THE UNINFECTABLE BREED: Cultivate The God-In-You Consciousness
Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god. Acts 28:1-6 NLT
The Apostle Paul lived an extraordinary life of constant victory no matter what adverse situation he came across as demonstrated in our opening scripture. Paul was bitten by a poisonous viper, however, interestingly enough the word of God shows us that the man remained untainted.
Having seen this, one has to ask themself a Question, what caused Paul to remain asymptomatic after being bitten by a snake? Is there something his body carried that made him immune?
Psalm 82:6 declares that “...children of the Most High are gods...” but they err, die, and are afflicted with sickness, disease, and infirmities like ordinary men because “...they lack knowledge and understanding” Psalm 82:5. This connotes that children of the Most High are not meant to have the same experience as ordinary men. Referring back to Paul, Paul remained untainted by the snakes' attack because he knew and understood something. When one studies the Epistles that the Apostle wrote one is able to see his knowledge and understanding of the scriptures encapsulated therein.
In this article, we will explore Paul’s extraordinary knowledge and understanding of The Indwelling Presence.
Paul made a remarkable statement and said, “ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me...” Galatians 2:20 NKJ
Paul was “God inside minded“. He was conscious of the fact that the man who was subject to being infected by a poisonous snake or being sick had been crucified. Rather the man you see today has God dwelling inside him. This explains why Paul neither panicked nor remained unharmed after he was bitten by the snake.
It is pivotal for us to understand that we share in the same inheritance as the Apostle Paul. The New Creation cannot be infected or just die because the old nature (human nature) that could be infected has been crucified with Christ. This means Christ is alive in us making us impregnable to any sickness, disease, or infirmity.
The new creation is God's address. You carry God and have all his fullness inside you. Emphatically, Paul declared “...you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them...” 2 Corinthians 6:16 NKJV. These were Paul’s constant meditations and cogitations that framed his consciousness. As a result, when the snake bit him he didn’t panic for he knew that God lives and moves in him; God patrols his entire body. In the same manner just like a security guard who guards an estate, the Holy Ghost perambulates your body ensuring that no illegal transactions take place.
The Apostle was completely conscious of the indwelling presence such that he declared, in his epistles, that “...God is at work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure”, Philippians 2:13 NKJV
Furthermore, he said, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, ...”Colossians 2:9-10 NKJV. In Jesus, lives all the fullness of God. Jesus lives in us and just as Jesus carried the fullness of God we also have the fullness of God. This alludes that God, with all His power and glory, lives in us. If this is true it means we can never be victims in life to any kind of sickness.
One of the things Paul emphasized in his writings was that God had given him the responsibility of proclaiming his entire message to the church. The message comprised of mysteries that were kept for centuries but have been now revealed to the church. These realities revealed mysteries that were not possible before the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This could not be healing, deliverance, or the like because those things were possible and so whatever it is, it is the revelation of the hour that the church ought to be majoring in“...And this is the secret (the message): Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.” Colossians 1:25-27.
The Apostle had in-depth knowledge and understanding of the indwelling presence. He knew that the Holy Ghost was not in the business of coming and going however he desires to abide in him and constantly vitalize his body. He continued to write and say, But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” Romans 8:11 NKJV. Hallelujah! No wonder the man was unharmed nor infected. He was aware that the Holy Ghost was his source of life in his body therefore no man neither nor snake could take his life.
The Apostle Paul was not the only minister who had cultivated such a consciousness. When we study the books of other great men of God we see that they too had cultivated this consciousness in their walk with God. The Apostle John wrote, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”1 John 4:4 NKJV
To be born of God eludes that you hail and proceed from God; your origin is in God. Now, because of that, you have already overcome the world and its systems. This signifies that we’ve overcome all manner of the works of the devil (sickness, disease, and infirmity) because the Greater One lives inside us. He is the one Greater than any poison.
Furthermore, the Apostle John wrote, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you...”1 John 2:27 NKJV. There's an anointing that abides in you and so the Christian life is not about breaking the yoke. The day the anointing came to abide in you it broke all manner of yokes and so any other yoke that may come will break unnoticed because there’s a constant anointing that lives in you. This was John’s consciousness, a consciousness of the indwelling presence.
Jesus the master also cultivated consciousness of the indwelling presence. In the book of John 14:23, he said “The father in me does the works”.
Child of God you are God's house. Neither any sickness nor death can just come and destroy your body unless you allow it. No illegal transaction should take place in your body without your permission. Paul won in life because he encouraged the indwelling presence by speaking in tongues a lot (1 Corinthians 14:18 AMPC) and secondly by cultivating a consciousness. How do you cultivate this consciousness? Joshua 1:8 makes it clear that you meditate on the scriptures day and night. Cultivate a consciousness of the indwelling presence by constantly talking in tongues and meditating on the word.
CONFESSION
I’m a champion for life, by the Holy Spirit who lives in me, and works in and through me. I acknowledge His presence and work in my life, and declare that He’s my guarantee of a life of everlasting success, limitless progress and victories, in Jesus Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY
Colossians 1:25-27 NLT 1 Corinthians 6:19 AMPC 2 Corinthians 6:16 NKJV Romans 8:11 NKJV 1 John 4:4 NKJV 1 John 2:27 NKJV John 14:23 AMPC Joshua 1:8 KJV