In the Spirit vs. Out of the Spirit

[Svt4Him]

Hi Rashelle,

I was at church and they did some teaching on it. The one story I remember is with Adam, God told him to name the animals. God gave him the ability, but Adam had to open his mouth and say the name. When Adam said the name, God didn't laugh at him. It's also like playing the piano, you may have the ability, but it is you who plays. God gives you the ability, then you do the speaking. After they asked if anyone wanted to pray for this gift, and I did. But I tend to be a pretty analytical person, so I was trying to think things through. I ended up leaving the church that night, but I didn't think I had received the gift. When I went home, I just started praying, first in English, then with my spirit. At that time, I would experience things, then God would open the Bible to me, and He opened Acts 2 where it said 'That which you see and hear is what was promised by the prophet Joel'.

 

[Follower of Christ too]

One particular verse come to mind.
John in Revelation:
Revelation 1:10 KJV
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet...

This verse in interpreted in two ways that I know of:
1. He was "in the Spirit" on the Sabbath("the Lord's day"), or:
2. He was "in the Spirit" transported to the day of the Lord... which is considered to be the end of the age....
I tend toward the first concept.

But your question my dear friend in Christ is one of the many problems faced by those who equate the "Holy Spirit" with the "spirit of Christ".

The "spirit of Christ" is that spirit you receive when you are born again. It is the spirit that replaced the old adamic spirit with it's fallen nature.

The "Holy Spirit" is the Spirit of God that we are baptized with at some point after we are born again with the above mentioned "spirit of Christ."

We always have the "spirit of Christ" there is no other spirit in us that we can call our own. There is no "adamic" human spirit in there... it is gone. There is no "duel" nature, part fallen part divine in your spirit.
The manifestations of the "Holy Spirit" are wholly dependent on His will and His timing. He will manifest when the "anointing" is upon you. Being "in the Spirit" is just another degree of anointing. It is so powerful that you lose focus on the earthly realm that surrounds you. People who experience visions while fully awake often say that they are enveloped in a cloud or that suddenly they find themselves in a different place. This idea is taken one step further when believers are taken bodily into the ???? and return to tell what they saw. This concept is intimated by Paul:

2 Corinthians 12:1-2 LITV
1 Really, to boast is not profitable to me, for I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ fourteen years before--whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third Heaven.


One last concept to consider is this: It is possible to enhance your immediate spiritual focus by praise and worship as described in this scripture:

Ephesians 5:18-20 LITV
And "do not be drunk with wine," in which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and praising in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, even to God the Father,

I have purposefully left out the verse numbers because this is one sentence and the "speaking" part is what accomplishes the "filling" part. If you will sing in the spirit, praise the Lord with little "spiritual songs" and give forth a constant stream of thanksgiving, you will feel the anointing rise in you and fill you. This is a key to any believer's spiritual life.

I love your answer! I have tried for years to tell people I recieved the spirit of Christ and was later filled with the Holy Ghost and most often they laugh and tell me to study the Bible a little closer

 

[Heinrich]

When I was spirit filled I guess I didn't understand what was going on.
Later I started to speak in tongues..
And then later I started to study this holy spirit baptism from the word.

My life changed so dramatically the last year when I got spirit filled it's amazing.
My Mother & Father doesn't believe in this... neither does any of my other family.
Throught prayer God opened a door to my brother these holidays

Throught this baptism of the spirit I got so much closer to God I just can't really see how to live without this.
One thing I sometimes notice is that when you talk to somebody that is spirit filled you can almost anytime/alltimes speak about christian stuff and Jesus and so on and so forth.. and the moment you do it's like the person wakes up and he starts to get excited!! but with other christians its sometimes almost like either they seem to have nothing to say about there religion or they seem to think you're attacking them or somthing and they give these sortoff answers that shuts down the conversation.

If the Jews where to study the bible they will become christians...
same: if christians where to study the bible they would ask Jesus for the for the Holy Spirit and He would give them the good gift!

The gifts are there for the edification of the church.. the church would surely be poor without them... secondly if the GREAT apostles made use of the gifts for evangelism how on earth are we suppose to do it without and reach there levels of success...
Surely God wants all mankind to come to salvation.

 

[enoch son]

didaskalos; I enjoy your post but most say that the duel nature thing is still there. 1 Cor. 15 -50 " Now I say this brethern, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable". I know my body is dead that the flesh is on the cross. But even Paul had his fight with the nature. " The things I should do I don't etc." The earthy adam is still here in this flesh. But praise God for the heavenly one inside. As one release the heavenly one the face in the mirror does change, doesn't it! By the faith of Christ we can almost see it's passing away in the nature. But at last we must wait for the twinkling of the eye!