Romans 8:9 “…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
Foreword
Now if you take the positive light of this statement, we are to understand that if any man have the Spirit of Christ, he is His. If you have the Spirit of Christ, then the Spirit of Christ has you. I wanted to entitle this message the If-Then Statement of Mutual Ownership; mutual possession. In the Song of Solomon, the bride says, ‘My beloved is mine, and I am his.” (2:16) Last message, we introduced these next three verses as the If-Then Statements of Romans 8. And we spent the entire message on the The If-The Statement of Mutual Indwelling. I truly wanted to stay along these lines, however, I believe God has had me study down another path. If we come back to this concept of ownership, then that’s great. But I’m not going to force us that way. I want to be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. What really stood out to me in this verse was the expression the Spirit of Christ.
Introduction
Now if we stay within the context of Romans chapter 8, there is no doubt that the Spirit of Christ is in fact, the Holy Spirit. Of course we know, the Holy Spirit is known throughout the bible by different names: The Spirit, The Holy Ghost, The Spirit of God, The Spirit of Your Father, The Spirit of Our Father, The Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Truth, The Spirit of Holiness, The Spirit of Life, The Spirit of the Living God, The Holy Spirit of Promise, The Spirit of Glory. We can learn more about the Spirit, by studying the names of the Spirit.
Some of us maybe have seen this done with the Lord God. He is referred to many different ways in the Old Testament. He has many names: El Shaddai, El Elyon, Adonai, Yahweh, Jehovah-Nissi, Raah, Rapha, Shammah, Tsidkenu, Mekoddishkem, Jireh, Shalam, Saboath, Elohim. The names of the God can be studied and much can be learned of the character of God. Many messages have been preached on the names of God. But I want to say that the same things can be done of the God the Spirit. There’s something about the names that gives us insight into the character of the person it’s naming, in this case the Holy Spirit.
In this verse, the holy Spirit of Almighty God, the Spirit of God that moved upon the face of the waters before this world began, He is named the Spirit of Christ. I find this interesting because this is the first time in the Bible that he is named after the person Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the God-man, that walked this earth, born of a virgin, performed many miracles, did the will of the Father, died on the cross, rose the third day; Jesus the person. In this verse, the God the Holy Spirit is named after Jesus Christ himself; the Spirit of Christ.
I find this to be very interesting. There are four verses in your King James Bible that refer to the Holy Spirit in such a manner.
- Romans 8:9, He is the Spirit of Christ.
- 1 Peter 1:11, He is also the Spirit of Christ.
- Galatians 4:6, He is the Spirit of his Son.
- Philippians 1:19, He is the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
I want to look at these today. If we are to have, to own, to possess, the Holy Spirit, let it be known the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is whom we speak of. The Holy Spirit is not a force, a power, or a thing. Let us not be as the sorcerer Simon in the book of Acts. The bible says that he himself believed and was baptized. When he saw the apostles lay their hands on some from Samaria and the Holy Ghost had fallen on them, he was impressed and offered the apostles money. He said, “Give me also this power!” “But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou has neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.” (Act 8:20,21) Simon was very much interested in the power of the Holy Spirit, but had neglected the person of the Holy Spirit. That person is the Lord Jesus Christ, our God and our Savior.
I – Having the Spirit of Christ
Romans 8:9 Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Such a simple verse, yet so clear. I remember when I heard the preacher say, “I’ll tell you in 5 seconds if you’re saved and on your way to heaven, or lost and going to hell!” And he quoted this verse. “…if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” I want to make a distinction at this time, that Paul is not asking if we have a Christ-like Spirit, but do we have the Spirit of Christ. It would have been very easy to go down that road. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We ought to examine our spirit. Is it Christ-like? Do we have a spirit of humility, meekness, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy? We should most definitely desire that our spirits be Christ-like. But there is a difference between a Christ-like spirit, and the Spirit of Christ.
This may be where many have gone astray. We may to some degree have success in emulating the Lord Jesus Christ. We practice humility. We practice meekness, forgiveness, compassion. We try to be merciful. And don’t get me wrong. We should. But just because we do may mean we have the Spirit of Christ, but it may not mean we have the Spirit of Christ. Some naturally have a meek and quiet Spirit. Some have practiced it and have grown good at it. The bible says, “Let a man examine himself…” (1 Cor 11:28) It says “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor 13:5) David asked the Lord, “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” (Psalm26:2)
Don’t ever think that you are above being played the fool, especially by yourself. Most of the deception that we encounter in our life is brought upon us by our own selves. it’s not the world that deceiving us, it’s us that deceiving us. We want to blame the devil, and the world, and other people when we have no one to blame but ourselves. So I find it a good thing to examine yourself; to check up as some preachers say. You can fool all the people some times. You can fool some people all the time. But you can’t fool all the people all the time. And we certainly can’t fool God. The eyes of the Lord are in everyplace, beholding the good and the bad.
You talk about being fooled, even the anti-Christ will have a Christ-like Spirit. He will fool many. “Oh he won’t fool me!” You’re fooled already. I tell you, I don’t want anything that’s like Christ. I want Christ and Christ alone. Sure I want to be like Jesus, but I’d much rather just have Jesus. You see, being Christ-like, or like Christ does not commend us toward God. What commends us to God is God himself. The positive of this statement is if any man have the Spirit of Christ, he is His. If I possess God, he’ll possess me. The Bible says, “Draw nigh unto God, and he’ll draw nigh unto thee.” Acting like Christ does not make us more desirable to God or more acceptable to God. Acting like Christ is just that; acting.
How are we supposed to know then? Jesus said to his disciples, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” (John 15:4) Jesus said to abide in me; no fruit except ye abide in me. Remember Simon the sorcerer: it’s not the power that we should seek, but the person. We have the Spirit of the person Jesus Christ within us, we need no power. For all power is given unto Him. So if we possess Him, he’ll possess us.
Such a simple verse, yet so clear. I remember when I heard the preacher say, “I’ll tell you in 5 seconds if you’re saved and on your way to heaven, or lost and going to hell!” And he quoted this verse. “…if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” There is nothing on this earth that will commend us toward God, but God himself. The song writer wrote, “In my hands no price I bring, but simply to thy cross I cling.” Or another song, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” I want to say that there is nothing, no work, no price, no religion, nothing in this world that will commend us towards God. There is nothing that will stand. There is nothing that we can stand upon. It’s Christ and Christ alone. The only reason God has you now is because God has give you Himself. He gave His only begotten Son. He gave us His Holy Spirit. And because we now have that, he has us. Amen.
“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” If you don’t have the Spirit of the person of Jesus Christ, then God does not have you. We quote that scripture where Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:29) I want to say this. If you have not the Spirit of Christ, then you are not in Jesus hand and you’re not in the Father’s hand.
All those people in Matthew Chapter 7, that Jesus said, “I never knew you.”, all those people that prophesied, and cast out devils, and did wonderful works, all those people had one thing in common. Not a one of them had the Spirit of Christ. They had the name of Christ. They were CINOs, Christians in name only. They prophesied in his name. They cast out devils in his name. They did wonderful works in his name. They had the name of Christ, but they didn’t have the Spirit of Christ. And therefore, they didn’t belong to Jesus, and he said, I never knew you. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)
That is why Paul said, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Who walk after the Spirit. They follow me. The Lord, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, is my shepherd. I may not be able to walk side by side in this body by the Lord Jesus Christ, but in spirit, I can clasp his hand in mine. In spirit, he’s the shade upon my right hand. In spirit, he leadeth me, O blessed thought. In spirit, I can lean upon the Lord Jesus Christ. In spirit, I can talk with him and walk with him by the way. The Spirit of the person of Christ is mine as I am his. Like the song says, “Thou who never lost a battle, Stand by me…” It’s not so much that I want to win the battle. I just don’t want to go through battle without Him beside me. It’s the Spirit of the person of Jesus Christ that stands beside me. The Messiah, the God-Man, the Miracle Worker, the Virgin Born, He who is, was, and is to come, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Prince of Peace, he stands beside me.
“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
II – Testifying the Suffering and Glory of Christ
1 Peter 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
I want to go back just a little bit so we can see where Peter is coming from in the text. This is the beginning of his letter in which he is trying to encourage the brethren and tell them many wonderful things about themselves in Christ Jesus. He refers to them as strangers or sojourners, in verse 1. Then the elect in verse 2. Peter talks about them, the church of God, the believers in Jesus Christ.
He tells them that God the Father has begotten us again by his abundant mercy. He’s given us an inheritence that’s incorruptible, undefiled, and reserved in heaven for us. He tells us how we are kept by the power of God through faith. He tells us how we greatly rejoice through manifold temptations. He tells us how our faith will be found unto praise, honour, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. He tells us how, though we don’t wee him, we love him, we believe him, and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. He tells us how we have recieved the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls.
Then, he writes a little bit about the this salvation, and it’s history. He says in verse10 “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:” Peter said that the prophets inquired of this salvation. He said that the prophets searched diligently of this salvation. And he said that they prophesied of this salvation, this grace that has come to us, his church, his people. So you see, Peter is talking about the prophets. He’s saying that this wonderful salvation; begotten by his mercy; inheritance incorruptible; reserved in heaven; the power of God; and joy unspeakable and full of glory. This salvation is the one that the prophets had inquired, searched, and prophesied about. So understand that we are on Messianic ground as we come into this text.
Verse 11 “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” Peter said that the prophets were searching what or what manner of time. They wanted to know who or what and when the Messiah would come. Peter might have had a very keen interest in the Messiah, as many Jews did. His brother, Andrew, was a follower of John the Baptist. And of course John made it very clear that he was preparing the way for the Messiah. And when John pointed out Jesus, and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!”, two disciples, one of which was Andrew followed Jesus for a day. Then Andrew went and found his brother Peter and said, “We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” (John 1:41) “Peter, the Messiah, the one, the Christ that the prophets have spoken of, we have found him!”
Remember when Jesus asked his disciples who people said that he was? They said that some said John the Baptist, some said Elias, and some said Jeremias or one of the prophets. And Jesus said, “But whom say ye that I am?” And it was Peter that spoke up. He said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” See, I believe that Peter, and his brother Andrew, had an affinity for the prophets. For he also had searched what and what manner of time salvation would come, grace would come, the Messiah would come. This was a topic of great interest to him; the Messiah, the Christ.
And interestingly, he said, when he spoke of what the prophets were searching for, he states that “the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify…” The answers to the prophet’s inquiries and searchings were signified (evidenced by, marked by, signaled by, showed, proclaimed, declared) by who? Or what? The Spirit of Christ which was in them. The Spirit of Christ. There was someone inside the prophets that spoke. Peter later said in his second letter “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:21) More specifically, the were moved by the The Spirit of Christ.
Peter, the one who looked Jesus in the eyes, and said, “Thou art the Christ” and saw the miracles he performed, saw him walk on water, calm the sea, saw and heard him pray on the Mount of Olives, saw him crucified, buried, and raised from the dead… Peter, the one who saw the Christ said, “His Spirit, Christ’s Spirit, was in the prophets.” Which was in them. Peter said “The Spirit of my Savior was in the holy men of God, the prophets.” The reason the prophets were able to prophecy about the Christ is because the the Spirit of the Christ was in them.
Peter said, (In 2 Peter) “Look, we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. No, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. I was there on the mount with James and John. We saw his honour and glory when the Father out of heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ We have a more sure word of prophecy. We were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” And it was His Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of His beloved Son, the Spirit of whom God is pleased with, that signified what and what manner of time. Man did not just come up with this stuff. It was Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Can I say this: The Spirit of Christ is the author, and the Man of Christ is the finisher. It was Him that wrote these things by the prophets years ago. He was in them, like He is in you today.
The Spirit of Christ which was in them. The Spirit of Christ signified what and what manner of time. The Spirit of Christ marked, declared, or proclaimed who and when this glorious salvation, this grace that should come, would come. The the Spirit of Christ give the prophets a name, and a date? No. Read on. The bible says, “when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”
When Isaiah was writing down those words, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows… He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities… the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all…”, the Spirit of Christ was signifying what and what manner of time. When David wrote in that Psalm, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” When he wrote, “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet… they look and stare upon me… They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture…”, those many years ago, as they penned those words, the Spirit of Christ which was in them was saying, “That is me! That is me!”
And again, I want you to see that this is a keen interest to Peter. Remember after Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Christ, and Jesus blessed him and said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…” After that, Jesus began to show his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. The bible says, “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” But Jesus turned and said unto Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me…”
Peter didn’t understand it all then. He knew that Jesus was the Christ, but he didn’t know what or what manner of time. But when he wrote this letter, he understood. Sometime after Jesus suffered and died, sometimes after that, (I believe that is was sometime after Pentecost, after he was filled with the Spirit) no doubt Peter went back to the old scriptures. He took out Isaiah, chapter 53, and he read those words, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him… He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities…” And the Spirit of Christ that was in him said, “That’s me. That’s me.”
When Peter wrote this letter, he understood it all. That’s why he said, “The Spirit of Christ signified what and what manner of time when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” I say all this to say this: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Heb 13:8) The same Spirit of Christ that testified before hand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, testifies today of the same matter. The Spirit of Christ, which is in me, is still testifying of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. He still speaks to me of the wonderful work of Christ, the amazing grace of Calvary, the thorns upon his head, the nails through his hands and feet. And he still speaks to me of his glorious resurrection in which I share. And he speaks to me of his glorious abode where he prepares for me a place. The Spirit of Christ which was in them is in me, is in his people today.
Peter, knew the Lord Jesus Christ. He had met him, abode with him, walked with him, talked with him. He knew that Jesus was the Christ. He just didn’t understand the work of Christ and what he was sent down here to do. Today, it’s the opposite. Everybody know what Jesus Christ came down to do. Everybody know that he came to give his life a ransom for a lost world. They all know, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” But unlike Peter, they don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ. They’ve never met him. They don’t abide with him, They don’t walk with him, They don’t talk with him. They have not the Spirit of Christ.
III – Crying, Abba, Father.
Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
The Spirit of his Son. First of all, what an amazing love that Father has for us that he would send us the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. I mean, he gave his only begotten Son that we wouldn’t perish. Has not God given us enough? God has done so much for us already. He’s given us mercy in his Son. He’s given us redemption in his Son. He’s given us peace in his Son. He’s given us so much. On top of all that, he sends forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. This is the Son that God parted heaven and called out “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This is the Son that God has given all power to. This is the Son that God has declared the king of kings and lord of lords. This is the Son that conquered death, hell, and the grave. God says, “I’m gonna put my Son’s Spirit in your heart.” Why? Because we’re sons now. We’re sons now!
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:6)
Look, I understand begin saved. I understand being forgiven. I understand being washed in the blood of the Lamb. I understand God giving me eternal life. I even understand the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. All that was good in Christ is given to me. I’m not judged by my iniquity, but rather by Christ’s righteousness. I can understand much of these things. But I got to admit, I don’t understand this thing of the “adoption of sons.” I mean I know what adoption is. I know that if you adopt a boy that boy is yours now, and you are his Daddy or Mommy from here on out. I understand the concept of adoption. What I don’t understand is how I (me, Rick Alegria) can be called a child of God. I’m not fit to be called a son of God. I mean a doorkeeper is fine with me. I’ll slop the pigs. I’ll clean the horse stables.
I can say like Paul, “There’s no good thing in me.” I can say like Peter, “Depart from me, for I’m a sinful man.” I can say like Isaiah, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips…” I can say “Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me…” I can say all that, but what he says to me is, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.” (Song of Solomon 4:7) John said, “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God..” (1 John 3:1) When I got saved, I didn’t ask God to be my Father. I didn’t ask God that I might be his son. I simply said, “God be merciful to me a sinner!”
And in God’s mercy, he has seen fit to not just save me, not just forgive me and give me everlasting life, but to make me his child. What good is everlasting life, if we can’t be connected to him in someway. In God’s mercy, to as many as received them, gave he power to become the sons of God. I’m so glad that I believed on his name. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..” I just wanted the weight removed. I just wanted to lay my burden down. I just wanted mercy. I just didn’t want to go to hell. I just wanted to be rescued.
That day I turned from sin to Him, the precious love of God moved in.
The blood applied and I became a child of God.
Not one thing that i’ve done, all the praise goes to God’s son.
I’m so thankful for the love He’s shown to me.
What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God? “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Rev 21:7) “…I will recieve you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (Ephesians 6:17,18)
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts…” Why do we have the Spirit of his Son? Simply because we we are sons. I’ve said before many times that the only thing that’s holy in me, is the Holy Spirit that dwells in me. Likewise, the only thing that commends me to God as his son, is the Spirit of his Son that dwells in my heart. Our text: “…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” O, how we must have the Spirit of his Son.
The bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” I want to say this: Without the Spirit of His Son, it is impossible to please God. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said “Behold the Lamb of God.” and God said, “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.” John pointed to the only way to please God, and that is through the Son. Yes, it’s faith that pleases God, but it’s faith in the Son of God. That’s why Paul said, “And the life which i now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
If we are ever going to please God, it’s faith. Remember, we’re preaching about serving in the newness of spirit. We’re preaching about bringing forth fruit unto God, pleasing God. Remember, Paul was saying earlier, “For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Paul’s got a will to please God, but he can’t find a way to do it. In chapter 8, Paul introduces that way. That way is the Spirit. That way is the Spirit of his Son. Would you believe that God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts? Is there something inside of you that cries, Abba, Father?
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (Romans 8:14-16)
We’ll cover this more in depth when we hit these verses. But what I do want to say is that the Sprit of God that leads us is the Spirit of his Son. The Spirit of adoption is the Spirit of his Son. The Spirit that bears witness with our spirit is the Spirit of the his Son. It’s by the Spirit of his Son, that we pray, “Our Father, which art in heaven…” And only by the Spirit of his Son can we come to know the Father. The only Father we’ve truely known are our earthly Fathers; imperfect children with imperfect fathers, and hence an imperfect love between the two. I believe alot of us transfer our knowledge of our earthly fathers to our heavenly fathers. We lean on our own understanding, and miss the perfect love of our Father in heaven; for Spirit of his perfect Son dwells within us. And only in Him we can come to know and love the Father. His ways are above our ways. We are but a sorry excuse for a Father, and a sorry excuse for a son.
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: (John 14:8-11)
We preached last week of the mutual indwelling of the Holy Spirit, If he’s in me, then I’m in him. It goes even further than that. In the Spirit of his Son, we can be in the Father, and the Father in us. it’s in the Son that the Father’s will is done. It’s in the Son that the work of the Father is done. And it’s in the Son that the Father is glorified. Can we love the Father as Jesus loved the Father? Do we cry Abba, Father? That’s an emphatic name of endearment and love, a filial affection.
“…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Having the Spirit of Christ, is having the Spirit of his Son in your heart that cries Abba, Father. Knowing that the Spirit of his Son dwells in my heart, brings a new meaning to scripture where John said, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” Do you have the Spirit of Christ. Remember, we’re not preaching about having a Christ-like spirit. We’re preaching on having the Spirit of his Son dwelling, living, abiding in our hearts. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
IV – Supplying the Spirit of Jesus Christ
Philippians 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
This verse somehow I skipped when I was covering the Things of the Spirit. I remember while preaching through, I came across this verse and wondered, “How in the world did I miss this verse.” And I thought it to be such an interesting verse; the supply of the Spirit. So God is the God of second chances. God has allowed us another opportunity to cover this verse.
So here’s a little background. This letter to the Philippians was supposedly written while Paul was in prison. And he explains to the Philippians that what is happening to him has fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. He said, Even though I’m in bonds, I’m able to preach the gospel wherever I go; in the palace and in all other places. And he explains that his imprisonment has also emboldened the brethren, and they are “waxing confident” and “are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” So even though he’s in bonds, he rejoices and will rejoice because Christ is preached.
I believe, judging by what he’s written, that he believed that it was the end of the line for him; that he was most likely going to die. He said, “For I am in a strait betwixt two,having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” He said, “I want to go, but you need me here.” He wrote those wonderful words, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul was saying, I have nothing to lose here. They may hang me. They may crucify me. They may burn me at the stake. It may be a little suffering here, but what awaits me is eternal glory. How can I lose?
So it’s in this state that Paul says these words. “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” So, obviously, Paul is in a difficult situation. He’s in prison. Nobody wants to be in prison. But I think what he’s saying is “There’s two things that are gonna get me through this: your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Now the first one, your prayers, I’m not going to cover. We need the prayers of others. Amen. But what I want to look at is in this difficult time is that Paul notes that it’s the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ that’s gonna see him through this.
I want to remind us that Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” And bible goes on to say that “this spake he of the Spirit…” I just want to point out that Jesus said to come unto me. He said he that believeth on me. The rivers of living water are contigent upon what you do with Jesus Christ. Did you come to Him. did you believe on Him. It is Him that turns on the fountain. It is Him that controls the supply. It is Him that lets it run. It’s is Him that controls the flow. It is Him that pours out his Spirit upon all flesh, as Joel and Peter said. It is Jesus that will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, as John told us.
And I want to remind us that the bible says to be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. That was Paul who wrote that as he wrote to the church in Ephesus. Paul was filled with the Spirit on the Street that was called Straight in the house of Judas. Paul was filled with the Spirit when he confronted Elymus the sorcerer. Paul was filled with the Spirit after the persecution that arose in Antioch. Him and Barnabas were expelled out of the coasts, and the bible says that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote about being filled with the Spirit. It was a very real and present condition in his life, and he knew much about it.
I believe that is what he is referring to when he speaks of the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. What we must see is that when Paul was in prison, when he was going through this difficult time, it wasn’t some great scheme that would see him through this. It wasn’t some great plan that would get him out. It wasn’t some high paid legal counsel. He wasn’t on the phone with David Gibbs from Christian Law Association. And he wasn’t asking and looking for some miracle.
There were only two things that he was interested in, and that was the prayers of God’s people, and the filling of the Holy Ghost. Those are the things that are would get him through. Paul did not even desire life. He was thinking about the gain of death. He did not desire freedom. He wanted the blessed fullness and filling of the Holy Spirit, and more specifically, the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
I can see Paul, as he wrote this, the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, his mind went back to that day when he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the Damascus road. That bright light shown from heaven. He fell down to the ground and said, “Who are thou, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I AM JESUS!” Paul said “I need a more of Him. I need a steady supply of the Spirit of the Jesus Christ. I need the glory of Jesus Christ. I need Jesus high and lifted up. I need Jesus to shine his light before me everyday! I need the supply more than I need anything else”
When you are in custody, you have little to no possessions. Paul had no home to call his own. He had no personal bedroom with all his stuff, his bed, his books, his lamp, his things. He owned no dishes. He owned no clothes. He had no possessions to enjoy. But I’ll tell you what he did have. He had the infinite, unwavering, inexhaustible supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples, “I will be you ALWAY!” That means Jesus will be with you ALL THE WAY! When I’m nearing my time to go. When I get to be like Paul, and I’m in a strait betwixt two places. When I know that my time here on earth is short, and heaven is just ahead… I want to say, Praise God for doctors, I hope I have a good one. But the one thing I want is the supply of the Spirit. When it’s time to go, that what I want. I don’t want to be filled with drugs. I want to be filled with Holy Ghost of Jesus Christ. I want to have the Spirit of Christ, that he might have me.
Conclusion of the Matter
Paul said, “That I may know him…” Sure I’d like to see the power of God in my life. I’d like to see him working in my family, in my church, in my preaching. But I want to know him, the person Jesus Christ. Thank God I have the Spirit of Jesus Christ within me that I might know him.
I hope that some of this was a help to someone here today. I know we talk about the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity, as if he’s someone different from the Father or the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But to me, it’s helpful to know that He’s not. He’s the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the Son of God. And if you see the Son, you see the Father. If you have the Son, you have the Father.
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