| Abide in Christ 9/18/06 George Poulo If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, You will ask what you desire and it shall be done For you. Jn15:7 In God, the Father abides in the Son and the Son abides in the Father in light (You, Father in Me and I in You Jn17:21) and from this abiding abides the Holy Spirit. Thus we confess "God is love" (1Jn4:8). The Trinity is a relationship of abiding or of the three persons living in each other. It is the highest form of intimacy. It is the highest form of love; each dwelling within each other; each drawing life from the other. Human beings like God have this capacity to abide in Him. It is one way we are made in his likeness and image, namely, that we can abide in Him. "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect" (1Jn4:8-9) Our perfection consists in our abiding in God. How is this possible? We are tri-partite beings. We are spirit. We have souls. We live in bodies. When our spirit is born-again and gains its separation from the soul (Heb4:12) and from sin by the blood of Christ (1Jn1:7), we then can receive the Christ, the anointing, the Holy Spirit and abide in God. As we take the time and effort to make God's word our home and crucify the flesh, then the word can abide in our spirit, and our spirit can abide in the anointing, and whatever we ask for we shall receive. This process is accomplished by putting God's word into action, speaking and confessing God's word with authority, and walking in the Spirit. We call this the victory that overcomes the world-our faith. (1Jn5:4) But the anointing which you have received from Him Abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach You, but as the same anointing teaches you concerning All things and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has Taught you, you will abide in Him. 1Jn2:27 When you are taught by the anointing, when the revelation of God comes into your spirit and informs your soul (your intellect, will, and emotions), then your spirit is in the anointing, abiding in God, and if you remain there, your love is brought to perfection, you will not sin and whatsoever you desire in the Spirit, you will receive. "Whosoever has been born of God does not sin, for his seed remains in him and he cannot sin." (1Jn3:9) That seed is the Christ or the anointing. "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made...and to your Seed, who is Christ." (Gal3:16) So if we have received the anointing and we will know we have received it because the anointing will begin to teach us and is true and not a lie, then by abiding under the anointing, our love will be perfected and we will keep ourselves from sin and, whatsoever we ask for will be in line with God, and we will receive it. This is a great mystery. It is the mystery of God and his church. It is the mystery of eternity. Abide in Christ. The word is a seed and the word is Christ. That seed must be planted in the heart in fertile ground to grow. That means that if we keep the commandments of God then we will not stifle growth in the Spirit and at some point we will grow into mature Christians able to discern between good and evil, able to digest strong meat and not just milk. (Heb5:13-14) Then more and more of the promises of God will be manifest in our lives. Temptation is the weight that the devil uses to divert us from our abiding in Christ. But, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (Jm1:12). That crown of life is the anointing of God which will propel the saint from glory to glory. Jesus is our model. Just as the devil tempted Jesus, so too, are we tempted. Our grace, however, resides in the word, the church, our faith, and the anointing. We shall overcome and be victorious. Pray for the anointing. Pray for the seed, God�s word and the Christ, to be planted deep in your spirit. "In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (Jn16:33) Not only this, but Jesus has prayed, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (Jn17:17) We are sanctified by the word which is Spirit which is Truth and as we abide there we will receive not only blessings in this life but life everlasting. Amen. |
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