When talking about, blessed are the poor in spirit...
1.
A: Is it talking about consider our selves poor in the 'Spirit of God (the Holly spirit)' since we are still in the flesh and since
B: we are not to think higher of our selves than we must?
or
2. Is it talking about being poor in 'the spirit of man'...
A possible answer(s) to #1:
A: It seems I remember Ray writing on receiving the holy spirit in increments and honestly I'm not sure where that particular writing is, or a part of, but I'm pretty sure about it. If that's true, then one could look upon themselves as being 'poor' in the holy spirit.
Hi gk, I was looking for where Ray spoke about "increments"... I don't think he was speaking about the Holy Spirit coming in increments or at least I couldn't find where he did. But here is a place he did use 'increments' to explain something.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php?topic=3849.0 ------------------------
Jesus Christ never converted a person in His whole ministry. It’s just amazing. If you said that in a church they’d be throwing rotten tomatoes at you. But in His whole ministry Jesus Christ never converted one person! Not one!
The 11 second sinner’s prayer… they have not a clue what they are talking about!!
When came around Pentecost time though, a whole bunch of them were converted, about 120 of them. But Christ was leading them up to that. And He’s probably leading some of us up to that.
All these things take a lifetime. We’re going to live "the seals." A third part of the man died... that’s a third part of the man in us that is going to die, a third part of the carnality. God works in increments, He wipes out some of the trees and then He burns some of the grass… what is the trees and the grass? These are all things in us. We have islands, and mountains, and trees, and grass. All of these are belief systems and ideas and doctrines and philosophies of life and all these things. And they are all going to be burned out and broken down and destroyed. All of those seven seals, seven trumpets, seven plagues, they are all things that must happen in our lives.
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So here Ray was speaking of how the burning out the carnality comes in increments. The Holy Spirit us given to the Elect now as a earnest, that is a promise/guarantee of being in the first resurrect at Christ's return. So I think the earnest gives us all we need now to be prepared and we will fully receive/know only when we are resurrected into the kingdom.
1Co 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall fully know even as I also am fully known.
Here is a email with more on this earnest of the Spirit.
http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,2619.0.html --------------------------
The Spirit of Christ is eternal, and when we have the Spirit of Christ we have eternal life in us. But....BUT,
we have only the "earnest" of that spirit, and it will not keep our physical bodies from dying. But when we have the earnest of God's spirit, it is proof that there is more to come: "In Whom you also trusted after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that you believed, you were SEALED WITH THAT HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE. Which is the EARNEST of our inheritance UNTIL [not now; not yet, but later] the redemption of the purchased POSSESSION, unto the praise of His glory" (Eph. 1:13-14).
And that takes place at the resurrection of the saints at the last trump. One more point: although we are promised "eonian" life, nonethless, the spirit that gives us "immortality," IS ETERNAL.
God be with you,
Ray