Baptized by One Spirit

There is a great conflict that almost all of God's people are dealing with today, some more so than others. That conflict is between the heart and the mind. The erroneous traditions and doctrines of modern Christianity have dictated a wrong 'Gospel' to the minds of God's people, and that is a very serious problem. The problem is this: We are told in the scriptures that only those who are pure in heart will be saved, meaning raised from the dead to meet Jesus at his second coming (Mat. 5:8; Heb. 12:14; I Jn. 3:2,3; Rev. 20:6). The Bible also informs us that the baptism of the holy Ghost is the means by which we are originally purified in our hearts from our sins (Acts 15:8,9; Acts 10:44-46; Rom. 15:6; I Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:5). The scripture also tells us how it is that we remain in the condition of having a pure heart, which is to say sanctified: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the [congregation], and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the WASHING OF WATER BY THE WORD, That he might present it to himself a glorious [congregation], not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish [sin]" (Eph. 5:25-27). It is the "washing of [living] water" which comes by means of the word of God being sown into the hearts of believers, that occasions the ongoing purifying of the hearts of God's people. The "water" that washes the hearts and souls of those who believe in Jesus is the same "living water" that Jesus said would flow from the innermost being of all who truly believe on him, which in fact is his Spirit (Jn. 7:37-39). The only way that this living water of the holy Ghost can continue to wash the hearts an souls of believers is if they are hearing the real truth of God that comes from heaven, which truth alone cultivates that sanctifying washing of water. What we have today is an overwhelming dilemma of man-made traditions and doctrines replacing the word of God, and the result is that very few are able to continue purifying their hearts completely and remain in a condition that is acceptable to God. And this is nothing new, seeing that Jesus cited the religious leaders of his day for worshiping God in vain by means of their own traditions that they had substituted for the real truth of God (Mat. 15:3,9). In fact, if you give people the chance to talk about what they believe, you will find out that almost all of God's people, and I'm talking about holy Ghost baptized believers; will confess to being a sinner.

Truth is, most folks are downright proud of being a religious sinner. They have actually been taught to believe that it magnifies the grace and righteousness of Jesus to confess to being a sinner, "saved by grace" of course. Seems someone forgot to teach what the apostle Paul taught and wrote in the scriptures: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom. 6:1,2). Trust me friend, if you THINK and confess to being a sinner, you WILL BE a sinner. And that is exactly what the man-made doctrines of Christianity do, they promote sin under the guise of exalting Jesus for 'doing it all' for us. Well I agree that Jesus did it all for us, but that INCLUDES giving us the sanctifying, cleansing POWER of the holy Ghost to "purify [our] hearts by faith" (Acts 1:8; Acts 15:9). Somehow Christianity manages to leave that part out, and substitute a bunch of religious gobbledygoop in its place. And the dilemma is that this this false 'Chirstian' gobbledygoop CANNOT AND DOES NOT cultivate any "washing of water" for the sanctifying of the hearts and souls of God's redeemed. "The faith that was once delivered to the saints" is all about the purified condition of the hearts of believers due to their sincere faith in Jesus, but that reality has been lost due to the revealed truth of God being lost to the body of Christ (Jude 1:3). You don't believe that? Then believe the scriptures: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from THE faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (I Tim. 4:1). And, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come... [They will be] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (II Tim. 3:1,5). What has taken place is this, and it brings me back to this great conflict that God's people are engaged in within themselves: The true Gospel of Christ is in effect the Gospel of the heart, whereas this other 'Gospel' which turns people away from focusing on the condition of their heart; is in effect the Gospel of the MIND (II Cor.11:4; Gal. 1:6,7). The mind is not what receives sanctification when someone is baptized with the Spirit, but rather it is the heart. Developing the "mind of Christ," which is actually the sanctification of the mind, is a process; and that process can only occur by the continued purifying of the heart.

The 'Christian' Gospel of today dictates only to the intellect, so what happens is that the heart gets left out, and left in sin; while the mind 'develops' in this fairy tale Gospel that replaces the REAL Gospel that Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to deliver to us with soul cleansing power (Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:16; I Cor. 4:20). Once someone's mind is saturated with the deception that the fairy tale Gospel of their particular religious affiliation is the truth, it is VERRRRY difficult to get the true Gospel into them because of the belief that they ALREADY HAVE the truth. Nonetheless Jesus tirelessly deals with the hearts of his people by his Spirit, hoping that they will hear his voice: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me... He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the [congregations]" (Rev. 3:20,22). And therein lies the great conflict. Christianity's erroneous teachings have conditioned God's dear sheep to hear with their mind, and NOT with their hearts. God speaks to the HEARTS of his people, and they slightly feel the conviction of the holy Ghost, but mistake it for something else. Thinking that they are being loyal to God by being loyal to their 'church,' they refuse the conviction of God's Spirit, believing that it is the devil trying to turn them away from 'the truth.' Friend, there is only one 'truth,' and that is the Lord Jesus Christ himself (Jn. 14:6). And the scripture tell us clearly, "Now the Lord IS that SPIRIT: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [from sin]" (II Cor. 3:17). That would be the same SPIRIT that "purifies [our] hearts by faith," and the same Spirit that "washes, sanctifies, and justifies" us (Acts 15:9; I Cor. 6:11). That is also the same Spirit that continues to wash our hearts and souls clean when fueled by doctrine that truly comes from God; and it is the same Spirit that brings us "the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the [same] holy Ghost, which inner regeneration and renewing is what the BIBLE says saves us (Eph. 5:25-27; Tit. 3:5). Yes my friend, what we are listening to, and what we are believing to be the word of God, has a WHOLE LOT to do with what condition our hearts are in, and whether they are truly being kept pure or not. In conclusion please allow me to exhort and encourage you to listen to God's Spirit WITH YOUR HEART, for that is where his voice can be heard. If your mind is saying something different than what you feel in your heart, and it probably does, your mind is wrong. Amen and God bless.