Receiving the Witness | Ep. 163

What does it truly mean to receive God's witness? This profound teaching delves into the mysterious relationship between the believer and the indwelling Holy Spirit, revealing how God's presence transforms us from within.

The journey begins with an exploration of Jesus as our Advocate (Parakletos) and Comforter—terms used exclusively by John the Apostle. Through careful examination of John's Gospel, we discover that Jesus himself promised to return to his disciples through the Holy Spirit: "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you." This revelation challenges common trinitarian understandings and unveils a deeper truth: when we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive Jesus himself.

At the heart of this message lies a powerful covenant principle—God's promises are conditional. "If you love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter." This pattern is evident throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. God requires something of us before fulfilling His promise to pour out His Spirit, specifically a broken and contrite heart that sincerely wants transformation.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit serves as God's divine witness and confirmation. When controversy arose in Acts 15 about Gentile believers, Peter settled the matter by pointing to God's witness: "God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving them the Holy Spirit." This indwelling presence empowers believers to be true witnesses of Christ, speaking not from human knowledge but by the Spirit of prophecy.

Ultimately, receiving God's witness transforms us from merely talking about Jesus to manifesting His power. It shifts our focus from seeking human validation to resting in God's approval. It also fulfills God's eternal desire to tabernacle with His people, not in temples made with hands, but in human hearts wholly surrendered to Him.

Are you seeking the witness that only comes from above? God promises to be found by those who seek Him with their whole heart. Start by surrendering completely to His will, and watch as He pours out His Spirit to transform you from within.

Chapters

• 0:00 The Vision of Blood Cells
• 4:37 Introducing the Advocate and Comforter
• 12:50 Jesus' Promise of Another Comforter
• 21:08 The Holy Spirit and Jesus' Identity
• 33:08 The Spirit's Power and Ministry
• 43:12 God's Heart Focus: The Broken Spirit
• 56:33 Seeking God with Your Whole Heart
• 1:09:02 The Witness Settles All Questions
• 1:16:27 Christ In You: The Mystery Revealed

Transcript

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 0:03

The vision received was that of blood cells traveling throughout the body, supplying the much-needed oxygen and other nutrients to the differing members of the body to fulfill their purpose. Once the blood cells are spent, they must return back to the heart to be refilled before being sent out again and fulfill their purpose and fulfill their purpose. Good morning. It's good to have a

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 0:31

Hmm, one new face. Welcome, Adrian. Right, it's good to have you here. I think I want to try to cover a topic that we may have covered before, but I don't think I've ever covered it and I just, you know, sort of like when everyone has said everything about a topic and you haven't, you feel like everything hasn't been said because you haven't been able to speak about it. And as I looked upon some of the notes that I did previously, I started realizing that there's probably a good reason why that came up and why I should cover it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:14

I want to begin by having you go to 1 John 2, verse 1. I want to talk today about receiving the witness, receiving the witness and, as many of you well know, John the apostle, the disciple, the beloved, was the writer of 1 John by the Holy Spirit, and he says my little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and, as I said before, John wrote this scripture speaking about an advocate, and that's the word that I'm focusing on advocate. It comes from the Greek word parakletos or parakletos, and it is only occurs five times in the New Testament this word parakletos, and the interesting thing that the only author that ever used that word was John the apostle. Now it was translated in 1 John as advocate, but we have read of this word and it didn't use the word advocate. When the King James translators translated, they used another word, also comforter, and the reason why I'm bringing this up to you is because John did not differentiate between that word. In 1 John he used the word paracletos. When he wrote the Gospel of John, he used the word paracletos, but for some reason the King James translators wanted to use comforter over there and advocate over here. And all I'm doing is pointing out to you that if you do a small little word study, you'd realize well, that's the very same word. He's not talking about something different here. So John is identifying that Jesus Christ the righteous is our advocate or our comforter, our parakletos. And it is translated four other times all in the gospel of John In John 14, in John 15, it's used twice and in John 16.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 3:38

And John is the only apostle that used this word or this term for Jesus Christ. So I'm just going to point out to you that Jesus Christ is our comforter, he is our advocate, he is our paraclete. And now I want to focus on that word. In John, chapter 14, we're going to read 12 through 26. I need someone who's confident in his reading abilities to just stand up and read it. John 14 verses 12 through 26. Whenever you're ready, you go right on ahead.

Allen Cook: 4:21

Christ, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me the works that I do Keep going. 12 to 26. Shall ask in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 16 to 7.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 4:48

Keep going 12 to 26.

Allen Cook: 4:50

26. Oh, cool, again, he shall ask anything in my name. I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth it. 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 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 he in me and I in you.

Allen Cook: 5:41

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 said unto him, not as scaring 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 Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings, and the word which he heareth is not mine, but the Father's which sent me these things. Have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you, whom the Father will send in my name? He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 6:51

Thank you, brother Allen. In this passage, Jesus is speaking prophetically that whoever trusts in Him is going to do the works that He did, and greater. Why? Because He's going to go to the Father, and something's going to happen when he goes back to the Father. He goes on to say that he will give us another comforter, known as the Spirit of Truth and also known as the Holy Ghost. I'm basically highlighting for you right now everything you just read to just point out and highlight to you that John is recording what Jesus said.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 7:32

And Jesus said He's going to send another comforter that is known as the Spirit of Truth, that is also known as the Holy Ghost, and Jesus said that the comforter, as he spoke. He said the comforter abides with you, just like me saying now, the comforter abides with you right now. But He was referring to Himself in the present. What they didn't understand was that Jesus was the comforter and He was at present with the disciples. But it says when he goes away, he's going to send another comforter and that comforter shall be in you. It says, if you look carefully at the word, he shall be in you, referring to the future indwelling Holy Spirit, which we know now as the Holy Ghost that was poured out on the day of Pentecost. Now did you know what verse 18 says? Quote I come to you. Jesus said I'm going to send you another comforter and then, in verse 18, says I come to you. This statement is now linked with the previous statement that the Father was going to send another comforter and that the Holy Spirit is sent in the Father's name, signifying that it would be Jesus. These scriptures reveal that Jesus sent Himself as the Holy Spirit to abide with us, to be in us forever. Notice what it says in verse 20 and 21. What at that day? Ye shall know At what day? What, what day is he referring to? The day that he sends the comforter. What am I supposed to know on that day that the comforter is sent, the day that He pours out his spirit, you will know that Jesus and the Father are one and that God is now in you. That is the revelation. The baptism in His Spirit brings us into oneness with the Almighty, by His Spirit.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 10:06

The condition, the condition. I say again, there is a condition being that Jesus will only manifest, will only reveal himself, will only make Himself known to those who love Him. And how do you love him? You keep his commandments. Those that are keeping his commandments, that have not received the Holy Spirit, have a promise that God is going to pour out his Spirit and indwell you because you love him. But that's the condition. But everybody reads over that and overlooks that. It just wants to promise, to promise, to promise, but they just forgot the condition. If you love me, if you're keeping my commandments, I promise I'm gonna pour out my Spirit in you. That's the condition. It doesn't just come to anyone.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 10:45

Cornelius in Acts, chapter 10, was a man that loved God and, based upon what limited knowledge he had of God, he was keeping his commandment and so God blessed him and poured out his Spirit on him and he was the Gentile representative. So to let everyone know that all the Gentiles are now included in the kingdom of God, know that all the Gentiles are now included in the kingdom of God. The manifestation or the revealing of Jesus to an individual is directly connected, it is directly intertwined with the receiving of the comforter. There's a lot of people that have a knowledge of God and they go so far as to say, well, I've already received his spirit. Well, you can have a knowledge of God and not have received his Spirit, but there's a specific revelation of Jesus that you will have when you receive the comforter that will be by far and greater than any other knowledge of God that you've had prior to that moment.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 11:49

Now, to have His commandments is to just know them. Well, yeah, I know those are His commandments. I know he tells that me to do that right. He says that, no, that's wrong. I know that. But to keep them is to do them, and it is those that do the will that have this conditional promise. So once you know His will, you must determine within yourself to do it His way and no other.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 12:19

It says in Jeremiah 1:12, He is ever watching over His word to perform it. And if His word gave a condition that I will pour out my spirit on them that love me, that they are keeping my commandments, then he is ever watching over all the earth for finding that man, that woman that is loving Him, that is keeping His commandments and He's going to come rushing in with His Spirit and pour Himself into them. That's His promise. That's His word, and He's watching ever to perform it. So when we do it His way, this is part of the covenant. This is why we talk about covenant so much in this fellowship, because covenant is about an agreement. It's about a contractual agreement.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 13:03

You do this, I will do this, I will do this, you will do that. Well, your responsibility is to guard and keep his commandments, and his response is I'm going to pour out my spirit in you and cause you to do that. I'm going to give you the power to fulfill them, because just knowing the law is not going to cause you to walk in His commandments. It did not work for all the saints of the Old Testament. They all knew 616 or 19?, 14? Of the pieces of the law that needed to be fulfilled, and yet they could not do it. They had not the power to do it. And so, in the same way that Jesus only said what the Father said, he only did what he saw the Father do the Holy Ghost will do the same in us and through us.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 14:06

The indwelling Spirit of God is going to teach us some things. Is that what it says? No, it says He's going to teach us all things. So it doesn't matter what I experienced prior to me being born of God. It doesn't matter that I didn't have a father or I didn't have a mother, there is no excuse, for He said His words, said that I will teach you all things in spite of everything else you missed in your life. And He will relay whatever Jesus says and He will have us do whatever Jesus does. Why? That's easy, because the Holy Ghost is none other than the Spirit of Jesus himself. If I'm the one teaching you, the only thing I can teach you is about me. Because I'm me, amen, because I'm me.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 15:05

In John 15, verse 26, John continues to record what Jesus says. And Jesus says this when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth. So now, well, he said it before, the Comforter is the Spirit of truth, is the Holy Spirit, is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send. And now Jesus says whom I will send unto you from the Father, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. Now, I don't know if you caught it, but there seems to be a contradiction.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 15:53

Jesus said in John, chapter 14, the Father will send, but Jesus says I will send unto you. Well, if Jesus said the Father sends the Holy Spirit and now Jesus says I will send, well, if you take the notion that God is three distinct persons, then you got a problem. Who's doing the sending? Is it the Father or is it Jesus sending the Holy Spirit? Cause in this day and age everyone is believing in a trinity a God, the Father, god the Son, god, the Holy Ghost. Well, jesus just said the Father will send, and then Jesus just said I will send. Well, who's he sending and who's doing the sending? But that's if you take the notion that there's a trinity.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 16:43

But you see, if you remember Deuteronomy 6: 4, the Shema, that was highly revered by all of the Jews and all of the Israelites, for they were monotheistic, they believed in only one God and their God told them Hear, o Israel, the Lord, our God is one Lord. So the answer for me is quite simple. Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. He's not another God, he's not second person in the Godhead. So whether he sends, I will send, or the Father sends, he is referring to whom? Himself!

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 17:25

The disciples didn't have that revelation. But when they received Him by the Spirit, then they understood. Because up until that point, when He walked in the days of His flesh, the highest revelation that the disciples had was that you are the son of the living God, you are the Christ. No one ever said He was God. Not even the disciples said He was God. But after he was resurrected, what did Thomas say? My Lord and my God. You see the demarcation if you study it yourself. No one ever declared He was God. They didn't have it. They couldn't hold on to it. Even the Pharisees, when Jesus spoke, would not receive what He continued to allude to. But He was. He was God. He said he that has seen me has seen the Father. He said I and my Father are one. And we see Jesus coming right out and saying to the Pharisees who he really was before Abraham was, I am. And what did the Pharisees want to do? Stone him. Why? Blasphemy! Who are you to say that you make yourself God? Who are you? They knew what He was saying. They just wouldn't receive it. They would not receive it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 18:57

In the Jews' perspective, no mere mortal man could have done what Jesus did when he walked in the days of his flesh. None. They knew that. They knew that it had to be God. They knew that it made no sense for Beelzebub to cast out his own legion out of people. Only the power of God could have done that.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 19:20

And so John 1: 1 begins with In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So God was the Word. And it says later, in that very same chapter in John, in verse 14, and the Word became flesh. Well, if God was the Word, then God became flesh Because God was the Word. So, in other words, the infinite, invisible God, who is a Spirit, revealed and manifested and became flesh. He manifested Himself in the flesh in the body of the man, Jesus Christ. He enrobed Himself, he clothed himself in flesh.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 20:07

And this is the mystery of godliness that Paul spoke of in 1 Timothy 3:16. And great it is that the infinite, invisible God became flesh, revealed himself in the flesh, and without a revelation of Jesus this is not comprehended, because you have 35,000 different denominations saying Jesus is not who He said He was, but He's somebody different or somebody second, or distinct or apart. So the actual body of Christ, it says, was conceived of by the Holy Spirit, who overshadowed Mary and the human vessel that God used to manifest or reveal himself to humanity was brought forth from the womb of Mary. Let's read John 16. 7 through 15. Someone will stand up and read that. John 16, verse 7 through 15.

Katy Leyva: 21:18

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient 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, and when he is come, he will be proved the world of sin and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin because they believe not of me. Of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me. No more Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say of you, and you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine. Therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 22:17

It's very important here to point out that unless Jesus, who was in the flesh in that moment, were to go away, the Comforter would not come, he would not be sent to indwell the people of God. He had to go. It's a conditional statement. He needed to leave so that he would release His Spirit to be within us. Just as he spoke in the previous chapters of John, the Spirit would guide us into some truth, all truth. He will teach you all things, and up to that point it says that they could not bear any more truth. They couldn't bear it, they couldn't understand it, they couldn't go any farther than you are the Son of the living God, the Messiah, the promised one, that's it. But to say that you're God, uh-huh. Now notice that the exact same anointing that Jesus had being in the flesh. So does the Holy Spirit. So does the Holy Spirit. It says His Spirit, the anointing for reproving what? Sin, righteousness and judgment. Is that not what Jesus was doing in the days of His flesh? Reproving sin, righteousness and judgment. Whenever Jesus said or did something, it was because he said what he saw and heard the Father do. Jesus was using these words to describe that it was the Father in Him that said and did the things He did or said, because the man was completely yielded to the Spirit of Jesus within him, the Spirit of God within Him. Remember. It says in John 3: 34, I haven't even gone out of John, I keep going to John. John has revelation here forth. He says in John 3: 34, that in the man, Christ Jesus, the Spirit of God was without measure. It was an unlimited Spirit of God that was found in him. And it says elsewhere by Paul in him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead in a body In him, meaning Jesus. So Jesus, the Comforter, is also known as the Spirit of Truth in John, but he's also known as the Spirit of Prophecy in Revelation 19.10. It says there that I fell at his feet to worship him and he said unto me See, thou do it not. I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 25:17

Now, some say that because we have a court system, some say that being a witness is that you give testimony of Jesus and all that he's done for you in your life. And in a sense, yeah, that's kind of true. But as I look at the scriptures, it clearly defines that a witness is so much than what I just said, because it defines the witness to be the spirit of prophecy, and that the spirit of prophecy was not only in John the Apostle, but the spirit of prophecy was also on John the Baptist, for they both witnessed concerning him, but they didn't witness in and of themselves. They witnessed of him, based upon the revelation they received of the Spirit of God. That is why they're witnesses. There's people going into seminaries speaking about Jesus. They are not witnesses of him, for they're not speaking forth as the Spirit of prophecy in them.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 26:34

If that is so, then we who have received the pouring out of his spirit, the spirit of truth, the Holy Ghost, which is the spirit of prophecy, which is the comforter that Jesus spoke of in John, can also be witnesses. It says in John 15: 26 and 27, when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me and ye also shall bear witness, because you've been with me from the beginning. You see, with that understanding, now I really, really understand Acts, chapter 1, verse 8. Why is it that Jesus was so emphatic to the disciples Go to Jerusalem, go to Jerusalem. Wait for theatic to the disciples Go to Jerusalem, go to Jerusalem. Wait for the promise of my father. Go to Jerusalem.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 27:30

He says in Acts 1.8,. But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is coming upon you. And then what Is he there and ye shall be witnesses. Why didn't you just tell them to go out and preach the gospel in that moment? No-transcript, they had not received the witness to become witnesses. You see, we become witnesses only after we receive his anointing, his power, and that only comes by receiving his spirit. Then, and only then, is when we become witnesses of Jesus Christ having been born again, which is also known as being born of the water and of the Spirit in John 3, 3 through 6.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:22

There's a revelation in John, and if you just read and you'll see and make the connections, it's all there how important it is to receive the witness. We are witnesses only by the Spirit, for without Him we cannot witness concerning Him. How can I witness about Jesus? I didn't see Him. I didn't see Him die. I didn't see Him do the miracles. I didn't see Him resurrect. I didn't see Him for 40 days after His resurrection. I wasn't there, but I can witness of him because I have the spirit of resurrection. That's how I can witness of him, because I was dead in my sins, we were dead in our sins, but somehow I've been made alive by the spirit of Jesus Christ. The righteous, and now I can witness, and now I can testify of him without reservation. The righteous, and now I can witness. And now I can testify of him without reservation, without hesitation. Anyone who has not received the Spirit can only talk about him.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 29:25

But when you start giving testimony of the Spirit of Jesus Christ and you are a witness, you have power backing up the words that you're speaking. You have him following you with signs and wonders. It says he followed the apostles as they preached the gospel with signs and wonders. You read through Acts. They follow, with signs and wonders, the shadow of Peter, the healing of the lame man, the receiving of the Spirit of God in so many people, in the Jews, in the Samaritans and the Gentiles, and the parent disciples. You see power. And you see Stephen, see him in his glory in the midst of his martyrdom. That's power, power. That's power. Jesus did not take the witness from any man, including John the Baptist. Maybe you overlooked it, so let's read it in John 5 again. John 5, verse 30 through 41.

Clarence B. Harris: 30:55

If someone stand and read John 5: 30 through 41. I can't, of my own self do nothing as I hear.

Clarence B. Harris: 30:59

I judge. My judgment is justice because I seek not my own will but will the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another there who bear witness of me and I know that the witness which he witnessed of me not true. There is another there who bear witness of me and I know that the witness which he witnessed of me is true.

Clarence B. Harris: 31:19

He sent unto John. He bear witness unto the truth, but I receive not testimony from man, but these things. I say that he might be saved. He was a burning and shining light and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me and the Father himself which has sent me. He bore witness of me that the Father has sent me and the Father himself which has sent me. He bore witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape, for ye have not his word abiding in you For him.

Clarence B. Harris: 32:14

He has sent him. He believe not. Ye believe not Certain scriptures for them. Ye think ye have eternal life, but then they will testify of me and ye will not come to me that ye might have life. I received not honor from men, but I know you that ye have not the love of the Father in you. I have come in my Father's name and ye receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can you believe which receive honor one of another and seek not the honor which comes from God only? Do you think that I will accuse you to the Father? There is one that accuses you, even Moses, whom you trust.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 33:06

In this particular passage we read that Jesus is saying the Father witnessed, testified, vouched for me the Son by the works which I accomplished, because it was the Father in the Son that did them. It wasn't of any concern for Jesus to take the witness from any man, even from his cousin, cousin John the Baptist. Jesus emphatically states, not once but twice I receive not the testimony from man, I receive not honor from men. Even though John witnessed to the truth, Jesus would only take the witness of the Father. He only sought the witness that came of the father. And some of us have not grown up in our walk as a Christian. Some of us have not grown strong in the witness that God himself have given us, and we try to confirm ourselves in the opinions of men around us. Yet what my brother or sister or friend or relative says about me should not concern me. Who are they to tell me whether I'm really a Christian or not? My witness of whether I'm a Christian or not should come from the Father himself, and that witness is by his spirit. Who cares if another man said that Jesus was the Son of God? Aren't they arguing that? Now? They've been arguing that for 2,000 years. Was he really the Son of God or was he just some man, or what does the Son of God even mean? But you can't argue with the works that he accomplished. The witness was the works that Jesus was given to complete. You can't argue about anything when you've seen and experienced the awesome power of God, which is why it's so important that you receive the witness that will convince you that, as Jesus was in the Father and the Father was in Him, now Jesus is in you and now you are in Jesus. Jesus was in the Father and the Father was in him. Now Jesus is in you and now you are in Jesus. It is supposed to give you the witness. It is supposed to give you that confirmation that you need it because if you experience the power and taste, taste the power of heaven itself, you not need any convincing of any man, because you experienced and tasted of heaven himself.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 35:59

How was he able to do the works? That witness concerning him that the Father sent him, it says in the early chapters of John, the witness being the Spirit descended upon him as a dove and when he was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, not because he needed to repent for his sins, for he had none, but he had to set an example for those who would follow in his footsteps. It was necessary to fill all righteousness. Baptism in water wasn't necessary for him like it's necessary for us. Baptism in the spirit wasn't necessary for him like it's necessary for us, but he had to show us the way. He couldn't exclude himself from what we are required to walk in, even the cross. Jesus partook in these two acts to be an example to us of the necessity for us to follow suit in order that we would be saved, in order that we would be able to witness, and for further ministry, further ministry.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 37:20

I could read the parallel passages of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and John speaking of when Jesus was baptized, of John in the River Jordan. If you're taking notes, I'm just going to give you the scripture. You can read them on your own John 1: 33 and 34. Matthew 3: 15 through 17. Mark 1: 10 and 11. And Luke 3: 21 and 22. These passages all describe when Jesus was baptized by John.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 38:01

The witness, this spirit that came as a dove was not seen by everyone. It was only seen by John the Baptist, because John the Baptist was told by his Father that upon whom you see the Spirit descending upon the dove. That's the Messiah. John is the one that saw the Spirit. That was a witness to John that this is the Messiah. This is the one that I've been telling you about. This is the one that I've been telling you to preach about who's going to baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire. Nobody else saw that witness. It was for John, it was for him. Fire Nobody else saw that witness. It was for John, it was for him. But then it says that there was a voice heard and that was God witnessing to the multitude that Jesus was his son. It says this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. But before this point, the only pieces of his account of his life that we know of was his birth and when he was in the priestal, priestly speaking to the Pharisees and questioning them. That's all that we know about Jesus up until that point.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 39:08

But notice what happens after the record of his baptism. Notice what happens after the record of his baptism In Mark 3: 21, 22, Mark 4: 1 and 14,. He is now described as being full of the Spirit, led of the Spirit and in the power of the Spirit. The anointing of God was stimulated in a sense, and Jesus began to actively fulfill his calling. He began to actively fulfill his ministry, his purpose. It was the spirit of God and the power of God. That cannot be separated, because the spirit is the kingdom of God, manifest through the Son of man, in whomever he is in. The kingdom of God always manifests in power.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 40:07

Jesus had been witnessed that he is the Son of God, and at the same time he was empowered to lead a spirit-filled and a spirit-led life, and so he is our example. It was necessary for him to be baptized, not only in water but in the spirit, to be an example to us of our requirements to go out and fill our ministry and our calling, and so we need to follow suit. It was after this baptism that he then entered into the synagogue and said the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach the deliverance to the captives and recover the sight to the blind, and set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of our Lord. We don't have any account that he did this before his baptism. So Jesus in a sense received the witness and he actively began to pursue fulfilling his calling and his destiny for three and a half years.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 41:31

Hidden within the spirit of the man, Jesus Christ was the spirit of God without measure, from birth, From birth, from birth. He was called what Emmanuel God with us From birth. So what happens when we receive the witness? Turn to Romans 8, 9 through 11. Brother John, could you read Romans 8,?

John H. S. Leyva: 41:58

verse 9 through 11? You 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 the Spirit of Christ, he is not of his, and if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Some people read this passage and they think that there are now three different spirits.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 42:24

There are now three different spirits in this passage and they think that there are now three different spirits. There are not three different spirits in this passage. This is Paul using the different titles of the same one spirit. He's not differentiating the spirit of God from the spirit of Christ, from Christ in you or just the spirit. On the contrary, he's using this particular passage to explain to them that the spirit of the living God now indwells them.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 43:00

The Spirit of God is also known as the Spirit of Christ, because he now says now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ before he referred to it as the Spirit of God. So Paul is affirming that the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are before he referred to it as the Spirit of God. So Paul is affirming that the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are one and the same Spirit. Then Paul says it in a different way Christ in you. How is Christ in you? By the Spirit. He's not separating, he's not differentiating. He's affirming that Christ is in you by the indwelling Spirit of God or the indwelling Spirit of Christ. And he concludes the passage by referring to the indwelling Christ as his Spirit. It says by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Now. Jesus said apart from me, you can do nothing. I think it's safe to say that without Jesus, the spirit within you can't do anything as well. The spirit of God in you is how you become witnesses. If you search the scriptures, you will see that the heart of man has been evil from its youth and it has been the focus of God's attention when dealing with man. He sees the heart it says in 1 Samuel 16, and he disregards the outward appearance. He's not interested in what you look like or what you smell like or how you dress or any of that stuff. He's looking at where's your heart. I look at beyond the eyes of man and I see into the inner man.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 44:43

In answer to David's prayer, he promises to create in us a pure heart, renew a steadfast, faithful spirit within us in Psalm 51.10. And this is what he prophesied in Ezekiel in regards to making a new covenant. He says in Ezekiel 36: 24. Ezekiel 36: 24. He says I will take from you or excuse me, I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all the countries and I will bring you into your own land and I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, from all your idols, will I cleanse you a new heart. Also, will I give you a new spirit, will I put within you, and will take away the stony heart of your flesh and will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and ye shall keep my judgments and ye shall do them A new heart, a new spirit. But the big thing is, I will put my spirit within you. Why? So that we will walk in His statutes, so that we will guard His judgments. So that we will walk in his statutes, so that we will guard his judgments, so that we will fulfill his word. It is only by the Spirit that you can walk in the newness of life, fulfilling the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, as spoken of in Romans 8. The new law liberates us from the previous law of sin and death and being cut off, divorced from the previous law, I now can walk in a new law of the spirit of life and fulfill his word, walking after the spirit.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 46:49

When did God start fulfilling this promise? He started fulfilling his promise to the Jews on the day of Pentecost. He started fulfilling his promise a couple years later because he brought in the Gentiles sorry, the Samaritans, who were half Jews in the very same way in Acts, chapter 8. About 10 years down the line you can correct me if I'm wrong after Pentecost he then brought in the Gentiles through Cornelius, and that created a quite a stir.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 47:20

Now Jesus said in John 3, he blows his spirit on whomever he wills, and although you hear him, you do not know when he comes or where he goes. And thus are those born of the Spirit. Jesus alone has ultimate sovereignty on who he's going to pour out his Spirit into. No man, no man, no man has control over that. If we can't control the outpouring of his spirit, then what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to just wait, twiddle our thumbs, whistle, sing praise songs?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 48:02

Somehow we need to communicate to the Almighty our earnest desire for him, because receiving the witness which is his spirit is receiving him, because receiving the witness which is his spirit Is receiving him. And somehow you've got to make An effort On your part To cry out to God To tell him that this is what you want, that you want him and none other. And that communication, verily, verily, verily, that communication can only come from the heart. That's why it doesn't matter what man does. Do we lay hands for you to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost? Of course we do. We do it by faith. But in the end, the reason you received it is because God saw something in your heart that he needed to see, to pour out his spirit within you. It's no one else's fault, ever. It's something to do with you. He's not looking at the hundred people around you that are praying for you. He's looking at you to receive the spirit and he's looking for something in particular.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 49:05

True repentance comes from the spiritual conviction in your heart, not in the hundred people around you that are praying for you to receive the spirit in your heart, not in the hundred people around you that are praying for you to receive the Spirit. And for different people, the manifestation of that true repentance is just differently. It's expressed outwardly in different ways Some cry, some remain silent, they can't say anything, they look like a statue, and some are shaking and some are quaking and some are trembling and some are just in an honest, upright fear of God. And you see all of these outward manifestations. But I tell you that God is not even looking for that. We look for that because sometimes we go by sight and God is looking past what we see into the heart. I'm looking to wait and I'm waiting upon the heart of that individual. He says it very clearly I know the heart, I know all the heart In 1 Chronicles 28.9.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 50:06

In Psalm 44.21. In Jeremiah 17.10. I am all heart knowing. It is my focus, your heart, it is what I want, it is what I desire.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 50:28

Psalm 51, david said Thou desirest not sacrifice, else I would give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. But the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. O God, thou will not despise the word says, a broken and contrite heart. God will not reject, he will not turn away from that. If he's watching over his word to perform it, then he's looking for people with broken and contrite hearts that are not putting on a show of worldly sorrow, where they're crying and crying and weeping and wailing and tearing for hours and hours on end and they wake up the next morning and they're not changed.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 51:24

He's not looking for all that nonsense, not to say that there are some sincere people out there that just manifest that and that's really what was in their heart. But if God is going to pour out His Spirit in you, he's looking for a broken and contrite heart that wants Him to fix it, because you can't fix yourself. All your life you tried to do that. You need to now surrender, stop running and stop hiding, and surrender to his will, to his ways. There's got to come a point. Even if you're a preacher's kid, even if you're one of those that were living in the faith since you were born, because my father and my great grandfather and my great great grandfather were pastors and preachers no, there's gotta come a point in time in your life where you realize I can do nothing to please him. And it doesn't matter what my dad did, it doesn't matter what my grandfather did, it doesn't matter that my great-grandfather walked in the truth. I've got to walk in the truth. I have nothing to offer him. I have nothing to appease my sin that has trespassed against God and the Lord.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 52:47

God says in Jeremiah 29, verse 12, then shall ye call upon me and ye shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you. If he's watching over his word to perform it and you want to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, then start doing what the word said to you. If he's watching over his word to perform it and you want to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, then start doing what the word said to do, because he will not despise you, he will not reject you, he will not turn away from you if you do what he requires. And what he requires is to go and pray to him and seek his face. And when it says, and ye shall seek me, you will find me.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 53:29

How many of you are waiting to see the Lord? I've heard it from some here. Came from my own house. I haven't seen him yet and I say to you have you sought him with all of your heart, because he will not disappoint you? Don't complain to me how I haven't heard the Lord. I haven't seen the Lord when you haven't done your part, because I highlighted to you from the very beginning there's a condition he's waiting on you, you're waiting on him and he's waiting on you. He wants to fulfill his covenant to you, but anytime he's made a promise to anyone in the scriptures, he's always required something of them.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 54:12

Abraham, leave your father and your mother and your birthplace, then I will make your seed as the number of the stars in the heaven. But he didn't say, abraham, I'm going to make your seed as the number of the stars in the heaven. But he didn't say, abraham, I'm going to make your seed as the number of the stars in the heaven. First, he didn't say that he always requires something of people he wants to now make a covenant with, and when you search for me with all your heart, I will be found, sayeth the Lord. This is the description of being broken and crushed before Almighty God and asking Him to mercy us, to forgive us our sins and to do something about us, our sins, and to do something about us In Joel 2.12,.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 55:09

Joel prophecies Therefore, also now, sayeth the Lord Turn ye even to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, with mourning, and rend your heart, not your garments. God says I'm looking at your heart, not your garments. Turn unto the Lord, your God. He says in verse 23,. Be glad, then, ye, children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God, for he has given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain in the first month, and he's starting to prophesy of something that is about to happen. He said it to Ezekiel, he said it to Jeremiah, he's saying it to Joel. He said it to Ezekiel, he said it to Jeremiah, he's saying it to Joel, he said it to Amos.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 56:07

He's prophesying of an outpouring. He says in verse 28, and it shall come to pass afterward, after you've done your part, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also upon the servants and upon handmaids. In those days will I pour out my spirit. So here we see.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 56:38

There's a call to repent, and repenting is more than just being oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's regretting sincerely what you did wrong and willing to change your ways. That's what he's looking for. Does he know the end from the beginning? Does he know what you're going to choose in the end? Yes, but he's looking at you in the present moment, which is why sometimes you've seen people actually receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then you see them start walking in the flesh again, because God was not judging them by their end result. He was looking at them in the moment, and that's what all he's looking for.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 57:31

He's not going to condemn you, even though he knows what your decisions are before.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 57:35

He's going to give you every possible chance.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 57:37

And if it means giving you his spirit and you later on trampling underfoot the blood of the son, then he'll do it because that's what he died for, because while you were yet sinners he died.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 57:53

So ain't no thing for him to give you his spirit, knowing that maybe later on you're going to turn away anyway and reject the spirit of grace and reject the spirit of grace. And if you do what he says, if you repent with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, with chopping, as it says, even in that sorrowful state, he tells you later on, there's hope, there's an anticipation of a pour, an outpouring of my spirit, a rain that is going to come, a former and a latter rain, he says afterward, after this repentance and obedience born out of your newfound trust in Him, he's going to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. And with that outpouring of His Spirit comes many different manifestations of prophesying dreams and visions, but only after, if my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 59:09

Did you see the if? Then it's all over the place in the scriptures. If, then, promises of God are conditional, don't be afraid to admit that they are. They require something of you Then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sin, I will hear the land. So if I had to simplify this, I say one obedience to the word is necessary according to all of these scriptures that we've come and read.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 59:40

Doing it his way, because he's watching over His Word to perform it. You do it His way, he's going to do it what he said he would do. When you do it His way, repentance is essential. Two and three it never hurts to ask Him. Ask Him for the promise, pray, petition Him to fulfill the promise in you. He said how much more shall your heavenly father give the holy spirit to them that ask him? But we're raised in all of these churches that say the holy ghost is not for today, it's 2000 years old. We don't need that. My wife has actually come across people that don't believe that we need it here in the States, but when it happens in Africa, oh, that's because they need the power. I only thought he said those stories. I only thought he heard those things. I only thought he heard those things.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:00:44

Now my wife ran into somebody that said something like that what do we see the disciples do? What do we see the women do when they're waiting in the upper loft? Well, we just name three things. Obedience to his word why were they in Jerusalem in the upper loft? Because they told him to. Jesus, told them to. There's obedience. A sign of obedience excuse me, a sign of repentance is obedience. I'm not going to do it my way anymore, I'm going to do it your way. You said to wait in Jerusalem, I'm going to wait in Jerusalem. And so what were they doing when they were waiting in Jerusalem?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:01:23

It says these all continued with one accord, in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren, and if you read any further, it's about 120 people all together. Acts 1, verse 14. And you know they didn't fully realize what was about to take place. I'm sure by their works, by their actions, they're repentant. I'm more sure that they're repentant because I saw in Acts, chapter 2, that they received the gift of the Holy Ghost. God is not going to give the gift of the Holy Ghost to someone who, in his heart, is not repentant. He's not, he's not, he's not going to do that. So we see in Acts that the receiving of the Spirit is a prophetic fulfillment of prophecy through Joel. This is that, and it shall come to days. It shall come to pass. In the last days, say of God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and young men shall see visions and old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out on those days of my spirit and they shall prophesy.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:02:44

Peter referred to Joel that what you now see and hear is a prophecy fulfilled. And when they heard this, when they heard this prophecy being fulfilled, when they heard how Jesus had done these many miracles and was anointed of God and was crucified by them, when they heard that he was both Lord and Christ, they said what shall we do? Peter Repent Be baptized in the name of Jesus, every one of you, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost. Now, that's what they said. That's what Peter said when they asked what shall we do about what we did? Paul said in 2 Thessalonians we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:03:54

Through what Sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. The belief of the truth is expressed in your obedience to His Word. It says in John 1, verse 12,. But as many as received Him, as many as received the witness, to them he gave power to become the sons of God. It is only after you receive the witness that you are now eligible to be a child of God, because it is by the Spirit of God that a spiritual adoption takes place. Without the Spirit of God, there is no adoption by the Spirit, even to them that believe on His name, which were born not of the blood, not of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. To those that receive the witness, they have authority to become children of God, as it says in Romans 8, 16 and 17. Why? Because they are now born of God. You want to be a child of God. You need to be born of God. You want to be a child of that person, then you need to be born of that person. Lydia can't be a child of any other woman in this room. But my wife, she was born of her room. But my wife, she was born of her.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:05:28

The glory that John the Baptist saw descending at Jesus' baptism was the glory also seen when three of his disciples were at the Mount of Transfiguration. And both times that the glory was seen by John the Baptist and those three, both times it was said this is my beloved Son. The second time it said Hear ye Him, listen to Him. First time it's just this is my beloved Son, whom I am well pleased. And the reason why I point that out? Because that is a nice image and picture of the sanctifying and culminating work of the Spirit of God in the life of a believer. He comes upon you, he indwells you and when he's finished with His work, how is Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration, like the Son glorified? That is the work of the Spirit of God in your life. It's not something that can be neglected. It's not something you could just bypass and say oh well, I'll get there. You need the Spirit of God, you need the witness.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:06:35

Paul said he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter. Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. A Jew is not worried about what man says about him. It's not concerned that this brother or sister over here said I was a Christian, or this denomination said I'm a Christian because I got baptized in their church.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:07:05

The only thing that a Jew worries about is is he pleasing God? Does he have the witness of God? Is he being vouched for? Is he being backed up by God himself? He's not concerned with the thoughts, he's not concerned with the attention of man, but only the witness and the fruits of God in his life. He is circumcised in the heart, not in the flesh, because the circumcision of the flesh doesn't benefit anything, not spiritually anyway. God is concerned with the heart, with the heart of his people. Look at what the apostles and the elders of the church had to say about the witness In Acts, chapter 15, verse 7. You had some Jews born again of the spirit having a problem that the Gentiles are in the kingdom. No, no, no, no. They need to be circumcised in the flesh. They need to keep the law of Moses. They were arguing with who the witness?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:08:13

And you're going to see that the answer in this account was the witness Acts, chapter 15, verse 7, and when there had been much disputing there was a lot of argument over this, peter rose up and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know how, that, a good while ago, god made choice among us, that the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the gospel and believe, and God, which knoweth what the hearts bear them, witness Giving them the Holy Ghost. Bam, bam, bam. All in one place. The Lord pours out his spirit, he gives the witness, he gives the Holy Ghost when he sees the heart of the individual ready. Even as he did unto us, he did it to the Gentiles, just like he did it to us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why tempt ye God? What are we doing here, arguing with the witness? Why are we trying to put a yoke on our brethren that our fathers couldn't even bear to walk in? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord, jesus Christ, the Spirit of God, the divine empowerment of God, that we shall be saved, even just like them. So, in reviewing this particular case of the Gentiles, jesus decided I'm not going to wait on Peter to finish preaching the gospel, because I'm going to make this emphatically clear witness that I have accepted the Gentile even before you lay hands on them, peter, I'm going to do it myself. There should be no question. There should be no dispute. I bathed the Gentiles in my spirit. It was my divine choice.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:10:10

God says God witnesses that he has established his covenant by pouring out his spirit, just as he did on the day of Pentecost. And you know what Paul and Peter, as they write in the letters. There is no disagreement on this matter. The witness does not change. The witness is the spirit and it is God's stamp of approval on you making a covenant with you. If we read and we continue in Acts 15, we see that Paul stands up and he begins to speak concerning the witness. He doesn't disagree, he doesn't argue with Peter, but he emphatically declares about the signs and the omens that God did, because Paul can't argue with what God did. It's irrefutable. He did it among all the nations. So there's no disagreement with the apostles on the issue. It is the witness that settles the case. Paul writing in the letters to the churches he doesn't change his mind, he agrees, he confirms what happened in Acts, chapter 15.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:11:27

Paul says in Romans 15, nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly unto you, in some sort as putting you in mind. In other words, I'm going to remind you, because of the grace that is given to me, of God, that I should be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being what he's not there, yet Sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I can't argue against the witness, for I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me. Verse 18. To make the Gentiles obedient, the Gentiles were required to be obedient, just as the Jews were, just as the Samaritans were, just as all men everywhere around the world are called to what Repent, obedient in word and in deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, the witness, so that from Jerusalem round about to Illarism, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. The end result of both Peter and Paul's preaching was that those who trusted and obeyed received the witness. They received the Spirit of God. They consistently saw Jesus confirming the word which they spoke by baptizing the believer in the Spirit Mark 16, 20. And how did they know? How did they know that a person received the Spirit? The evidence of speaking. In tongues, it is very, very, very clearly laid out in Cornelius' example, the only reason the Gentiles were known to have received the Spirit because they spoke in tongues, just as we did way back then. Paraphrased After Paul speaks during this Acts 15 dispute, james stands up and speaks, and he doesn't disagree with him either, but he says that what God did with the Gentiles was a fulfillment of prophecy back in Amos 9, 11, and 12.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:13:49

For he says In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and of David that is fallen and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins and will build it, as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and of all the heathen which are called by my name. Say the Lord that doeth this. This work was prophesied through Joel, it was prophesied through Ezekiel, it was prophesied through Jeremiah, it was prophesied through Ezekiel, it was prophesied through Jeremiah, it was prophesied right now through Amos, and it is describing the same work of God. In the beginning, god walked with Adam. They abided together. Adam was in the light and the glory of God, and when Adam sinned, he was banished, not only from the garden, but he was banished from that relationship of walking in the light and the glory of God.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:14:43

All the while after, god has wanted to reestablish that walk. He started by resigning in the presence of the ark. He then went from the presence of the ark he resided in the tabernacle where the ark was, where the holy of holy was, and for a time this is how we walked with the people of God. But there came a point where God said I'm no longer dwelling in temples built by men, I'm going to make the temple myself. So he made his own tabernacle in the hearts of his people.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:15:25

His holy nation, his royal priesthood, the baptism of the Spirit rebuilds the tabernacle of David in the hearts of his people. Three witnesses in one hearts of his people, three witnesses in one chapter answering the question Peter, paul and James. And they all agree. The matter is settled with the apostles and the elders in the church in agreement that receiving of the Spirit is the witness. And so, to conclude, we end with Colossians 1.26. Even the mystery which has been hid from the ages and from generations is now made manifest to the saints, 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, the great mystery throughout all generations is that God has been planning this restoration from the very beginning to tabernacle with his people. Again Jesus Christ is in you if you have received the witness In 1 John.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:16:32

John again the apostle says and he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him, and hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he gave us, because the Spirit will abide in you as long as you're walking and keeping his commandments. The same requirement before he came to indwell you is the same requirement he continues to hold you to afterward. The covenant doesn't change because God met His requirement. If he required you to walk in His commandments and then gave you a spirit to say yeah, I'm with you, then he continues to require you to walk in His commandments. Otherwise you just broke covenant. To require you to walk in His commandments, otherwise you just broke covenant.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:17:18

The Spirit of God will indwell us to the eons as long as we keep His commandments, as long as we continue to walk according to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, as long as we no longer walk according to the flesh but according to the what, the Spirit, then we abide in Him, then he remains in us and we know that we abide in Him because His Spirit indwelling us assures us of that. There's a peace that will surpass all understanding, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the, the spirit itself. Bear us witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if the children, then heirs and heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, and if so, be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit the redemption of our body.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:18:29

So here we clearly see that the Spirit of God is the same Spirit of Christ, which is finally referred as Christ Jesus Himself. Different references to the same one God, different descriptive names referring to the only true God. But when we receive the Spirit, we receive the Spirit of Sonship which gives us authority to become children of God. And until that work is complete. At the resurrection of the body, the Spirit continues to witness to us. You are my child, you are my son. Walk with me, walk with me, talk with me. I love you, love me, love me.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:19:09

When we are glorified which is the completed work of the Spirit in every believer's life, our body will be redeemed, our body will be glorified, our body will be changed from corruptible to incorruptible, from mortality to immortality. Then the promise is complete, then it's fulfilled, and then I don't need to hope anymore, because all of us are hoping that we get out of this. I don't know about you, but I want to be perfected in Him. I want to be just like Him, just like my Father who is in Heaven. But before that happens, we need a witness, and that witness is the Spirit of God in our life. When we are perfect in the image of Jesus, we are considered brothers and children of God, amen.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:20:07

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