That Same Jesus, That Same Spirit

Before Abraham Was, I Am!

Friend, in John 2:19-21, "Jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews mocking him, said, “It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and you're going to rebuild it in three days?" However, verse 21 says, "But he spake of the temple of his body."

You see,  Jesus carefully distinguished between his physical body and his Spirit. When you replace the word temple, with body in that verse, then it reads; "Destroy this body, and in three days I will raise it up." “I” here, refers to His Spirit. Jesus regarded his body as a temple or a house where his Spirit, the Spirit of Christ lived.

Look at this, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” – John 1:1-3 and 14. In the beginning, before Mary ever conceived a Son was the Word, all things were made by him. Using him as his pronoun points out that the Word is a person, not just a spoken word.

This person called the Word entered into a physical body and lived among us after creating the world. He did not come into existence because Mary gave birth to him, a million times no! The Word is the Spirit of Christ, that is what He was called before the name Jesus came in the scene.

Paul, speaking of the Spirit of Christ said, "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, 'Sacrifice and offerings thou wouldest not but a body has thou prepared for me'" - Heb. 10:5. That physical body was nurtured in the womb of the virgin Mary, but the spirit that lived inside is that same Jesus, called the Word; the Spirit of Christ that created this world. No wonder Jesus said, "verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM" - John. 8:58.

Lord And Christ

One day, Jesus said, "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him," but Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and we'd be content", Jesus answered him saying, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet ye have not known me, Philip? He that has seen me hath seen the Father..." – John. 14:7-9.

You see, He was talking about His Spirit. Whoever sees the Spirit of Christ has seen the Father. Jesus said it was "the Father that dwelleth IN ME, he doeth the works" (verse 10). The Father was IN the Spirit of Christ.

Therefore, when the Bible says Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, it was the Spirit of Christ that went about doing good and healing. When Jesus said "peace be still" to the storm and cursed the fig tree to dry up, it was his Spirit that did the speaking.

The Bible says, “he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross.” It was his Spirit that bore our sins while he was still in his physical body hanging on the cross. All that Jesus ever did throughout his stay on earth was carried out by the real man; the Spirit of Christ.

"Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made THAT SAME JESUS, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts. 2:36).

Friend, that same Jesus that calmed the sea, cast out devils, and raised the dead with his words. That same Jesus, a Spirit called the Word, God has made both Lord and Christ. But that's not all, Paul revealed that "...God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, 'Abba Father'" (Gal. 4:6). Notice, that the same Jesus was not only made Lord and Christ but was also sent forth like an Apostle into our hearts.

The Greater One!

Friend, always remember to be spirit-conscious when reading the bible. The real man is the spirit and not the physical body. When God speaks, he speaks to your spirit. John the Beloved said, "And this is the record, that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John. 5:11-12).

The word “son” here refers to the Spirit of Jesus, not His physical body. Get your mind off the flesh or body. Paul revealed that "...God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, 'Abba Father’" (Gal. 4:6), and in Rom. 8:9 he said, “…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." (Rom. 8:9)

Notice, it was the “Spirit of Christ”, not his physical body that was sent into you. If you are his, then that same Jesus, the Word, the one who made the heavens and the earth, walked the streets of Galilee, cast out devils, healed the sick, raised the dead, and cleansed the lepers has been sent forth by God into your heart (spirit).

Little wonder John the beloved, said, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world" (1. John. 4:4). Who is in you? The Spirit of His Son! That same Jesus who said "Be of good cheers, I have overcome the world" (John. 16:33).

Friend, when I understood what he meant by "greater", a new chapter of spiritual dominion opened up in my life. I stood up to demons, cast them out, and I saw the greater one working through me. Indeed, having a spirit-conscious mentality is good but understanding the rank of spiritual forces is key if we must do the works of that same Jesus that lives inside us.

The Reality Of The Greater

The scripture often compares certain entities and tries to rank them. You see, the Holy Ghost through the apostle John said "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1. John. 4:4).

Notice, that he compared two entities and classified one as "greater", For instance, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity" (1 Cor. 13:13). It tells us that spiritually, love or charity weighs more than faith and hope. Another example is in the writings of King Solomon, He said, "For wisdom is better than rubies.." (Pro. 8:11), "wisdom is better than strength", in fact, "wisdom is better than weapons of war" (Ecc.9:14-18).

Notice, that he spiritually compared wisdom with rubies or money, strength, and weapons of war then declared wisdom to be 'better' or greater than them. Jesus in Luke 11:21-22, where He talked about the strong man and the stronger man said, “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted and divided his spoil”

In essence, he gave a spiritual law that states, "In a spiritual battle or warfare, the stronger man would always defeat the strong man.” This spiritual law works throughout the scriptures. Wisdom would always defeat strength, weapons of war, and money, love would trump faith and hope, in fact, love never fails.

Now this same principle is true for 1 John 4:4, the greater one inside you will always defeat the great one in this world. The Spirit of Christ is better! Greater! And stronger! than the spirit of the antichrist that afflicts men. Understanding this reality of "the greater" would place a superiority mentality over the devil in you.

Christ The Wisdom Of God

Friend, we have seen that the scripture often compares certain entities and attempts to rank them. For instance, love is greater than faith and love (1 Cor. 13:13), wisdom is better than rubies, weapons of war, and strength. (Ecc. 9:14-18). But these hierarchies of spiritual forces obey a simple law that reads; in a spiritual battle or warfare, the stronger man would always defeat the strong man (Lk. 11:21-22). That means, higher spiritual forces would trump the lower ones.

For example, the wise man and the great king. "There was a little city, and a few men within it, and there came a great king against it and besieged it and built great bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city, yet no man remembered that same poor man" - Ecc. 9:14-15.

You see, wisdom is better than strength and weapons of war, so the poor wise man was the stronger man, and the great king that besieged the city was a strong man. Hence, wisdom would defeat strength any day and time! No wonder John the beloved said, "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world" 1 John 4:4. Because "Christ (the Spirit of Christ in you) is the power of God and the WISDOM of God" - 1. Cor. 1:24.

That means in your spirit lies the wisdom that is better than money, strength, and even weapons of war. Now you see why "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world..." (1 John 5:4) because this great spiritual force of wisdom is inside the born again spirit.

Friend, you can defeat the great army of failure, sickness, poverty, miscarriage, and addiction that may have besieged you. Because in you is a strong wise man, that same Jesus, that same Spirit! So instead of running left and right for answers, look within; if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask. Ask the one within!

Christ The Love Of God

Friend, love is better than wine and many waters cannot quench it. You see, the scripture often compares certain entities and attempts to rank them. It compared love with other spiritual forces and declared it greater! However, the hierarchies of spiritual forces follow a simple law that reads; in a spiritual battle or warfare, the stronger man would always defeat the strong man (Lk. 11:21-22). That means, higher spiritual forces would trump the lower ones.

Look at it, John 1 says, "The Word was God", so the Spirit of Christ; the Spirit of the Son that has been made both Lord and Christ then sent into our hearts by the Father is GOD. And John 4:16 says "God is love", which means the Spirit of Christ is love! But concerning love, the scripture says, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity" – 1 Cor. 13:13. The Spirit of Christ is the Word, who is God and God is love. No wonder love is the greatest spiritual force that exists.

Paul said “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongue; they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away" but "charity (love) NEVER faileth" - 1 Cor. 13:8. Friend, there is no hate that love cannot conquer, no strife it cannot cease, no misunderstanding it would not settle because love never fails! It’s greater than the shield of faith which can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. – Eph. 6:16.

The love of God has been shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost. In the face of hate, strife, and misunderstanding this love never fails. Learn to yield to love and walk in victory. Greater is God's love in you than the hatred and greed that plagues the world today. You are a winner!

Jesus is Lord! 

Min. Roi