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The DNA of the New Born Christian
"In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no
one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. "
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot
enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he
is born of water and the Spirit.
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again." (Jn.3:3-7).
"But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power
to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of
the will of man, but of God". (Jn 1:12-13)
How great is the love Father God has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.
Jesus taught us to pray "Our Father in heaven..."
(Matt.6:9).
Paul says: "And because you are sons, God has sent
the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"So through God
you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir".
(Gal.4:6-7).
Now, let's use Sci-fi language:
When we are baptized in the Church of Christ we
experience a spiritual birth, we receive the DNA of God, the Holy Spirit!, we
become a Christian, another Christ!, members of the only Mystical Body of Christ, of the
only Tree of Christ (Jn.15:1-8, 1Cor.12:12-31,1-12, Gal.2:20, Act.9:4-5)
Now, we possess two sets of
DNA:
1- One physical set, from our earthly parents.
2- And one spiritual, from our heavenly parent,
Father God. "For you have been born again. Your new life did not come
from your earthly parents because the life they gave you will end in death. But this new
life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God." (1
Peter 1:23)
After our spiritual birth we are linked eternally to
God in such a way that no matter what happens in our future, our heavenly genetic link to
Him will not be broken. How can this be?
Think about this:
Is it scientifically possible for us to remove the DNA connection we
have with our earthly parents? No.
Is it spiritually possible to remove God's DNA from our soul once we
are born again? No.
Is it then possible to lose our position as a child of God once we have
become a member of God's family? No.
In other words we can't lose our eternal life with God... but we can
break our relationship with Him. How could we do that? By turning our back on him in
rebellion. Similar to what a son or daughter does when they choose to disown their birth
family. They may never see their family again. But whatever they do or where ever they go
it will never change the fact that they still have a DNA connection to their biological
parents. They are still family members, if only through their shared DNA.
So, a Christian will have the DNA of God for
eternity... but he still can go to Hell! (Matt.7:21-24, 1Cor.9:27).
How come a Christian, with eternal DNA of God
can go to Hell?:
A Christian is like a Prince: A man becomes a Prince
not because the good works he did, but simply because he is the son of the King, without
any merits of his own... and as a Prince he has the opportunity to do many good works, but
if he does bad works, he will be a bad Prince... the same goes on to a Christian: He
becomes the child of God by grace, through faith, without any kind of good works... but to
do good works! "For by grace you have been saved through faith;
and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God-- not because of works, lest any man
should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which
God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph.2:8-10)... some
Christians often skip verse10, read it!.
Yes, a Christian can become a dry branch of the Church
of Christ or a gangrened member of the Mystical Body of Christ, though still a member of
that Body with the same DNA (Jn.15:1-8, 1Cor.12:12-31).
In fact, in the Last Judgement you will not be asked,
are you a child of God, a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu?... you will only be told, come in
because I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was sick or in prison and you visited me...
read it in full in Matt.25:31-46, Jn.5:28-29, Rom.25-11, 2Cor.5:10,Rev.20:11-15. See Salvation" by faith?...
by works?... can a Jew or a Hindu go to Heaven?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
He is the promised gift Jesus said he would send after he ascended into
heaven. In John 16:7 Jesus told his disciples, “It is actually best for you that I go
away., because if I don’t the Counselor won’t come. If I do go away, he will
come because I will send him to you.” The Holy Spirit enables our hearts to embrace
God as our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit is the one that empowers us to spiritually
survive. Being prepared for spiritual survival isn’t something that can be
transferred to another person. It's our sole responsibility.
Breath of the Almighty: Job 33:4
Counselor: John 14:16,26; 15:26
Eternal Spirit: Hebrews 9:1
Power of the Most High: Luke 1:35
Spirit of Knowledge: Isaiah 11:2
Spirit of Understanding: Isaiah 11:2
Spirit of Truth: John 14:17; 15:26
Spirit of Holiness: Romans 1:4
Spirit of Glory: 1 Peter 4:14
Spirit of Fire: Isaiah 4:4
Spirit of Judgment: Isaiah 4:4; 28:6
Spirit of Revelation: Ephesians 1:17
Spirit of Counsel: Isaiah 11:2
Spirit of Christ: Romans 8:9; 1 Peter 1:11
Spirit of the Father: Matthew 10:20
Spirit of God: Genesis 1:2; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Job 33:4
Spirit of the Lord: Isaiah 11:2; Acts 5:9
Spirit of Wisdom: Isaiah 11:2; Ephesians 1:17
Spirit of His Son: Galatians 4:6
Spirit of Son ship: Romans 8:15
Spirit of Life: Romans 8:2; Revelation 11:11
Spirit of Prophecy: Revelation 19:10
Spirit of Grace: Zechariah 12:10; Hebrews 10:29
Willing Spirit: Psalm 51:12
Is there a physical description of the Holy Spirit?
Dove: Peace and reconciliation, Mark 1:10; Matthew 3:16... He
comes to us very humble, like a dove, without ever forcing us, but with the hurricane
power of Pentecost, able to full us with Jesus, with his love and joy and power and
humility...
Wind: Power, Acts 2:2; independence, John 3:8.
Oil: Consecration, Isaiah 61:1; comforting, Isaiah 61:3; Heb.
1:9; illuminating, Matthew 25:3; John 2:20,27; healing, Luke 10:34; James 5:14. Oil is
used today during times of prayer for a person’s healing by placing a small amount of
oil on their foreheads. It is even used in setting a material thing aside for God’s
purposes. Even the doorpost of your house!
Water: Fertilization, Psalm 1:3; refreshing, Psalm 46:4;
cleansing, Ephesians 5:25-27.
Fire: Empowerment of believers, Acts 2:1-4.
Rain & Dew: Blessing, Psalm 133:3.
Voice: Guidance, John 16:13; warning, Hebrews 3:7-11.
Seal: Authenticity, John 6:27; 2 Corinthians 1:22; securing,
Ephesians 1:13&14.
What is the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives?
He draws us to God, prepares us to serve God, and empowers us to be spiritually strong. He
does this through:
· Convincing us of our sins: “When He comes, He will
convince the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming
judgment.” John 16:8-11
· Comforting us: “I will ask the Father, and he will give
you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all
truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and
doesn’t recognize him.” John 14:16&17; also see John 15:26; 16:7-14.
· Guiding us: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will
guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you
what he has heard.” John 16:13; also see Romans 8:4&14
· Giving us access to Father God: “Now all of us, both Jew
and Gentiles, may come to the Father through the Holy Spirit because of what Christ has
done for us.” Ephesians 2:18
· Giving us strength: “I pray that from his glorious,
unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.”
Ephesians 3:16
· Giving us spiritual gifts: “There are different kinds of
spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are
different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There
are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work
through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the
entire church. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another
he gives the gift of special knowledge. The Spirit gives special faith to another, and to
someone else he gives the power to heal the sick. He gives one person the power to perform
miracles, and to another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to
know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking. Still
another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, and another is given
the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Holy Spirit who
distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.” 1
Corinthians 12:4-11
Even though the Holy Spirit determines who receives which spiritual
gifts, we can still ask God for the gifts we would like to receive. Usually the gifts we
desire and receive are the ones we need to fulfill God’s call on our lives.
What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit?. See Charismatic Renewal
Is it possible to break the Holy Spirit's heart?
Yes. Through our choices to sin against God, but the Holy Spirit will
never leave us even when he is grieved.
What does it mean when the Holy Spirit is grieved?
It's similar to what a parent feels as he or she watches their adult
child make choices that they know will bring pain into their life. It breaks the parent's
heart, but a loving parent does not withdraw their love from the child nor abandon them.
Like a loving parent, the Holy Spirit loves us and will never leave us.
To avoid grieving the Holy Spirit, focus on living in harmony with
him. For the Holy Spirit is our holy and constant partner in our spiritual survival.
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