...by My Spirit Pt. X

Sunday 08/14/16

Series: …but by My Spirit Pt. 10

Message – Union with God I

Oneness or Union with the Father…by the Holy Spirit.

1Cor. 2:12, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, THAT WE MIGHT KNOW the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

Communion or Fellowship with God is one of the things that has been freely given to us by God.

Last week we examined the terms associated with “communion” with the Holy Spirit and discussed how we experiences them with Him…or how we desire to do so.

This week we are going to look at how our communion with the Holy Spirit creates an awareness of our Intimate Union with God the Father and with Christ.

Intimacy – Jn. 14:15-20 The word “know” in all these verses means to have personal or intimate fellowship with.

Holy Spirit

Gives Life (union, intimacy) – Remember Jesus defined life for us in John 17:3 as knowing the Father and the Son.

The word “know” is ginosko, and has a very broad set of meanings ranging from coming to know someone in a beginning since to knowing someone so totally that knowing them is said to be a completed action.

As for the meaning here, I turned to one of my favorite and most relied upon Greek word scholars – Dr. Spiros Zodhiates. He had this to say…

In the Gospel of John, ginṓskō denotes personal fellowship with God or Christ and also between the Father and the Son

John 10:15

“As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

John 10:14 & verse 27

“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”

John 10:27-28,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

Verse 28 finishes the natural thought of such intimacy –

“(28) And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

Since the Father and the Son know each other they love each other. The same relationship exists between the Lord Jesus and His disciples. And notice that eternal life is here mentioned again in relation to knowing Him…

John 3:35-36,

“The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. (36) He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

To know (ginṓskō) the Father and the Son, since They have life, is to have Their life which is eternal. Since Christ became human, it had to be granted to Him to have life by the Father, which He then was commanded to in turn give to those the Father drew to Christ.

John 5:26,

“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,”

John 17:1-3,

“(1) Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, (2) as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. (3) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent.”

So as we look as Intimacy and union – the words eternal life and knowing God will surface – so keep in your mind what we are talking about is perfect, intimate union with God! Also that the Holy Spirit has come to us to speak Christ’s words – so how do you think the Holy Spirit defines “life”?

Jn. 6:63,

“(63) It is the Spirit Who gives life (intimate awareness and union with God); the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are Life.”

David hungered and thirst for God’s Word. He longed to Hear Him and sought them with all his heart. He loved and lived by them.

Two which you should be familiar with since I know you all went through Ps. 119 as you were encouraged to do.

Ps.119:103 “How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Ps. 119:130 “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”

The term “words” which David used means God’s speaking voice! David was NOT referring to scriptures from the Torah he had read. Those might give him information – but NOT life and light. David was hungry for an encounter with God – not the bible!

Even without a Hebrew dictionary you can plainly see this if you actually READ what he said – Consider Ps. 119:66, 68, 72, 73, 76, 82, 88 …etc.

66 “Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments.”

68 “You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.”

72 “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.”

73 “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.”

76 “Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your servant.”

82 “My eyes fail from searching Your word, Saying, “When will You comfort me?”

88 “Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.”

Jn. 7:37-39,

“(37) On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those who placed the whole of their reliance in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”– Jn. 7:37-39 [Isa. 44:1-5]

This is like what Jesus said in Matt. 5:6,

“Spiritually prosperous are those hungering and thirsting for righteousness, because they themselves shall be filled so as to be completely satisfied.”

Thirst = dipsao Used figuratively to refer to ardent desire.
John 6:43-58
Believes – to believe in and rest upon (rely)
Heart – The inner part of man. Corresponds to the English word heart – meaning soul.
Rivers – Homer often uses potamós for the ocean. It is a stream that has swollen and is overflowing its banks. A torrent or a flood.
Living water = Holy Spirit.

“If anyone is hungry for intimacy with God, if they crave total union with Him, then come and place the whole of your reliance upon Christ and find your inner rest in Him and so it will happen that out of the midst of your won heart will come gushing out floods of the Holy Spirit!”

An example of this is found in Rom. 5:5,

Rom 5:1, Wuest

“And this hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts and still floods them through the agency of the Holy Spirit Who was given to us.”

Jn. 14:15-21,

“(15) If you love Me, keep My commandments. (16) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— (17) the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (18) I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. (19) “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. (20) At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (21) He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Next week, we will finish looking at our Oneness or Union with the Father through the Spirit and begin to discuss stirring a hunger for walking in Intimacy with God….Blessings!

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will be mentioned.

If you have been spiritually fed by this ministry and wish to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but all outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!