ex 15:26; De 7:15; Pr 4:22; Jer 30:17'.
Please also consider all 7 notes within this Study that are for verses within the same chapter, and also see the note for the verses within the Book Study on 1Corinthians, as all of these verses deal with the same subject.
Home 1Corinthians 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'The ability to discern
different spirits is a gift from God.' This verse continues the sentence started in prior verses and immediately precedes the verse below. Thus, the notes for those verses are critical for contextual considerations. This verse names 5 more spiritual gifts and the one that we are concerned about is discerning of spirits
. The Bible warns us that the ministers (of Satan) also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness
in 2Corinthians 11:15. Without this spiritual gift these people would deceive the very elect
(Matthew 24:24). The thing to pay attention to in this verse is that devils can imitate all of the spiritual gifts
listed here. It is only by looking at the spirit
behind what the person is doing that lets us know if the gift
is from God or from a devil.
Also, please consider all 7 notes within this Study that are for verses within the same chapter, and also see the note for the verses within the Book Study on 1Corinthians, as all of these verses deal with the same subject.
Please see these tables Miracles in Gospels; miracles in OT and the Miracles section of the Significant Events in the New Testament,and the note for Matthew 4:23-LJC for an explanation of how Satan also does miracles and enables people to do miracles and how it isn't the fact that someone does a miracle but the spirit they display along with the miracle that shows if they are from God or not.
We find forms of the word miracle
occurring 37 times in the Bible, 32 times in the New Testament, and within 1Corinthians, only in our current sentence and 12:28 and 12:30. Webster's 1828 defines miracle
as: 'n. L. miraculum, from miror, to wonder. 1. Literally, a wonder or wonderful thing; but appropriately, 2. In theology, an event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature; a supernatural event. Miracles can be wrought only by Almighty power, as when Christ healed lepers, saying, "I will, be thou clean," or calmed the tempest, "Peace, be still." They considered not the miracle of the loaves. Mark 6. A man approved of God by miracles and signs. Acts.2. 3. Anciently, a spectacle or dramatic representation exhibiting the lives of the saints'.
In addition, to the tables and notes mentioned above, Torrey's Topical Textbook provides the following outline for miracles
: 'Power of God necessary to: Joh 3:2. DESCRIBED AS: Marvellous things: Ps 78:12. Marvellous works: Isa 29:14; Ps 105:5. Signs and wonders: Jer 32:21; Joh 4:48; 2Co 12:12. MANIFEST: The glory of God: Joh 11:4. The glory of Christ: Joh 2:11; 11:4. The works of God: Joh 9:3. Were evidences of a divine commission: Ex 4:1-5; Mr 16:20. The Messiah was expected to perform: Mt 11:2-3. Jesus was proved to be the Messiah by: Mt 11:4-6; Lu 7:20-22; Joh 5:36; Ac 2:22. Jesus was followed on account of: Mt 4:23-25; 14:35-36. A gift of the Holy Ghost: 1Co 12:10. WERE PERFORMED: By the power of God: Ex 8:19; Ac 14:3; 15:12; 19:11. By the power of Christ: Mt 10:1. By the power of the Holy Ghost: Mt 12:28; Ro 15:19. In the name of Christ: Mt 16:17; Ac 3:16; 4:30. First preaching of the gospel confirmed by: Mr 16:20; Heb 2:4. The who wrought, disclaimed all power of their own: Ac 3:12. Should produce faith: Joh 2:23; 20:30-31. Should produce obedience: De 11:1-3; 29:2-3,9. Instrumental to the early propagation of the gospel: Ac 8:6; Ro 15:18-19. FAITH REQUIRED IN: Those who performed: Mt 17:20; 21:21; Joh 14:12; Ac 3:16; 6:8. Those for whom they were performed: Mt 9:28; 13:58; Mr 9:22-24; Ac 14:9. Should be remembered: 1Ch 16:12; Ps 105:5. Should be told to future generations: Ex 10:2; Jg 6:13. Insufficient of themselves, to produce conversion: Lu 16:31. THE WICKED: Desire to see: Mt 27:42; Lu 11:29; 23:8. Often acknowledge: Joh 11:47; Ac 4:16. Do not understand: Ps 106:7. Do not consider: Mr 6:52. Forget: Ne 9:17; Ps 78:1,11. Proof against: Nu 14:22; Joh 12:37. Guilt of rejecting the evidence afforded by: Mt 11:20-24; Joh 15:24'.
1Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God gives the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship
. God's Holy Spirit
works through each man's life in these areas and how God works is different for each man because God makes a difference between each of these gifts.' This verse also immediately follows the verses for the notes above and precedes the verse below. Thus, they are critical for contextual considerations. Here we see verses 8-11 are all in one sentence with a colon between the end of verse 10 and verse 11. That makes these two sections of the sentence polar opposite equivalents since the colon is followed by a But
. That is, the first section of this sentence tells us all of these gifts
that the Spirit
gives to men and the second section tells us that even though the gifts
are given to men, it is not the men who use them but the Spirit
Who uses the gifts
that He puts into men's lives. In addition, since this sentence started with a For
, it is giving the reason why what was said in the prior 4 sentences is true. Thus we have a doctrinal basis for believing that God's Holy Spirit
is the one Who decides who gets what gift
, but even after we have the gift
, we don't operate it but God's Holy Spirit
operates all of the gifts
that are in men's lives. Please consider all 7 notes within this Study that are for verses within the same chapter, and also see the note for the verses within the Book Study on 1Corinthians, as all of these verses deal with the same subject.
1Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whethe we be Jews or Gentiles, whethe we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. This verse is the middle sentence of 3which start with For
and explain why God divided spiritual gifts like verses 7-11 says that God divided them. Please also see the note for the prior verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for the explanation of another of these reasons. After these three reasons Paul uses the parts of our body to provide an illustration of what he is trying to teach. Basically, the emphasis of this sentence is on one Spirit
. God's Holy Spirit
is not going to use a spiritual gift
in one person to harm another person. Even though there are differences between people, we are all supposed to follow the leadership of that one Spirit
to accomplish the will of God as parts of the same body of Christ
. Please consider all 7 notes within this Study that are for verses within the same chapter, and also see the note for the verses within the Book Study on 1Corinthians, as all of these verses deal with the same subject.
1Corinthians 14:2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' This is one of 5 verses in this chapter that use the word spirit
. Since the entire chapter is talking about the same subject, please consider all 5 verses, and related notes, together. In chapters 12 and 13Paul gave the general principals about spiritual gifts and now he is giving the practical application. We saw in 12:8-11 that the list of gifts were separated by semi-colons. That made them steps and we can understand, between that chapter and this chapter, that these gifts
were in a series of steps which moved from the gift
that is most controlled by the understanding part of the person, least controlled by his spirit
and the greatest benefit to the church to the gift
that is least controlled by the understanding part of the person, most controlled by his spirit
and the least benefit to the church. This verse starts an explanation that he that speaketh in an unknown tongue
might have a great display of the power of his spirit
, but it is the least benefit to God's church.
1Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' This is one of 5 verses in this chapter that use the word spirit
. Since the entire chapter is talking about the same subject, please consider all 5 verses, and related notes, together. This verse starts with the word For
and explains why Paul said Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
in the previous verse. This verse reinforces what has been said in prior notes about certain gifts
being more controlled by our spirit
and less controlled by the understanding part of a person. Thus, we see the division between our spirit
and the parts of us that understands things.
1Corinthians 14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' This is one of 5 verses in this chapter that use the word spirit
. Since the entire chapter is talking about the same subject, please consider all 5 verses, and related notes, together. Sometimes when we pray or sing we get a thrill from deep inside ourselves, which comes from our spirit
, and other times we do not. The colon in this sentence makes the two sections equivalent, and makes the actions of pray
and sing
equivalent. (Not equal because they are different actions but equivalent in that they are both supposed to accomplish the same thing.) Many church songs are not doctrinally correct, which means that we often do not sing with the understanding
. Also, many prayers said in church are not doctrinally correct, which means that we often do not pray with the understanding
. Some people get caught up in the feeling to the point of accepting doctrinal error and some people get caught up in being doctrinally correct to the point of being spiritually dead but our sentence says that both are equally important and that we are right with God only when we personally include both.
1Corinthians 14:16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' This is one of 5 verses in this chapter that use the word spirit
. Since the entire chapter is talking about the same subject, please consider all 5 verses, and related notes, together. This verse starts with Else
, which means it is giving another alternative to what was said in the prior sentence. Obviously, we need to consider it to properly understand this verse. Please consider the verse and note above. One of the things that this verse tells us is that we should not say Amen
if we do not fully understand
what we are agreeing to. However, many people say Amen
when they agree emotionally even if they don't understand
, and this is wrong. The only way to spread faith and thanksgiving to God is through understanding
, according to this verse. When both people can understand
what is done, then they can share at a spiritual
level. But, when there is no understand
, there can not be any true spiritual
sharing of worship.
1Corinthians 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'We can rule
our spirit and God values that very highly.' This is one of 5 verses in this chapter that use the word spirit
. Since the entire chapter is talking about the same subject, please consider all 5 verses, and related notes, together. This is in the middle of a section where Paul is telling people to be orderly in their worship service. Obviously, some people were then, as they do today, claiming that they were 'overcome by the spirit' and couldn't help what they did. This verse very plainly and literally says that claim is a lie. This comes just before the verse which tells us For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
The For
means 'Here's why' and Paul is saying that God's Spirit
is not the reason for someone acting disorderly and anyone who claims otherwise is a liar.
1Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' Please see the note for Romans 8:11, in the Book Study on Romans, which has every verse in the Bible that uses any form of quicken
and provides a note on how the word is used in each verse and defines the word as 'being made spiritually alive and responsive to the Spirit of God in our physical life'. Thus we see how the physical is linked to the spiritual wwithin our sentence. Therefore, we have to receive the spirit
that the physical man Jesus
(Who is the last Adam
) had if we personally are to be 'being made spiritually alive and responsive to the Spirit of God in our physical life'. Notice that this is a lower-case spirit
. This is not talking about receiving the Holy Spirit
in salvation. but following the example that Jesus
gave by asking 'What Did Jesus Do' when we face problems in this flesh and searching the Gospels for an example, not asking some preacher for his opinion. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.
1Corinthians 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
This verse is a continuation of the prior and tells us that in our lives we must first be physically born and then after that we can have a spiritual
birth. Please see the note for Galatians 6:1, (in the Word Study on Spirit) for the verses, in the Bible, which use the term spiritual
.
1Corinthians 16:18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Our spirit can be revived.' Here Paul says that his spirit
was
refreshed
by the arrival of men sent from the church at Corinth and the gift that they sent. We have a God given responsibility to refresh (the) spirit
of our spiritual leaders and after we do that God refreshes
our spirit
.
2Corinthians 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' Please also see the note for the prior verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study, which is in the same sentence as this verse, and also deals with this verse and doctrine. As pointed out there, we are stablished
in Christ. This earnest of the Spirit in our heart
, is usually preached as what is given at our initial profession, is only the 'down payment' on all that God wants to give us, and will give us, if we stay in Christ. While that is a truth, it is not what this sentence is really saying, according to the context. Please see the note for this sentence within the Book Study on 2Corinthians for details. The truth is that the context of this sentence is Paul talking about a special earnest of the Spirit
which was given to Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, as pastors, for dealing with this church. These preachers received an extra amount of God's Holy Spirit
and the way that they dealt with this church demonstrated their personal leading by God's Holy Spirit
and that personal leading proved the rest of what Paul said within this sentence about the legal authority of the pastor.
2Corinthians 2:13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled his spirit (was/was not) troubled
'- our spirit can be troubled.' Please also see the note for the prior verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study, which is in the same sentence as this verse, and also deals with this verse and doctrine. In this chapter Paul has been explaining how he wanted to go to the Corinthians, but he did not want to go and rebuke them. So, he was looking for another method to help them get spiritually right. He went to Troas to find Titus and send him, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord
. Therefore, Paul could not personally go and he had no one to send. Therefore, he wrote this letter, which was God's plan because the things that God wanted Paul to write still apply today.
2Corinthians 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' Notice that our verse uses the personal (ye
) present-tense verb of being (are
) and tells us that our current personal condition of spiritual being is based upon the past-tense work of God through the ministry of Paul (ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God
). As explained in the note for the sentence that this verse is part of, within the Book Study on 2Corinthians, this sentence and the next sentence (verses 3-6) are tied togethe with the second sentence starting with the word And
. These two sentences use the word spirit
(lower-case means our spirit
) twice, the phrase the Spirit of the living God
(upper-case means God's Holy Spirit
) once and the name/role of Christ
twice within these sentences. The consequence is that these sentences tell us is that, when judging the ministry of any man, the thing we are to look at is how Christ
works through the Spirit of the living God
to change people's heart
and spirit
. When we look at someone who claims to be saved we are to judge their spiritual maturity by how well their spirit
shows the work of Christ
and God's Holy Spirit
. Please see the notes for this sentence and the next sentence within the Book Study on 2Corinthians; and the related (linked) notes within the Lord Jesus Christ Study; and the note below in order to understand all that is involved in these two sentences. All of these notes are involved in giving the full contextual consider.
2Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are made spiritually alive when God's Holy Spirit
quickens
our spirit.' This verse is part of a sentence which is tied to the sentence of the verse just above. Please see the note above for all of the contextual consideration which is involved with this verse.
Please notice that our verse uses a lower-case spirit
, which means it is talking about our personal spirit
. Our prior verse, which is tied to this verse, used an upper-case Spirit
, which means it is talking about God's Holy Spirit
. Together, the two sentences are telling us that God's Holy Spirit
changes our personal spirit
so that we personally can be able ministers of the new testament
and have God work through our personal lives to do everything else that is told to us within our chapter. All of this is explained in detail within the notes associated with this verse and the verse above. As mentioned above, please see the notes for this sentence and the prior sentence within the Book Study on 2Corinthians; and the related (linked) notes within the Lord Jesus Christ Study; and the note above in order to understand all that is involved in these two sentences. All of these notes are involved in giving the full contextual consider.
2Corinthians 3:8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rathe glorious?
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are made spiritually alive when God's Holy Spirit
quickens
our spirit. Please notice that our verse uses the lower-case spirit
, which means it is our spirit
. The context of this verse makes this ministration of the spirit
to be in contrast to the ministration of condemnation
which is obeying religious laws and expecting God to bless us. As taught by Reformers Unanimous, our flesh
fights our spirit
for control of our soul
. Our flesh
uses religious rules (the ministration of condemnation
) to tells us what to do. However, God's Holy Spirit
tells our personal spirit
what to do when we have the ministration of the spirit
. The context of our verse shows us this truth and the reader can find this context in the Book Study on 2Corinthians.
2Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit : and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' As explained in the note for this verse within the Lord Jesus Christ Study, Lord
is doctrinally used within the Bible for government and all things associated with it. When we obey the Spirit of the Lord
without question nor hesitation then the Spirit of the Lord
keeps us free from the bondage of sin. However, when we disobey or procrastinate in our obedience then sin gets control of us and takes us into bondage. The Spirit of the Lord
tells us laws that we are to obey immediately if we want to stay in liberty
. Please also see the note below as it is the next verse within 2Corinthians.
2Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' As explained in the notes for this verse within the Book Study on 2Corinthians and the Lord Jesus Christ Study, the Spirit ofthe Lord
is the Spirit
which deals with government, laws and judgment. As also explained in those notes, this verse and the prior tell us how the Lord
blesses usfor obeying His laws and punishes us for disobedience. We find the exact phrase the Spirit of the Lord
in: Judges 3:10; Judges 6:34; Judges 11:29; Judges 13:25; Judges 14:6; Judges 14:19; Judges 15:14; 1Samuel 10:6; 1Samuel 16:13-14; 2Samuel 23:2; 1King 18:12; 1King 22:24; 2King 2:16; 2Chronicles 18:23; 2Chronicles 20:14; Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 40:7; Isaiah 40:13; Isaiah 59:19; Isaiah 61:1; Isaiah 63:14; Ezekiel 11:5; Ezekiel 37:1; Micah 2:7; Micah 3:8; Luke 4:18; Acts 5:9; Acts 8:39and our current verse.
2Corinthians 4:13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. This verse uses a lower-case spirit
which means it is talking about our spirit
. It tells us that when people compare our spirit
to the spirit
of Godly people within
the Bible that they should see the same spirit
This is only possible when we let God's Holy Spirit
teach our own spirit
how to become Godly.
This sentence quotes Psalms 116:10 and, as explained in the note for this verse within the Book Study on 2Corinthians, it teaches the same lesson as 1Peter 2. This verse is in the same sentence as the next verse and togethe they give us a three Step process for how to deal with 'bad circumstances'. We are to deal with them with the same spirit
as we find that Godly people used. We do this by searching the Bible for examples, which is why our sentence quotes the Bible.
2Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' Our sentence / verse is part of a chapter that tells us to not think about any loss which we might suffer within our flesh
or this world because our true life
and reward is after we receive our house which is from Heaven
(our spiritual body). The earnest of the Spirit
is not just 'the down payment' but it is our God given evidence of spiritual reward and that we will receive our house which is from Heaven
. In addition, our sentence / verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which means it is talking about God's Holy Spirit
. God's Holy Spirit
uses the word of God to show us the promises of God and assure us of receiving them. However, He does that by speaking to our personal spirit
, which means we have to be paying attention or we will not receive the message and the assurances of God's promises.
2Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are to commit (our) spirit
to God because thou hast redeemed me
. When we do that, God can stir
our spirit to do His work. God gives us His Holy Spirit in the Church Age so that our spirit can do His work in response to His Spirit stirring
our spirit.' Please notice that this uses a lower-case spirit
, which means that it is our spirit
. Also please notice that our verse tells us that this is something we are to do at the same time as we cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh
. Now we know that cleansing
of our spirit
can only be done by God (1John 1:9). However, as we are told in that sentence, we must confess our sins
and forsake
those sins (Proverbs 28:13). Since these actions are done by us before God will cleanse us from all unrighteousness
, we see that the result is dependent upon us and, therefore, it is we
who must cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the...spirit
.
2Corinthians 7:13 Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Our spirit can be revived.' Paul had sent Titus to the church at Corinth to be pastor of a church full of spiritually immature people who caused all of the problems which led to Paul writing 1Corinthians. Paul had tried to point out their good points, but honesty limited what he could say. Instead of finding the problems which he expected, Titus found that many of the people had paid attention to Paul's firsty epistle and had matured spiritually as a result. This change is what caused Paul to write, in his second epistle, about the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all
.
2Corinthians 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Men preach another Jesus
, which gives men another spirit
.' The note for this sentence within
the Book Study on 2Corinthians explains the context and how this other spirit
(devil) also teaches many other False Things and also preaches a false Gospel. Simply put: if the preaching does not condemn sin and lift up God and the Son of God, if it does not demand that you turn from doing sin and change your spirit
to be like the Spirit
of Jesus Christ
, then the preaching is from a devil.
2Corinthians 12:18 I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God can take the way that His Spirit works in our life and pass His Spirit to others to work in the same way.' Our verse uses a lower-case spirit
because it is talking about the personal spirit
of Paul and of Titus. However, they had the same spirit
because of the influence of God. Titus is one of only three preachers who was called son
by Paul because he received Paul's character as part of his training. Please see the note for Galatians C2-S1 to find links to every place in the Bible where we find Titus
mentioned. Our chapter tells us that Paul and Titus had the same character in their innermost being (their spirit
). As our chapter literally says: walked we not in the same steps
. Our personal spirit
controls our walk
in this life.
Galatians 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. This is the first usage of Spirit
(18 times in 15 verses) within the Book of Galatians. Paul has already finished 2 out of 6 chapters and Paul gives doctrinal principals in the beginning of his epistles with the later chapters showing how to apply those doctrinal principals. In the later chapters of Paul's epistles he tells us how to apply the word of God to our personal lives and how to let God's Holy Spirit
apply the word of God in our personal life.
While Chapter 3 is still dealing with Biblical principals, it is based upon other doctrinal principals which have already been covered in the first two chapters of this epistle. In particular, Paul already talked about a false 'another gospel' and the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He also talked about the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15; Galatians 2:1-10) and how they separated the truth of the gospel from error. Furthe he showed how those who followed God's Holy Spirit
followed the truth of the gospel
while those people who followed religious traditions were following error. Paul then used Peter as an illustration of what happens when we stop following God's Holy Spirit
to follow religious traditions. After all of that background, Paul is going to deal with their stopping following God's Holy Spirit
to follow religious traditions.
In this chapter, which this verse starts, Paul is going to deal with the doctrinal basis for following God's Holy Spirit
. In Chapter 4 Paul will deal with our receiving God's Holy Spirit
. In Chapter 5 Paul will deal with how God's Holy Spirit
affects the way that we live in this world. And finally, in Chapter 6 Paul will deal with the consequences of saved people following God's Holy Spirit
or refusing to do so.
Galatians 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit.
First of all, the spiritual and the physical are two different realities with the physical being created by God from the spiritual. The spiritual controls the physical. The only influence that the physical has on the spiritual is when God gives our spiritual record for things that we do in the physical in response to leadings from the spiritual. In addition, this verse uses a capitalized Spirit
to mean: 'the person Who is God' How much more foolish could someone get than to claim that their actions are greater than the person of God?
Galatians 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. This sentence is basically a repeat of 3:2 only from the perspective of the minister instead of from the recipient. Said twice, this becomes the basis of doctrine. That is; we are all to look at how we receive God's Spirit
and stick with that method for the rest of our life. We are not to seek or accept another method.
This sentence has an additional phrase that 3:2 does not have. It adds and worketh miracles among you
. No, we do not have miracle workers today. (While God does still do miracles, as I can personally attest, He does not do them 'on command' of some 'miracle worker'). Today we have a completed Bible that they did not have when Paul was still writing it. The person who worketh miracles among you
had the miracles
as proof that their doctrine came from God. Today we have the Bible to verify someone's doctrine. The main problem of today is that people don't know how to use their brain and verify what people claim comes from the Bible. They also don't know how to try the spirits
. (Please see the notes for 1John 4:1, 4:2 and Ephesians 3:5.) 'The Spirit of God uses the word of God to show the Will of God to the child of God'. We need to learn how to tell the Spirit of God from other spirits and how to tell the word of God from error.
Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit.
This is the last (of 4) verses which use Spirit
in this chapter. This epistle continues to tell us about the ministry of the Spirit
and uses this word 18 times in 15 verses. However, among all of those places, this is the only place where we are told why God gives us His holy Spirit
. He did it that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ
. This verse uses Jesus Christ
for our salvation which includes a personal relationship with God through Christ
. As pointed out in the note under Christ in the Lord Jesus Christ Study, God did not have to gives us His Holy Spirit
in order to take away the record of our sins. God's people served Him under the Mosaic Law and He could have demanded that we continue to do so. However, He replaced a bunch of religious rules with a personal relationship through Christ
so that he could justify
saving some while not saving others. This concept is explained in greater detail in the note for Ephesians 2:10 and in the severs notes surrounding this verse in the Book Study on Galatians.
Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion'. It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. As explained in the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Galatians, 'God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts
to help us maintain a relationship based upon endearment whereby we can cry Abba, Father
'. As also explained in that note: 'As Paul has already shown in preceding verses and chapters, we get far more from God the Fathe based upon endearment that we get based upon law.'
Galatians 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Please see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Galatians. This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under its own point because this verse tells us that the those people who are trusting religious rules for sanctification will have more physical evidence of religious zeal than a Spirit
led person will have. As a result, the people who are trusting religious rules for sanctification will persecute
the Spirit
led person and justify it on the basis that they have more physical evidence of their so-called 'sanctification'. The reason they do this is because God is using their own conscience to call them a liar.
Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. Please read the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Galatians for the details on how Spirit
is used in this sentence. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. This verse tells us that our hope of righteousness
comes through the Spirit
and the context makes it clear that the Spirit
is the only way that we will receive it.
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is. considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. This verse is explained in the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Galatians. As it says there: since walking
is taking many small repeated steps, we need to do the steps of the fruit of the Spirit
(5:22-23) and should try to do a little of each every day. Reformers Unanimous teaches quite a bit about the fruit of the Spirit
.
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. This verse is explained in the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Galatians. That note is extensive and includes two quotes from Webster's 1828 Dictionary and several links to other places in the Bible where the same lesson is taught. It also explains that the sentences which follow this one, in the chapter, furthe explain what Paul says in this verse.
Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. This verse is explained in the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Galatians
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. The note for this sentence, in the Book Study on Galatians, points out that the context makes it clear that the fruit of the Spirit
are the opposite of the works of the flesh
. There is a considerable note about works of the flesh
in the note for the prior sentence in the Book Study on Galatians. A proper Study of the fruit of the Spirit
would also include the references for the works of the flesh
in order to find the opposite of this subject. In addition, Reformers Unanimous teaches quite a lot about these fruits of the Spirit
and the reader is referred to their site and information. I can not match their teaching nor can I match all of the preaching and messages available on these fruits of the Spirit
, so I will not try.
Please note that this is the fruit of the Spirit
and not our fruit
. Our fruit
is the multitude of souls that we lead to salvation and to spiritual maturity.
Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit .
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. Please see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Galatians for more details.
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
The term spiritual
occurs 28 times in 23 verses but some of them repeat what is said in other verses. The term spiritual
means 'applied to physical things which are, or should be, controlled by the spiritual reality. These things are almost always controlled by God and used to teach us lessons about the spiritual reality'. The verses which give us a unique application of the word include:
- Hosea 9:7 tells us that many people will claim that the
spiritual man is mad
because what isspiritual
goes against what is natural, as we also saw in Galatians 5:18. - Romans 1:11 tells us that the
spiritual
person wants toimpart...some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established...may be comforted togethe with you by the mutual faith both of you and me
. - Romans 7:14 tells us the same thing as Galatians 5:18: that the
spiritual
goes against thecarnal
. - Romans 8:6 goes furthe and says
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace
. - Romans 15:27 tells us
It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
This verse tells us that the people who receivespiritual
things have adebt
to the people who provided those things. Thedebt
is to be paid by retueningcarnal
things to the provider of thespiritual
things. - 1Corinthians 2:13-15 tells us that the
spiritual
person hears whatthe Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual
(scripture interprets scripture) and the next verse tells usBut the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neithe can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
This section concludes withBut he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
. That is: the person who receives thespiritual wisdom
from God can tell what is right or wrong (judge
) while the natural man can not disagree with thespiritual
man because the natural man has nothing that can match what comes from God. - 1Corinthians 3:1 tells us that a
carnal
person is notspiritual
. Then in the next few sentences of this chapter we see some traits of acarnal
person. This means that these traits can not be in aspiritual
person. Thus, these sentences (verses) give us a negative definition ofspiritual
. In addition, these sentences (verses) tell us that thespiritual
person must be careful about what, and how, they tell things to thecarnal
person. - 1Corinthians 9:11 tells us that Paul applied the lesson from 1Corinthians 2:13-15 to his personal life when he said
If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
- 1Corinthians 10:1-6 tells us that
spiritual
people are nourished byChrist
and that lusting aftercarnal
things can bring judgment from God. - 1Corinthians 12:1-31 tells us about
spiritual gifts
and how they are to be used. Thesespiritual gifts
are supposed to be the product thefruit of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:22-23). - 1Corinthians 14:1-40 tells us how to handle
spiritual gifts
with 14:12 telling us toseek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church
and 14:37 telling us that thespiritual
person acknowledges whatare the commandments of the Lord
. - 1Corinthians 15:42-49 tells us that the
spiritual
and thenatural
are completely different with thenatural
beingcorrupt
and thespiritual
beingincorrupt
. - Galatians 6:1 tells us that the
spiritual
is torestore
a brother who isovertaken in a fault
and to do itin the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
- Ephesians 1:3 tells us that all
spiritual blessings
are in Christ. - Ephesians 5:18-21 and Colossians 3:16 tells us that we are to be encouraged by
spiritual
things and not the things of this world. Colossians 3:16 adds that this first requires us toLet the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom
. - Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we need
the whole armour of God
becausewe wrestle...against spiritual wickedness in high places
. Thespiritual
affects thephysical
and thespiritual
person needs to see this so that they deal with the real source of problems. - Colossians 1:9 tells us that we are to be
filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
so that we canwalk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God..
. - Colossians 3:16: Please see point above for Ephesians 5:18-21.
- 1Peter 2:4-5 tells us that we must become part of a
spiritual house
in orderto offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ
. - Revelation 11:8 tells us about how the devil has God's two witnesses treated after he kills them and before God resurrects them. The word
spiritually
is used in this verse to describe a worldly, carnal city which is controlled by aspirit
from Satan.
Please study those verses and, where available, the notes in related Studies to get a better understanding of each verse and the context that it is in. Many people believe that they are spiritual
while they fail to fulfil the requirements found within the Bible. They may very well be but the spirit
that they are controlled by is from Satan. In addition, to that consideration, our base verse in Galatians says that a Godly spiritual
person must act in meekness
. Thus we have a test to see if the spiritual
. person is controlled by a spirit
from Satan or by the Holy Spirit
. Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on Galatians for notes and links to verses in the Bible which tell us about meekness
.
After viewing all of these verses, within their context, we can define spiritual
as: 'A qualifier for a person, place or thing which is strongly influenced, and possibly controlled, by a spirit
from Satan or by the Holy Spirit
'.
Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
This verse is found in the Summary of God's Holy Spirit
under the point that says 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' It should be obvious why I put it there, especially if the context is considered. This verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which lets us know that it is talking about the Holy Spirit. Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on Galatians. It explains 'God's Law of Sowing and Reaping. As explained in the note for Galatians 6:18, one of the things that we can reap
if we sow to our flesh
is death for ourselves and Hell for those who follow us. This sentence is part of Paul's last instructions before he writes a. summary for the epistle (in 6:11 through the end of the epistle). The notes for those sentences provide many links to other places, including earlier verses in Galatians, where Paul provides details to support that summary. Basically, this epistle tells us that we are eithe following God's Spirit
or we are sowing to the flesh
. As the prior sentence tells us, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
We reap corruption
(including death and Hell for our followers) or we reap God's grace
. There is no other choice.
Galatians 6:18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Unto the Galatians written from Rome.
This verse is the last of this epistle and Paul's closing remark. As the note for this verse in the Book Study on Galatians says, Paul has made it clear that if they do not truly repent
and turn back to keeping their personal relationship with God that is in Christ they will lose all of this grace
and suffer furthe consequences which might include death for them and Hell for their children. He can not force them to act right. He can only warn and wish for them to truly have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
.
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises'. As pointed out in the Book Study for Ephesians, This is a reference to the Holy Spirit, as Peter preached at Pentecost in Acts 2:14-36. The Holy Spirit
and the Son of God
are two different persons within the Trinity. Therefore, the Holy Spirit
and the Spirit of Christ
are two different persons within the Trinity. In the Bible we are promised that we can not be separated from the Holy Spirit of promise
. However, while Christ
will not leave us, we can leave Him. Therefore, during the church age there will be saved people who have the Holy Spirit of promise
but who do not have the Spirit of Christ
and are not Biblical Christians
. Think about this: the Bible reports over 8,000 men (not counting women and children) saved before Acts 11:26 where we read And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
We find the promise
of God's Holy Spirit
in Joel 2:28; Luke 11:13; 24:49; John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:7-15; Acts 1:4; 2:16-22, 33; Galatians 3:14. In each of these cases we see this promise linked to the Church Age. There is much more to this doctrine but the details are beyond the limits of this Word Study.
Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fathe of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'God gives the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship'. As pointed out in the Book Study for Ephesians, this is a reference to the Holy Spirit providing the spiritual gift of wisdom
. This spiritual gift of wisdom
varies from person to person because God considers a person's character when He gives this gift. God's Holy Spirit
works through each man's life in the area of wisdom
and because we are all different, how God works within each person's life will also be different. Returning to the consideration of context within the Book Study for Ephesians, we see that this verse is part of a complex sentence which goes from 1:15 through 1:23. This sentence tells us the first thing that spiritually immature people need to grow up spiritually. Within it we find Paul praying that these people receive the spiritual gifts of knowledge
, wisdom
and understanding
. The context of this sentence makes it clear that each of these spiritual gifts are to come through personal experience after our initial profession and are not given when we first get saved. The knowledge
of birth that a mother of 12 has will be different from what some male doctor gets out of books.
The context also makes it clear that that the of him
, of this verse, means in Christ. That means that we need to go through circumstances whereby we rely upon Christ in
us to handle the problem instead of relying upon our own ability. The last time that I was in a hospital for anything major I was out-of-my-mind with pain when I wasn't out-of-my-mind from 3kinds of opiates given at the same time. This went on for 6 days. Afterwards, a woman working in the hospital told me how I was testifying about God's grace and love during those days. I also had lost doctors insisting that I had multiple miracles. I could not have been that kind of witness without going through that kind of pain. I also don't worry about losing my mind like a lot of people worry. I know that I will give God glory and receive reward in Heaven regardless of how functional my brain is. That is the kind of knowledge
, wisdom
and understanding
which only comes from experience of being in Christ, which is what this verse is talking about.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
This verse is in the summary of other Spirit under 'We can have the spirit of the world'. As pointed out in the Book Study for Ephesians, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience
is the cause of our sinful acts. There is a very real spiritual war going on. Devils hide their existence and try to convince us that their influence is 'natural', and therefore 'good'. Many people have preached upon Christians being 'double-minded' because we have our 'natural, sinful mind' and the mind of Christ
. Well, this sentence is telling us that behind our 'natural, sinful mind' is a spirit
and we need to stop listening to any spirit
which encourages us to be children of disobedience
/ the children of wrath
. Part of this is recognizing that there are very real spiritual beings called devils who are hiding but who are also trying to influence us to disobey God so that God will bring His wrath
upon us and then they can tell lost people that there is no advantage to becoming a true child of God
.
Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion'. There are 24 verses listed in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under this heading which means the Bible teaches the same lesson many times, even if the details and methods used in each lesson vary. This verse starts with For
and gives us the reason that we have peace
with God as stated in the note for the prior sentence within the Book Study for Ephesians. As shown in that note, the prior sentence is telling us how religious rules bring enmity
but Christ Jesus...reconciles (all saved) unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby
When we get saved we receive God's Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:4). However, we have to use God's Holy Spirit
the right way in order to reach God the Father. That right way is through Christ Jesus
(Ephesians 2:7 and this verse through him
).
We also find this verse in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit '. That heading has 9places where the Bible teaches this lesson. The epistle to the Ephesians gives us one of the most detailed explanations of the gospel of Christ, which is preached to saved people and not to lost people. The gospel of Christ teaches us how to get sanctification and to mature spiritually by submitting to Christ
. This verse is part of the detailed step-by-step instructions on how to mature spiritually. Within those instructions we are told to personally follow instructions which come from Christ
through God's Holy Spirit
. That's why this verse applies to more than one Bible lesson about God's Holy Spirit
.
Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded togethe for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'the Spirit of God
can be seen in men by other people including lost people'. There are 12 verses listed in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under this heading which means the Bible teaches the same lesson many times, even if the details and methods used in each lesson vary. This verse starts with In whom
which means in Christ, as explained in the note for this sentence within the Book Study for Ephesians. Notice that the next word in our verse is ye
, which means 'each and every one of you personally'. This means that our being in Christ is a personal requirement. That is: we are to personally let God put us in Christ and we are to maintain that personal relationship through the Spirit
while God makes us a fit habitation of God
. In order for us to truly be a fit habitation of God
, He has to change us so that we 'stop our sinning' and this is a change that 'can be seen in us by other people including lost people'.
Please see the
note for this sentence within the Book Study for Ephesians for a lot more details about this sentence and this doctrine. As shown in that note, God is making us into a habitation of God
)in this life) and building us into an holy temple in the Lord
for all eternity.
Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'God gives the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship'. As pointed out in the Book Study for Ephesians, true Biblical doctrine is supposed to come from the Holy Spirit using the word of God. If our religious leaders are following religious doctrine or any other spirit
, then they will teach us doctrinal error even though they are 'good Godly Bible believing fundamental preachers'. These types of preachers were causing Paul problems because they disagreed with the doctrine that Paul received from God's Spirit
.
Far more details about this truth are found in the note for this sentence within the Book Study for Ephesians. In addition, the note for 1John 4:1 and the note for 1John 4:2 give a summary (and links to) of other notes which explains how we are to try the spirits whethe they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world
. If we do not make sure that our religious leaders are receiving their doctrine from God's Spirit
then we will end up following false prophets
and suffer the consequences.
Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' This sentence, and several other sentences within this epistle, tell us that God the Fathe gives us spiritual gifts through God the Son (in His role as Christ
) and also through the Holy Spirit. God the Son (in His role as Christ
) determines what we each personally need to grow spiritually. He then gets that spiritual gift and passes it to the Holy Spirit
, Who remains in constant contact with us, and the Holy Spirit passes it to us. So even though it is Christ
Who determines what spiritual gift we have, and how much of it, it is the Holy Spirit
Who actually gives things to us. As pointed out in the Book Study for Ephesians, true Biblical doctrine is supposed to come from the Holy Spirit using the word of God. If our religious leaders are following religious doctrine or any other spirit
, then they will teach us doctrinal error even though they are 'good Godly Bible believing fundamental preachers'. These types of preachers were causing Paul problems because they disagreed with the doctrine that Paul received from God's Spirit
.
Notice that the main thing that Paul was praying that we would receive is might...in the inner man
. This is spiritual might
. The word might
occurs 475 times in the Bible and is usually used in the sense of 'may or may not be'. In this verse Paul is using the word in the sense of 'power that we may or may not use'. We have to at least have access to power
before we consider using it. As we have seen with so many other things in this epistle, God does not remove our free will but leaves the final decision to us. The word might
occurs 13times in this epistle and is usually used in the sense of 'may or may not be'. However, three times in this epistle (1:21 and this verse and 6:10) Paul uses the word in the sense of 'power that we may or may not use'.
The word power
occurs 272 times in the Bible and is used to mean 'the ability to perform'. So we see Paul praying that we would have access to the spiritual ability to perform, if we choose to use that might
. We see the word power
used in this epistle in 1:19; 1:21; 2:2; 3:7 and 3:20. We see the word might
used with power
in 6:10 which tells us Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might
. He has the power
which He 'may or may not be' make available to us depending upon whethe we meet His requirements or not. That's why this verse is under the Summary topic of 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
and not by obeying religion.' We must follow the Spirit of our God
and be willing to receive the sanctification
which He brings if we want God to give us His power
and if we want to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man
. That lesson is what the context of this verse, and the full sentence, teach us. Please see the note for this verse, in the Book Study for Ephesians for more details about this doctrine.
Ephesians 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion'. There are 24 verses listed in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under this heading which means the Bible teaches the same lesson many times, even if the details and methods used in each lesson vary. Please see those other verses and related notes as well as seeing the note for this sentence in the Book Study for Ephesians. It divides this sentence by punctuation and explains the doctrine involved within the context of this epistle. This sentence and the next two are the basis of all that Paul will teach in Ephesians 4. In this chapter Paul contrasts saved people following the way of Satan to saved people following the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
. As noted in the Summary at the start of this Study, this verse shows that we have unity
' because we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. We will have unity
only if we submit to God's Spirit
and stop trying to get our own way. The context of this verse shows that while someone can be saved and later stop endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
, they will not get the blessings of being in unity
with others and they will not be keeping their promise to God and will suffer judgment by our Lord
.
Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion'. There are 24 verses listed in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under this heading which means the Bible teaches the same lesson many times, even if the details and methods used in each lesson vary. In addition, this verse is part of a sentence with the word one
occurring in it 7 times. It immediately follows the verse above and this sentence explains the unity of the Spirit
. Please see the other verses and related notes that are in this study as well as seeing the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study which goes through each of these 7 items in detail. Please also see the note for this verse in the Book Study on Ephesians. It explains the context and how division shows that someone is really following a spirit of a devil. God's Spirit
is God and God does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). Therefore, it is impossible for the same Spirit
to lead two different people towards different goals. We might have different spiritual gifts and different jobs in the church, but we will all be working towards the same goal.
Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion'. There are 24 verses listed in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under this heading which means the Bible teaches the same lesson many times, even if the details and methods used in each lesson vary. This verse is part of a sentence in Ephesians 4:20-24 which tells us 'What Jesus Christ
teaches us'. It has two equivalent sections which tell us 'What Christ
teaches us' and 'What Jesus
teaches us'. The Second Section of this sentence has three Steps, which this verse is the Second Step. The First Step tells us to put off...the old man...which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts
. The Third Step tells us to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness
. Our verse (the Second Step) provides the transition and is key to our doing what we are taught to do. The old man
followed religion. The new man
follows God
. The old man
was corrupt according to the deceitful lusts
. The new man
is created in righteousness and true holiness
. It should be obvious how this verse and sentence supports the summary point that it is under. There is a lot more detail showing everything about this sentence in the note of the Book Study on Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' This sentence tells us that we can grieve the holy Spirit of God
. We do that by refusing to follow Him. This verse / sentence is the middle one of three sentences which summarize this chapter of Ephesians and it tells us that our words can grieve the holy Spirit of God
. (Please see the notes starting at Ephesians 4:29 for more details.) This summary also tells us to forgive one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you
. We can not do that, or even learn how to do that, without the holy Spirit of God
, which gives us an important reason to not grieve
Him. This is just one of several reasons, as many preachers have preached and provided many reasons that I will not provide. However, I will note that there is a considerable note about true Biblical forgiveness
, which does not match what many people preach, in the note of the Lord Jesus Christ Study that deals with this summary.
Ephesians 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion'. There are 24 verses listed in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under this heading which means the Bible teaches the same lesson many times, even if the details and methods used in each lesson vary. Please see the other verses and related notes accessed from the summary. Please also see the note for the sentence that this verse is in the Book Study on Ephesians for details on context, links to other related Studies and more.
This verse is insert within a sentence which tells us to walk as children of light
. This verse is the First Step of an Equivalent Section which means that this verse is only part of how we walk as children of light
. The Second Step of this Equivalent Section says Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
That means we have to have the results of this step (the fruit of the Spirit
) before we can prove
our claim to be walking as children of light
. So all of this starts with us having all goodness and righteousness and truth
, which we receive at our initial salvation but which we can lose if we refuse to stay in them. However, so long as we stay in all goodness and righteousness and truth
then God's Spirit
can work in our lives to bring out His fruit
which includes our sanctification
. Many people miss the in
that is within this verse and claim that goodness and righteousness and truth
are the fruit of the Spirit
. But that is not what this verse says. Think about fruit that comes from a plant. The condition of the soil that the plant is in affects the fruit, but the fruit and the ground are definitely different. Likewise, the fruit of the Spirit
and righteousness and truth
are two different things. (Galatians 5:22 says that goodness
is a fruit of the Spirit
, which makes it a special case.)
Please note that this is the fruit of the Spirit
and not our fruit
. Our fruit
is the multitude of souls that we lead to salvation and to spiritual maturity.
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion'. There are 24 verses listed in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under this heading which means the Bible teaches the same lesson many times, even if the details and methods used in each lesson vary. Please see the other verses and related notes accessed from the summary. Please also see the note for the sentence that this verse is in the Book Study on Ephesians for details on context, links to other related Studies and more.
In general, wine
is used for a type of any drug. It is also used as a type of physical sin. When someone is drunk with wine
, they are under the control of sin. God says 'Don't Do That!!'. The way to avoid being controlled by sin, and the way to break the control of sin, is to be filled with the Spirit
. Since Spirit
is capitalized, this means the Holy Spirit
. Only submitting to God's Holy Spirit
will break the power of sin in our lives.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'God's Holy Spirit
brings judgment'. There are only 4 verses listed for this point which means it is easy to look at all of then and compare the notes. Please see the other verses and related notes accessed from the summary. Please also see the note for the sentence that this verse is in the Book Study on Ephesians for details on context, links to other related Studies and more.
This verse is part of a sentence that goes from Ephesians 6:17 through 6:20. It describes the offensive weapons which are part of the whole armour of God
. This sentence has three Equivalent Sections and this verse is the First Equivalent Section.
Many people have preached many things about this verse and phrase. I am not going to get into all of that. I will simply point out that this sword
belongs to (of
) the Spirit
. Too many people want to take the word of God
and use it as their own weapon. They quote some verse and then carry on from there cutting and chopping at other people. When the Spirit
does the cutting we only need to quote the Bible and then shut up.
There are a few other verses, in the New Testament, which equate sword
to the word of God
. They are: Matthew 10:34; Luke 2:35; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21. In each of these verses we see God bringing judgment. When God judges He uses His Word
.
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
This verse is in the summary of God's Holy Spirit
under 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion'. There are 24 verses listed for this point which means this same lesson is taught many times and places by God. Since God uses repetition for important lessons, we should pay attention. Please see the other verses and related notes accessed from the summary. Please also see the note for the sentence that this verse is in the Book Study on Ephesians for details on context, links to other related Studies and more. That note explains the use of Spirit
in this verse and the context is very important because this verse is only a small part of what is said about the whole armour of God
. This Section of the whole sentence is emphasizing that our prayer and supplication
need to be in the Spirit
and not just according to religious dictates.
Philippians 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. Verses 1:19and 1:20 are a single sentence and must be considered togethe to be properly interpreted. Basically, Paul is saying that both (people praying for him and people trying to cause him persecution) actions shall turn to...the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ
. Jesus
showed us how to suffer unfair affliction in this flesh and our (Paul's) suffering unfair affliction, with the spirit of Jesus
, increases that Spirit
in us / him. Further, having other saved people pray for us increases the Spirit of Christ
in us / him. Please see the notes for 1:19 and 1:20 found in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. They provide the details on this sentence which explain my statements found in this note.
Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whethe I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving togethe for the faith of the gospel;
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. When we first get saved, our lifestyle (conversation
) is still the same as it was before we got saved. As we spiritually mature, through the ministry of Christ
in our ongoing personal relationship with Him, we become more like God. As each of us become more like God, we get the same spirit
, which is our innermost being acting like God's Holy Spirit
. There will be surface differences because we are all different. Therefore, the application of God's Holy Spirit
in each of our lives will be different, but it will be evident to everyone that the spirit inside each of us is similar and guided by God's Holy Spirit
. If this does not become true in our personal life then our conversation
provides evidence that we are liars and that Christ
is not spiritually maturing us because we are not obeying the gospel of Christ. Our refusal to obey indicates that we have not really accepted God as our true Lord
, no matter what we claim. Thus, what Paul is telling us is that we must have this evidence in our personal life or we prove ourselves to be liars when we claim to be Biblical Christians
who live like Christ
.
Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Those that receive the Spirit of God
(are joined unto the Lord
) are one spirit
because when we receive the Spirit of God
we agree to submit (receive Him as Lord) or God will not give us His Holy Spirit'. This verse starts out with If there be therefore
and continues with if any fellowship of the Spirit
, which makes this if
dependent upon what was said in the first chapter (therefore
). As explained in the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study, Paul told the Philippians that they would suffer like he did for the gospel of Christ. Paul uses an if
for this phrase because this fellowship of the Spirit
is conditional. Those saved people who are obedient to the gospel of Christ
will have this fellowship
and will personally (ye
) be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind
. Those saved people who are not obedient to the gospel of Christ
will not have this fellowship
nor any of the other associated blessings. In addition, as explained in the note for this sentence in the Book study on Philippians, this is one of three places where we are told about a fellowship
. In the sentence that this verse is part of we are told that the fellowship of the Spirit
is the result of people obeying the commands which are in the same sentence. Thus we ass that our verse is a party of a sentence which tells us that we must 'submit to God's Holy Spirit', just like the title of our application section (at the top of this Study) says. The sentence which our verse is part of gives us the details about how we are to submit
.
Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Our spirit can rejoice
.' Here we see a direct link between our worship
and our rejoicing
. Please notice that Paul says we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit
. This is a direct reference to the Gospels where we are told God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
(John 4:23-24). Please also see the Study called God is a Spirit and the Word Study on Worship for more details about this commandment from God.
Colossians 1:8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
The epistle to the Colossians presents the gospel of Christ in detail. It tells us how spiritually mature Christians
continue to grow their personal relationship with God. As pointed out in the Book Study on Colossians, just because the saved have the Holy Spirit in them, that does not mean that they always act in the Spirit
. When we are in the Spirit
, the Holy Spirit guides our actions and attitudes. When we allow that, Christ
can get spiritual gifts from the Fathe and pass them through the Holy Spirit to us so that we have greater spiritual maturity and ability to love and serve God. The more we learn to love and serve God while in this flesh the more we will enjoy eternity in Heaven where that is all that we do. Once we get there we can no longer learn these lessons which are only taught while we are in the flesh. Being in the Spirit
sanctifies us through our obedience.
Colossians 2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
Saved people are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion. Paul was continusously fighting religious leaders who taught salvation through Jesus but sanctification by keeping religious traditions (Mosaic Law). Paul had blessings from God that those other religious teachers did not have. In the opening of this epistle (see this note) Paul made it clear that he had not met the people that he was writing to but he prayed for them. Paul's prayer wasn't the simple thing that most people do but was detailed and requested for specific blessings upon these prople. As a result, God knit Paul's spirit with their spirit and Paul knew certain things about them that he could only have received from God's Holy Spirit. Notice that Paul said that he had joy
and that he could beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ
. These are things that we have only when we live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion. This is a major lesson of Colossians and of all thed places where the Bible tells us that certail blessings are resetved for when we are in Christ. The Bible also teaches that the doctrine which claims that all saved have Christ in them. A detailed explanation of these truths and how they relate to this verse is found in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. Only those saved people who are sanctified by being in the spirit
are also in Christ and receive the special blessings which God gives only to those people who fulfill His conditions.
1Thessalonians 4:8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' The therefore
in this sentence lets us know that what follows it is the reason why what was said in the prior sentences was true. 1Thessalonians 4 started with Furthermore
and went 'above and beyond' the prior chapter by telling us to obey commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus
. After giving some details on those commandments
, our chapter switched into the spiritual reasons which are the foundation for those commandments
. Now we get to our current sentence where we are told that God...hath also given unto us his holy Spirit
. This means that God's holy Spirit
makes the spiritual understanding available to us and we have no excuse for claiming that we don't understand that these commandments
have spiritual significance and come from the Lord
. That brings us back to the first part of our sentence where we read He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God
. When we despise
a commandments
we are despising
the person Who gave the commandment
. Since God...hath also given unto us his holy Spirit
, we know that the commandment
came from God. Therefore, if we despise
the commandment
,
we are knowingly despising
God.
1Thessalonians 5:19 Quench not the Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Saved are to live by following the Spirit of our God
(which gives us sanctification
) and not by obeying religion.' This verse is only three words and, once we understand the definitions of the words, understanding becomes simple. However, proper application requires prayerful meditation. That is the job of a preacher and there are many very good preachers who have preached on this verse. It would be advisable for the reader to consult those messages. That said, please note that this is a capitalized Spirit
, which means that this is God's Holy Spirit
. We can quench
God's Holy Spirit
many ways such as refusing to respond to an invitation when Holy Spirit
is trying to get us to respond. We can also do it by discouraging others when they are trying to do the work of God and, as many preachers can tell you, we can do many other things to disobey this seemly simple command.
1Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' The Book Study on 1Thessalonians provides the context, which is important to understanding this verse. Paul spent most of that epistle telling us how to tell the difference between people who were teaching doctrinal error and those who told God's truth. Paul then applied his teaching to the doctrinal error that they were being taught about the return of Christ. The main way to tell the difference between these two groups is if their personal life displays the influence of God's Holy Spirit or not. Thus, the point that this verse is under, for God's Holy Spirit
, matches what our verse tells us that God's Holy Spirit
will do for us. In addition, our verse tells us that God's Holy Spirit
is going to do this unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
.
2Thessalonians 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neithe by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
This verse supports the truth that is found in 1John 4:6. Please also see the note for this verse in the Book Study on 2Thessalonians which explains this truth in much detail. The epistle of 2Thessalonians was written because people were teaching the lie that the Son of God was about to come back and set up His kingdom and that it would happen so soon that there would be no Great Tribulation and no judgment of the enemies of God. The true believers of Thessalonica had suffered persecutions and tribulations
and were being told that the people who caused those persecutions and tribulations
would not be judged and punished. Paul explains in this chapter that this lie comes from the same spirit of deceivableness of unrighteousness
that the beast
of Revelation personifies. Paul also told them, and us, that that spirit
caused the mystery of iniquity (which) doth already work
. This was the spirit
that worked through men to lie to them. That is why we must believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whethe they are of God
and this chapter of 2Thessalonians tells us some ways to do that.
2Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
This verse is part of a sentence that goes from 2Thessalonians 2:8 through 2:10. That sentence is divided by punction in the note for this verse in the Book Study on 2Thessalonians. As noted there, the spirit of his mouth
is the Spirit that we find in the word of God, which is a Spirit of Truth
(John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1John 4:6). (Please see the Study on Truth which show that it is personified in the Son of God but is also in the word of God and is lived by the people of God). This sentence uses the spirit of his (the Lord's) mouth
as the method used to consume
the beast
of Revelation and all who live with the same spirit
. Please also see the note for this sentence in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for more details on this judgment. Simply put, we want to follow the the spirit of his (the Lord's) mouth
and not the spirit
guiding the beast
of Revelation.
2Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises' and also under 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' This verse is part of a sentence that goes from 2Thessalonians 2:13through 2:14. That sentence is divided by punction in the note for this verse in the Book Study on 2Thessalonians. That note has a lot of detail about the context of this sentence. Please also see the note for this verse in the Lord Jesus Christ Study which relates sanctification of the Spirit
to each of the roles of the Son of God. It also has links to a lot of other related notes because all of 2Thessalonians 2 has to be understood togethe since the word usage and context links it all together. As noted in the Word Study on Truth for this verse, this sentence adds (and
) belief of the truth
unto sanctification of the Spirit
and tells us that salvation
is through
these two things. This means that people who do not have sanctification of the Spirit
or who reject belief of the truth
do not have salvation
because they did not go through
what God said they had to go through
. Sanctification
is commonly defined as 'set apart for God's holy use'. Therefore, sanctification of the Spirit
is being 'set apart for God's holy use' by God's Holy Spirit
. (Please note that this verse uses a capitalized Spirit
.) The full meaning of this sentence includes having our spirit
(innermost being) 'set apart for God's holy use', which means that our sanctification does not change with circumstances of life. This matches with 1Peter 1:22 which tells us that we must have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
in order to be born again
.
1Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
. That point also has a note of 'The spirit of the LORD
was upon Jesus in a special way. Please see the study called Jesus Used the Power of the Holy Spirit.' Jesus had the power of God's Holy Spirit in every spiritual gift and without limit. No other person ever had the same and none ever will. This justified
(provided legal proof) His claim to be the Son of God
.
1Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' In this epistle Paul is writing to Timothy but God is using him to write to all pastors. The theme of this epistle is 'Take Heed unto the Doctrine'. In this epistle God tells pastors the structure for the church, the job requirements for leaders of the church and how they are to relate to different people who have different roles. The people who accept these commands from God also follow Godly doctrine while people who reject the commandments of this epistle also reject Godly doctrine. Within our sentence we read that Spirit speaketh expressly
, which means that God's Holy Spirit
told Paul exactly what he was to write in God's Word, especially what Paul was to write here. Thus, we see that our sentence literally says what our application point is all about.
1Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'God can take the way that His Spirit works in our life and pass His Spirit to others to work in the same way.' In this sentence Paul is telling Timothy, and all pastors, to be an example of the power of God working through a person's life. This demonstration of God's power is what is required for Timothy to obey the command These things command and teach
. It is only when our spirit
is in obedience to God's Holy Spirit
that we demonstrate the power of God. It is also only when we demonstrate the power of God that God can use our life to get others to also submit to His power and His Holy Spirit
.
2Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on 2Timothy. Among other things, it tells us that there are over 500 verses in the Bible which contain the combination of fear
, of
and Lord
. That does not include fear of God
. That note also includes links to more detailed information on this verse and provides the contextual considerations, which are important. What the Bible actually teaches is that we are not to fear man, the world or devils but we are to fear the Lord
because that is given to help us 'stop our sinning'. Yes, we will have fear from time to time in this life. However, a spirit of fear
is fear in our innermost being, which would be impossible to overcome. However, if we seek God's help (through prayer and undertstanding the things of God), the saved can overcome any fear that this world gives us. I'm saying this from personal experience as well as from studying the Bible. Many people have an unreasonable fear of something like spiders or snakes. While they may always lother the object of their fear, and may be startled or even react in fear before they seek God's help, the saved can overcome unreasonable fear with God's help. They can even function for God in the presence of the object of their fear. So yes, while this world, or our flesh or even a devil might try to force a spirit of fear
upon us, God will not. In addition, God will help us to overcome such a spirit of fear
if we seek His help. Further, if some devil is behind the spirit of fear
(often true) and we use it to motivate us to seek God's help, the devil will stop using the spirit of fear
because a devil won't use anything that drives us closer to God. So, use any spirit of fear
as a motivation to dray closer to God and it will be removed from your life.
2Timothy 4:22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit . Grace be with you. Amen.
Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on 2Timothy.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'It takes the power of the Spirit of God
to do the work of God, such as fully preaching the
gospel of Christ'. This is the final blessing of this epistle and a wish for Timothy's spirit
to have access to all of the power and other help that is availabe from the Lord Jesus Christ
.
Philemon 1:25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit . Amen.
Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on Philemon.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'It takes the power of the Spirit of God
to do the work of God, such as fully preaching the
gospel of Christ'. This is the final blessing of this epistle and a wish for Philemon's spirit
to have access to all of the power and other help that is availabe from the Lord Jesus Christ
.
Hebrews 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Angels are spirits
.' Spirits
have powers that men do not have which is why devils can do miracles. This sentence in Hebrews is a quote from Psalms 104:4. That Psalm is praising God for His power and authority over all of creation. The reference here is pointing out that no matter how much power an angel
or a minister
has, it came from God and they are doing what God orders them to do.
Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Angels are spirits
.' While the true Biblical definition of angel
is 'messenger', and places like Revelation uses angel
for the pastor, most instances are speaking of spiritual beings. Our current verse uses angel
for a spiritual being and quotes Psalms 103:19-22. Within the context of the Psalm and of this verse within Hebrews, angels
are beings which serve God in the spiritual reality.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
This verse is found under Man's spirit for the point titled 'We demonstrate the type of spirit that we have by our actions and life. God rewards or punishes us for our demonstrated spirit.' Here we are told that the word of God
is what teaches us is the difference between our soul and spirit
. We are to look to the word of God
in order to understand the exact difference. However, even if we do not know the details of this difference, we can plainly see that there is a difference from our verse.
Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'The Spirit of the LORD
is eternal
God.' Please notice that this is a capitalized Spirit
, which means it is God's Holy Spirit
. It is Spirit
Who brings our sacrifices and offerings to God the Father. When the Son of God made this sacrifice it was before His death. Therefore, it was done before He was made...both Lord and Christ
(Acts 2:36). As Christ
, the Son of God currently represents us. However before His resurrection He used the Holy Spirit
like any man does. Before His resurrection, Christ
was paying the dowry for His bride, which included dying for the bride.
Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' It is also under the point titled 'God's Holy Spirit
brings judgment.' The note for this sentence within the Book Study on Hebrews explains all that is involved with this sentence including how it fits within the context of this chapter. It is extensive since there is a lot to consider. (Please see it.) Within the context we not only are told that we have trodden under foot the Son of God
, but that we have equally mistreated God's Holy Spirit which brings us God's grace
. Many people think that God over-reacts when He brings punishment for this type of behaviour but that is because they are willfully ignorant of the spiritual consequences of their sin. Our verse, and this entire chapter within Hebrews, are trying to make God's people aware of what they are actually doing. We can not look to God's Holy Spirit for grace
while we ignore the spiritual consequences of our actions. That type of behaviour deserves all of the punishment that it gets.
Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rathe be in subjection unto the Fathe of spirits, and live?
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
.' Since this sentence uses a lower-case spirit
, it is talking about the spirits
which belong to humans. In addition, the context is talking about the proper relationship between a father
and a son
while contrasting that relationship to one between a father
and a bastard
. We also see Father
is capitalized, which makes this God. Thus, we see that Fathe of spirits
is talking about the correct relationship between God the Father
and the spirits
of people whom He is teaching to become His sons
.
Hebrews 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'The spirits of just men (are) made perfect
through a personal relationship with Jesus
.' This is part of a complex sentence which is dealt with in the Book Study for Hebrews. That sentence has three Equivalent Sections with this verse being part of the one which tells us about all of the help that we have in the New Testament. That help is to enable us to obey and the word perfect
means 'spiritually mature'. Part of the help which we have under the New Testament is the example and teaching of just men
who have been made perfect
in their spirit
and who can teach us how to do the same.
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Men die when God gathers unto himself (God) his (man's) spirit and his breath
. We do not stop existing but go to one of several places for spirits.' This verse is explained, within the context, in the Book Study on James. There it is noted that it is part of the summary on James 2 with the entire chapter telling us how to properly handle the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ
. As part of that theme, James tells us that our faith
is to be an expression of the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ
. It is His faith
that makes our faith
spiritually alive and produces works
. If what we call faith
does not have works
then it is all of the flesh and motivated by a belief
that matches the belief
of devils
. Within our sentence James gives us an analogy between the evidence of a spiritually alive faith being works
and the evidence of a body still having a spirit
being the actions of life. The evidence of life or death on a body can be seen by anyone and, in this analogy, the evidence of works
, which show that faith
is spiritually alive can also be seen by anyone.
James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We can have the spirit of jealousy come upon
us.' There is a technical difference between the words jealousy
and envy
. However, in this case, they have the same application. What we see in Numbers 5:14 and Numbers 5:30 is a provision within the Mosaic Law for a man to bring a legal judgment against his wife when he thinks she has been unfaithful with another man. He believes that she has violated her marriage vows and, therefore, is an adulteress
. The prior sentence within James makes this verse the same type of application.
Obviously, what the scripture saith
is not in vain
. Therefore, it is true that The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy
, but only when we respond to the lusts of the flesh and to the temptations of this world, as the context of our verse explains. The spirit
of this verse is our own because it is lower-case. as 2Peter 2:7 tells us that Lot vexed (his spirit) with the filthy conversation of the wicked
, so also do we vex
our spirit
when we do what the context of our verse says. We will continue to vex
our spirit
if we contunue to lust
based on worldly considerations. However, we can also change our spirit
to lust
for the things of God which bring joy instead of vexing
.
1Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
1Peter 1:1-2 is a single sentence which is divided by punctuation and explained in the note within the Book Study. The note at the top of this study also lists several other verses which teach the same thing about God's Spirit
as this verse does. That is, After our initial profession of salvation, the Spirit of our God
washes
us and makes us sanctified
and justified
and these actions are repeated throughout our ongoing personal relationship in order to increase our sanctification
. Since this sentence is Peter's opening sentence and tells us the purpose of his epistle, everything in this epistle can be said to be related to sanctification, especially since Peter is telling us how to submit and have a Godly attitude during persecution. More particularly, in this sentence Peter tells us several things:
sanctification
isof
(belonging to) God'sSpirit
- True Biblical
election
isthrough sanctification of the Spirit
. That means it is not because God elected only some to salvation and others to damnation.Salvation
andsanctification
are two different things withsanctification
coming aftersalvation
. Therefore, since True Biblicalelection
isthrough sanctification of the Spirit
, it can not be part of salvation. - Our
sanctification
isunto obedience
which means it is to produceobedience
. Therefore, someone who is notobedient
does not have trueSpirit sanctification
. - Our
sanctification
is also unto thesprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ
. This is a reference to Old Testament Law where things which were set aside for Temple Worship were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice, including the priest who offered sacrifices. That means that someone who is not holy (set aside), or not worshipping properly (Please see the Study on Worship.) or not acting like a priest (representing sinners before God for His mercy on them) does not have trueSpirit sanctification
. - The people that Peter was writing to, which represent all of us, were the ones who were supposed to have true
Spirit sanctification
.
1Peter 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'There is a Spirit of Christ
that is similar to the Spirit of the LORD
but is also as different as the Son of God is different from God the Father.' Please see the note in the Lord Jesus Christ Study which has an extensive explanation of the phrase Spirit of Christ
. The two parts of this sentence are divided by a colon, which makes them equivalent. Although it is possible for two equivalent things to also be equal, in this case, the two parts are not equal. In particular, the Spirit of the Lord
Who gave them prophecy was impersonal and did not explain the prophecy. However, the Spirit of Christ which was in them
did make the sufferings
understood in a personal way. The Spirit of Christ
is different from the Holy Spirit and from the Spirit of the Lord because of the doctrine of the Trinity. As proven by the Lord Jesus Christ Study, Christ
provides all of the power of God to the saved in a personal way. However, the Lord
is never personal and the Holy Ghost is like a conduit that passes things from the Fathe and the Son to us. Our personal relationship is to be with the Son, not the Fathe (except through the Son) or the Holy Spirit.
1Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
Please see the notes for this verse in the Study on Truth and in the Book Study on 1Peter. They have an extensive explanation of how 1:22 and 1:23are the same sentence separated by a colon. There is a popular doctrinal error (called 'Easy Believism') that is supported by treating the colon as a period in this sentence. However, that subject has been covered. What is important here is the use of Spirit
. Notice that Spirit
is capitalized, which means Peter is talking about the Holy Spirit. What the Holy Spirit is to work on (purified
) in our souls
, which is our mind, our will and our emotions. Someone filled with 'dirty thoughts / mouth' and/or sinful emotions (pride, anger, etc) and/or a will that will not submit to God ordained authorities has not allowed the Holy Spirit to purify their soul
. If they claim to have been saved for any real length of time and have never shown any evidence of a Holy Spirit caused change then we need to warn them that their claim does not match the evidence that the Bible says they will have. We also need to notice that Peter says this obeying the truth
is through the Spirit
. Someone who obeys the truth through their own efforts or through religion do not have the true evidence of salvation.
1Peter 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
Meek
is defined as power under control and the Bible shows that it is an attitude of the heart (Psalm 22:26; Isaiah 29:19; James 1:21; 3:13; 1Peter 3:4). Various forms of the word meek
are found 31 times in 29verses of the Bible. Moses was a meek
man (Numbers 12:3). Jesus
was a meek
man (Psalm 45:11; Matthew 11:29; 21:5; 2Corinthians 10:1;) while also presented as a warrior. God promises special protection to the meek
and promises that they will inherit the Earth (Psalm 25:9; 37:11; 76:9; 147:6; 149:4; Isaiah 11:4; 61:1; Zephaniah 2:3; Matthew 5:5;). All of us, (especially the man of God) are told to be meek
(1Corinthians 4:21; Galatians 5:23; 6:1; Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; 1Timothy 6:11; 2Timothy 2:25; Titus 3:2; 1Peter 3:15). Therefore, the meekness
that a man wants to see in his wife should first be shown in his own life as a man of God who is leading his own wife.
A quiet and consistent spirit can accomplish more than a loud spirit that's using the world's method of might makes right
. A meek
spirit accomplishes more because it's God doing the work through the person. God honors those that trust Him. As Peter says in these verses, it is in the sight of God of great price
because God can work through such a spirit and God gives us credit (eternal Heavenly rewards) for all that we allow Him to do through our lives. We are told that our soul is our mind, will and emotions. Our spirit
powers our soul. Just like the quality of fuel affects how well an engine runs, so also does the quality of our spirit affect how well God can control our mind, will and emotions.
1Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are made spiritually alive when God's Holy Spirit
quickens
our spirit.' The word quicken
means 'being made spiritually alive'. This verse contrasts being put to death in the flesh
with being quickened by the Spirit
. This happens in our initial salvation when God's Holy Spirit indwells us. Howevber, it also happens after our initial profession as we are made more like God. (That is what is meant by the phrase that he might bring us to God
.) That is: we are made more spiritually alive (quickened
) every time that we become more like God. This ongoing ministry is why God's Holy Spirit indwells us and doesn't just mark us to be collected at our death.
1Peter 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Men die when God gathers unto himself (God) his (man's) spirit and his breath
. We do not stop existing but go to one of several places for spirits.' This verse is taken out of context o9f the entire sentence and of the chapter in order to justify doctrinal error which some false religions hold as foundational. The entire doctrinal error and the proof of that error, which is in the context, grammar and structural form of the surrounding sentence, is discussed in a large part of the large note found within the Book Study on 1Peter. It is also discussed in the associated note within the Lord Jesus Christ Study. Please see those notes for the details. Christ
preached unto the spirits (which are currently) in prison (Hell)
, but He did so in the days of Noah
and not after He died and before He rose from the dead. What we see here is that the true person is their spirit
and that their soul
is developed during physical life and becomes part of them. However, their body
is left behind at physical death. That is why Peter identifies them as spirits
. We also see, in this sentence, that our spirit
goes on living after physical death and ends up eithe in Heaven or in Hell. These spirits
are still currently in prison (Hell)
because they rejected the message that Christ
preached to them while they were alive in the days of Noah
.
1Peter 4:6 for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit .
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are made spiritually alive when God's Holy Spirit
quickens
our spirit.' There is a lot of doctrinal error that is preached based upon taking this vewrse out of context. Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on 1Peter for the correct doctrine andtyhe contextual considerations. Here we are told that men judge according to...the flesh
, which is why we need o have a good testimony. However God judge according to...the spirit
, which is why someone like Lot
can be saved even while having a terible testimony.
1Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We can receive the spirit of glory
if ye be reproached for the name of Christ
' Please notice that this is a lower-case spirit
, which means it is our own spirit
and not God's holy Spirit
. We must spiritually mature before we can be happy
with being reproached
. happiness
comes from the circumstances of life. These 'bad circumstances' are evidence that we upset devils and devil minded people. This is only possible when we let Christ
live through us to bring God glory and to get us eternal rewards. People are happy
when they can buy something valuable at a price far below the true value. When God's people truly understand the value of eternal rewards, and the relatively low cost of temporary physical suffering, they are happy
to pay the low cost for eternal rewards.
Please also notice that the wording of our sentence makes the spirit of...God
and the spirit of glory
two different spirit
. Also, the fact that this is a lower-case spirit
makes this our spirit
. Therefore, the spirit of...God
is our spirit
which 'belongs to' (of
) God. God will not deal with us directly until after we pass God's Test of Spiritual Maturity. This is explained as part of the Hermey lessons. In addition, the spirit of glory
is our spirit
that glorifies
God while we are being reproached for the name of Christ
.
1John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' All of 1John deals with the differences between saved and lost from a spiritual point of view. All people have a relationship with spiritual beings. Further, the spiritual has power over the physical. If we truly have a spiritual relationship with God then He will influence our physical lives. However, if our relationship is with a devil then the devil will influence our lives. Different chapters of 1John deal with different perspectives of this subject. Chapter 1 looked at this relationship from our point of view. If we truly have a relationship with God then we should be doing all we can to build that relationship (confess, repent, etc). John ends this epistle with a warning that there is a sin unto death
for those people who truly have a relationship with God but refuse to build that relationship because they are pursuing the world...the flesh...and the devil
. To help saved people avoid that fate, John tells us what to do in the first couple of chapters. Now in this chapter, John is concentrating on this relationship from the spiritual point of view. If God truly has a relationship, He will influence our physical lives. If He doesn't, then our lives will be controlled by a devil. There are liars who claim to be saved but their life proves their claim to be a lie because their life does not show God working through it. That is what John is saying in this verse, which summarizes this third chapter and is built upon the first two chapters. People have fits with this chapter because John presents absolutes. The liars try to claim that there are no absolutes because the absolutes prove their claims to be lies. The phrase dwelleth in him, and he in him
identify the saved because only the saved have God's Spirit
dwelling in them. The liars try to claim that they have God's Spirit
dwelling in them but they sin because theu don't dwelleth in him
. However, the Bible repeatedly tie these two togethe just as we see in this verse. Please also see the verses and notes which deal with this subject and are identified by Prepositions in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. Continuing on, John gives us a simple, and absolute, test of someone's claim when he says he that keepeth his commandments
. John made it clear, earlier in this chapter, that only those people who have God's Spirit
dwelling in them can keepeth his (God's) commandments
. Further, John says that those people who have God's Spirit
dwelling in them will keepeth his (God's) commandments
. The one thing that we found to be consistent throughout the Bible about the Biblical use of son(s)
was that the son
had the character of their father
. Please see verses and notes which deal with this subject and are identified by Son in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. That is what John is saying here. Our lifestyle actions prove what Spirit
is motivating us. Please also see the note under Know in 1John within the Book Study of 1John.
1John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whethe they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Almost every use of Spirit
in 1John is in chapter 4. Please see all of the verses and notes togethe along with the note for 1John 3:24 (the last verse of that chapter) since it provides a transition into this chapter (introduces the subject). In this verse John uses try
to mean 'test multiple times' using the same means as when the Bible says Prove only with far less effort. (Most people only try
when they claim to prove
. ) Think of having a math problem where you round the numbers and are only trying to get an approximation instead of an exact answer. John says try
because there is such a difference between the Spirit of God
and the spirit
of a devil that we should be able to tell the difference between the two well before we put in all of the effort and dilligence required to prove
the spirits
. Notice also that John ties this 'testing ' to what we hear from a prophets
. This verse has a colon in it, which makes the two parts of this sentence equivalent. That is, the fact that many false prophets are gone out into the world
is the reason that we are to believe not every spirit
and we are to try the spirits whethe they are of God
. In two more verses John warns us that these many false prophets
are following a spirit of antichrist
. We have so many people claiming to be saved but following false doctrine because they are not obeying this command, even though they think they are doing so. They hear a message that they like from someone that they believe to be a 'man of God ' and they leave their Bible somewhere and never pray about that message and search their Bible to verify the claims made in the message. Most people understand that it is foolish to expect a false prophet to show up in a red suit with horns sticking out of his head. However, it is just as foolish to expect a false prophet to show up as anything less than a 'man of God ' (2Corinthians 11:13-15). The next sentence (4:2-3with note below) tells us how to do this command. Please see the next note. In addition, the note in the Book Study on 1John (for this verse) has more detail and links to more notes related to this verse.
1John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
Almost every use of Spirit
in 1John is in chapter 4. Please see all of the verses and notes togethe along with the note for 1John 3:24 (the last verse of that chapter) since it provides a transition into this chapter (introduces the subject). This verse, and the next, form a single sentence which immediately follows 4:1 and tells us how to ...try the spirits whethe they are of God..
, as we are commanded to do in the prior verse. (Please see note above.) In addition, the note in the Book Study on 1John (for this verse) divides this sentence by punctuation and has more detail about this sentence along with links to more notes related to this verse. As noted there, this sentence has 4 equivalent parts which tell us how to tell the difference between the spirit of God
and the spirit of antichrist
. That difference is spelled out in the note for this sentence in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. Please see that note.
Within this sentence, which includes this verse and the next verse (see note below), we see the Spirit of God
and three other references to (lower-case) spirit
. Please also notice that Spirit of God
is capitalized while the other uses of spirit
(in this sentence) are not capitalized. This sentence is telling us how to tell the difference in the spirit
of a preacher that is influenced by the Spirit of God
or by a spirit of antichrist
. One comedian was famous for saying 'The devil made me do it! ' However much another spirit
may influence our spirit
, God gave us a free will and we (along with preachers) are responsible for our own spirit
. We are not just judging the spirit
behind the preacher but the spirit
of the preacher himself. This verse, and the verse below, are found in the application tables, at the start of this Study, under other Spirits.
1John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
This verse, and the prior, form a single sentence. Please see the note above. This verse, and the verse above, are found in the application tables, at the start of this Study, under other Spirits.
Home 1John 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Almost every use of Spirit
in 1John is in chapter 4. Please see all of the verses and notes togethe along with the note for 1John 3:24 (the last verse of that chapter) since it provides a transition into this chapter (introduces the subject). This sentence is divided by punctuation in the note for in the Book Study on 1John (for this verse). That note also has links to other notes which provide more detail related to this verse. As pointed out in those verses, this sentence makes a very clear (and absolute) division between the spirit of truth
and the spirit of error
. It also firmly links that distinction to whethe someone heareth
the truth of the Bible or not. As also pointed out (in the linked notes), those people who refuse to heareth
the truth of the Bible are condemned by God. Those people who refuse to heareth
the truth of the Bible are following a spirit of antichrist
that John warned us about in the opening sentences of this chapter.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home 1John 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit .
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'Receiving God's Holy Spirit
is a requirement of salvation in the New Testament and is a fulfillment of Old Testament promises.' Almost every use of Spirit
in 1John is in chapter 4. Please see all of the verses and notes togethe along with the note for 1John 3:24 (the last verse of that chapter) since it provides a transition into this chapter (introduces the subject). This verse starts out with Hereby
. As pointed out in the note for this verse the Book Study on 1John, John firmly links our claims of salvation (he (God dwells) in us
) and sanctification (we dwell in him (God)
to how we love one another
. (Please see that note for details and links to other related notes.) As also pointed out there, Spirit
is uppercase in this verse. The only way that we can know
if someone truly has God's Spirit
is by the results we see in their life. Jesus used wind
to illustrate being born of the Spirit
in John 3:5-8 . Please see the note for John 3:5 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study for more details on this subject. As said repeatedly throughout various studies found on this site, those that are truly born of the Spirit
will have results in their life that can be seen by the lost world just like a child can be seen. Further, those who are truly born of God
will have a spirit
that is like God's Spirit
and we will love
the saved like John tells us to throughout this chapter.
1John 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
This verse has two sentences in it and both are based upon what John said starting in 5:1. These sentences are divided by punctuation in the Book Study on 1John . The first sentence is dealt with in the note for John 5:6 in the Lord Jesus Christ Study. The second sentence is dealt with in the note for this verse within the Study on Truth.
At the beginning of the Study on Truth, this verse is listed, along with several other verses, which support the doctrinal teaching that 'Truth comes directly from God and conforms exactly to that which is correct as defined by God in His Word and as interpreted by God's Holy Spirit. Jesus (as the Son of God) said He is the truth
, and God's Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth
. What is true
matches what God says is true
and that often is a spiritual view that does not match the current physical view. When the spiritual view changes the physical view, we have a miracle from God'.
The verses before this verse (in 1John 5), basically say the same thing as statement on truth
and the Book Study on 1John provides many links to several other places where the Bible teaches the same thing. In the prior chapter (1John 4), John told us to believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whethe they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
John then showed us how to tell the difference between God's Spirit
and the spirit of error
. Now in this chapter John assumes that we understand that difference and tells us the witness
of God's Spirit
.
When John was alive, he had the Son of God in human flesh to teach him truth
. We don't have Jesus with us physically today, but the saved do have God's Spirit
residing in them and providing a witness
of the truth
. When someone tells us that something is Biblical, we need to ask the indwelling Spirit
to provide a witness
for or against that claim and then search our Bible while trusting God's Spirit
to provide the necessary witness
. In addition, to checking the Bible, we need to see if the doctrine that we are being taught will (or will not) cause us to act more like God's Spirit
. What John tells us in this epistle that God's Spirit
causes us to act like God in all areas of life but especially in love.
If we can tell the difference between God's Spirit
and other spirits
, and keep God's Spirit
as our standard, then we will have truth
as our standard. This verse gives us a very simple standard to measure actions and attitudes against. God's Spirit of truth.
1John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
This sentence is dealt with in the Book Study on 1John which explains the usage of symbols in this verse along with how that usage of symbols matches what we find in the context of this verse. This verse is found in the Application Section under Man's Spirit for the item labeled That which is physical is not spirit'.
Home Jude 1:19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
Please see the note for this verse in the Study on Jude for more on the context and how it affects our unhderstanding of this verse. The Spirit
in this verse is not the Holy Spirit but is the Spirit of Christ
. The note for Romans 8:9, in the Book Study on Romans, explains this difference. Basically, if someone is saved, they have the Spirit of God
. But, if that saved person refuses to ofey, then they do not have the Spirit of Christ
. Please notice that our verse says that these people be they who separate themselves
and they are separating themselves
from other saved because they are sensual
. (They are backslidden and carnal.)
Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'There are other types of spirits
in Heaven which apparently are not angels but which we do not have a complete description of (Zechariah 6:5; Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). It is argued that these are actually different perspectives of God's Holy Spirit
. Please see the Book Study on Revelation for more on this argument. That note lists what are believed to be the seven perspectives of God's Holy Spirit
which are called the seven Spirits
in this verse.
Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'We are in the Spirit
when we and God agree for it to be so.' Now, this verse uses a capitalized Spirit
, which means that it is speaking about God's Holy Spirit
. John wrote: I was in the Spirit
. The Study called Relational Prepositions explains that, when the word of God
uses a preposition, such as the word in
, and has it in conjunction with a title for God or some other being, it is speaking about a relationship. Therefore, the phrase: I was in the Spirit
means: 'John was is a right relationship with God's Holy Spirit
'.
Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' God gives instructions in life, and promises, and other things to the saved through His Holy Spirit
. In addition, God's Holy Spirit
often uses holy men to pass on those instructions to other saved people.
Pay attention to the several places where we read the same message in Revelation with minor differences such as what is promised in a particular verse. Those minor differences are dealt with in the Book Study notes. These verses are the conclusion of what our Lord Jesus Christ
says to each church. Our verse tells us to listen to what was written using spiritual ears to hear the spiritual message. Almost everyone has physical ears and most people understand that some people still have trouble hearing and that the hearing of some people is better than that of other people. The same is true spiritually. Lost people do not have spiritual ears
to hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches
. The only spiritual message which they can received is their need to be truly saved. And, among saved, some hear spiritual messages better than others. However, carnal saved people are full of pride and want to be considered some type of expert on prophecy. They insist that what they imagine using their natural reasoning must be true. They fight against what the Spirit saith unto the churches
and claim that they are more reliable that God's Holy Spirit
. And, they gather lots of lost and carnal people to agree with them. That is why there is so much controversy about this Bible book.
Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' See the second paragraph of the note for Revelation 2:7. It applies to this verse also.
Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' See the second paragraph of the note for Revelation 2:7. It applies to this verse also.
Revelation 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' See the second paragraph of the note for Revelation 2:7. It applies to this verse also.
Revelation 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirit s of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'There are seven Spirits of God
'. Please see the note in the Book Study for details in these seven Spirits of God
.
Revelation 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' See the second paragraph of the note for Revelation 2:7. It applies to this verse also.
Revelation 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' See the second paragraph of the note for Revelation 2:7. It applies to this verse also.
Revelation 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' See the second paragraph of the note for Revelation 2:7. It applies to this verse also.
Revelation 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit : and, behold, a throne was set in Heaven, and one sat on the throne.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled '
We are in the Spirit
when we and God agree for it to be so.' This verse describes how John went to Heaven in order to receive all of the message found in this Bible book.
Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirit s of God.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'There are seven Spirits of God
'. Please see the note in the Book Study for details in these seven Spirits of God
.
Revelation 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'There are seven Spirits of God
'. Please see the note in the Book Study for details in these seven Spirits of God
.
Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'Sometimes something can be one thing physically while it is something else spiritually.' The city of Jerusalem is identified, physically, by that name and religious people argue about it being identified, spiritually, according to their religious beliefs. Since there are a lot of different religious beliefs about Jerusalem, there are lots of fights and wars over it. However, none of the fighting factions accept God's spiritual view, which is given in this sentence. God says that it is spiritually is called Sodom
because the people in it are adulterous and pervert the personal relationship with God like the Sodomites did with the personal relationship that sex is supposed to be part of. It spiritually is called
Egypt
because the people in it seek the things of this world above the spiritual.
Revelation 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
This verse is found under Man's Spirit for the point titled 'Our spirit/life is from the breath (Spirit) of the Almighty
.' We see here that God's Holy Spirit
resurrected them.
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled: 'God rewards or punishes us for our demonstrated spirit'. This verse tells us the rewards that these martyrs
receive in a general way and further chapters give more details of these blessings. In addition, as explained in the note for the Book Study, God tells John to write
these blessings because God wants everyone to know about this promise and because other places in the word of God
give similar promises to any other martyr
. God wants us to know that He rewards our service to Him.
Revelation 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'All unclean spirits
are devils'. This verse tells us that three of these unclean spirits
came from Satan and his two beasts
to gather the armies of lost people to fight against the return of our Lord Jesus Christ
. They promise men victory over God, in spite of all of the evidence from God that they can not win. Thus, we see foolish men believing lies from devils which lead to the destruction of the men.
Revelation 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
This verse is found under other Spirits for the point titled 'All unclean spirits
are devils'. This verse tells us that three of these unclean spirits
came from Satan and his two beasts
This verse follows the verse above and tells us that unclean spirits
are devils
. It also tells us that they can do miracles and use those miracles to deceive men. Where they promise victory over Israel and God and the chance to murder all Jews, these armies are actually going to defeat, death and Hell.
Revelation 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can move (or stop movement of) men and other beings.' John did not go in his body but the essence of John (his spirit
) went with the angel. This is an out-of-body experience for John.
Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
This verse is found under Man's Spirits for the point titled 'A dumb and deaf (foul) spirit
caused a boy to not be able to speak and tare him
and made him fall on the ground, and wallowed foaming
.' Every foul spirit
is a devil who deliberately causes people to become spiritually foul
. This sentence tells us that devils are allowed to hurt and curse anyone who goes to the place where Babylon the great
used to be. There will be many treasure hunters going there to seek Earthly treasure and this is the result that they will receive. Our sentence is included to warn saved people, who are alive during the great tribulation
. to not go there no matter how much treasure they are told is there.
Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled 'The spirit of prophecy
is the testimony of Jesus
and is given to the saved who truly serve God like Jesus
did'. People who are newly saved do not understand the word of God
enough to know theabstract spiritual laws that never change in the word of God
. That takes spiritual maturing and study of the word of God
to the point of understanding not just what is said in a given place but also understanding how different parts of the word of God
fit together according to spiritual rules which never change.
Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God,
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can move (or stop movement of) men and other beings.' Here, we see that John was taken into the future to see what will be. It is my belief that God enabled this angel to do so. If Satan could go into the future and see it, he probably would not have rebelled. If devils could see the future, and how prophecy is completed., they would give their prophets the true interpretation of prophecy. Only God's prophets receive true prophecy and what they do receive in incomplete. However, one of the main differences between prophets of God and false prophets is that God's prophets are100% accurate for what they prophecy. Please see Significant Gospel Events; Significant New Testament Events for their sections on Prophecy Fulfilled.
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life
This verse is found under God's Holy Spirit
for the point titled The spirit of the LORD
'can use men to speak.' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .