God wants to do something new in your life this week but do you know that he cannot until you are joined with God in one Spirit.
Paul the apostle, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said:
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17 ).
He also taught:
“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16 ).
What does this mean, not just for first century believers, to whom Paul penned the letters, but for Christians today? What does it mean to be “in Christ” and “one in Spirit”?
As a believer, you are born of the Spirit (the spirit of Christ in you), you have a soul (your intellect, emotions, and will), and your physical body.
You live in a body today, but you will not need that body in heaven. You will have a heavenly body.
The minute you became born again, you became united with Jesus Christ—one with the Lord. You are one spirit with Him—not two spirits.
Let me use a physical example: When water is poured into a glass of water, you cannot tell which water was already in the glass and which water was poured into it. It is all one water. You cannot separate the two. This is the same with your spirit and the Spirit of God. You became one with the Lord the minute you were born again. This amazing experience is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.
One In Christ, One In Spirit
spirit of the cross
The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in power, making real and vital within us that mighty power accomplished in Christ Jesus. Jesus paid the full price on the Cross for us to be united with Him and to receive His power. It has all been paid. The only message to receive this gift is the Church.
No angel is one with Jesus. But you and all who are saved can know this. Only the elect can know this. Only those chosen before the foundation of the world, for we are told:
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:4 ).
It is impossible for us to understand what it means to be in Christ without the Holy Spirit. You and Jesus are one!
In the Old Covenant (Old Testament), God revealed Himself through shadows and types—Israel lived under a shadow. But we are the substance of the shadow.
The New Covenant (New Testament) is called the “Better Covenant.” Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. When He fulfilled it, He brought the union of two parties. The Old Testament saints had no idea about this union. They did not understand the concept of God living in them. They only understood God in a tent and later in the Temple. They could not go in. Only the priests were allowed to go in, and only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement, to offer the blood of sacrifice and incense before the Mercy Seat.
The children of Israel, even the High Priest, had no clue what it meant for God to live inside them.
However, we have oneness in Him. In the New Testament, God is in you. This is why it is called the better covenant:
“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6 ).
How do you live in Christ and one in Spirit?
#1 Let God do it!
God says:
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26 KJV ).
He is the One who will give you a new heart, bringing your spirit into oneness with Him. All you need to do is give Him your life. Surrender to Him. He does the rest. He forms you and causes you to walk with Him. He will put His law in your spirit.
He says:
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33 ).
When the Bible speaks of your heart, it is speaking of your will, not the heart that pumps in your body. God will do it on His own. He will fill you with His Spirit. Let Him do it!
#2 Rely on Him to pour His righteousness and wisdom into your life. person in church
God is looking for people who trust in His Word in every area of life:
For the message of the Cross is foolish to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:18-21 )
God doesn’t need you for your talents, gifts, wisdom, or education. You have nothing to offer Him but your love and trust. He is looking for people who depend more upon His wisdom and less upon human know-how:
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1:27 )
You can add nothing. God is not looking for your gifts. He is looking for you to be totally depended on him - your reliance upon Him. Paul wrote:
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. (Philippians 3:7-10 )
Jesus is not complicated. Jesus is simplicity. Do not let the devil take you from the simplicity of the Gospel. Surrender and let go and let Jesus carry you.
#3 Seek Him with all your heart!
You cannot trust someone (or Someone) you don’t know. Get to know Jesus and you get to know Him by His Word and fellowship with Him.
I love this passage in The Message:
So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. (James 4:8-10)
If you fight against surrendering to Him, you will lose. Spend time with Him. Worship Him. Get your nourishment from the Word. All these are crucial to surrendering to Him and being one with Him.
#4 Love others as Christ first loved you!
In the Old Testament we are told:
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18 ).
Likewise, in the New Testament Jesus tells us to even love our enemies:
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I said to you, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44 )
Only the Holy Spirit can help you do this. He loves your enemies through you. It is impossible for you to love your enemies on your own, but it is amazing what the Holy Spirit will do through you:
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5 ).
Without the Holy Spirit you are unable to love your enemies.
The Holy Spirit Changes Everything
Beyond the Veil
We are told:
“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:6 ).
The Holy Spirit is more real than anything around you. He is a real Person. You surrender to a real Person. The Holy Spirit is Jesus unlimited, and you can know the Holy Spirit!
But you must be one in Him!
During His earthly ministry, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus healed the blind, the sick, and the lame. Yet this knowledge did not change the disciples. They walked with Jesus daily and saw the mighty miracles, but it did not save their lives.
When He died on the cross of Calvary, they all left Him and went home, questioning whether or not He was the Messiah.
How could they not believe when they heard God say at the baptism of Jesus:
“This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17 )?
Peter, James, and John saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and yet Peter vehemently denied—three different times—even knowing Jesus!
But Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would change everything:
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26 ).
Without the Holy Spirit, Jesus in the flesh did not change one heart. However God promised what was to come:
“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6 ).
Knowing the Holy Spirit and being one in Him is the key! It is up to us to be faithful!
Claim God’s Promises To You…Beginning Today!
We are living in life-changing times, and I want you to claim the promises that are available to you as a covenant believer. We literally unleash God’s supernatural provision, protection, and power as we are compelled by His love to reach out to the lost and hurting!
Paul the apostle, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said:
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17 ).
He also taught:
“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16 ).
What does this mean, not just for first century believers, to whom Paul penned the letters, but for Christians today? What does it mean to be “in Christ” and “one in Spirit”?
As a believer, you are born of the Spirit (the spirit of Christ in you), you have a soul (your intellect, emotions, and will), and your physical body.
You live in a body today, but you will not need that body in heaven. You will have a heavenly body.
The minute you became born again, you became united with Jesus Christ—one with the Lord. You are one spirit with Him—not two spirits.
Let me use a physical example: When water is poured into a glass of water, you cannot tell which water was already in the glass and which water was poured into it. It is all one water. You cannot separate the two. This is the same with your spirit and the Spirit of God. You became one with the Lord the minute you were born again. This amazing experience is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.
One In Christ, One In Spirit
spirit of the cross
The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in power, making real and vital within us that mighty power accomplished in Christ Jesus. Jesus paid the full price on the Cross for us to be united with Him and to receive His power. It has all been paid. The only message to receive this gift is the Church.
No angel is one with Jesus. But you and all who are saved can know this. Only the elect can know this. Only those chosen before the foundation of the world, for we are told:
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:4 ).
It is impossible for us to understand what it means to be in Christ without the Holy Spirit. You and Jesus are one!
In the Old Covenant (Old Testament), God revealed Himself through shadows and types—Israel lived under a shadow. But we are the substance of the shadow.
The New Covenant (New Testament) is called the “Better Covenant.” Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. When He fulfilled it, He brought the union of two parties. The Old Testament saints had no idea about this union. They did not understand the concept of God living in them. They only understood God in a tent and later in the Temple. They could not go in. Only the priests were allowed to go in, and only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement, to offer the blood of sacrifice and incense before the Mercy Seat.
The children of Israel, even the High Priest, had no clue what it meant for God to live inside them.
However, we have oneness in Him. In the New Testament, God is in you. This is why it is called the better covenant:
“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6 ).
How do you live in Christ and one in Spirit?
#1 Let God do it!
God says:
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26 KJV ).
He is the One who will give you a new heart, bringing your spirit into oneness with Him. All you need to do is give Him your life. Surrender to Him. He does the rest. He forms you and causes you to walk with Him. He will put His law in your spirit.
He says:
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33 ).
When the Bible speaks of your heart, it is speaking of your will, not the heart that pumps in your body. God will do it on His own. He will fill you with His Spirit. Let Him do it!
#2 Rely on Him to pour His righteousness and wisdom into your life. person in church
God is looking for people who trust in His Word in every area of life:
For the message of the Cross is foolish to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:18-21 )
God doesn’t need you for your talents, gifts, wisdom, or education. You have nothing to offer Him but your love and trust. He is looking for people who depend more upon His wisdom and less upon human know-how:
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1:27 )
You can add nothing. God is not looking for your gifts. He is looking for you to be totally depended on him - your reliance upon Him. Paul wrote:
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. (Philippians 3:7-10 )
Jesus is not complicated. Jesus is simplicity. Do not let the devil take you from the simplicity of the Gospel. Surrender and let go and let Jesus carry you.
#3 Seek Him with all your heart!
You cannot trust someone (or Someone) you don’t know. Get to know Jesus and you get to know Him by His Word and fellowship with Him.
I love this passage in The Message:
So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. (James 4:8-10)
If you fight against surrendering to Him, you will lose. Spend time with Him. Worship Him. Get your nourishment from the Word. All these are crucial to surrendering to Him and being one with Him.
#4 Love others as Christ first loved you!
In the Old Testament we are told:
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18 ).
Likewise, in the New Testament Jesus tells us to even love our enemies:
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I said to you, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44 )
Only the Holy Spirit can help you do this. He loves your enemies through you. It is impossible for you to love your enemies on your own, but it is amazing what the Holy Spirit will do through you:
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5 ).
Without the Holy Spirit you are unable to love your enemies.
The Holy Spirit Changes Everything
Beyond the Veil
We are told:
“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:6 ).
The Holy Spirit is more real than anything around you. He is a real Person. You surrender to a real Person. The Holy Spirit is Jesus unlimited, and you can know the Holy Spirit!
But you must be one in Him!
During His earthly ministry, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus healed the blind, the sick, and the lame. Yet this knowledge did not change the disciples. They walked with Jesus daily and saw the mighty miracles, but it did not save their lives.
When He died on the cross of Calvary, they all left Him and went home, questioning whether or not He was the Messiah.
How could they not believe when they heard God say at the baptism of Jesus:
“This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17 )?
Peter, James, and John saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and yet Peter vehemently denied—three different times—even knowing Jesus!
But Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would change everything:
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26 ).
Without the Holy Spirit, Jesus in the flesh did not change one heart. However God promised what was to come:
“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6 ).
Knowing the Holy Spirit and being one in Him is the key! It is up to us to be faithful!
Claim God’s Promises To You…Beginning Today!
We are living in life-changing times, and I want you to claim the promises that are available to you as a covenant believer. We literally unleash God’s supernatural provision, protection, and power as we are compelled by His love to reach out to the lost and hurting!
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