must maintain the integral oneness of His Being and action
by noting both the ontological essence of the indwelling
Being of Jesus Christ in the Christian, as well as the
dynamic expression of the functional activity of Jesus
Christ in and through the Christian.
Ontological Essence of Jesus Christ in the ChristianThe “bottom-line” reality of what it means to be a
Christian is expressed by the apostle Paul in his epistle to
the Romans, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9), for “the Spirit Himself bears
witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom.
8:16). Apart from the indwelling presence and witness of
the ontological essence of Christ by His Spirit, one is not a
Christian and not participating in Christianity. “Christ in
one” constitutes a “Christ-one,” i.e. a Christian. This is the
radical new reality that God made available in the new
covenant, the essential presence of the very person, life and
Being of the Spirit of Christ; the self-conveyance of
Himself to the spirits of receptive humanity.
In this restoration of the Spirit of God to the spirits of
men (cf. Gen. 2:7), so that men might function as God
intended in His creative design, there is effected a spiritual