“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (I Corinthians 2:12).

Spirit (Def): (Gr): Pneuma from Pneo: Air, Breath, Human Spirit, Angel, Demon, Holy Spirit, Vital Principle, Disposition

Whether one is perceptive enough to understand it; nevertheless, the world is governed by a spirit. The Apostle identifies it as “the spirit of the world”. The Kingdom of God is also governed by a Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

Which Spirit will govern us is the vital question. The Apostle addresses this in his Epistles to the Ephesians and Romans:

“You He has made alive. You who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit (pneuma) that now works in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2).

“For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

Which Spirit? The “children of disobedience” are under the governance of the “spirit of the world”; the children of the Kingdom are under the governance of “the Spirit which is of God”.

The Apostle John exhorts us to be discerning, be wise, to know which spirit you are with:

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone into the world. Hereby we know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world” (I John 4:1-3).

Which Spirit? Again, the Apostle John differentiates between truth and error:

“We are of God. He that knows God hears us. He that is not of God does not hear us. Hereby we know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error” (I John 4:6).

Jesus identified the Spirit of Truth as the Holy Spirit:

“Howbeit when He the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all Truth; for He will not speak of Himself, but whatever He shall hear, that He will speak, and He will show you things to come” (John 16:13).

The Apostle Paul wrote to his dear son in the faith, Timothy:

“God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Timothy 1:7).

Which Spirit? “Spirit of fear”, “spirit of the world”, “spirit of error” or “the Spirit which is of God”, “Spirit of Truth”, “Holy Spirit”.

Beloved, Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary, the Incarnate Son of God:

“The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father), full of Grace and Truth” (John 1:14).

Is that your confession? “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”. Rejoice, you have joined with the Apostle Peter, saying:

“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”! Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you Simon Barjona for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father which is in Heaven'” (Matthew 16:16b-17).

Brethren, let us hold fast to our faith, our confession, our witness, our testimony. Let us continue to walk after the Spirit, live in the Spirit, pray in the Spirit, sing in the Spirit, speak by the Spirit; then there will be no question of which spirit we are, for all will know we are of the Spirit which is of God. The Lord, Himself, will testify to it and all will say, Amen!

_________________________________