It’s obvious from a simple reading of the Bible that the gifts of the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit are all part of our ongoing relationship with Jesus in real time. Non-Christians do not have access to such things, so by definition these things are all part of the package when we become born again. Call it the atonement package, call it the reconciliation package, whatever, the point is these things are available to us today.
The Bible says when we are born again, a new creature is created:
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This new creature is a newly formed being inside us, our regenerated spirit man, which is “one with Christ.” This term is from 1 Corinthians 6:17:
“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is ONE spirit with Him.”
“One” is the Greek word “heis” which means, literally, “one” or the very same thing. It carries the idea of being congenital, or a characteristic that is so intrinsic that it is considered a congenital trait, something we were born with. We are, in a very literal sense, the same in our spirit man as the Spirit of Jesus.
That’s where the power comes from. That’s where the gifts come from. That’s where the fruit comes from. It does not come from us, it comes literally from the Spirit of God living within us. That way, no one can take credit, but we must instead give the credit for any good trait or ability to God. That’s why Ephesians 2:8-9 says:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
We may not boast about anything good we do because it all comes as a free gift from God.
Even our ongoing “working out of our salvation” is a free gift. This is a very important concept. Paul chastised the Galatians in chapter 3:
“This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
Paul says it’s foolish to think that having received salvation as a free gift, that we can actually move forward into perfection through our hard work. In verse 5 he continues:
“So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
It’s obviously a rhetorical question. The point he’s making is very clear: in the same way our salvation was a free gift of grace, accepted by us through faith, so is our ongoing perfection and our process of becoming Christ-like.
This is where sozo comes in. It’s such a rich and fantastic concept! There is much more to our salvation than merely getting to heaven. In fact, I believe the main reason why the church is not nearly as effective as it could be is that most Christians have adopted this mindset of just hanging on until the rapture.
If you believe that sozo ONLY includes salvation from sins, then that’s the only choice you have: just get me to heaven, God, that’s all it’s about. I want to just leave this evil world behind and get to my heavenly mansion!
I would respond to that with an emphatic NO WAY! All the fruits of the Spirit, all the gifts of the Spirit, ALL OF IT IS OURS! This is not a heretical Bethel concept—it’s as biblical as you can possibly get! The whole point of salvation is that in our flesh we do not have what it takes. Not even close. There is no way we can even come close to satisfying the requirements of God to live sanctified and holy lives without his indwelling Spirit. And, along with His Spirit, comes all these characteristics of His Spirit because, remember, in our spirit man we are one with Him. These are His character traits flowing out of us.
If you are a Christian, you have no choice in the matter: God’s Spirit lives in you, and along with Him come all His qualities. You can’t avoid it. It’s as plain as day that all this is part of the package that you received when you gave your life to Christ.
Now, questions will arise (as happened in the conversation with my friend) about why we do not see the manifestations of these gifts on a regular basis. Why is everyone not healed? Why do Christians die in car accidents? Why do Christians die of cancer? If healing is part of Christ’s redemption package, then why do people not live forever? Something has to kill you eventually, right? Can’t we just continue to pray against every malady and therefore live forever?
These are all great and valid questions, but before we discuss them, let’s discuss why such questions even arise in the first place.
Yes, Christians die of various diseases. Yes, Christians are killed in accidents. Yes, bad things happen to those who live “under the wings of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).
But why?
There is no easy answer to this question, but I can address this confusion very quickly, although it will take some time to explain the answer:
The way I see it, many Christians submit their theology to their experiences, rather than submitting their experiences to proper theology.
So, in the next episode we’ll discuss what this really means, and I will show from the Bible what our theology about all this should look like. If our lives don’t match up to that theology, then we have some work to do. How that work is accomplished is a long and involved conversation which we’ll cover in another series, but my goal here is to provide a biblical framework for the truth. How that is fleshed out will become more evident as we heretics spend more time together.