And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins. Now all this has happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (which is translated, God with us). (Matt. 1:21-23)
We all know that here the Lord has two particular names: one is Jesus, which means “Savior,” and the other is Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” This One is God with us.
For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst. (18:20)
Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age. (28:19-20)
Please take notice that the book of Matthew, the first book of the Gospels, refers three times to the Lord’s being with us. The first time is at the beginning, where it says that the Lord’s name is called “God with us.” The second time is in the middle, where the Lord promised that whenever we are gathered into His name, He would be with us. The last time is at the end, where He promised to be with us until the consummation of the age.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....And the Word became flesh and tabernacled [dwelt] among us...full of grace and reality. (John 1:1, 14)
In the beginning was the Word, and this Word was not only with God but He was God. One day this Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and reality.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (1:4)
In the Word, the incarnated Word, was life.
I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly. (10:10)
The purpose of His coming was for man to have life and to have it abundantly.
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you. (14:16-17)
Here we see that the Lord’s presence goes a step further. Not only is He with us outwardly, but He will enter into us to abide in us.
I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer, but you behold Me; because I live, you also shall live. (vv. 18-19)
In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (v. 20)
When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and while the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace be to you. And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced at seeing the Lord. Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be to you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. (20:19-22)
And they passed through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. (Acts 16:6-7)
Notice the two different titles of the Holy Spirit in this passage. Verse 6 speaks of “the Holy Spirit,” whereas verse 7 refers to “the Spirit of Jesus.” This shows that at this time the Spirit of Jesus was the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit was the Spirit of Jesus.
But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. (Rom. 8:9-11)
It clearly shows here that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself, and this Christ is dwelling in us. Brothers and sisters, you need to be very clear about this point. Never think that only the Holy Spirit is dwelling in us. Here it says that Christ is in us because He is the Spirit, who was the Spirit of God but who is now the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of Jesus.
The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. (1 Cor. 15:45)
Life-giving Spirit is a better rendering than quickening Spirit (KJV). The last Adam is the Lord Jesus as a man. The Lord Jesus first became a man and then became a life-giving Spirit.
Home | First | Prev | Next