IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HERE ON EARTH? The answer is both yes and no.
IF JESUS IS MAN ONLY, the answer is no. Jesus as man said, "...if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; But if I depart, I will send Him unto you..." (See John 16:7.) JESUS DID GO AWAY. "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. . ." (See Acts 1:9.) Jesus as man has never returned to earth from that day until this.
THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT JESUS IS GOD'S RIGHT HAND MAN IN HEAVEN, and that He is on God's throne now. Peter says, "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." (See I Pet. 3:22.)
IT IS THE RETURN OF JESUS FROM HEAVEN, AS A MAN, that the church is waiting for. Paul says "Our (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." (See Phil. 3:20.) We are still looking for him to come from heaven, for as man, He is there and not here.
SINCE JESUS IS GOD AS WELL AS MAN the answer is yes. If Jesus is not God He is not here. Only God the Spirit is here.
WHEN JESUS GAVE THE GREAT COMMISSION, He said, " . . .Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (See Matt. 28:20.) He also said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (See Matt. 18:20.)
WHEN JESUS WAS HERE HE taught that He was God the Holy Ghost. He said, " ...I am ...the truth..." (See John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”) He also said, the Holy Ghost is "...the Spirit of truth..." (See John 14:17 “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”) He said again, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come unto you." (Read John 14:16-18 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”) And He also said, "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you..." (See John 14:28 “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.”) Jesus went away as man, and came back as Spirit.
JESUS CALLED THE CHURCH, "MY CHURCH," saying "...upon this Rock I will build my church..." (See Matt. 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”) Notice He did not say I am building my church, but "I will build my church." The Law did not end until Jesus died. The church did not start until Jesus rose from the dead. The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. (See I Cor. 15: 1-4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”) The question is, is Jesus building His church as man, or as Spirit?
THE HOLY GHOST IS THE ONLY GOD THERE IS HERE. Jesus went away as man, and the Holy Ghost came back on the day of Pentecost, and that is all that did come back. Jesus said, "God is a Spirit..." (See John 4: 24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”) God is holy, so God is the Holy Spirit.
THE HOLY GHOST DOES ALL THE WORK OF BUILDING THE CHURCH. The Holy Ghost convicts of sin. (See John 16:8 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”) We are born of the Holy Ghost. (See John 3:5 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”) We are baptized in the Holy Ghost. (See Acts 1:5 “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”) We are led by the Holy Ghost. (See Rom. 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”) We are impowered by the Holy Ghost. (See Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”) Jesus said He had all power, so He must be God, the Holy Ghost. (See Matt. 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”) The fruit of a Christian is the fruit of the Holy Ghost. (See Gal. 5:22, 23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”) The Holy Ghost will change our body. (See Rom. 8:11 “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”)
ALTHO JESUS SAID THE CHURCH IS MY CHURCH, it is called church of God eight times in the New Testament. How can the church be the church of Christ, and also the church of God? The answer is, Jesus is God the Holy Ghost, and the church is a Holy Ghost church.
PAUL SAYS, "...THOUGH WE HAVE KNOWN CHRIST AFTER THE FLESH, yet now henceforth know we him no more." (See II Cor. 5:16 “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.”) Paul is saying, Christ was here as a man, but He is not here in the flesh now. To receive Jesus now we must receive the Holy Ghost. "Now the Lord is that Spirit..." (See II Cor. 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”)
HOW MINISTERS CAN TELL PEOPLE TO OPEN THE DOOR OF THEIR HEART and let Jesus come in, without realizing Jesus is the Holy Ghost is beyond me. How can anyone believe in the Virgin birth and not believe the God-nature of Christ is the Holy Ghost. It was through the Virgin birth that God, the Holy Ghost, became man.
THE HOLY GHOST IS THE FATHER OF THE MAN CHRIST JESUS, yet the man Christ Jesus is the Son of God. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of THE HOLY GHOST." (See Matt. 1:18.) Most all admit that Jesus was the Son of God, but very few will admit that the Holy Ghost was His Father. The truth is, the Holy Ghost is the only God there is. "There is ONE GOD, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (See I Tim. 2:5.) The ONE GOD is the Holy Ghost, and the man Christ Jesus is His Son.
THE HOLY GHOST IS AN OMNI-PRESENT SPIRIT. He is both in heaven and on earth. He can send Himself any where any time, and still remain at the place He sent Himself from. "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? ...Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord." (See Jer. 23:23, 24.)
FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST REVEALS GOD'S RELATIONSHIP TO HIS PEOPLE. Just as one man can be son, husband, and father; ONE GOD can be Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. God is Father because He begat a Son. The Son is God because He was begotton and incarnated by God. That made him the God-Man so He could both die and save from sin. (Read John 14: 7-11 “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.” with II Cor. 5:19 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”) God is related to the church as the Holy Ghost. Ghost means the return Spirit of one who died. Holy Ghost means God is the Spirit of Christ after He died. "...if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (See Rom. 8:9.)
ONE MAN CAN HAVE AT LEAST TEN RELATIONSHIPS. He can be a son, grandson, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, husband, father, grandfather, and Great-grandfather. If one man can have ten relationships, surely ONE GOD can have three!
JOHN THE BAPTIST SAID JESUS WOULD BAPTIZE IN THE HOLY GHOST. (See Matt. 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”) Paul says, we are baptized into Christ. (See Gal. 3:27 “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”) This shows that Christ and the Holy Ghost are the same Spirit. Paul also says, "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…" (See I Cor. 12: 13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”) These Scriptures prove the Holy Ghost is the God-nature of Christ. Christ is both God and man.
JESUS SAID, "...IF ANY MAN THIRST, LET HIM COME UNTO ME, AND DRINK." (See John 7:37 “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”) John said He was speaking of the Spirit. (See John 7:39 “(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”) That is the reason Paul could say, "...We have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (See I Cor. 12: 13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”)
WHEN JESUS GAVE HIS MESSAGE TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, He spoke as Spirit, not as man. He said, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches..." (See Rev. 2:7, 11, 17 and 29. Also 3:6, 13 and 22.)
THE BIBLE SAYS CHRIST IS IN US. (See Col. 1:27 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”) Paul says "...that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates." (See II Cor. 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”) The only way Christ can be in us is in the Spirit. He cannot be in us as a man. Therefore Paul says, "...Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost..." (See I Cor. 6:19 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”, also II Cor. 6:16 “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”)
THE BIBLE SAYS, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature..." (or creation) (See II Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”) One cannot be in the man Christ Jesus. We can only be in Christ in the Spirit, and that Spirit is the Holy Ghost. It is like a bottle in the ocean, and the ocean in the bottle.
JESUS AS MAN IS IN HEAVEN, and is on God's throne. He is King of heaven now. Angels, authorities, and powers are subject unto Him. (See I Pet. 3:22 “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”) "...of his Kingdom there shall be no end." (See Luke 1:33 “And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”)
JESUS CAME TO EARTH ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST AS SPIRIT. We know Him now as the Holy Ghost, and no other way. He has ministered since Pentecost as Spirit.
THE HOLY GHOST IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BIBLE. Peter says, "...Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (See II Pet. 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”) Paul says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God..." (See II Tim. 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”) These Scriptures prove God is the Holy Ghost.
WE ARE BORN OF THE HOLY GHOST, therefore we are sons of the Holy Ghost. (See John 3:5 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”) John says, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God..." (See I John 5:1 “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”) John also says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God..." (See I John 3: 2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”) Being born of the Holy Ghost makes us sons of God.
With this revelation we can truthfully sing "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart."
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