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NASB | 1 John 3:24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 3:24 The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and] remains in Him, and He in him. By this we know and have the proof that He [really] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us [as a gift]. |
Bible Question:
I believe that 1 John 3:24 is better understood when one places the "Spirit" in lower case. Thus, I would also put 1 John 4:13 in lower case for "given us of His spirit." While considering this, I would like people to see a comparison of Matthew 12:28 and Luke 11:20. Does anyone care to comment? Thanks. |
Bible Answer: Sure, Ray, I'll bite ;) I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at with this question. But if you're saying that there is a difference between the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) and the Spirit of Christ, I would say that my answer is that they are now forever joined. We know that Jesus, while on earth, had the Holy Spirt (the Spirit of God) in Him. However, being fully human also, He had a human spirit. Fortunately for us, His human spirit was not from Adam's lineage for it was not dead to God. It was what Paul would call 'alive to God.' He had a union with God's Spirit until He was made sin on our behalf on the cross. As the sins of the whole world were placed upon our Savior, the Spirit of God departed from Him (sorry, no book, chapter, or verse for this - it is my opinion) and He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me" - Matt 27:46. Later, as He chose the moment to die, He yielded up His human spirit - Matt 27:50. When God raised Christ from the dead by the power of the Spirit of God, Rom 8:11, Christ human spirit was forever joined to the Holy Spirit. Now, the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit/Spirit of God are forever unitied and can be used interchangeably. In fact, Romans 8:9 does so: However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. Likewise, when we become believers, our human spirits are united with God's Spirit/the Holy Spirit/Christ's Spirit: 1 Cor 6:17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. There's my take. If you really want to discuss capitalization, I'm probably not the one to do so with as I have no background in how the translators chose when to capitalize and when not to. But, the doctrines of the Holy Spirit rest upon the functions of the Spirit, not whether the word is capitalized or not. Hope this answers your question. In Christ (and His Spirit), Bill Mc |