The Spirit Within
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
The Need for a Divine Relationship It is the Holy Spirit who mentors our spirit, revealing the spiritual things of God as they pertain to our daily lives and salvation. The unclean heart (which is desperately wicked) and the natural mind (which is enmity against God) find symbiosis. Every human emotion requires a plan to realize its intended desire. This is where the mind comes into play. With careful planning, an emotion such as hate or anger can produce a heinous crime such as the September 11th bombings of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In our relations with human beings, the emotion of jealousy or envy can lead one to devise plans to discredit others. The power of the carnal mind is best witnessed in the global destruction we see daily, as greed and ambition are executed with unerring precision. When we observe the evil of addiction to various substances, and the organized efforts to ensure its spread throughout the world, we have to be appalled. The cunning ability of the carnal mind is amazing. How often have we seen a project earmarked to do good for society become the vehicle of con artists who line their pockets with ill-acquired funds? Or the desecration and burning of churches, temples, and mosques, the wave of child abductions, molestations and murders, which have created a climate of fear and intimidation that leaves the innocent paralyzed. We need no further evidence that the human mind is in grave need of a divine makeover, which is the exclusive work of the Holy Spirit in partnership with our inner spirit. Paul confirms this: But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness. Ephesians 4:20-24 It is the revelation of God's mind to us that gives the "born of the Spirit" Christian spiritual perception. By this spiritual perception, one is able to visualize the hereafter while functioning at peak efficiency in this present world. Our whole perspective on life changes, as expressed in a well-loved hymn: "and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." This revelation also serves to empower our faith, to the extent that spiritual things become more easily discerned. The clouds of doubt that caused vacillation in our past between good and evil choices are blown away by the refreshing winds of the Spirit. With a renewed spirit, we become instruments of God’s peace that muses the troubled world and brings hope to the hopeless. Now we can personally appreciate the promise of the New Covenant: "I will put my law in their (spiritual) minds, and write it on their (cleansed) hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33). There is yet another dimension to the relationship between the spirit within us and the Holy Spirit – it is the role of inner witnessing. Consider Paul’s explanation: "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together" (Romans 8:16-17). Take careful notice that the Holy Spirit witnesses with – not only to – our spirit. What greater evidence can be offered that the spirit within and the Holy Spirit are communicative entities, capable of jointly witnessing. Surely to suggest, as some in Christendom have, that our inner spirit is merely our "breath" is unbiblical. If this were so, we would have to make the same evaluation of the Holy Spirit – as being only the "breath" of God – since Paul likens one to the other. Paul here confirms that the spirit within us and the Holy Spirit bear witness that we are children of God!
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Every year, millions of dollars and countless hours are spent by people in search for spiritual peace and security. Some attend self-help seminars, which claim to provide the answers for peace in their daily lives, while others search the Scriptures and attend church, yet so many are still filled with anxiety and doubt. However, when John the Revelator looked to the end of time through God’s prophetic lens, he saw a multitude no man could count – of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues – all rejoicing in their salvation. How could all these people, representing every part of the world through the millennia of time, have access to the knowledge of salvation? Certainly our traditional view of how the gospel is spread could not possibly account for such diversity of peoples, geography, and ages. Just as clearly, this knowledge was not obtained through any modern invention such as the self-help movement. So, how did this multitude obtain peace and salvation? The answer: “There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding” (Job 32:8). The Spirit Within explores this mystical statement and finds within it the secrets to peace, a spirit-filled life, and God’s saving power.
About the Author
Jon Robertson is pastor of the Facts of Faith Christian Fellowship in Pomona, California. For the past twelve years, he has explored with his congregation the enriching power of God’s love and the mysteries of His saving grace. In addition to his pastoral duties, Dr. Robertson is an accomplished musician, holding a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Juilliard School in New York City. He is the conductor and music director of the Redlands Symphony Orchestra in Redlands, California, and is the Chair of the Department of Music and Professor of Conducting at UCLA. Dr. Robertson lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife of thirty-four years, Dr. Florence Bellande Robertson. They have three grown daughters and five beautiful grandchildren.