THE ONLINE SEMINAR
How to Have the Living Water of Peace, Hope,
and Purpose that Jesus Promised Us
Session Seven: Our New Lifestyle
Part 1
We’ve now arrived at Session Seven in The Rivers of God: The Online Seminar. We’ve had six previous sessions, each with a link to a Vintage Video on that Session’s content, and we have supporting links to Photo Galleries of early Christian people, ruins, symbols, and artifacts.
So now it’s time to slow down and think about who we are at this point in the seminar. After all, we’re different people today than we were when we started these Sessions. Why are we different? We’re different because now we understand – factually and completely – that we can live a new kind of behavior.
And we have that potential because now we know that we’re indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Now we know that our inner spirits are immersed (baptized) in supernatural power. And because of that, we can live a life that’s different from people whose spirits haven’t been immersed. We’ve been “born-again” (we’ll discuss that term later), and we can live in a way that non-Christians can’t live, no matter how hard they try.
To summarize: At this point in the seminar, we understand – factually and completely – that our new birth gave us the supernatural power to live a pure life in an impure world. And that’s vitally important, since that’s how Christianity turned the world upside down Spiritually in the First Century.
Thus – because our Christian behavior is vitally important to us, our families, and the people around us, let’s now talk about it from some fresh viewpoints. As our first fresh viewpoint, let’s talk about when our Christian behavior started.
We know now that the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that a Christian is indwelled by the Holy Spirit and a non-Christian isn’t. More, we know that all of us were born (in the physical sense) as non-Christians and that, at some point in our lives, we were indwelled by the Holy Spirit and made into Christians.
Of course, some of us were already baptized in the Holy Spirit when we started this seminar. Perhaps because we grew up in a Christian congregation, or due to the influence of Christian parents, friends, teachers, youth clubs, and other such contacts, some of us were already indwelled by the Holy Spirit when we began these sessions – and we can remember when it happened.
Others of us don’t remember when it happened. We don’t remember when we were indwelled. We know it happened sometime during childhood, but we don’t remember the date.
Finally, some of us were indwelled during these sessions. We were indwelled while reading these seminar materials.
But, regardless of whether we became Christians before, during, or after this seminar, the important thing is that we are indwelled and that we do know it. That’s one reason why the first six sessions of this seminar were written from a “non-Christian” point of view. They were written in the simplest way possible with the assumption that readers would have little or no previous knowledge of Christian principles.
The first six sessions were written that way in the hope that readers who weren’t Christians would become Christians while reading the materials. And the sessions were also written that way in the hope that readers who were already Christians would gain new insights into their Christianity.
So now let’s tighten down. Let’s start talking about Christianity from an insiders standpoint. From this session forward, let’s assume that all of us are Christians, and let’s talk about Christianity from a Christian perspective. (More specifically, let’s talk about it from a First Century Christian perspective.) Keeping that focus in mind, now let’s discuss the new “passport” we were issued when we became Christians.
When our inner spirits were immersed in the Holy Spirit (baptized in the Holy Spirit) and we were made into Christians, that was only the first step toward living the kind of Spiritual behavior that the early Christians lived. However, living their kind of behavior is what Christians are supposed to do in every century. That means all of us should be moving toward that goal.
To put it another way, having our inner spirits immersed in the Holy Spirit didn’t make us Spiritually mature. It only opened the door to Spiritual growth. Becoming a Christian only gave us the potential to grow in the Spirit. Spiritual growth isn’t automatic and instantaneous. It’s cyclical and progressive over time and – most importantly – we must be open to it, and we must seek it.
The truth is, when we were “born-again,” we were born Spiritually immature. We were born Spiritually immature the same way babies are born physically immature. That means Christians are expected to grow Spiritually the same way babies are expected to grow physically – except that babies grow automatically, whether they want to or not. Christians don’t grow automatically. They must make an effort to grow, or they don’t.
To say all this in a figurative way, when we became Christians, we were issued “passports” to a new lifestyle that the early Christians called the Kingdom of God. Those “passports” gave us the right to enter that Kingdom and enjoy its incredible benefits.
However, in the same way that some people have passports in their bedroom drawers but never travel, some Christians put their “passports” aside and never “travel” in the Kingdom of God. All Christians have the right to enter the Kingdom and travel in it – but some never do. They never “leave home” to explore the supernatural peace, hope, and purpose that the Kingdom of God offers.
The big question is, why? Why don’t some Christians “leave home” and “travel” in the Kingdom of God? There are several reasons and we’ll discuss them in upcoming sessions. But right now, the purpose of this session is to help Christians “pack their bags” and prepare to start “traveling.”
To be more specific: The purpose of Session Seven is to give Christians a deeper understanding of Spiritual growth and a desire to experience more of its joys. With that mindset, let’s continue by talking about our true name as Christians.
It’s a surprising fact of history that the Day of Pentecost in the First Century wasn’t literally the birthday of “Christianity.” It was the birthday of a new Spiritual movement that later came to be called “Christianity.”
The historical record shows that the 3,120 people whose inner spirits were immersed in the Holy Spirit at the Festival of Pentecost on May 30th, in 30 AD, didn’t call themselves “Christians.” Peter and the other original disciples, and Jesus’s mother, and Jesus’s four half-brothers, and His half-sisters, and all the pilgrims in the street, and all the future disciples who came after them in the first 30 years of the movement, didn’t call themselves “Christians.” They never heard the term and never used it. Jesus never heard the term and never used it, either.
Instead, it was non-believers who nicknamed Jesus’s disciples “Christians” and they did it 30 years after the movement was founded. More, they did it as an insult, not as a complement. But before we tell that story, let’s pause to see what Jesus’s disciples did call themselves during the first 30 years of the movement.
The historical record shows that the 3,120 people whose spirits were immersed in the Holy Spirit (baptized in the Holy Spirit) at the Festival of Pentecost – and the hundreds of thousands of disciples who came after them worldwide – called themselves: Followers of The Way.
Because of that fact of history, those of us today who’ve had our inner spirits immersed in the Holy Spirit should actually call ourselves Followers of The Way too – because that’s the real name of the Spiritual experience we’ve had.
We’ll tell the whole story of how our name was changed later. But before we do that, let’s look at two quick proofs showing that in the years immediately after Pentecost the disciples called themselves Followers of the Way and not “Christians.”
Here are two references proving that Spirit-baptized people originally called themselves Followers of The Way:
1. In 58 AD, the apostle Paul was in a lot of trouble. A gang of 40 orthodox Jews had taken a blood oath to ambush him and assassinate him. Because of that plot, the Roman army took Paul into protective custody and escorted him to the seaport city of Caesarea in northern Israel, which was the capital of Israel in those days. While Paul was in Caesarea, he was given permission to plead his case before the Roman Governor, Marcus Antonius Felix. Paul first explained to the governor why the charges against him were false. Then he said this to the governor:
“The only thing I admit is that I serve the God of our fathers as a Follower
of The Way – which the orthodox Jews are now calling a heresy. But I believe
everything that agrees with the Jewish Law, and everything that was written
by the Jewish Prophets.”
Interestingly, the record shows that Governor Felix was “well-acquainted with The Way,” and so he “adjourned the proceedings” without sentencing Paul to any punishment.[2. Adapted from Acts, chapter 24, verse 22.]
2. Our second reference is about an intelligent and highly educated First Century teacher from Egypt named, Apollos (“uh-pol’-los”). Apollos arrived in the city of Ephesus, Turkey planning to “teach” the citizens of Ephesus all about “Jesus.” However, Apollos himself had only heard people talk about being Followers of the Way. He himself had never had his inner spirit immersed in the Holy Spirit. (He wasn’t a real Follower of the Way himself.) The only baptism Apollos had experienced was John the Baptizer’s water-immersion in the Jordan River. And so two of the real Followers of The Way in Ephesus, named Priscilla and Aquila, took Apollos home with them and here’s what the record says happened next:
Priscilla and Aquila “exposed The Way of God more completely” to Apollos.
(His inner spirit was immersed in the Holy Spirit and he became a Follower of
the Way himself.) Then Priscilla and Aquila gave Apollos a “letter of recom-
mendation” to teach Followers of The Way in Achaia, Greece and Apollos left
for Greece, where he “was a great help to the disciples in Achaia.”[3. Adapted from Acts, chapter 18, verses 24 through 28.]
These two historical references (and a dozen like them in the early Christian letters) show that for over 30 years after the Day of Pentecost, people who were indwelled by the Holy Spirit were known as Followers of The Way – not as “Christians.” But is that important? Does that really matter?
Yes, it really matters. Because the term “Followers of The Way” identifies how people who’ve been immersed in Holy Spirit are supposed to think, feel, and live. It identifies the daily behavior that Spirit-immersed people are expected to have. It identifies the special lifestyle that Spirit-baptized people are supposed to live. And because that identification is so important, let’s pause to verify it in the original language.
In the Greek language of the First Century, the word we translate into English as “follower” is the preposition kata (pronounced “cuh-tah'”). Kata means “according to,” or “after the manner of.” When applying it to the early disciples, we figuratively translate it: “follower of.”
Likewise, the Greek word we translate as “way” is the noun hodos (pronounced “hah-dahss'”). Hodos comes from the root for “road” and literally means a “trip” or a “journey” of some type. But when applying it to the early disciples, we figuratively translate it: a “behavior,” “lifestyle,” or “conduct.”
Now let’s put the two words kata and hodos together as a complete term. To see how they work together, let’s return to Paul in the city of Caesarea (in our Paul story several paragraphs back), and see what he actually said in his speech to Governor Felix. Here’s the figurative meaning of Paul’s words, as Governor Felix heard them and understood them in his own time and culture:
“The only thing I admit is that I serve the God of our fathers by living according
to a special behavior – by following a special lifestyle – which the orthodox Jews are
now calling a heresy. But I believe everything that agrees with the Jewish Law and
everything that was written by the Jewish prophets.”
Now, what was Paul saying to Governor Felix? What “special behavior” was Paul living? What “special lifestyle” did Followers of The Way have in the First Century? More importantly, what “special lifestyle” should Followers of The Way have today?
We already know that First Century Followers of The Way lived a pure, Spiritual, supernatural lifestyle that filled them with peace, joy, and miracles. But we can get an even deeper insight into their lifestyle if we remember the unique social membership that Followers of The Way have. Let’s talk about that unique membership next.
The questions we’re asking are: What kind of “special lifestyle” did Followers of The Way have in the First Century? And more importantly, what kind of lifestyle should Followers of The Way have today? Of Course, we already know part of the answer. We saw it in earlier sessions.
People who’ve had their inner spirits immersed in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit are expected to be motivated by that power – not by their selfish nature. Their lifestyle is intended to be a supernatural one. It’s supposed to be a lifestyle that non-believers can’t have.
That’s because the Kingdom of God on earth is a supernatural kingdom and being a Follower of The Way is a supernatural experience. However, in addition to being supernaturally motivated, Followers of The Way are also members of an exclusive Spiritual “fraternity.” That fraternity is called the Body of Christ – and only Followers of The Way can be members of it. Let’s talk about that.
In the First Century, all Followers of The Way were members of what they called the Body of Christ. And since we’re Followers of The Way today, we’re also members of the Body of Christ. But before discussing that further, let’s see two quick proofs showing that Followers of The Way are members of a unique social fraternity called “the Body of Christ.” Here’s how Paul described that Spiritual fraternity in a letter to Followers of The Way in Corinth, Greece in 56 AD:
“All of you are the Body of Christ and each one of you is a member of it.”[4. Adapted from First Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 27.]
And here’s how Paul described that Spiritual fraternity even more passionately in a letter to Followers of The Way in Ephesus, Turkey in 61 AD:
“There’s only one Body and one Spirit … one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism
(one immersion in the Spirit); one God and Father of all, who is over all, and
through all, and in all … so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we
all reach unity in the faith … and become Spiritually mature, attaining … the
fullness of Christ. Then we’ll no longer be Spiritual infants.”[5. Adapted from Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 4-6 and 12-14.]
There are other historical references to our membership in the Body of Christ in the First Century letters, but let’s pause a moment to think about what the term means.
In the original Greek language of the First Century, the word we translate as “body” is the noun soma (pronounced “so’-mah”). Soma literally means the “body” of a human being or of an animal. But figuratively, it refers to a “group.” (In the sense that a “body” of soldiers is a group of soldiers.) More fully, in the original Greek soma refers to a “group of people united in one social and moral unit.”
Likewise, the Greek word we translate as “member” is the noun melos (pronounced “mel’-ahss”). Melos literally means a “limb” or a “part” of the human body (such as an arm or leg). But in the original Greek, it figuratively refers to a “member” of a group of people.
Thus, putting the two words melos and soma together as a complete term, they indicate that Followers of The Way are “members” of a “group” of people who’re unified in one social and moral unit – and who’re serving as Jesus’s body on earth at this point in history. As a group, Followers of The Way are Jesus’s Body on earth and are supposed to be doing what He would be doing if He was still walking the earth. That’s an astonishing fact that we need to discuss more fully.
But right now, let’s move on to Part 2 and talk about another controversial word that describes Followers of The Way. It’s the confusing word “saved.” Let’s go to Part 2 and find out what being “saved” means.
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