[Charles Desgrosseillier] In Jerusalem a little more than 1982 years ago there was a spectacular demonstration by God and endowing a great gift upon those who had followed Jesus Christ through His life and through His death. You heard about that earlier.

The disciples had been instructed by the resurrected Jesus Himself, to stay put in Jerusalem and wait for the fulfillment of the promise of that great endowment.  They were told by Christ, just before His ascent to heaven, that they would be baptized with this great gift and would as a result receive power. George also talked about that.

Please join me in Acts 2:1, to read about the realization of this promise from God as fulfilled on a day we celebrated only two weeks ago, also as George covered. I'm going to go in a little different direction than George however, so just stay with me for a moment. Just to review a scripture he read. Acts 2:1. Now when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all there with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind and it filled the whole house that they were sitting in. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire. And one, or one of those tongues, sat on, or was distributed to, each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. I'd like to focus on the fact that Christ's disciples were gathered in one place, in agreement with one purpose, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And the presence of the Holy Spirit within them was demonstrated by communication in different languages and dialects to all assembled on that day of Pentecost. But it is one, only one, demonstration of God's Holy Spirit present within a person as we shall see as we progress. It's only one demonstration of God's Spirit.

All those who witnessed the fulfillment of this mass endowment of God's Holy Spirit upon His disciples were told about how the savior of mankind had been abused and unjustly killed and that they were all responsible for this tragedy. They were cut to the heart and they wanted to know what they should do. Carry on in Acts 2:38-39. Then Peter said to them, Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Repentance comes first. Being baptized and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and your children and all who are afar off, as many as the Lord God will call. So you'll notice that a rushing wind, a rushing, mighty wind, came upon the disciples and filled them with God's Holy Spirit. This sacred blast of breath, sanctifying current of air, this pure breeze, as the Greek hagios pneuma means, entered upon those called by God and who God set apart as His followers completely apart from all other human beings on earth, this was in fact, God-life being infused into man.

You may remember from Genesis that the spirit in man was given when God made human beings in His image. And what did God do then? What did He do to Adam? He breathed life into him. He breathed into Adam the breath of life. It's also evident that God did this to no other creature on earth. He breathed the breath of intellect, inflation of intellect, stoking of divine inspiration. He breathed into him the kingly unconsciousness way back there in Genesis. And man became unique with the creation of intellect, awareness, and Divine consciousness. Through this breath God set apart man from all the animal realm. No other creature on earth was like man at that point. And enabled him to understand the things of a man which no other creature could understand.

In these last days of what was set in motion through Adam and Eve, God, here at Pentecost, 1982 years ago, provided another spirit through His breath. The Holy Spirit. Remember? It's a sacred blast of breath. That's a literal translation from hagios pneuma.

Let's start turning to John 20. But I just want you to remember that Jesus Christ tried to get this concept across to Nicodemus, back in John 3. I won't go back and read that because I'm going to run out of time. But he talked about the spirit is like the wind. It's breath. It's air. Pneuma means air. That's what keeps your tires inflated so you don't bump all over the road. Pneuma is in your tires. It means air.

John 20:21, please. A simple statement Jesus made after returning from the dead which may be helpful as we move on. Then Jesus said to them: Peace be to you. As the Father who sent Me, I will also send you. And when He said this He said this He breathed upon them, and what happened when He breathed upon them? And He said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. So you see the association of breath and the Holy Spirit again. He breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit. Almost an expiration from Him. Exhalation from Him. Receive the Holy Spirit.

To understand this great gift from God, perhaps we can put it in terms of sacred breath.  First breathed en masse on the day of Pentecost almost two millennia is the actual breath of spiritual life, which He only gives to a few in this day and age but eventually to everyone. And Paul tried to communicate what this spiritual life could enable within us in 1 Corinthians 2. And thank you for not using that one, George. I thought you were headed there when you said 1 Corinthians. But 1 Corinthians 2:9-11. But as it is written, eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him, but God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God, For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in them. Remember God set man apart from all the creatures on earth to breathe into him the spirit in man. Even so, no one knows the things of God except by the Spirit of God. No human being on earth knows the things of God except that they have the Spirit of God in them. This awesome promised gift of God's Holy Spirit given to more than one person at the time of the first day of Pentecost in 31 AD provides us with certain spiritual ability which the natural man equipped with only the spirit of man doesn't have.

In his second letter to his young protégé Timothy, Paul wrote something he considered vital by way of reminder and exhortation. 2 Timothy 1:6. A vital reminder and exhortation here. He writes to Timothy: Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you to the laying on of my hands, For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And this is not a complicated statement, but it gives us the essence of how the Holy Spirit operates in those who have received it upon being baptized with water for the remission of sins and having it infused by the laying on of hands after baptism. We are given dunamis. George mentioned it. The same word dynamite comes from. Dunamis. Miraculous force. Mighty ability. Agape. Godly affection. Dear love. And spohronismos. Discipline of thought. Inspired thinking. All that through God's Holy Spirit living in us. There is no mistaking the working of these spiritual qualities in our lives if God's Spirit is present in us.
Let's explore, for the rest of the time that we have together, how dunamis, agape, and sophronismos work in us individually and within God's church and then discuss the final outcome in each of us or in the Body of Christ.

We'll start with dunamis. The power of God's Spirit in us. The beloved physician Luke, the author of the third gospel as it appears in our Bible, and the one responsible for recording the book of Acts, records the fact that dynamic power would be given to the disciples of Jesus. Let's read this. Let's read what Jesus had to say to His followers just before His ascension into heaven. Luke 24, please. Luke 24:44. Here's what Christ had to say to His followers before He went to heaven. Then He said to them: These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms concerning Me. And He opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures. Then He said to them, thus it is written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And you were witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you by tarrying in the city. Stay behind in the city, at Jerusalem. Until you are due with power from on high. And here's what Luke had to write about this: Acts 1:1-8. George did read this. The former account I made oh Theophilus of all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day in which He was taken up after He, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to His disciples whom he had chosen. To whom He had also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs. Being seen by them forty days and speaking of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem. Same words. Christ told them, “Don't leave here. Wait around.” But to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, you have heard of Me, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Therefore when they had come together they asked him, Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel, and He said to them it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father put in His own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and Samaria, and to all the end of the earth. Brethren, that power was manifested on the day of Pentecost in AD 31 through what we have come to know as tongues. That is, the dunamis, or miraculous ability of communicating to Parthians, Medes, Theomites, Mesopotamians, Judaens, Capidations, Egyptians, Romans, Cretians, Arabs, they could understand in their language, or dialect, what these simple Galileans, these followers of Jesus Christ, filled with God's Holy Spirit, were saying.

These tongues, the only demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit that's available to God's people, some in the church thought so, and Paul had to address this in 1 Corinthians 12. And we'll spend a little bit of time in 1Corinthians 12 and 13. But 1 Corinthians 12:4. Paul had this to say to the Corinthians in his first epistle. Now there are diversities, allotments or various kinds, of gifts, but the same spirit. There are difference of ministries, but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities but it's the same God who works in all. Or works all things in all. But the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. It's to benefit everybody. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit, and to another the word of knowledge through that same spirit, to another faith by the same spirit and to another gifts of healing by the same spirit and to another the working of miracles and to another prophecy or inspired preaching, foretelling. To another discerning of spirits. To another different kinds of tongues. All these things are listed before tongues. Did you notice that? Or languages, dialects. And other interpretations of tongues. Some people can understand languages pretty well. Or dialects. Don't speak it very well. Can't communicate it very well. But they can understand it. But one and the same spirit works in all these things. Distributing to each one individually as He, God, wills.

Now you and I have known people who believe that they have been endowed with certain dunamis and have something to prove. They might carry an air of superiority they might be very competitive in achieving preeminence in the church. The whole point of every miraculous ability or mighty working in us through God's Spirit is the profit of all. It's not for self-glorification. Something got missed along the way with some of these people.

Paul continued on how this dunamis or power of the Holy Spirit works in each and every one of us perfectly together as one body with many diverse members and concludes this topic in verses 28 through 31 of the same chapter you're in right now. 1 Corinthians 12:28-31. And God has appointed these in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts, then healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Tongues comes pretty far down that list. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. And we'll get to that more excellent way in a minute. It's not these gifts that are the more excellent way as we'll come to see. But it's not my purpose to explain each and every one of these manifestations of dunamis or the power of God that comes upon us by His Holy Spirit dwelling within us. I have fear of one thing, though. Each one of us in here, each one of us that is called by God, that has God's Spirit dwelling within him, or her, possesses at least one, at least one, miraculous ability or mighty force that helps in doing the work of God and benefits the entire church of God. I believe that because it's written right here. It has been distributed to each one of us as He, God, individually wills, or He wills for each of us.

Let's be sure that we know what manifestation of powers that work in us. Don't desire to prophecy if that's not your gift. Don't want to be the inspired teacher of the church if that's not your gift. Don't desire to speak in tongues if that's not your gift. Don't desire to heal people if that's not your gift. God works through certain people to do that. It only divides God's people when the foot wants to be the head, when the ear wants to be the eye and so on. We know that. Be content with the endowment of dunamis in you and know that God has called you to use the manifestation of power that came with the Holy Spirit in you to benefit everyone. It's not just for you. Look at me. I have this gift that God has given me. Aren't I great? You wouldn't have it if God didn't give it to you. It's for the benefit of the whole church. It means nothing for you individually. It's for the benefit of others.

Talked about dunamis. Let's move on to agape. The natural mind of man is capable of love. The level of intimacy in marriage the Greek eros, with family and friends. You know that is philio –  Philadelphia, Philo, Philia. But agape love that is present with those endowed with God's Holy Spirit transcends any level of human love. Let's have a brief look at this love. Romans 5:5-8. This is the love that comes from God with His Holy Spirit. This is the love that we're after. Now hope does not disappoint. Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that was given to us. For when we were still without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Yet perhaps for a good man someone will even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. But the very first part of verse 5 says hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This agape demonstrated by Jesus Christ while we were still enemies of God and sinners is actually shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and that is a more excellent way that Paul talked about earlier in 1 Corinthians 12.

Let's go to 1 Corinthians 13, right on the heels of that, where Paul mentioned that. We all have individual dunamis working in us for the benefit of God's church. For the good of everyone. But this agape is far more important. Far more important as a manifestation of God's Holy Spirit in us. 1 Corinthians 13:1. Though I speak with tongues, or dialects or languages. I emphasize that over and over because some people think it's a strange language that nobody understands, other churches. You're possessed by the spirit, speaking these tongues that nobody, only angels, can understand. No, it's languages and dialects. Actual people were understanding the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Though I speak with tongues, of man and angels, but have not love I become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, inspired preaching, foretelling, and understand all mysteries, have wisdom and knowledge, and though I have all faith so I can move mountains but have not love, I have nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but I have not love it profits me and the church absolutely nothing. I'd like to switch to the Phillips Translation here, see if it compares to yours. This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience, it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive. It is neither anxious to impress. Nor does it not cherish ideas of its own importance. Love has good manners. Does not pursue selfish ambition. It is not touchy. Does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it shares the joy of those who live by the truth. Love knows no limit to its endurance. No end to its trust. No fading of its hope. It can outlast anything. Love never fails if God's spirit dwells within us. The description we just read is how we think about life and the people with whom we share this entire planet with. That's Godly love. That's agape. This agape love is within all who have God's Holy Spirit shed abroad in their hearts. It will never fail. It lasts forever.

Paul mentions a thing or two of what will fail. What will cease to exist beyond this life. Let's continue reading in verse 8. I'm going back to the King James Version. 1 Corinthians 13:8. But whether there be prophecies inspired preaching foretelling. They will fail. Not come to pass. You don't need inspired preaching if it's already there. You don't need to know what the future is prophecy if it's already happened. Whether there be tongues they will cease. Unnecessary to communicate with them. Whether there be knowledge it will vanish away and become obsolete. 1 Corinthians 13:13. And now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three. But the greatest of those three. Three great things, but the greatest is love. And here is a related concept that we should mull over and understanding why all those who have God's Holy Spirit dwelling in them have the same agape. 1 John 4:8, 16 state that the defining characteristic of God's love is this. And Paul states the same thing. And I hang my faith on this and you do to. Ephesians 3:14. This is what it's all about. For this reason. Confidence in God's realization if you read earlier. For this reason I bow my knees to the God of our Father the Lord Jesus Christ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth His name that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you may be rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the wind and the light and the depth and the height to know the love of Christ which passes the gift of knowledge that you might be fulfilled or filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him that was able to do exceedingly above all we think or ask according to the power of dunamis that works in us to him be glory in the church of Jesus Christ throughout all ages world without end. Amen. If you and I have agape love spread in our hearts by the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit, we have God through love dwelling in us. And if God is living in each and every one of us through His love that comes through the Holy Spirit and He's present in the church and actually serves to unify the people of God. And that, brethren, is the more excellent way I was talking about. The more excellent way of agape.

Let's talk about sophronismos. Sophronismos – which is translated sound-minded control of thoughts and emotions. The Holy Spirit in us provides a way of thinking that is completely beyond the mental ability of the natural man. Men, equipped only with the spirit in man, can't think this way – can't think a certain way. But we have God living in us with the power and love of His Holy Spirit. We think more and more like He does as time passes. And how does He think? And how is that thinking demonstrated? Perhaps the Spirit-inspired thinking is best described in Philippians 2:1. This is the mind of Christ. We're all very familiar with this. Now I'll read from the Phillips Translation. This is God's mind. Because it was Christ's mind. Now if you have known anything of Christ's encouragement and of His reassuring love, and if you have known something of the fellowship of the spirit, and of compassion, and deep sympathy, do make my joy complete. Live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you had only one mind and one spirit between you. Never act from motives of rivalry and personal vanity. But in humility. Think more of each other than you do of yourselves. That's pretty tough, isn't it? Think more of somebody else than your own self? None of you should only think of his own affairs, but consider other peoples interests also. Let your attitude of life be that of Christ Jesus Himself. For He, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to His privileges as God's equal, but stripped Himself of every advantage by consenting to be a slave by nature in being born a man. And plainly seen as a human being He humbled Himself by living a life of utter obedience to the point of death. And the death He died was not just the death of ordinary men. Of a common criminal. That is why God has now lifted him to the heights. And has given Him a name beyond all names so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, whether in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth. And that is why every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. To the glory of God the Father this sophronismos discipline of attitude, sane mental estimation, inspired thinking is no small order for any of us. But the spirit in us which provides fellowship with God Himself and the way He thinks should be more and more commonplace in us as we progress in our Christian lives.

Paul addresses this way of thinking that the Corinthian church had about a variety of topics. And Corinthians is a really good letter to study right around Passover and around this time of year. Some of the things they were into: Preeminence in the congregations – very important to some Corinthian church members; Personality worship – “I follow this guy Apollos – he’s a great speaker. Cephas over here – he's an original, man. I'm following him.” All these different personalities; Attitude towards serious sin – very lax; Lawsuits among members; Marriage and divorce; Children – offending brethren; Idolatry; Passover. – they are actually having a feast at Passover; Spiritual gifts – they wanted some over…they weren't content with what they had –  they wanted somebody else's; Communication in the church; The tongues thing; The resurrection; Even helping members in other areas. Paul had to address all those things. But generally he tells them about how a Spirit-filled Christ follower should think in contrast to the rest of the world.

In 1 Corinthians 2:12. I'll read from the Moffat Translation. Now we have received the spirit. Not the spirit of the world. But the spirit that comes from God. That we may understand what God bestows upon us. And this we discuss using language taught by no human wisdom but by the spirit. We interpret what is spiritual in spiritual language. The unspiritual man rejects the truths of the spirit of God. To him they are sure folly. He cannot understand them. And the reason is that they must be read with a spiritual eye. When you read this, there is a thousand translations that people will come up with, I shouldn't say translations, a thousand interpretations that people will come up with to their own destruction, and you hear of them when you watch TV on Sunday. A lot of different ways to look at this stuff. But unless you have a spiritual mind you can't really understand what's in there.

The spiritual man again can read the meaning of everything and yet no one can read what he is. For whoever understood the thoughts of the Lord so as to give him instruction, no one well our thoughts are Christ's thoughts. The Spirit of God within us will give us sophronismos, or inspired thinking that helps us to see God or see things the way God sees them. The sound mindedness that the world cannot have because the world actually sees things the way Satan sees them and the way his henchmen see them in the world. People who are inspired, lead by him in the system of this world, the societies of this world. The sound-mindedness that this world cannot have gives us the ability to understand spiritual things the things of God.

Now we've alluded to a lot of doctrine so far. God, the church, baptisms among them. Each one of these could probably be a sermon in themselves, but before I continue, I'd like to bring to mind a very, very important fact about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a person. It's not a person. It's not a personage. It's not part of a trinity comprising God. It's the power, dunamis, of God and Jesus Christ in their work creating and upholding all things. It's power. Some scriptures we've read, others we haven't read indicate that the Holy Spirit is a gift that can be poured out. It can be poured out. It has to be stirred up or renewed in us. It can be quenched. Can God or Jesus Christ be quenched? It is the conceiving power God used to beget Jesus in Mary that Christ always referred to the Father as just that, the Father. What was the Holy Spirit then? His brother? It was not a personage.

Paul addressed the churches of God in his epistles with greetings from God the Father and Jesus Christ. You can go through most of the epistles. That's the way he starts. If he didn't address the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is part of the trinity, what a huge insult to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit Itself proves in us. It's in us. It doesn't possess us. It's in us that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. I could go on with much more, but I'd rather stay on with what the Holy Spirit is than what it is not. I just thought I would throw that in there because somebody who was here a couple of weeks ago, new people, they were actually asking about the Holy Spirit. They believed there was a trinity. And I didn't want to stand there and try to explain it to them, I said we have a booklet on that, Is God a Trinity? And I gave them the booklet, hopefully they will read it. In there, it goes over some of this stuff – why the Holy Spirit is not a person.

The Holy Spirit, as it is given to selected human beings, in this age, provides those God calls with power, with love and sound-mindedness. This makes those with the indwelling of the spirit very different from the majority of men and women living today. As powerful as that is in our lives, as loving as that makes us to all, as sane as we become it is, however, only the beginning. George read this as well, I'd like to go over it again if you don't mind. Ephesians 1. It's only the beginning. The Holy Spirit we have in us today, you and me, is only the beginning. Ephesians 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus , and faithful to Christ Jesus, grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. You notice the Holy Spirit is not mentioned there again? Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing and heavenly places in Christ. Just as he has chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestined us to the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. To the praise of the glory of His grace by which he has made us accepted and beloved. In Him, we have redemption through His blood. The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all ways and in prudence. Having made known to the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself and in the dispensation of the fullness of ties He might gather together in one, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth. In Him, in whom, also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of Him whom who works all things according to the counsel of His will that we can first trust in and Christ should be to the praise of His glory, and here is what I would like you to notice, In Him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the guarantee, down payment, earnest if you will, It's the guarantee of our inheritance. Until the redemption of the purchase possession to the praise of His glory. We are reading about an inheritance. And God certifies that we are able, or we are to receive this inheritance through a down payment, or a sealed guarantee, a bond, if you will,  in the form of this gift of the Holy Spirit working within us until such a time as He claims His property that was purchased through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which we know was preordained from the world's founding.

What does this mean for you and me? What does it mean if this down payment for our inheritance is in the form of the Holy Spirit? Let's go to Romans 8:14-17. Describes it. Here's what it means. For as many as are lead by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoptions by which we cry out Abba, Father! The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, the spirit in man, that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Perhaps we could be clearer about what this inheritance as expressed by God as a down payment really is by moving over to Galatians.

Galatians 6:7-9. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that he will reap. For he who sows to his flesh will also reap corruption. And he who sows to the spirit, will of the spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we don't lose heart. So, we're talking about an inheritance that includes living forever. Not in flesh and blood. I refer you again to John 3. Nicodemus. The conversation that Christ had with him. Flesh and blood won't do. They will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But in existence and spirit form that is like God's existence.

Please come with me to 1 John 2:24. Let's read together up to 1 John 3:2 and see what John concluded about this matter. The apostle whom Jesus loved. The apostle John. I guess not that Jesus loved him more than anyone else, and yes, indeed, Christ showed him a lot more affection and that was returned a lot more. Peter was a little tougher – a little more brash. This man knew about love and he wrote about it. 1 John 2:24--1 John 3:2. Therefore let that abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us; eternal life. These things I write to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing. And this is not the same anointing that we're talking about when you're sick and the ministers lay hands on you. Charisma. This is from charisma. It means endowment, it means gift, it means concentration. Which you received from Him who abides in you. The anointing which you have received, that is the Holy Spirit, you received that anointing, that charisma, that endowment, that gift, from Him that abides in you, you received it from God and it abides in you and you do not need that anyone teach you. You’ve got to be careful with stuff because I gave a sermon in Kitchener once and my wife was all over me because I said I referred to the Holy Spirit as “he”-I was reading right out of the King James. Okay, that's why I'm just going over this again. I don't want to confuse anybody here. The Holy Spirit is not a he, alright? It's the power of God. But the anointing, or the Holy Spirit, from Him, God, abides in you that you do not need or anyone teach you of the same anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie and just as it was taught you, you abide in Him. And now little children abide in Him that when He appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is to be born of Him. Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. Therefore the world does not know us but it did know Him. Beloved now we are children of God and it has not yet been revealed we shall be. But we shall know, or we know that He is revealed that we will be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.

The bestowing of God's Holy Spirit on man was truly the beginning of the church. The Church of God. It is the beginning of eternal life for those who have been, those are, and those who will be spirit-filled, spirit-led Christians. Christ followers called by the Father to be finally born of the spirit. At the return of Jesus Christ we will be able to see Him as He exists in spirit because we shall be transformed into that spirit form as God takes possession of His full purchase of a down payment of His Holy Spirit that has been living in you and me.

You and I have been given a great endowment. Dunamis, agape, sophronismos. That's for the benefit of the church and eventually for all of mankind. Stir up that Holy Spirit in you continually and one day soon inherit eternal life in the Kingdom of God.