Hi Rosemary,
Here's what I do when someone tells me something that isn't obviously true. And by that, I mean that the truth doesn't automatically come to mind right away. We have a store full of knowledge, but it doesn't always present itself when something is said.
So what I do is contemplate what's been said. I think long and hard on it so that the stored knowledge in my mind and spirit is allowed to surface.
Sometimes it's an obvious error and other times it's true what they say. It can go either way. But I'll focus on something that isn't correct, just to show how careful we need to be when it comes to God's truth.
So we'll take what someone told you as an example. Is it true that we're born with the Spirit of God already within?
My mind takes me to the beginning of time and the fall. And as I think about the comment, many other scriptures begin to come to me like the need for us to be born-again.
What happened to Adam and Eve when they were disobedient and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They died spiritually. And all of us when we are born are of the flesh. We are not born of the Spirit of God, we're born in a natural fleshly way.
Jesus said in John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” There's a line drawn by Jesus between a natural human birth and the spiritual birth.
Romans tell us that all have sinned and we all fall short of God's glory. John 1:12-13 says: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
1 John 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.
So when we sit and recall scriptures that tell us about the topic of what it means to be born of God with His Spirit, we see that we are all born in a natural way and we're not born of the Spirit. We all fall short of God's glory, there's no one righteous, no not one.
Jesus said that one must be born from above, born again. If we take the scenario of the one who told you that we're born of the Spirit of God, this counteracts what Jesus has said. In this scenario, let's say that the parents are strong Christians and teach there children the true and correct way to live.
Then those who are born of the Spirit of God that continue on in that because of their Godly parents teaching, it would stand to reason that these children who grow up would continue in that birth of Spiritualness.
That would be saying that some children can grow up without coming under the truths of Scripture where Jesus tells us we all must be born of the Spirit, there's none righteous. All of us are condemned and are born in the natural way. No one is exempt.
So the more I study God's word and it get's stored in my spirit, the more I see false teaching that's not biblical. With practice of reading truth, we see counterfeit more easily. Satan is crafty, he'll get his lies in any way he can. If he lied to Jesus by misusing scripture, he'll do the same with us. That's why we're taught to watch out for false teachers.
Anyway, I didn't mean to go on about this, but I wanted to show how the comment you heard is just not true and isn't biblical.
Paul commended the Bereans for checking out everything that Paul told them. They looked at Scriptures to make sure what he said about Jesus was accurate. So especially here on CC, check out everything you hear with the word of God. Me included. We're all taught things that stick with us that might not be true. That's why it's so wonderful to have brothers and sisters that will help one another out by rightly dividing God's word.
God bless you!
would someone please rep rose for me?
rose is writing of the process of searching for biblical truth and also how the Holy Spirit will bring to our minds what we have read and studied.
I will not address that other nonsensical mystical hogwash because it does not agree with scripture
please please please people!
read the Bible! study the Bible! and ignore the nonsense begin spouted regarding being born with the Holy Spirit and He comes to life when we are saved
we are tripartate beings. the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us when we are saved.
I cannot stress enough the garbage regarding the mystical nonsense that borders on Gnosticism and hedges on teaching of demons
let's have the scripture that states we are born with the Holy Spirit. if it's in the Bible I would like to see it
let's have it and then I'll eat my feather pillow, make a video of it, and post it here
and I don't mean some mystical interpretation that belongs in a fortune teller's parlor being read from a cracked crystal ball that has serious cumulus clouds developing in it