(This is a reply to a discussion on who our intercessor is?)
Is the Holy Spirit the intercessor?
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
This has to do with what we studied in Romans 8 last week[March 25th, 2009]. I didn’t think that interrupting during the study would be appreciated however as Jude said:
Jud 1:3-4 …..it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares… denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is not directed at anyone in particular it is directed to all of us. If my faith didn’t stand up to the scripture I would certainly like to be exhorted.
We had a discussion about the “spirit that makes intercession” on our behalf. And there is a spirit that makes intercession. Paul said:
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit:
And did Paul have many Lords? Who is Paul’s Lord?
1Co 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
According to the world and a lot of Christians there are many “called” god and many called lord. Who do we, if we are the saints call “God” and “Lord”?
1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Paul says his Lord is Jesus Christ. He has one Lord, the Lord is that spirit. Christ is that spirit. Now using basic mathematics we can all understand that 1+1+1 does not equal 1. Paul does not say there is “One God, the father, son and holy spirit. If all three father, son and holy spirit are God in there own right that is 3 Gods. There is no verse in scripture that refers to, nor uses the title “God” as “the father son and holy spirit”. Amazing that none of the saints did it. But today we do it? Where is our authority for that?
This does not deny the fact that Christ was in the form of God. [John 1:1, Phi 2:6] Because Christ possessed the nature and attributes of God by birth as the firstborn of every creature, before any creature[created being or thing] was made. By him were all things created. However, he is not another God. He is not a smaller God. Nor is he the “only true God” as Christ himself said in prayer to his father “You are the only true God”[John 17:3] and there is no other God but he. Christ came in God’s name, Christ is God by nature. But he is not the eternal God himself.
There might be many who are called god and many called lord to Orthodox Christianity, however, to the saints like Paul, Peter, John and Jesus there is “One God the father”. And there is “One Lord Jesus Christ”. And this is the faith that we are to earnestly contend for. This is the faith Jude is talking about in verse 4 of his book.
So if the Lord is that spirit, that would make Christ the one who makes intercession for us. Who is that spirit that maketh intercession? The bible answers over and over again. The Lord is that spirit.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Some have come to think that there is more than one mediator or intercessor between man and God. However the word of God has no contradictions.
Let’s look at the context of Romans 8 now and see who this spirit is that makes intercession for us.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh INTERCESSION for us.
So the Lord Christ is that spirit who makes intercession in Romans 8. There is not another individual up there making intercession. Let’s look further at Romans 8 and the Lord being that spirit[2 Cor 3:17]. Someone will dwell in us.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not theSpirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Again “Christ in you”. This is your hope of glory. “Christ in you, the hope of glory”[Col 1:27]. “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world”[1 John 4:4].
Christ is the spirit that makes “intercession”[Rom 8:29]
Isa 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and madeINTERCESSION for the transgressors.
God cannot die.[1 Tim 1:17] Christ poured his soul out unto death. No contradiction in this doctrine. However if you’re a Trinitarian you have an issue there as well. Point here though is who makes intercession on our behalf?
Heb 7:22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to makeINTERCESSION for them.
Praise God for our intercessor who was in all points made like us, so he is able to succor[help] us in our temptation as he has been tempted in all points like us.
The Christian world wonders why it struggles. The reason? They try to do it without Christ. Without him we can do nothing.[John 15:5]. But the devil tries to trick us into believing that we have someone different who maketh intercession and helps us with our infirmities. But it is Christ the “helper” our “comforter”.
This bring us to “the comforter”. Translated in some of your bibles as “the helper”. Let’s look at who this is.
Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;” (John 14:15, 16) The purpose of the gift of the Comforter is that He may abide with the disciples forever. This was excellent news to the disciples, for they were sad to hear of Christ’s soon departure. Jesus continued His discourse, stating that He would send “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.” (John 14:17)
Jesus said that the world could not receive the Spirit of truth, because it did not see him nor know him. You have to know him. The world doesn’t know him, but you know him. Who is he???? Let’s look.
Immediately following this explanation Jesus said something startling. He told His disciples, “but ye know him.” How could the disciples know the promised “Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit,” (v. 26)1 if Jesus had not yet prayed for the gift, and it evidently had not yet been given? John stated, “the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39)
Jesus explained, “ye know him; [because] he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14:17) Who was dwelling with the disciples? Jesus Christ, of course! Jesus explained that soon this Person who was dwelling with them would be in them. It certainly would be better for the Comforter to dwell in the disciples rather than dwelling outside of them. That is exactly what Jesus said a short time later. In the same discourse, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth; It is expedient [profitable] 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.” (John 16:7)
Jesus said that His disciples would be better off if He left them, went to His Father, and sent the Comforter to dwell in them. He also pointed out that the coming of the Comforter depended upon His departure, and glorification. As long as Christ was living on the earth as a man, it was not possible for this promised Comforter to come to live in the disciples.
As we continue reading in John 14 we find that Jesus did not end His conversation in verse 17. In the next verse He said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:18) This sheds a great deal of light on the subject. It explains why the Comforter could not come until after Christ went away and was glorified, for Christ said that He, Himself, would come back to His disciples to comfort them.
Let’s continue reading Christ’s discourse to see if He reinforced this point. He said, “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, andI in you.” (John 14:19, 20) A few moments earlier Jesus had said to His disciples that the Comforter “shall be in you.” Now, Jesus says that when the Comforter comes, “Ye shall know that I am in you.” Jesus assured His disciples that He would not send someone else to comfort them, but that He would come Himself to be their Comforter. Isn’t that beautiful! The disciples had become close friends of Christ; so close that John felt comfortable leaning on His bosom. It was a comfort to them when Christ was near. Now Jesus tells them some wonderful news. He tells them that after He goes to His Father, He would come back to them as the Comforter, and they would know that it was He who was dwelling in them—they would recognize that the same Person who was dwelling with them was now in them, by His Spirit.
Next, Jesus said something that caused one of His disciples to inquire of Him how this could take place. Jesus said, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Fatherwill love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:21-23)
To remove any possibility of being misunderstood, Jesus made it abundantly clear that after He left the world, He would come back to make His abode in the hearts of His disciples. Not only would He return, but His Father would come with Him, so that both of them would live in the hearts of His children, not physically, but by God’s Spirit. In this way, the disciples could have intimate communion and fellowship with both the Father and His Son. John emphasized this when he wrote, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)
John expressed this lovely truth of both God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, living in us in several other verses. He wrote, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9) In 1 John 2:22, 23 he wrote, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” It is truly a blessing to have personal fellowship with both the Father and His Son, and I am very thankful that God has made this available to us.
Anyways, I could go for a while here as the evidence is overwhelming that we have fellowship with 2 beings the father and his son, and we have his holy spirit. A spirit that is defined by an adjective. The opposite of unholy.
And by these misunderstandings of what the spirit is we have 1000’s of contradictions. No wonder it’s such a mystery and every single Trinitarian I know understands this doctrine differently. John knew who his God was and who his Lord was. I only tapped on the verses that were used to prove the trinity last week in our study.
There is a further and deeper study on this topic to help clear up our misconceptions about God and his son and his spirit on my website. http://thethirdangelsmessage.com/the-comforter-which-is-the-holy-spirit There are also pages for the most common verses used as Trinitarian objections to the truth about God and his son in the section “The truth about God”. I would highly recommend studying it as the first commandment says “Thou shall have no other God’s before thee”.
This is an important topic. This is life eternal Jesus said.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
And I pray that we all get to know [the father] better and also come “to unity of the faith and knowledge of the son of God”[eph 4:13] as well. Some may say David is alone and everybody believes in the Trinity. Well, it is no different then in Elijah’s day when he was alone and there were 450 prophets of BAAL and all of Israel tore down the altars to the true God. There is nothing new under the sun, the thing that has been, is the thing that is today in the modern church.
El I Yah. That is the message. It means “God is Yahweh”.
2Jn 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
Yours in Christ David.
