Just what is, exactly, ‘poor in spirit’?
It sounds like you've met the beast or you wouldn't be terrified of him. But then I thought -- wait a minute -- are we supposed to be dwelling on that or the One who is greater? Greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world. It's good to have a healthy estimation of ourselves, but I thought we were supposed to be thinking/dwelling/meditating on:
Philippians 4:8
...whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
It's hard to do, that's for sure. I hear, practice makes perfect. ;)
Hi gk,
What you have said is absolutely right! That beast within each and every one of us is the most horrorable thing and you just go along living with it and thinking that's just the way it is and it is the way that the would is. But at some point God shows you who you truly are and you began to despise what you see. I have looked on the face of the beast that I am and believe me, my own actions have proved it to me. I struggled many years with not understanding why I would do such things, but you can't deny reality. Not until after I had been studying the truth for some time did I begin to find the answer and rest from my own troubling pass behavior.
It is quite earth shaking and quite devastating to realize that there is no deed of wickedness that you wouldn't comment if in the right circumstances. That is exactly what God wants us to realize and I believe like you said it takes actually experiencing it and God will give you that experience. Yes we all have to know, through experience, that we are a carnal fleshly ravaging wild beast, it is quite humbling when you fully understand it.
God's Spirit is the ONLY hope any of us have to be rescued from this body of dead.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
v. 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
mercy, peace and love
Kat
Hi Gina, and you're right.
But.
What about this view of the prism?
Does what you say make the beast any less true, any less ravaging?
To think on it isn't necessarily 'dwelling' on it, but, if that's where God puts our heart 'for a time'..........doesn't that do exactly what it is he wants?........makes him greater, more so, than we ever first believed?
Sounds necessary, at least to me it does.
To think on it isn't necessarily 'dwelling' on it,
I never said that no spirit has consciousness. OUR spirit has no consciousness. God IS Spirit and God is conscious
His consciousness is beyond comprehension
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'...
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.
B: Ray's good story on King Nebuchadnezzar answers part B. (but you knew that already)
2: Since every person alive, who has ever lived and who will ever live has a 'spirit', then they have 100% spirit. Can't imagine anyone walking arount with 58.324% spirit................. but we all know God works in mysterious ways. So, I'd say at this point to answer #2 you need to refer back to the posting of Marques and the initial posting of Arcturus, or poor in spirit is what they say. And, I would almost be inclined to think those measurements of 'poor in spirit' will be given in increments. Otherwise somebody.....somewhere............ is damn near perfection..............and I'd like to meet her.
But then again, I may be one of those 58.324%er's........... so your mission is to add a grain of salt <here>.
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'...QuoteA 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