Chapter 21: BOS: Growing in Truth and Spirit

​This chapter will wrap up our review of being Born of the Spirit with Growing in Truth and Spirit.  Yeshua declared that when He departed that he would leave the Spirit of Truth – the Holy Spirit - that would guide us to all truth and would expand our knowledge of God.  

The Process of Perfection
Our Process of Perfection looks like this:

Individual Salvation
Born of the Blood Redemption​
Born Again Sanctification Born of the Water > Born of the Spirit > Born of God

Knowing God
Believers grow in truth and spirit by coming to know God.  Yeshua declared by knowing God we will receive eternal life.
 
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3
 
Eve wanted to know God by partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God reveal the Law to Moses that defines the knowledge that Eve received.
 
 
Growing in the Truth of God
God has not left man on his own to find His truth. Through acts of God’s Grace, God has provided man a sequence of resources to come to a knowledge of Him.  That sequence begins with the Light of Messiah, which is the conscience of man to know right from wrong that leads him to the Law, the Law as God’s Truth qualities us to receive the Holy Spirit which testifies of all truth and of Yeshua who is like the Father.​

Light of Messiah ​ >	The Law ​>​	The Spirit ​>	The Son ​>	The Father
John 1:9	Psalms 119:151	John 16:13 John 15:26​	John 14:9	--

​The Holy Spirit and God’s Word
Along with the Law, which is an expression of the Holy Spirit, all of Scripture is an expression of the Holy Spirit.
 
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16
 
Yeshua commanded His followers to search the scriptures to come to know Him.
 
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. John 5:39
 
 
The Gospel of John
As believers, we might ask ourselves where should we begin in our quest to know God through the Scriptures. Our go-to reference is the Gospel of John. The big theme we see in John’s Gospel is coming to know Yeshua. We can use John as our first base to expand our knowledge of God with the balance of the Scriptures.
 
 
Yeshua and the Identity of God
The very first concept we see John present is how Yeshua fits into the identity of God.
 
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
 
Having searched the scriptures, the Holy Spirit can recall concepts presented elsewhere that clarify and expand our understanding.
 
“In the beginning [Creation] was the Word [Yeshua], and the Word [Yeshua] was with God [the Father], and the Word [Yeshua] was God [the Son].”
 
Notice here that the Holy Spirit is not included in this definition of God even though the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Creation story – Genesis 1:2  In fact, no where in the New Testament is the Holy Spirit expressly called God.

Elohim The “Godhead”

The Father	The Son
	Yeshua

The Operation of the Holy Spirit
Many Believers mistakenly think that having the Spirit is feeling an emotional high. But this is not how the Spirit operates when witnessing truth. When the Spirit witnesses truth, we receive a sense of peace, clarity, and contentment. The opposite occurs when an idea is not truth.
 
Since the Holy Spirit is a primary source to know God, John gives us a lot of information of the Spirit. Here is what else we see in John about the Holy Spirit.
 
Yeshua stated that when he left the Spirit of Truth would come to lead man to all truth - John 16:1-13.  This scripture sets out four specific things the Spirit would testify of:

First, the Spirit would testify of the Law. Since the Law defines what is sin - verse 9.

Second, the Spirit would testify of Yeshua as the Messiah, as the Way, the Truth and the Life - who is righteousness - verse 10

Third, the Spirit would judge evil since Satan is the prince of this world - verse 11.

Fourth, the Spirit would testify and guide us to all truth -verse 13.​
 
 
Yeshua is Yehovah Israel’s God
A second concept that John attempts to clarify in Yeshua’s identity is that Yeshua is Yehovah. In verse three and ten of John 1, we see Yeshua conducts the physical forming of all things including man.
 
“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”
 
The Spirit can help us to connect this concept with Genesis 2 verse 7 when Yehovah makes man into a physical being.
 
“And יְהוָ֨ה Yehovah אֱלֹהִ֜ים Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
 
 
Born Again
A second way and more importantly, we can come to know God is by becoming like Him. We see this in Eve’s desire to know good and evil, which then brought the Fall and Adam and Eve’s personal experiences of evil in a fallen world.
 
Those who are Born Again become like Yeshua by overcoming evil (sin) that God revealed to Moses in the Law. John presents the concept of being Born Again in chapter three verse three.
 
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
 
The Spirit can help us expand on Yeshua’s concept through the Scriptures by being Born of the Blood, Born of the Water, Born of the Spirit, and Born of God.

Born Again
Born of the Blood V Born of the Water V Born of the Spirit V ​Born of God

Fruits, Gifts and Signs of the Spirit
The Fruits of the Spirit is how we know when the Spirit is testifying truth to us.  Typically, the Spirit will permeate a person with a sense of peace and not confusion or unsettledness.  Other Fruits the Apostle Paul lists are at Gal. 5:22-23.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."


Secondly,  the Fruits of Spirit expands our knowledge by confirming truth and increases our faith, which are the Gifts of the Spirit - 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.

and Thirdly, the Gifts of Spirit brings God's power into our lives, which are the Signs of the Spirit - Mark 16:17-18​

Fruits ​>	Gifts ​>	Signs ​
Peace Love Joy	Wisdom ​Knowledge ​Faith	Miracles Healings Tongues