The Day of New Beginnings
Drinking of One Spirit
Christianity takes much for granted in its interpretation of the Scriptures. Before we assume we have what the Scriptures promise, we must first remember the context in which the Word was spoken.
The New Testament was originally a series of apostolic letters written to various churches. The epistles were written to those who had an open heart and submission to apostolic authority. The epistles were living Words because they revealed and imparted the life of Christ. Simply taking what Paul or Peter said and saying, “See, the Bible says this is mine, I have it,” is presumptuous. The epistles were written by those speaking a Life-Word. We cannot divorce the Spirit of the Word from the letter of it. If we do, we have doctrines and theologies without any life in them.
Eph. 2:
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
God’s household, the body of Christ, is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. It is not an historical foundation, but an ever present one. The Scriptures only impart the life within them when they’re expressed as a living Word to our hearts. A person can minister the dead letter of the Word, or impart the life of the Word. The impartation of the Life-Word comes only through the divine order God has established to be channels of it. That was assumed in the early church because at the beginning only true apostolic and prophetic ministries were speaking and teaching the Word. For example, Peter states, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you (1st Pet. 1:23-25).” Peter tells those to whom he is writing that he had spoken a living and abiding Word from God. The recipients of that Word were born again because the Spirit of that Word created in them.
The Life-Word is not ministered in most of Christianity today. It is a dead word, and leads only to doctrines, not creative changes in those hearing it. Just as in the early church, there must be the foundational ministries today that can impart the Spirit of the Word to others. The true pattern of ministry is found in 2nd Tim. 2:
1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
We first drink of a living Word, and then as it works in our lives, we become channels of that Word to others. Through this pattern the life of Christ is perpetuated.
Paul said in 1st Cor. 12, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” Can every Christian make this claim? That is what is taught from most pulpits. If we are not partaking of a Life-Word through the foundational ministries God has established for the church, we are not drinking from the One Spirit Paul alludes to. This raises some serious questions. If the vast majority of Christianity is not partaking of the One Spirit Paul spoke of, what spirit is it partaking of? The apostle John warns in his epistles of false prophets, and to test the spirits to see if they be of God. By the end of the early apostolic age the antichrist spirit was already creeping into the church. John makes this clear. That spirit will preach Jesus all day long but it is devoid of Christ’s life and nature. As John emphasizes, it’s Christ coming in flesh that is the issue. Christ is not formed in us and His life doesn’t abide in us until we receive a living Word. Jesus Christ is the Word, and until it’s ministered through channels that carry His life, we can’t assume we have it. This is a disturbing truth. Paul said in 2nd Cor. 13:5:
5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
6 But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.
We must not assume anything, but experimentally know His life within us. Paul said, “I trust that you realize we ourselves do not fail the test.” Who is the “we” he is speaking of? Everyone that calls themselves a Christian? No! He is referring to those ministering with him that had partaken of a Life-Word.
If we are hungry, God will be faithful to lead us to foundational ministries that can impart a living Word.