by Jim Gordon
It can be hard accepting the fact that God lives within us. For years we were taught God is in heaven and if we follow the commandments and do good things, one day we will go to heaven and live with him face to face. We have an image of God sitting on a throne in heaven and we are far, far away down on earth.
Pastors will tell us that God will show up now and then at a special meeting, or when a special service is planned and the Spirit will fall upon us. Yet we know that God is with us all the time and the Spirit fell on the human race two thousand years ago.
The more I read, I am finding that we really have the whole thing backwards.
The Old Covenant has been fulfilled in Christ and we are living under a New Covenant. We no longer have to try to be good enough. The law was a tutor that led us to Christ, but now that Christ has come and restored fellowship between God and people we no longer need a tutor. We are free from the law and we are children of God through the gift of his grace.
Jesus came to live among us and show us the love of God. When Jesus left, he said he would send us the Spirit. God has now come to live within us. Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we have the mind of Christ. Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one with God, just as he and the Father are one.
Sounds to me that we are missing the main point. We do not have to wait to die and go to heaven to enjoy kingdom living. We do not have to wait to be united with the Father. We no longer need to look to a human guide, teacher or preacher. We have the living, powerful, perfect Word of God living inside us who is the Spirit of Jesus.
There is nothing wrong with listening to others, getting their thoughts and ideas and being encouraged by other believers, but we do not need to rely on other humans. We have the Spirit within us, teaching us and guiding us in the way he has for us.
We do not have to look up in the sky and speak words to some far-away place and wonder if God is listening. We can turn our thoughts inward and realize the Spirit is right there within us, listening, loving us and ready to teach us as we begin to hear his voice from within.
We are all at different stages along the path we walk with him, and we need to remember none of us have it all figured out. We so often want to fight and argue from the understanding we currently have without realizing that we have not reached completion. There is more the Spirit wants to teach us as we become ready to accept it.
For my wife and me, we have changed a lot over the past few years but we realize we have not come to perfection. We will continue to change over the next few years also. So why argue over doctrine, interpretations and beliefs as if we had it all figured out and everyone else is wrong. We all have more to learn as we walk with the Spirit each day.
We should come to accept each other where we are currently, realizing what we know and believe today will more likely change as we continue to walk under the guidance of the Spirit. We can love each other, learn from one another and accept each other as we are, just like Jesus loves and accepts us just as we are.
We should be looking deep within ourselves, listening for the voice and guidance of the Spirit rather than putting all hope in others, and to those we think are more spiritual because they have been trained, educated and paid to do so. Remember, we are all kings and priests and have the same Spirit within us. Each of us are equal and important parts of the body with Christ as the head. His Church is not a building, not a denomination but people.
This is not saying we are all God, but the Spirit lives within us and we are one with our Father. It would do us all good to start focusing on this fact rather than what we have been taught in the past, that being one with God is a future event after we die. Kingdom living is now. Listening to the Spirit, being taught by him and living day by day in communion with the Father is a reality that we all need to realize is happening now.
I would like to add: God is within us, and we are within God. Reread the bible with that in mind and realize that so many parts of the scriptures were thought to be esoteric but are not. They are not up for interpretation but to be taken at face value.
LikeLike
So true Jill. It sadly seems that many churches today do not emphasize this truth enough. God is within us. His Spirit is within us. The Kingdom of God is within us. This is one of the most important truths to live by, yet so many do not hear this or do not understand it. Thanks for your comment.
LikeLike
“We are all at different stages along the path we walk with him, and we need to remember none of us have it all figured out.”
This line in the article jumped out at me as I have begun to live in that reality. I realize I had so many things wrong earlier in life, but God was patient with me. It’s a matter of the heart, not complete understanding. Let’s all work to enjoy the journey.
LikeLike
So true Paul. It takes some of us (like me) longer to figure this out, but glad we are both living in this reality now. Thanks for commenting.
LikeLike
•God exists and is real to us, and we can have a personal relationship with God.
•God was created by humans, and humanity’s concept of God (or Gods) has changed throughout human history. There is no God, beyond the God that we create.
•God only exists within us, within humanity, and only on this Earth. God has no existence beyond humanity, and beyond our planet.
•Humans use God to cope with the harsh reality of our existence. God answers prayers and intervenes to help us, only in the way that our mind uses God to help ourselves. As a coping strategy, God is often ineffective.
•Someday our nearest star, the sun, will explode and destroy our planet, and we are on a collision course with the nearest galaxy. Of course these events are billions of years from now, but at that moment, or at the moment of humanity’s extinction, God will cease to exist.
•This is the meaning of God for me. God may have a different meaning for you.
LikeLike
Alex, I thank you for taking the time to post your comment. I 100% disagree with what you said, but you certainly have the right to have and voice your opinion. I am sorry that is the way you feel about God and I pray someday you may come to believe that God is real and is a God of love. Obviously, I cannot prove that to you, but I do believe God can reveal to you the truth. Thanks again for the comment.
LikeLike
[…] inward experience into an outwardly one, we’ve taken away the very essence of experiencing God. God resides within, in the space of quiet, stillness and peace. We’ve disconnected ourselves from communing with God […]
LikeLike
So true Sharon. There is really not a lot of emphasis on this in the church world. The Spirit lives within us, yet we so often look to the teaching and guidance of other humans rather than the Spirit. Thanks for your comment.
LikeLike
Very compelling thoughts. I am meditating with Dr. Joe dispenzas meditations and realize more and more that what he has discovered is exactly what is being talked about. So enlightening!
LikeLike
Thank you Bob. I appreciate your comment.
LikeLike
We are ALL made in the image of God. What does this mean? This is obviously not our body, but our spirit. If we accept Jesus (the perfect example of what it is to BE) are we accepting the image of God within. The characteristics we know are of God and Jesus while on Earth.
Are other religions born with the spirit of God within? Yes! Can other religions BE those characteristics that Jesus embodied? Yes! Does that mean that they are accepting Jesus (what Jesus represents) even if they are not considered a Christian?
I am also done with Religion and after seeing things from this perspective. My relationship with God (my true original self) has never been stronger since this discovery. I have shifted from praying to BEING the fruits of the spirit, the fruits I was given because I am made in the image of God. Is sin not the program we learn from man that covers our true nature?
So Jesus is sinless because he embodied his true nature, the God within. When we are living in that nature we are walking the path God has for us. The path that is filled with love for all including ourselves. The path that he determined while we were still in our mothers womb is this path of love. Everyday that we walk that path we acheive closeness with God.
That’s my thoughts for the morning. Please feel free to expand or comment. I am still gaining understanding of the new knowledge that has been put in front of me.
LikeLike
Thanks April. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. It seems to me that in religion we are more or less taught division. First division from God, he is in Heaven we are on earth. Second division from others. Those who believe like us versus everyone else. God’s love is universal. He loves us all even though we are all different and see things differently. May we all focus on God within us, loving God and loving each other.
LikeLike
The great thing about believing is just that, something does not have to be true. If I said I have the truth, would you want to know? – not likely, if you knew the truth would it help you? – not likely, because the truth is about life. The question is who’s life? – the lamb you are about to eat, or the lion who is about to ear you? – ha, ha….. but yes, there is a god of life and there are rules and most, if not all religions know some of the rules, unfortunately most of the crap is about getting you to believe that their rules are correct. I know the answer, but I doubt if anyone cares.
LikeLike
I get it. Religion, whichever group it is, thinks they are right and they want to force everyone to accept their way of thinking. I say…. no thanks lol. Thanks for the comment.
LikeLike
If God is within you then you are God. Accept that you are God and he will reveal himself to you. Believe me. He revealed himself to me and who stood before me was myself but perfect without any blemish. He reveals himself to you in a dream but the dream is more real than quote on quote real life. He is you, your own wonderful human imagination. You’re imagination which is you is the cause of all things and that my friend is Jesus Christ and you are him. Everything you see before you during your waking day is you stretched out including every human being you see. They are simply different versions of you. Check out Neville Goddard if you want to know more.
LikeLike
That is a little different than what we are traditionally taught. Will have to check out Mr. Goddard. Thanks for the comment.
LikeLike
I am not sure that I agree with your stance that we are God…if we believe what the Bible states is inspired by God, I do not see a single passage that would speak to your statement that we are God. If we are God, then Jesus’ words of there is none that can go to the Father (God) accept through Him is void…
LikeLike
Hi Robert, thanks for reading my article. I think there is a little misunderstanding on what I said. I was not saying we are God. In the last paragraph of the article I wrote “This is not saying we are all God, but the Spirit lives within us and we are one with our Father”. I do not believe being one with the Father is being God. As I wrote in my article, “when Jesus left, he said he would send us the Spirit. God has now come to live within us. Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we have the mind of Christ. Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one with God, just as he and the Father are one”. John 17:20,21 reads, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me”. I do believe the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) lives within us and we can be one with God just as Jesus in his human state was one with God, yet that does not mean we are God. Hope that explains it a little more. Thanks for your comment.
LikeLike
Powerful and eye-opening.
LikeLike
Thank you Meagan.
LikeLike
Very good posting, and I agree, only God’s people will have the Holy Spirit dwelling within. For it was only given to those who became born-again.
The rest of the unbelieving world, well we just need to be the living Testimony of what the Lord has done for us, and how He saved us from our sins. And the Lord will bring in those who do not believe, then they also shall have the Holy Spirit dwelling within.
Praise the Lord, for His Glorious Mercies!
LikeLike
Thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to comment.
LikeLike
“We do not have to wait to die and go to heaven to enjoy kingdom living.” Total agreement. If the early church had not placed God in the heavens, and then assumed that was God’s kingdom, then we might have discovered this sooner. But it’s much easier to accept that you don’t have to do anything to enter the kingdom except believe what the preacher of choice says you have to believe. Sometimes ushering the kingdom into our individual worlds is hard work, like a woman who mixed yeast into 100 pounds of dough. My book “The Kingdom of Heaven Begins Today” (on Amazon) explains that the phrase itself was a colloquial way of saying “the development of a perfect order where all things are working together in equity and harmony.” It’s amazing how much this makes all the parables easier to understand, it explains why the “violent take it by force,” and more.
LikeLike
Thank you, that is so true. I will have to check out your book also. Thanks for the comment. I appreciate it.
LikeLike
Great Post. There are so many implications if we come to understand Jesus’ teaching emphasized kingdom living begins now and not after death. Wasn’t Jesus more about quality of life beginning now rather than quantity of life after death. Again, so much food for thought from what you have written. Thanks.
LikeLike
I agree with you. Jesus is for living with him now and living by his example of how to treat others. It is more than just looking to a time in the future. Thanks for the kind words.
LikeLike
Thanks for this reminder, Jim. Not always easy in the midst of the rush of life to quieten our souls to listen to the voice of His Spirit within, but something we so need to train ourselves to do, and I’m thinking that it’s something we can learn better in fellowship with others helping and encouraging us on our path of spiritual growth.
LikeLike
Thank you Jem. So true on fellowship with others. Forsaking not the assembling of yourselves together means to me we need one another for friendship and fellowship. It is not so much an assembling in an organized service because true fellowship does not happen there. It is a normal way of living day by day getting to know our brothers and sisters in Christ, encouraging one another and supporting one another. Thanks for the comment.
LikeLiked by 2 people