Does Jesus Christ live the Christian life for the Christian–the Christ-life–or does the Christian live the Christian life empowered by Jesus Christ? The former is the Keswick position, the latter the Scriptural one. Galatians 2:20 is the text that is supposed to prove that Jesus Christ lives the Christian life for the believer:
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Before an exegetical examination of this passage is undertaken, the historical development of the Keswick view from the preaching of Hannah W. Smith will be examined. As a Quaker, Mrs. Smith thought that she had a Divine Seed within her–Jesus Christ. The Quaker Divine Seed heresy and its related heresies of the Inner Light, Quietism, and mysticism constitute the basis for the Keswick misinterpretation of Galatians 2:20. Mrs. Smith wrote: “[H]ow few realize that as to themselves they are dead, and it is only
Christ who is alive, and they in Him!” and affirming that the Inner Voice only
gives “certain guidance” when one has recognized this secret (Letter to Abby,
August 20, 1865, cf. Journal, July 22, 1859, reproduced in the entries for
February 3 & January 19 of The
Christian’s Secret of a Holy Life, Hannah W. Smith, ed. Dieter). “[W]e Quakers” can say to one another, “do
not expect . . . ever to find yourself any better . . . [y]ou yourself will
always be utterly vile, and ignorant, and corrupt, but Jesus is your life
now. It is with you ‘no more I’ but
Christ who lives in you. And isn’t this
glorious to lose your own life and find Christ’s divine life put in its place”
(Letter to Frank, May 30, 1871, reproduced in the entry for June 6 of The Christian’s Secret of a Holy Life,
Hannah W. Smith, ed. Dieter). She knew
that Christ was “not only the One who gives me life, but the one who lives it
too . . . it is no more I who live but Christ who lives in me,” so that since
“Jesus is our life, of course our only work must be to keep from living our own
life and let[ting] His life work in us. . . . [We are to] reckon ourselves dead
and alive only in Christ. . . . Is our new nature anything more than Christ in
us?” Thus, “I am dead, and . . . the
only life I have now is His life,” as she “by faith claim[s] His life as [her]
own” and became “passive of choice and
willingly” (Journal, 1867; Letter to Sister Mary, 1867; Letter to Mary, March
8, 1867, Letter to Priscilla Mounsey, March 15, 1874; Letter to Daughter, May
25, 1878, reproduced in the entries for February 24, 26, 27, July 10, &
August 26 of The Christian’s Secret of a
Holy Life, Hannah W. Smith, ed. Dieter; cf. also the entries for March 1,
3). Thus, that “He would live my life
for me” is “a genuine Quaker experience I am sure . . . a truth which the early
Friends, and especially George Fox, rejoiced in . . . the secret of all their
lives of devotedness and power . . . the secret of holiness” (Letter to Mother,
March 18, 1867, reproduced in the entry for March 7 of The Christian’s Secret of a Holy Life, Hannah W. Smith, ed.
Dieter). “[W]e are dead, really and
truly dead, and the only life we have is ‘Christ living in us.’ . . . [W]e have
no more independence of being . . . apart from Christ” (Letter to a Friend,
March 27, 1867, reproduced in the entry for March 8, ibid). “I am sure the early
Friends [Quakers] understood this, and when they spoke of ‘the Seed’ & ‘the Light’
etc. they meant Christ” (Letter to a Friend, Mary 28, 1867, reproduced in the
entry for March 9, ibid; cf. the
entry for March 10 & April 1). Thus,
Mrs. Smith preached her Quaker quietism in sanctification based on her view of
Galatians 2:20: “It is your own trying
to live your life that is the greatest hinderance. Stop this, and let His life live in you . . .
let Him be your indwelling life[.] . . . Then it will be easy to live right . .
. no effort to live. . . . You are trying to live, and your life is nearly
strangled with the effort. Give up
trying, and let Christ, who is your life, live in you, and you will live easily
and without effort” (pgs. 70-71, Account
of the Union Meeting for the Promotion of Scriptural Holiness, Held at Oxford,
August 29 to September 7, 1874. Chicago: Revell, 1874).
Christ who is alive, and they in Him!” and affirming that the Inner Voice only
gives “certain guidance” when one has recognized this secret (Letter to Abby,
August 20, 1865, cf. Journal, July 22, 1859, reproduced in the entries for
February 3 & January 19 of The
Christian’s Secret of a Holy Life, Hannah W. Smith, ed. Dieter). “[W]e Quakers” can say to one another, “do
not expect . . . ever to find yourself any better . . . [y]ou yourself will
always be utterly vile, and ignorant, and corrupt, but Jesus is your life
now. It is with you ‘no more I’ but
Christ who lives in you. And isn’t this
glorious to lose your own life and find Christ’s divine life put in its place”
(Letter to Frank, May 30, 1871, reproduced in the entry for June 6 of The Christian’s Secret of a Holy Life,
Hannah W. Smith, ed. Dieter). She knew
that Christ was “not only the One who gives me life, but the one who lives it
too . . . it is no more I who live but Christ who lives in me,” so that since
“Jesus is our life, of course our only work must be to keep from living our own
life and let[ting] His life work in us. . . . [We are to] reckon ourselves dead
and alive only in Christ. . . . Is our new nature anything more than Christ in
us?” Thus, “I am dead, and . . . the
only life I have now is His life,” as she “by faith claim[s] His life as [her]
own” and became “passive of choice and
willingly” (Journal, 1867; Letter to Sister Mary, 1867; Letter to Mary, March
8, 1867, Letter to Priscilla Mounsey, March 15, 1874; Letter to Daughter, May
25, 1878, reproduced in the entries for February 24, 26, 27, July 10, &
August 26 of The Christian’s Secret of a
Holy Life, Hannah W. Smith, ed. Dieter; cf. also the entries for March 1,
3). Thus, that “He would live my life
for me” is “a genuine Quaker experience I am sure . . . a truth which the early
Friends, and especially George Fox, rejoiced in . . . the secret of all their
lives of devotedness and power . . . the secret of holiness” (Letter to Mother,
March 18, 1867, reproduced in the entry for March 7 of The Christian’s Secret of a Holy Life, Hannah W. Smith, ed.
Dieter). “[W]e are dead, really and
truly dead, and the only life we have is ‘Christ living in us.’ . . . [W]e have
no more independence of being . . . apart from Christ” (Letter to a Friend,
March 27, 1867, reproduced in the entry for March 8, ibid). “I am sure the early
Friends [Quakers] understood this, and when they spoke of ‘the Seed’ & ‘the Light’
etc. they meant Christ” (Letter to a Friend, Mary 28, 1867, reproduced in the
entry for March 9, ibid; cf. the
entry for March 10 & April 1). Thus,
Mrs. Smith preached her Quaker quietism in sanctification based on her view of
Galatians 2:20: “It is your own trying
to live your life that is the greatest hinderance. Stop this, and let His life live in you . . .
let Him be your indwelling life[.] . . . Then it will be easy to live right . .
. no effort to live. . . . You are trying to live, and your life is nearly
strangled with the effort. Give up
trying, and let Christ, who is your life, live in you, and you will live easily
and without effort” (pgs. 70-71, Account
of the Union Meeting for the Promotion of Scriptural Holiness, Held at Oxford,
August 29 to September 7, 1874. Chicago: Revell, 1874).
Hannah Smith’s teaching
on Galatians 2:20 became that of the Broadlands Convention and its successors,
the Oxford, Brighton, and Keswick Conventions; thus, those at the first
Broadlands Convention heard: “I know
that Christ lives in me] . . . recognize
that it is Christ and not I that
lives in the soul” (pg. 121, Memorials [of William Francis Cowper-Temple, Baron Mount-Temple], Georgina Cowper-Temple). Broadlands knew that “the Christ-life” is
present in all men because “Christ is the life of men, the Divine seed in every
one” (pg. 178, The Life that is Life Indeed:
Reminiscences of the Broadlands Conferences, Edna V. Jackson. London:
James Nisbet & Co, 1910); the Christ-life is simply the Quaker doctrine of
the Divine Seed. An important
proclamation of Broadlands from the first was that “it is Christ and not I that
lives in the soul” (pg. 134, The Life that is Life Indeed: Reminiscences of the Broadlands Conferences,
Edna V. Jackson. London: James Nisbet & Co, 1910). At Broadlands Mr. and Mrs “Temple
[experienced] great joy as the result of this meeting [where] many [came to
live] . . . the heavenly life . . . Christ’s life . . . Christ Himself . . .
living in these [bodily] tabernacles a supernatural life” (pgs. 130, 125, Memorials [of William Francis Cowper-Temple,
Baron Mount-Temple], Georgina Cowper-Temple). The Keswick and Higher Life leader Evan Hopkins
relates that he learned from the catalyst of the Keswick Higher Life movement,
Hannah W. Smith’s husband Robert Pearsall Smith, that “Christ . . . would live
in him His own holy life” (pg. 159, So
Great Salvation, by Steven Barabas; pg. 15, The Keswick Story: The
Authorized History of the Keswick Convention, Polluck). Mr. Smith taught Hopkins that Christ “would
do all, and would live in [the
Christian] His Own Holy Life—the only Holy Life possible to us” (pgs. 52-55, Evan Harry Hopkins: A Memoir, Alexander Smellie; italics in
original.). Indeed, as Robert P. Smith
preached at the Brighton Convention, “Christ . . . is living His life in us . .
. Christ’s own glorious life in Heaven is to be lived down here in these poor,
mortal bodies,” based on Galatians 2:20—a doctrine which Mr. Smith associated
with the Pentecostal precursor, the Faith Cure. Thus, Smith taught that
those who experience the Christ-life “will have power to work all [their] days
for the Lord Jesus” and “will not wear . . . out” but “live as children do,”
their “youth . . . renew[ed] . . . like the eagle’s” (pg. 338, Record of the Convention for the Promotion
of Scriptural Holiness Held at Brighton, May 29th to June 7th,
1875. Brighton: W. J. Smith, 1875; cf. pg. 84 for Mrs. Smith’s preaching of
the Christ-life; cf. also pgs. 118, 152, 220, Account
of the Union Meeting for the Promotion of Scriptural Holiness, Held at Oxford,
August 29 to September 7, 1874. Chicago: Revell, 1874.).
on Galatians 2:20 became that of the Broadlands Convention and its successors,
the Oxford, Brighton, and Keswick Conventions; thus, those at the first
Broadlands Convention heard: “I know
that Christ lives in me] . . . recognize
that it is Christ and not I that
lives in the soul” (pg. 121, Memorials [of William Francis Cowper-Temple, Baron Mount-Temple], Georgina Cowper-Temple). Broadlands knew that “the Christ-life” is
present in all men because “Christ is the life of men, the Divine seed in every
one” (pg. 178, The Life that is Life Indeed:
Reminiscences of the Broadlands Conferences, Edna V. Jackson. London:
James Nisbet & Co, 1910); the Christ-life is simply the Quaker doctrine of
the Divine Seed. An important
proclamation of Broadlands from the first was that “it is Christ and not I that
lives in the soul” (pg. 134, The Life that is Life Indeed: Reminiscences of the Broadlands Conferences,
Edna V. Jackson. London: James Nisbet & Co, 1910). At Broadlands Mr. and Mrs “Temple
[experienced] great joy as the result of this meeting [where] many [came to
live] . . . the heavenly life . . . Christ’s life . . . Christ Himself . . .
living in these [bodily] tabernacles a supernatural life” (pgs. 130, 125, Memorials [of William Francis Cowper-Temple,
Baron Mount-Temple], Georgina Cowper-Temple). The Keswick and Higher Life leader Evan Hopkins
relates that he learned from the catalyst of the Keswick Higher Life movement,
Hannah W. Smith’s husband Robert Pearsall Smith, that “Christ . . . would live
in him His own holy life” (pg. 159, So
Great Salvation, by Steven Barabas; pg. 15, The Keswick Story: The
Authorized History of the Keswick Convention, Polluck). Mr. Smith taught Hopkins that Christ “would
do all, and would live in [the
Christian] His Own Holy Life—the only Holy Life possible to us” (pgs. 52-55, Evan Harry Hopkins: A Memoir, Alexander Smellie; italics in
original.). Indeed, as Robert P. Smith
preached at the Brighton Convention, “Christ . . . is living His life in us . .
. Christ’s own glorious life in Heaven is to be lived down here in these poor,
mortal bodies,” based on Galatians 2:20—a doctrine which Mr. Smith associated
with the Pentecostal precursor, the Faith Cure. Thus, Smith taught that
those who experience the Christ-life “will have power to work all [their] days
for the Lord Jesus” and “will not wear . . . out” but “live as children do,”
their “youth . . . renew[ed] . . . like the eagle’s” (pg. 338, Record of the Convention for the Promotion
of Scriptural Holiness Held at Brighton, May 29th to June 7th,
1875. Brighton: W. J. Smith, 1875; cf. pg. 84 for Mrs. Smith’s preaching of
the Christ-life; cf. also pgs. 118, 152, 220, Account
of the Union Meeting for the Promotion of Scriptural Holiness, Held at Oxford,
August 29 to September 7, 1874. Chicago: Revell, 1874.).
William Boardman likewise taught that Galatians 2:20 teaches that
“Christ . . . [is] dwelling in [the believer] to do His work, and to live His
life in and by them,” and since Christ is the one who is living, not the
believer, and Christ is perfectly holy and healthy, based on Galatians 2:20
“[m]en and women [can be] . . . so used by the Spirit, that He can use them as the
Father used the Son, and as the Son used His apostles,” so “that He might use
them in defeating the devil in the souls and bodies of all who are willing to
hear and heed the Word,” in a flourishing ministry of Higher Life
sanctification and Pentecostal healing (pgs. 225-226, Life and Labours of the Rev. W. E. Boardman,
Mrs. Boardman),
a belief which permeated the later Keswick and Pentecostal movements.
“Christ . . . [is] dwelling in [the believer] to do His work, and to live His
life in and by them,” and since Christ is the one who is living, not the
believer, and Christ is perfectly holy and healthy, based on Galatians 2:20
“[m]en and women [can be] . . . so used by the Spirit, that He can use them as the
Father used the Son, and as the Son used His apostles,” so “that He might use
them in defeating the devil in the souls and bodies of all who are willing to
hear and heed the Word,” in a flourishing ministry of Higher Life
sanctification and Pentecostal healing (pgs. 225-226, Life and Labours of the Rev. W. E. Boardman,
Mrs. Boardman),
a belief which permeated the later Keswick and Pentecostal movements.
Jessie Penn-Lewis wrote: “Galatians 2:20 . . . ‘No longer I’ is the
very central point of deliverance . . . the man himself retiring . . . to make
room for the Risen Christ to dwell in him and live his life for him! . . . This
is the deliverance of Calvary . . . it
draws the believer . . . out of sight into the crucified Lord, making way for
the Christ Himself to possess the earthen vessel and manifest His life and
power” (pgs. 66-70, Pg. 74, The Warfare
With Satan, Jessie Penn-Lewis).
very central point of deliverance . . . the man himself retiring . . . to make
room for the Risen Christ to dwell in him and live his life for him! . . . This
is the deliverance of Calvary . . . it
draws the believer . . . out of sight into the crucified Lord, making way for
the Christ Himself to possess the earthen vessel and manifest His life and
power” (pgs. 66-70, Pg. 74, The Warfare
With Satan, Jessie Penn-Lewis).
A.
B. Simpson wrote: “[The believer’s] life
has been superseded by the very life of Christ Himself. ‘Not I,’ nay, not even
the new and heaven-born I, but ‘the Christ that liveth in me.’ . . . [T]he
Christ who lived of old is living again in me, thinking in my thoughts;
choosing in my will; trusting in my faith; loving in my heart; triumphing in my
victories, and covering my insufficiency with His glorious all-sufficiency. . .
. Are we living the Christ life rather than trying to live a Christian life?”
(“Spiritual Talismans” (Alliance Weekly,
June 14, 1919, 178-179).
B. Simpson wrote: “[The believer’s] life
has been superseded by the very life of Christ Himself. ‘Not I,’ nay, not even
the new and heaven-born I, but ‘the Christ that liveth in me.’ . . . [T]he
Christ who lived of old is living again in me, thinking in my thoughts;
choosing in my will; trusting in my faith; loving in my heart; triumphing in my
victories, and covering my insufficiency with His glorious all-sufficiency. . .
. Are we living the Christ life rather than trying to live a Christian life?”
(“Spiritual Talismans” (Alliance Weekly,
June 14, 1919, 178-179).
Watchman Nee
preached that “the secret of the overcoming life . . . is to let Christ live in
our stead, according to Paul’s testimony in Galatians 2:20” (pg. 131, Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the
Present Age, by Witness Lee); indeed, Nee went to the point of affirming
that Christ is the one who not only lives instead of the believer, but that
Christ believes instead of the believer:
“When we believe and receive the Son of God, not only His life but His
faith too enters into us. Hence we may
live by His faith” (pg. 29, God’s
Plan and the Overcomers, Watchman Nee.
New York, NY: Christian
Fellowship Publishers, 1977).
preached that “the secret of the overcoming life . . . is to let Christ live in
our stead, according to Paul’s testimony in Galatians 2:20” (pg. 131, Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the
Present Age, by Witness Lee); indeed, Nee went to the point of affirming
that Christ is the one who not only lives instead of the believer, but that
Christ believes instead of the believer:
“When we believe and receive the Son of God, not only His life but His
faith too enters into us. Hence we may
live by His faith” (pg. 29, God’s
Plan and the Overcomers, Watchman Nee.
New York, NY: Christian
Fellowship Publishers, 1977).
Modern
Keswick advocate John R. Van Gelderen writes:
Keswick advocate John R. Van Gelderen writes:
Keswick . . . was for the
deepening of spiritual life. To accomplish this purpose a definite theological
position was taught—sanctification by faith, sometimes called holiness by
faith. The focus of the theology was on Christ as one’s life. This was
sometimes called ‘The Higher Life’ or ‘The Deeper Life’ or ‘The Victorious
Life.’ . . .[T]he ‘Higher Life’ . . . is a Life. That Life is a Person, and His
name is Jesus! Jesus is the ‘Higher Life.’ Jesus is the ‘Deeper Life.’ Jesus is
the ‘Victorious Life.’ How can it be otherwise? Sanctification or holiness by
faith is simply accessing the ‘Holy Life’ by faith. It is ‘I live, yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me . . . by faith’ (Gal. 2:20). Holiness by faith is
accessing the Holy Life of Jesus to empower holy living and serving. . . .
Keswick teaches that just as justification is by faith, so also sanctification
is by faith. . . . Faith for victory means you are depending on the victorious
Life of Christ to enable you to obey. It is not a matter of you trying to live
the Christian life . . . Jesus Christ is the only one who can live the
Christian life! Jesus is the Christian Life. . . . Jesus is the Victorious
Life, the Higher Life, the Deeper Life, the Spirit-filled Life, the Revived
Life, the Hidden Life,—the Christ-Life! To us, when holiness by faith—the Holy
Life accessed by faith—is attacked, the attack is ultimately on the indwelling
Life of Christ” (“Keswick: A Good Word or a Bad One?” ).
deepening of spiritual life. To accomplish this purpose a definite theological
position was taught—sanctification by faith, sometimes called holiness by
faith. The focus of the theology was on Christ as one’s life. This was
sometimes called ‘The Higher Life’ or ‘The Deeper Life’ or ‘The Victorious
Life.’ . . .[T]he ‘Higher Life’ . . . is a Life. That Life is a Person, and His
name is Jesus! Jesus is the ‘Higher Life.’ Jesus is the ‘Deeper Life.’ Jesus is
the ‘Victorious Life.’ How can it be otherwise? Sanctification or holiness by
faith is simply accessing the ‘Holy Life’ by faith. It is ‘I live, yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me . . . by faith’ (Gal. 2:20). Holiness by faith is
accessing the Holy Life of Jesus to empower holy living and serving. . . .
Keswick teaches that just as justification is by faith, so also sanctification
is by faith. . . . Faith for victory means you are depending on the victorious
Life of Christ to enable you to obey. It is not a matter of you trying to live
the Christian life . . . Jesus Christ is the only one who can live the
Christian life! Jesus is the Christian Life. . . . Jesus is the Victorious
Life, the Higher Life, the Deeper Life, the Spirit-filled Life, the Revived
Life, the Hidden Life,—the Christ-Life! To us, when holiness by faith—the Holy
Life accessed by faith—is attacked, the attack is ultimately on the indwelling
Life of Christ” (“Keswick: A Good Word or a Bad One?” ).
Van Gelderen wrote elsewhere:
Receiving the Holy Life of
Jesus opens the way for accessing the Holy living of Jesus. . . . The Lord
Jesus, the Holy One, moved into you at salvation to live His life, not yours. .
. . The Christian life is a life—a
person—and His name is Jesus. Jesus
Christ is the Christian Life. Therefore, no one can live the Christian life
but Christ. . . . Christ [is] the Christian
Life Himself . . . [and He] moved in to impart to you that very life so
that you can live, yet not you, but Christ in you, the Christian life. . . .
[T]here is hope for holiness by means of the Holy One living out His holy life
in and through you. . . . [H]oliness is not something you accomplish but rather
that which you allow . . . a matter of dependence on the one whom you are
allowing to work His holiness in and through you. . . . Faith is the one thing
you can do . . . faith is not a work[.] . . . Personal holiness is not
imitating moral motions. Personal holiness is accessing the Person of holiness
by faith to live His holy life through your personality. . . . The provision
for holiness is perfect. It has to be—His name is Jesus. It is our consistent
access of Him that is sadly imperfect. (pg. 14, “Holiness by Faith in Jesus,”
by John R. Van Gelderen. Revival
magazine, Issue 12 (2011). Germantown,
WI: Revival Focus Ministries, Inc.)
Jesus opens the way for accessing the Holy living of Jesus. . . . The Lord
Jesus, the Holy One, moved into you at salvation to live His life, not yours. .
. . The Christian life is a life—a
person—and His name is Jesus. Jesus
Christ is the Christian Life. Therefore, no one can live the Christian life
but Christ. . . . Christ [is] the Christian
Life Himself . . . [and He] moved in to impart to you that very life so
that you can live, yet not you, but Christ in you, the Christian life. . . .
[T]here is hope for holiness by means of the Holy One living out His holy life
in and through you. . . . [H]oliness is not something you accomplish but rather
that which you allow . . . a matter of dependence on the one whom you are
allowing to work His holiness in and through you. . . . Faith is the one thing
you can do . . . faith is not a work[.] . . . Personal holiness is not
imitating moral motions. Personal holiness is accessing the Person of holiness
by faith to live His holy life through your personality. . . . The provision
for holiness is perfect. It has to be—His name is Jesus. It is our consistent
access of Him that is sadly imperfect. (pg. 14, “Holiness by Faith in Jesus,”
by John R. Van Gelderen. Revival
magazine, Issue 12 (2011). Germantown,
WI: Revival Focus Ministries, Inc.)
The Keswick affirmation that when one is “filled
with the Holy Spirit . . . the Holy Spirit has absolute possession and control
of our spirit. . . . [The] human personality . . . is . . . controlled by a
divine personality; . . . the human personality is brought under the domination
and control of the Holy Spirit” (pgs. 143-144, So Great Salvation, Barabas) appears to provide the third Person of
the Trinity the same sort of “absolute . . . control” of the human personality
that is ascribed to Christ when it is affirmed that the Son of God lives the
Christian life instead of the believer.
with the Holy Spirit . . . the Holy Spirit has absolute possession and control
of our spirit. . . . [The] human personality . . . is . . . controlled by a
divine personality; . . . the human personality is brought under the domination
and control of the Holy Spirit” (pgs. 143-144, So Great Salvation, Barabas) appears to provide the third Person of
the Trinity the same sort of “absolute . . . control” of the human personality
that is ascribed to Christ when it is affirmed that the Son of God lives the
Christian life instead of the believer.
Thus, a plain trajectory exists from the Quaker teaching of Hannah W. Smith on Galatians 2:20 to the modern Keswick movement. But is their view of Galatians 2:20 supported by the actual exegesis of the passage?
See here for this entire study.
"Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, by Witness Lee); indeed, Nee went to the point of affirming that Christ is the one who not only lives instead of the believer, but that Christ believes instead of the believer:"
No, that is not what the scriptures teach.
“When we believe and receive the Son of God, not only His life but His faith too enters into us. Hence we may live by His faith”
Yes, that is what the scriptures teach, that you "live by the faith OF the Son of God" for man's faith is flawed. He gave you his faith when you first repented and believed the gospel. Again, for the "just shall live by faith" and that faith is the substance of things hoped for and that substance is from God given by the Holy Ghost at the time of the new birth. You must build up that faith (Jude 20) so that you can have a full assurance of that faith (Hebrews 10:22) so that a man of God increase to the fullness of faith and power(Acts 6:8).
George,
If Christ believes for you, why do you ever fail in your faith? Also, Christ would lead you to believe in the Trinity instead of believing Jesus is the Father if he believed for you. It is hard to take you seriously when you believe in modalism.
What are you talking about Ross?
Let me teach you what the bible teaches you about the Godhead.
Jesus Christ is the Father, but the Father is not Jesus Christ
The Father is Jesus Christ, but Jesus Christ is not the Father
Jesus Christ is the Spirit, but the Spirit is not Jesus Christ
The Spirit is Jesus Christ, but Jesus Christ is not the Spirit
The Father is the Spirit, but the Spirit is not the Father
The Spirit is the Father, but the Father is not the Spirit
Now, go and search the scriptures (found in a Holy King James Bible) and when you have studied to show yourself approved unto God and have it all figured out (I do not, but rather believe ALL the scriptures as written), we can then begin to talk.
You are probably someone that teaches that the kingdom of God is the same as the kingdom of heaven even though when the Lord Jesus Christ was on this earth BOTH were present at the same time.
Dear George,
Your comment is both true and false, idolatry and orthodoxy, contradictory and consistent, a violation of the law of non-contradiction and not a violation.
Thankfully, since your comment is nonsense, it does not prove the Bible false. Were the Bible contradictory, so that the Father is Christ and is not Christ at the same time in the same way, it would be false.
There are many, many verses discussed here:
http://faithsaves.net/oneness-pentecostal/
that refute your idolatrous modalism that teaches that Jesus is the Father and the Spirit. If you deny this at the same time as you affirm it you are not saved from idolatry, but simply add nonsense to it.
Repent immediately of the false teaching that the Person of the Father is the Person of the Son and of the Spirit.