The Incorruptible Seed
Recently I invited some Jehovah's Witnesses in for a chat. I had an interest in their beliefs because there are many things they have in common with my own, some of which aren't that common in modern Christianity. The gentlemen at the door seemed rather meek, and I saw this as a nice opportunity to, for once, have a discussion on God's Word with someone who's beliefs differed from my own. Yeah, I've talked to tons of people about God's Word who's beliefs differ, but most people want to argue their point - Not state it in a concise and logical manner.
This article isn't a bashing of another religion, so if you're looking for something downing the JW's I suggest you look elsewhere. As a matter of fact, the Jehovah's Witnesses showed a lot genuine respect for the integrity of God's Word or I probably wouldn't have spoken with them in the first place. There were however a few things that they believed that were different from what I've been taught and what I've seen in my personal studies, and so I wanted to study those topics in depth on my own to see if I was mistaken in my beliefs.
One of the main topics we ended up discussing was in regards to holy spirit. Like many Christians, they believe that you can loose your spirit (and more specifically your access to eternal life) if you are bad. This differs quite a bit from my own beliefs. From what I've studied in God's Word I've seen that your spirit is incorruptible, that eternal life is a promise from God, that holy spirit is a gift from God, and that God isn't an "Indian Giver".
A quick disclaimer here... This is by no means an in-depth study of all the verses used, and a man can only go as far as he's been taught. These are the verses that these Jehovah's Witnesses shared with me. I'm not suggesting there aren't other verses one could interpret to support the JW's standpoint on this subject. All I can discuss is what I've read and understood. I guess what I'm saying is that I did this study for my own benefit, and figured you guys might benefit from it as well. As always, if you have anything constructive to add to this article, feel free to comment.
Ok, on to the good stuff!
If we're going to talk about holy spirit, we've got to first determine what we're talking about when we say holy spirit. If you want, you can skip this part and go straight to the "Can you lose it?" section. This article is broken up into three main parts:
- What is Holy Spirit?
- How Do You Get It?
- The Verses They Say Show You Can Lose It
- The Verses I Say Show Why You Can't
- What Difference Does It Make?
What is Holy Spirit?
Holy spirit comes from the Greek words pneuma hagion. As you may have noticed, when I speak of holy spirit in this article, I don't capitalize the H in holy and the S in spirit, and I don't generally refer to it as "the holy spirit". That's because this word is used in several different ways in God’s Word. Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille in Receiving the Holy Spirit Today determined that there are 9 separate usages of pneuma (or spirit in God's Word. For you Wierwille fans out there, we’re focusing on Usage 2.a, spiritual abilities given by God - the new birth. This is different and completely distinct from God who is both holy and spirit - Holy Spirit.
Since capitalization wasn't a "feature" of the Greek and Aramaic that the Bible was written in, the capitalization of Holy and Spirit in our bibles was done solely at the discretion of the translators. The only reason I don't capitalize it in this article is to help distinguish between the holy spirits inside of each of us and God who is Holy Spirit.
I don't always refer to it as "the holy spirit". This is also to help differentiate between the holy spirit inside of us and God who is the Holy Spirit. The definite article "the" did not exist in the languages God's Word was originally written in, so we know that it was added by the translators as they saw fit. Although I'm sure they were accurate in their placement of this article in many cases (no need to go scratching out all the "the's" in your bible!), the existence and placement of "the" in the bible should not be regarded as the "God breathed Word" and should not influence our judgment when allowing His Word to interpret itself.
Holy spirit inside of us wasn't available until Jesus Christ fulfilled the law and ascended into heaven. Before this happened, men of God were often referred to as having spirit "upon" them, but today we have spirit "within" us. We're "born of God's seed". This seed is the holy spirit of which I speak.
Let's take a look at some bible!
Romans 8:10-16There's quite a few things that we learn about holy spirit from these verses:
And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
- It is Christ in you. (v. 10)
- It quickens our mortal bodies. (v. 11)
- We no longer have to live after the flesh. (v. 12)
- It brings us everlasting life. (v. 13)
- The spirit can lead us at times in our life. (I'd like to point out that this does not say God possesses you or causes you to lose control, as is the case with many that claim to be "lead by the spirit". It also says that it's not "the spirit of bondage", and possession is bondage. Being lead by the spirit is normally more of a still, small voice.) (v. 14, 15)
- It is not meant to result in fear (v. 15)
- We are now the children of God, just like Christ. (v. 14-16)
These are only a few benefits of having holy spirit. There are 9 separate abilities you gain by having holy spirit, known as the Manifestations of the Spirit, and a whole slew of benefits gained from those abilities known as the Fruit of the Spirit. But that's another article!
How Do You Get It?
It wouldn't be right of me to tell you about this neat holy spirit thing without telling you how to pick one up. God’s Word says that you receive holy spirit when you get "born again". Being born again is at the base level of your stand for God. This is when we gain the ability, but it is still up to us to learn how to use it and to use the power God has given us in our day-to-day lives. This is much like how when you buy a lawn mower. Buying the mower is the beginning of your "mowing experience". You still need to learn how to start it and use it properly and actually do it to reap the benefits of owning a lawn mower.
Romans 10:9, 10The good news (no pun intended) is that getting born again is very simple, and only requires two things of you:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
- “Confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus”: This doesn’t mean all you have to do is say, “Lord Jesus” or even necessarily that you have to say anything at all. Matthew 12:34 tells us that, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” So what is in your heart is what you will tend to speak. God wants you to truly make Jesus Lord of your life, in your heart of hearts – Not just speak or act like you think a Christian should.
- “believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead”: This part is very important, and sometimes overlooked. This gives God the glory for raising Christ from the dead. The modern belief of trinitarianism makes it easy to think of Christ as raising himself from the dead – which is both untrue, and a hindrance to getting born again.
The Verses They Say Show You Can Lose It
Let’s look at the first verse the Jehovah’s Witnesses showed me, to support their belief that you can lose your holy spirit and everlasting life if you sin.
"Endureth to the End"
Matthew 10:22They say that this is saying that only those who endure to the end of their life will be saved, or have eternal life. In a way, they're right! But this verse actually means two very different things at once. Let’s look at this verse in context.
And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Matthew 10:1, 5-8This is the section of scripture where Jesus Christ is sending out his 12 to witness to the lost sheep of Israel. Let's read on:
And when he had called unto [him] his twelve disciples, he gave them power [against] unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into [any] city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Matthew 10: 21-23So when he says to his disciples that they are to “endureth to the end”, what he's telling them about the immediate task at hand (witnessing in these cities) is that they'll have to endure to the end of the persecution. This is particularly easy to see when you read the first part of the very next verse that says, “But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another”. If they were persecuted to the death, how would they flee into another city?
And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against [their] parents, and cause them to be put to death.
And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
I mentioned before that this verse means two different things at once. Many times when men of God speak as they are moved by God, what they're saying has both a literal meaning that is apparent to those immediately present, and a figurative meaning that may or may not be immediately understood (Gen. 17:5, Exe. 28). That was the case with what he was saying here. How do I know this? By looking at other places this "endureth to the end" is used.
Matthew 24: 7-14
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mark 13:6, 8, 10, 13These two sections of scripture correlate with what Jesus said in Matthew 10:22. Although the immediate meaning was that they'd have to endure persecution, we see from these verses that Jesus Christ was in fact figuratively referencing his final return. So why do I still say that this isn't saying that we can lose our holy spirit? Because of who these verses are written to. We must understand these verses in light of their context.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and shall deceive many.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these [are] the beginnings of sorrows.
And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
These verses are there for our learning, but they were not written to (or about) you and me - the born-again Christian. Christ was not yet seated in the heavenlies so "the comforter", holy spirit, God in Christ in You, was not yet available. The people to whom he was speaking were Israel, not the Church of God which we belong to and which wouldn't exist until Christ arose. Jesus also wouldn't have been speaking prophetically of us because the whole, "holy spirit inside of you" thing was kept secret (I Cor. 2:8) until after his resurrection.
These verses are speaking prophetically of when the audience, Israel, would be risen - not with us. Therefore this verse says nothing about whether or not you and I can loose our holy spirit, only that those under the law must live by the law to receive redemption. Nothing new there.
"The Crown of Life"
Another group of scriptures often offered as evidence that we can lose our holy spirit if we sin are those scriptures relating to the crown of life.
James 1:12, 13Ok, so maybe verse 13 isn't relevant to our topic here, but people seem to need reminded of that a lot these days! Let's look at the other verse where the crown of life is specifically mentioned:
Blessed [is] the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Revelations 2:10, 11Now, what do these verses say?
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
- When we endure temptation we are blessed.
- We shouldn't fear what we will suffer.
- Some of us (for example) will be cast into prison and tried for 10 days.
- Those that hear what God says and overcome won't be hurt of the second death.
- When we endure temptation we receive the crown of life (in Rev. "faithful unto death".)
- Doesn't say that if you have the crown of life and don't endure that you'll lose it.
- Doesn't say that the crown of life refers to eternal life.
All this doesn't really matter anyway, because of the fact that this verse also doesn't say that the crown of life is synonymous with eternal life. Rev. 2:11 says that "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death", but that is in the context of "He that hath an ear, let him hear". In fact, these are the only two verses that specifically refer to the crown of life in the bible, so there is no reason to make such an assumption.
So what is the crown of life? From reading these verses, I don't know. But I'm not going to go on to guess at its meaning based solely on these two verses. There are a total of 5 crowns listed in the bible, including this one:
- Crown incorruptible: 1 Cor. 9:25
- Crown of rejoicing: 1 Thes. 2:19
- Crown of righteousness: 2 Tim. 4:8
- Crown of life: James 1:12
- Crown of glory: 1 Pet. 5:4
"Impossible to Repent"
Hebrews 6:4-6Some say this verse is saying that once you're born again, if you become a sinner you're damned for all of eternity. If that were the case, wouldn't it be best to wait until you're on your death-bed to get born again, so you have less time to screw up and get damned forever? And what about all those verses that talk about grace and forgiveness? I was raised in a Christian household, so I was born again when I was, like, seven years old. I know I've messed up big time since then and I know God has welcomed me back with open arms. Well, my friend have no fear. To think this verse means that if you become a sinner after being born again then you'll lose your holy spirit is to have a gross misunderstanding of this verse.
For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.
This verse is speaking specifically of repentance. And although you may hear the term "repent" a lot from us church-folk, how it is used biblically may be a little different than you think. According to the American Heritage Dictionary to repent is, "To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it" and that pretty much fits the bill in regards to the biblical definition. Additionally "biblical" repentance is something that you only need to do one time in your life - When you are baptized in the spirit - born again of God's seed. Lets take a look at a few of the verses that talk about repentance and see who they refer to.
Mark 2:17
When Jesus heard [it], he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Here Jesus says that those who are whole don't need repentance, but the sinners do.
Luke 15:7
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Again, the big JC states that sinners need repentance, not just persons. One may say, "But what makes you think I'm just once I'm born again?"
Romans 5:16-20So we are truly "just" as God's kids, because we're justified. And now we have grace! We'll get more into that later.
And not as [it was] by one that sinned, [so is] the gift: for the judgment [was] by one to condemnation, but the free gift [is] of many offences unto justification.
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all men unto justification of life.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
My point is that repentance is for sinners when they are baptized in the spirit. Baptism is even referred to as the "baptism of repentance" many times in God's Word (Mar. 1:4, Luk. 3:3, Act. 13:24, and Act. 19:4 for example.) After that we're God's kids and all we need to do is ask Him for forgiveness and He's happy to oblige. But this isn't repentance. Repentance is reserved for when we first are baptized in the spirit.
The Verses I Say Show Why You Can't
So why am I so hell-bent (bad pun completely intended) on saying that we can't lose our holy spirit? For one thing, Jesus Christ said that the person that comes to him will never hunger, and when a man of God says never, he means never!
"Shall Never Hunger"
John 6:31-35When Israel was in the desert w/ Moses, manna (a type of bread common to the area) literally fell from the sky to supplement them. After they ate the bread they weren’t hungry. But after several hours or a day they would be hungry again, right? Well Jesus Christ came to make holy spirit available to us. He is the Bread of Life, and to partake of Christ is to never again be spiritually hungry.
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Just as Israel digested the bread, using up all of its nutrients then hungered again, if we were to lose holy spirit, wouldn’t we again be spiritually hungry? But Christ says, “…he that cometh to me shall never hunger”.
The Jehovah's Witnesses that I spoke to said this "never" was conditional, meaning that you will never hunger as long as you believe. According to Strong's it means ""never, certainly not, not at all, by no means", but let's not take his word for it. The Greek word used is ou mē. If we really want to know what this means, it would be logical to look at other places it is used in God's Word. If you follow this link it will give you every usage of ou mē in the Bible. Take a look at how this word is used in context in other verses and see for yourself if they mean "by no means" or "conditionally never". I think you'll find Strong's is right on the money.
"Incorruptible Seed"
Several times in God's Word it speaks of us being born into incorruption, or of an "incorruptible seed". For example:
I Peter 1:23-25So unlike everything else around us such as the flower of grass, the holy spirit we have inside us when we’re born again doesn’t wither away or degrade over time. This is true no matter our actions – If we choose to utilize that spirit or let it lay dormant.
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
For all flesh [is] as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
This doesn’t mean that once we’re born again, all is done, we should just go back to living sinfully because we’re already going to heaven.
Romans 6:15, 17, 18, 22, 23So, now that we’re born again, we know better than to live by sin. Anything we can gain from sin only will last us until death. But the rewards we gain from living righteously we keep for all of eternity.
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
"Righteousness through Grace"
Romans 3:19-25The law was all about sin. Now that we're no longer under the law, God's righteousness is manifested - by way of Jesus Christ. How? Because we are all justified (just as if I'd never sinned) by way of God's grace "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus". Jesus Christ was the propitiation (or "payment") for our sins - not us! So, we never earned it in the first place. Jesus Christ is who earned my justification and redemption (not me.) I was never worthy of my redemption in the first place! It wouldn't make much sense for God to be like, "Oh, you've sinned bad this time. You're no longer worthy of my redemption" and take it away. I was never worthy and never will be worthy because "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law [is] the knowledge of sin.
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Ephesians 2:8, 9He lays it out pretty plainly there. It is only by God's grace that we are saved in the first place - not by anything we could ever do. To think you earned your redemption is arrogance. Since you didn't earn it in the first place, what makes you think you can "un-earn" it?
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
It's a gift. A gift doesn't need to be earned. A gift is not a privilege. You don't give someone a toaster for their wedding gift then if a few years down the road they get divorced, go take it back! And you wouldn't be a very good friend if you tried to! When you give someone a gift it is now theirs to do with it as they please.
"More than Conquerers"
Romans 8:35-39Verse 36 is quoting Psalms 44:22. As I mentioned before, until Christ came - before we had holy spirit - people only had spirit "upon" them and could lose it. Now, we have that spirit inside of us and nothing can take it away - Not death, nor life, nor angels, and not even ourselves.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What Difference Does It Make?
The obvious answer to this question is, "All the difference in the world! We're talking about whether or not we're going to go to heaven!" But often with articles like these it's easy to lose sight of the practical application of this knowledge: The question truly being, "What difference does it make to me today."
No longer doing God's will simply because you're afraid you'll go to hell if you don't, can cause a paradigm shift in one's life. If you're not doing His will out of fear, you'll be doing it for a much better reason. What that reason is differs from person to person. Maybe it's because you want to do what's right. Perhaps you want to have the best life possible and know God provides the best way to achieve that. Or maybe you simply will do His will out of love for Him. Whatever your reason, it will be a much better motivator than fear. After all, God doesn't want us to fear.
Romans 8:15God doesn't want us to be motivated by fear to do anything especially obey him. According to this verse fear is bondage. God doesn't want slaves he wants children.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Another important way this knowledge effects us practically is in it's application to our perspective of the rest of God's Word. For example, knowing that we're going to heaven and all hell can't stop us really adds some perspective to the importance of what Christ did for us. Now not only do we have God in Christ in Us - the ability to do what Christ did and more (John 14:12), but we're going to live for all eternity and there's nothing our adversary the Devil can do about it. That old bird thought he had a lot on his hands when Christ came about. Now he has billions of Christians running around with the same power Christ had, and they'll be here forever! That really adds insight to the importance of Christ.
Thanks for your time. I hope this article brings your life great joy and abundance. God bless!
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