Key Verse: The Apostle Paul declared, "In union with him (Jesus Christ), you too are built together with all the others, into a place where God lives through His spirit (Ephesians 2:22).
Introduction
The Apostle Paul initially describes his personal experiences of the tragedy, suffering, spiritual poverty, and spiritual death of the human condition and life without Christ. The Bible teaches that this tragic human life in the mind of the flesh is lived, to some degree by every human being, while here on earth. In the dominion of the mind of the flesh all human beings put on to some degree, the disobedience, sin, evil, wickedness, separation, barriers and spiritual death of the mind of the flesh (Romans 8:1-11).
In Ephesians 2:1-10, the Apostle Paul declares his understanding and personal experience of human beings who followed Jesus Christ, in living the Paschal Mystery in the mind of the spirit. Paul declared that before Jesus Christ's life and ministry here on earth, all human beings were spiritually asleep and spiritually dead, because they lived their lives in the mind of the flesh. The Godhead in agape love, truth and, grace, sent Jesus Christ as God's Messiah in human flesh, to deliver mankind from this fallen human condition (Romans 8:12-17).
Jesus Christ's mission from the Godhead was to reveal to all mankind, how they could be delivered from the guilt, alienation, fear and spiritual death of the mind of the flesh and live their lives in the freedom, truth, grace and eternal life of the mind of the spirit (John 3:14-17, 10:10). To Paul, Jesus Christ fully taught and manifested, how in the mind of the spirit, every person could realize the full incarnation and fully manifestation of hidden Christ (LOGOS, ADONAI, JEHOVAH), God's invisible, perfect Image and Likeness in the spiritual body of ever person, while in our present physical bodies (Genesis 1:26-27, Romans 8:1-11, Ephesians 2:1-10, Colossians 1:24-29).
Hopeless and helpless human condition transformed in Christ
By following Jesus Christ in living the Paschal Mystery in the mind of the spirit, within witnessing paschal faith communities, mankind's hopeless, helpless and lost conditions without Christ, in the mind of the flesh are transformed. In the mind of the spirit, through repentance, faith, humility and obedience, a mysterious cleansing, healing and transfusion of the invisible blood of Christ and incarnation of the invisible mind and body of Christ takes place, in believers' souls, hearts, minds, relationships, lives and physical bodies (John 14:1-14).
Mankind's spiritual death, spiritual destitution, spiritual estrangement and spiritual poverty are transformed into resurrection from spiritual death, spiritual formation, spiritual maturity and eternal life in Christ. In the mind of the spirit, Christ-centered believers in all traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups experience the peace which surpasses human understanding. In the presence and power of the Holy Spirit these believers, as witnessing paschal faith communities, discern and experience unity with the Godhead and all mankind in Christ, by following Jesus Christ in living the Paschal Mystery in the mind of the spirit (Ephesians 2:11-18).
Witnessing paschal faith communities spiritual, mental and physical temples
In the Good News of the Gospel of Christ as revealed in Jesus Christ by the Apostle Paul, these witnessing paschal faith communities are the spiritual, mental and physical temples of the living Godhead, here on earth. These Christ-centered, Holy Spirit based, human dwelling places of the Godhead, can now be found in all traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups, throughout the earth (John 3:16-17). They are built by faith, repentance, humility and obedience, on the spiritual foundation laid by the prophets and the apostles, Jesus Christ as Messiah and Son of Man is the chief cornerstone (Mark 8:27-30, Ephesians 2:19)
In the presence, power and begetting of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ became the full incarnation of Christ (the Begotten, LOGOS) and the fully orbed Son of Man (the Beloved), in human flesh (Colossians 2:9). At God's command Jesus Christ established and formed these human spiritual, mental and physical temple of the living Godhead together in Christ (Luke 4:14-21). As the Messiah and Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ and these witnessing paschal faith communities steadfastly lived their human lives, according to the commands of the Father (Being) (John 6:38-40).
Jesus Christ Mankind's Good Shepherd
Jesus Christ willingly, at God's command laid down his initial divine life as Emmanuel in the mind of the spirit. At God's command he took upon himself, the full incarnation of the mind of the flesh. Jesus Christ fully manifested mankind's alienation and separation from the Godhead and one another because of the dominion of the mind of the flesh, in his passion, crucifixion of the cross, physical death and the burial of his human body. After three days in the tomb, Jesus Christ in obedience to God's command, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, arose from physical death and the grave. In his resurrected physical body, Jesus Christ fully took up, living his human life fully again, in the mind of the spirit (John 10:14-18, Ephesians 2:19-21).
In his ascension at God's command, Jesus Christ as the invisible Image, Likeness and Son of God (LOGOS), now dwells with the invisible Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the invisible kingdom of heaven, which Jesus Christ declared is among us, in our midst and within each of us (Genesis 1:26-27, Luke 17:20-21, John 17:20-26, Colossians 1:26-27). Because Jesus Christ lived the Paschal Mystery both in the mind of the flesh (death), as well as the mind of spirit (resurrection), while in human flesh, Jesus Christ has fully experienced the fall of man, in the mind of the flesh. In his resurrection, post resurrection appearances and ascension, Jesus Christ has also experienced and fully revealed, taught and manifested the Godhead's eternal plan for the full redemption of all mankind, to the Godhead and one another in Christ, in the mind of the spirit (John 10:14-18, 14:1-14).
Witnessing paschal faith communities the temples of the Godhead
It is in Jesus Christ as the fully incarnate Son of God and the fully orbed Son of Man, that the spiritual, mental and physical temples of the Godhead, in all traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups are formed, held together and grow as one sacred temple of the invisible, living Godhead, in the mind of the spirit (John 4:23-27). In mystical union with Jesus Christ, believers who are learning to lay down living their lives in the mind of the flesh, and those who are learning to take up living their lives in the mind of the spirit, can now identify with and be bound together in faith, repentance, forgiveness of sins, and spiritual formation, in Jesus Christ. As more Christ-centered believers follow Jesus Christ in living the Paschal Mystery in the mind of the spirit, the eternal, invisible, spiritual kingdom of God, will be more fully discerned, proclaimed, manifested here on earth, as it is in heaven, as revealed, taught and manifested in Jesus Christ (Matthew 6:9-10, Luke 17:20-21, John 17:20-26, Ephesians 2:22).
Conclusion
Are you a member of a Christ centered, Holy Spirit based witnessing paschal faith community, within your tradition, religion, culture, ethnic and secular group? Have you chosen to be an active and involved member within your witnessing paschal faith community? Have you chosen to numbered among those believers within your witnessing paschal faith community, who choose to live and dwell in the mind of the flesh; or those believers who choose to live and dwell in the mind of the spirit?
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