ONENESS

Joined to the Lord as One Spirit

From God's point of view, all of the believers are one with Him by His Spirit. The Bible shows these in many ways- two of them are:

I Corinthians 6:17 (King James Version) "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."

John 17:21 (King James Version) "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one."

Oneness, which redeemed believers have with God and Jesus is that His Divine Spirit, has been mingled with the human spirit of that believer. This truth transcends any denominations, any standing as a "free group", cult, sect, heresy, etc. All that does not exist in harmony with this truth is outside of God. The oneness believers have with God is an absolute reality and a supreme truth in the Word of God; that is, that it is of supreme importance. In fact, it is the essential element in the fulfillment of God's plan for us. It is the reason Jesus Christ died on the cross.

John 16:7-15 (King James Version) "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."

Jesus was demonstrating the fullness of the Father to the world when He was manifest in the flesh, ministering on Earth. He spoke of going away (through His crucifixion) saying that it was necessary or expedient that He go so that the "Comforter" would be able to come, take up residence in the redeemed believers, and be the fullness of God in us. This Holy Spirit of God and Jesus, which He has caused to dwell in His redeemed believers is our oneness with Him.

I have a challenge for any believer. If any Christian will endeavor by faith in God and Jesus to meet this challenge, their life will be revolutionized. This is the challenge: By faith, live in the oneness we have in Christ. I grant that there is a whole world of opposition to this and that there are many adversaries to this challenge, but even as a little success is obtained, the power, love, and joy of God will overwhelm and overtake you. He will saturate you with the blessing of His presence.  By our lives lived in the oneness with God, they become a resurrected and mingled-with-God life. 

Galatians 2:20 (King James Version) "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

I am writing specifically to Christians, but if anyone is just wading at the edge of the water happens to read this, I also will extend this challenge: if you will put your heart's faith in Jesus Christ, you will become one with God and Jesus.  By calling out to Jesus, He will forgive you and cleanse you from all that is not of Him and instantly bring you into this oneness we have with Him. You will be changed! The most glorious experience a person can have is to come into this oneness with God and Jesus, His Son.  It becomes a problem only when we don't realize or forget what being born again is.  This is it; we become one spirit with God.  Then to the extent we live and walk in the spirit, we walk in God.

It is a relationship that is designed to last forever. This relationship is that of a son and a father. You actually will receive the very life and nature of God into your human spirit. Once this happens, you will have the way to live by His Spirit in your spirit, and your very soul may become renewed; that is, His Spirit may be lived out through your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and your will. Your whole life will be revolutionized to be a shining expression of God in you if He is given the place in your life that He desires.

Let's talk about oneness with God a little bit. What does it really mean? When a person becomes one with God, it is a spiritual thing. God's Spirit is able to search all things, including the depths of God, and reveal an understanding to us. This is just one aspect of His working in us, but we can see from this that knowledge and understanding are conveyed via the Spirit of God in our human spirit. Though it is conveyed by means of the Spirit, we gain understanding in our soul. The Holy Spirit, mingled and made one with our spirit, becomes the vital link or connection between God's mind and our mind.

God's Desire - That Man Take Him In

In the beginning, God desired to be man's everything, but not without man's free-will choice. God desired that man would willingly choose Him and see that he was incomplete without God. God wanted man to desire Him and see the value of relationship with Him. God intentionally gave man a free will and wanted him to exercise it. His hope, plan, and intention was that man exercise his free will to receive Him into him and become one with him. God, from the beginning, wanted man to exercise his created, independent, free will to choose Him and take Him in.

God knew man was ignorant, so He gave instructions in the form of a command and a warning: "Eat freely of every tree of the garden including the Tree of Life, but not of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the day you do eat of it, you shall surely die." This is, in essence, what God said. Had man continued in the garden, taking in his nourishment according to God's instructions; he would have eventually become a partaker of God's life and nature. All that God is would have been combined with man. As it is now, having been redeemed through the precious blood of His Son, Jesus, we are positioned again to take in God. All that He is can be ours in His Son, Jesus.

So, the call is to all who would come to the Lord and drink. Jesus has become "the Life-giving Spirit." A perfect human life, now in resurrection, has become available for us to partake of in the Holy Spirit. God has done this so that He may get into us and become our life in order for us to become one with Him. Let us come before the Lord right now and say from within: "Lord, I open my heart to You that You may fill me with the living water. Wash me and make me thoroughly clean through the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your life, and use me to do Your will. Lord Jesus, be the Tree Of Life to me, and let me eat and be filled with You. Amen!"

© 1997 Bruce Archer