Manifesting Presence of the Holy Spirit

 

Life is in the Blood. Loose our blood and we loose our life. Jesus life Blood was voluntarily poured out at the cross. His blood poured out until He could no longer live. When the last drop of life poured out onto the ground from His veins, it was finished. His death became our atonement for our sins forevermore.

At the very moment of Jesus death, the curtain that hid the Holy of Holies from the Holy place of the temple of God was ripped from top to bottom. We had just had our sins atoned for by the expended blood of Jesus Christ. Once, separated from God by sin, now the wall of separation was done away with. We, all of us who proclaim Christ as our Savior, had just in that moment been given the right to enter into the most Holy place of all, to encounter God Face to face, because God saw our sin no more.

At the very moment that the last drop of life poured from Jesus veins, was now paved the way for the Holy Spirit to come into our inner man spirit, our Holy of Holies, where the Presence of the Spirit would mark us as His possession.

And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Ex 33:19-20

Such was the case before the cross of Christ. No one could see God Face to face and live. But through the blood, Father now sees us white as snow who have accepted Christ as their Savior. Now all of us who love Him can see Him “Face to face.” And that is Revival!

The tombs of the Saints of old burst open who were awaiting this very point in time when the Father would see their sins no more! And we were all washed in full, made completely clean of all sin for all time. Backward and forward in time, with the cross as standing at the highest point in all of history, everything points to this single great sacrifice. Christ did it all for us. And there is no longer any further sacrifice required.

The greatest moment in all of history was manifest in that one moment of time in which the last drop of life blood spilled from His veins onto the ground, that all mankind throughout all eternity, who would choose Him by faith, would be so completely set free from the penalty of sin that all are, without cost, fully welcomed to enter in to a Face to face encounter with the creator of the universe! What love! What joy! What a gift!

The blood set us all free. Free completely, for those who love Him by faith.

Then came the Power of God to supernaturally restore life to Jesus. It was a miracle. Jesus dead body was fully restored to life. Only God has power over life and death. The Power came, Grace came, the Holy Spirit came and then Jesus lived again. His resurrection in power became our resurrection in power, and by our faith, our full justification.

Thus, we have been forgiven in death and justified by resurrection power unto new life. By the washing of Jesus blood unto death we died, by resurrection power, now we also have been resurrected to a new life. We have been made completely righteous and fully justified by the power of the Spirit. We have been “Sozo’ed” by Jesus death and resurrection, and by the Power of the Holy Spirit of Grace through Faith!

 

What is Sozo?

 

Sozo: The Greek word Sozo appears 101 times in the Greek rendition of the Bible, all within the New Testament. Sozo is a product of the cross! Sozo means far more than just salvation. Christ came for far more than just our salvation. These are the meanings of this word:

• Salvation or being born again.
• To be saved from a certain death.
• To save or to be saved.
• To be made whole. Or to restore from brokenness to unbroken.
• To be delivered from evil, or any bad thing.
• To be healed in any way (spiritual, physical)
• To be carried forward, or to be preserved.
• To be made well.

Christ died and was raised in power for our full Sozo! Items 1-3: Salvation… this is only a part of Sozo, this is for then. Items 2-8: Holy Spirit POWER for service. This is for now and until we reach Heaven.

Every time you see the word “save or saved” replace it with the definition of Sozo, and you will then have a deeper understanding of what Jesus did at the cross. He is the truth of the Gospel and the power of the Gospel poured out for us! Every time you read the word “grace”, replace it with the word “power”, and you will get a deeper understanding of the power of the Gospel that Jesus provided for us!

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved– and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God… Ephesians 2:4-8

…you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Romans 3:28

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”  Revelation 7:13-17

It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses AND raised for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 4:24—5:2 

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration (death) and renewal of the Holy Spirit (new life), whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

“Justify” is a legal term. There must be a judge who declares that one is innocent. The Court Room is in Father’s house. Father is our Judge and Jesus blood is our evidence. To be justified is a legal declaration that justice has been fully served.

The Holy Spirit is the power Who reveals the declaration of our Righteous Judge. We have been brought from death to life. As Jesus died fully, so we, in our sin died fully to our old man self. As Jesus was raised to life, so we have been raised to life in our new man self, having now been fully justified by our Judge that there is now no remembrance of our former self, no remembrance of our sin nor is there any condemnation or punishment for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The justice of God was first required. Christ went before the throne with His blood before the Father, offering up His blood so that through His death and the power of His resurrection, we might be justified before the Father as utterly sinless. As Jesus stood before the God of Justice in the Heavenly court of the Lord, so He stood there on our behalf. Having taken the full penalty that we deserved upon Himself, we became justified. And that, not of ourselves, it was the free gift of God!

Why is it then that we continue to think of ourselves with the old man mindset? Why should I dwell any longer upon thoughts and remembrances of the old person that I used to be, when it has already been fully justified in the Heavenly Courts? Justice has been served! I am no longer sin.

To remain in guilt condemnation or judgment is to reject the truth of our justification. There is always the need for the lifestyle of repentance, and we do it as we are convicted by conscience and the Spirit of our ungodly deeds. But we don’t camp there!

Repentance through confession sets us free of earthly bondages. But repentance is not for the purpose of a re-justification. You have been justified, having been made 100% righteous. We grow through confession and repentance, but we grow all the more when we stand firm in our identity in Christ Jesus that we are a new man creation, having fully died to the old self, having been fully reborn into the new self that we are in Christ Jesus, having stood before the Judge over all, the gavel hitting the table and these words having been said over you and all the Saints, “Not Guilty!”

Now that we have each gone through this requirement of standing before the Judge over all, through the One Man Jesus, and having now been fully justified by grace through our faith, God descends upon us the beautiful precious gift of the Coat of Righteousness. It covers us. It defines us. It is who we are. It is a gift undeserved, yet necessary. Justification then makes the way for the gift of righteousness.

Being justified fully and having been made righteous in Father’s courts, we stand fully able in the new person self that we now are, by grace through faith! Not having earned a thing. Yet walking boldly yet humbly in our true identity.

For our sake he (Father God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus became sin for our forgiveness, we received His righteousness for our justification. Our sin became Jesus sin. His righteousness became our righteousness. We are therefore acquitted from all sin, then imparted to us is Godly righteousness as Jesus was acquitted from righteousness and sin was imparted upon Him. By this truth, He became sin for us so that we became justified and righteous for Him!

Lamentation 1:18 and Jeremiah 12:1 indicate that the Lord alone is righteous… ONLY God. Thus only God can impart that which is only of Himself upon us. Because He took it all, we are justified. And if we are justified, we are made righteous.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:4-11

And because of him (Father God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31

 

What is Grace?

 

Grace appears in the Old Testament six times.

Grace, or the Greek word “Charis” appears in the New Testament 148 times in the Greek Lexicon. As it is with Sozo, so also Grace is a manifestation of God born at the cross.

Here is a beautiful definition of the Greek word “Charis”, or grace:

“The merciful kindness by which God exerts His Holy influence upon souls, turning them to Christ, keeping, strengthening, increasing them in faith, knowledge and affection. The spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine intervention.”

God has always been merciful. But the fullness of Grace was born at the Cross. Grace is not mercy, grace is power. And like the coat of righteousness that God offers us to wear, grace is a free gift for those who believe by faith.

Grace is the very same power that resurrected Christ from the dead. Grace is the very same power that brought each of us from death to life, from our old self to our new self. We have been saved by grace through faith! We have been saved in the power of the cross by faith! We have been Sozo’ed by grace through faith!

We are saved by grace through faith. We are not saved by mercy through faith, even though God is full of mercy. Our salvation is one of Power. The Power of the Blood of the cross!

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace (in His power) you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:4-10

Grace is not mercy.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

This scripture clearly separates mercy from grace. Contrary to what most theologians think, they are not one in the same.

By grace through faith we can do all things through Christ who empowers us, who strengthens us! What much of the church is missing is the power of God. Therefore because the church does not see God’s supernatural manifesting power, it has rejected any notion of a supernatural God in its midst. The power of God is reduced to the very occasional chance event that because no one can explain it, it must have been a miracle. That is the extent of faith in much of today’s church.

We are then left with arguments that only build up humanistic religion. We hear such thoughts as, “Well, I can only surmise that I’ve been born this way.” “If we haven’t seen it, it must not exist.” “ The power moves of the Holy Spirit were for the purpose of the start of the First Church, they don’t apply to us today. And besides, when’s the last time you’ve ever witnessed a power move of God?”

But these are all arguments within humanism, a form of religion that denies healing, deliverance, restoration, the miraculous and very supernatural power of the cross. It is a form of religion that focuses only on the salvation, but not on the power.

…having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 2 Timothy 3:5

There is only one way out of religious humanism, namely by grace (in His power) through faith! That is what we are after. The cross, and the power of the cross, which only activates when we choose to believe yet not see. As in all thinks of the Kingdom of God, faith must come first. Only then does grace come, only then does the miraculous occur. Faith first in all things of the Kingdom of God. Faith is like the currency of the Kingdom of Heaven! You’ll never see it, you’ll never get it and you’ll never use it until you pay up!

We’ve all seen the miraculous… namely the greatest power move over all, which is our new life in Christ Jesus. That’s a very great miracle! But that is only the beginning. Thereafter comes the in-reaping of souls, healing of the sick, casting out devils and raising the dead to life literally.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12

Fully one third of all of Jesus ministry in the four Gospel’s was in healing the sick, casting out demons, cleansing skin diseases and raising the dead. He walked in power and said we would walk in power. So where is the power in today’s church? There is only one reason we don’t see these things in today’s church… we don’t believe it by faith.

How do we overcome these religious lies that we have accepted as truth? The answer is, by grace through faith!

Understanding who we are in our salvation is vital. It points us in the right direction then sends us down this supernatural road of grace by faith. From one encounter to the next, from one wonder to the next, from one glory to the next glory we grow and mature in unity of heart and in the joy of the Holy Spirit and with supernatural weapons of warfare. We succeed when we move in the power that Christ afforded us at the cross!

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:17-18

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith for faith (from first to the last), just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17-18

Without these understandings firmly in our hearts and without our minds willingly yoked to our heart, we will be fruitless in our life walk for Jesus sake. We need to know who we are. We need to walk by grace through our faith in all we do. We need to know there is power in what we say and in what we believe, power to either build up by faith, or power to tear down by the lack of faith. This is the cry of the Heavens in this hour. Know who you are and then walk in it!   It’s what Jesus died for you to be.