What We Need To Know About Our Human Spirit

     Once a week, Mark and I are blessed with a visit from the 21-year-old son of one of our closest neighbors and friends. Cole is a curious young man with an intelligent mind, and one of the areas that he devotes lots of "think time" to is his relationship with God.
     Most of the time, he just shows up on his day off and joins Mark in the studio for enthusiastic discussions on their shared faith ... I don't even know he's been here. But the other day, I was doing some computer work at my desk in the studio when Cole arrived. This time he had a very interesting concept that he was trying to understand. If I can boil it down to a simple sentence, he was trying to figure out the interaction between his human spirit and God -- when it is deposited in us; when it begins to connect with God; if it is separate from our spirit that is seated with Christ when we're born again; and what happens to it when our physical body dies.
      Whew! I'm not sure I know very many adult Christians who have contemplated that big of a theological puzzle. [Notice that I didn't say "mature" Christians, because I don't think age is the determination factor in the maturity of our faith]. Anyway, Cole and I engaged in a lengthy discussion that made me aware that I need to be able to explain my understanding of the phenomenon of the human spirit to anyone who asks. I believe his questions were legitimate, and the answers should certainly be comprehended by all Christians. After all, our union with Christ is a fundamental doctrine across all denominations of the Christian faith, and we should be able to explain "how it all works". So, here's my attempt at clarification, as I understand it ...

     Our human spirit is a very important part of being made "one with Christ". In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the Bible makes it quite clear that our body [in its entirety] consists of a body, a soul, and a spirit. God, in His infinite wisdom, designed each of these parts to serve distinct purposes. Our body connects us to this physical world; we are conscious of the material world and how it affects us. Our soul gives us consciousness of ourselves; our mind, our emotions, and the ability to make decisions [free will]. It gives each of us a distinct personality. Our spirit is able to connect with God and be conscious of Him -- to receive Him and worship Him -- because God formed us with a spirit; a part of Himself that is always able to be in contact with Him.
     That answers Cole's first question. When we are formed in the womb, God deposits a spirit in us. Now comes his second question ... when is that spirit aware of God and begin connecting to Him? The only way I knew to explain my theological theory was this way.... until we are born again, our human spirit is dormant. It is a part of us, but yet to be "made alive" (Romans 8:10). Until that divine moment, people live out of their body [flesh] and soul.
     At this moment, I want to digress for just a second. It has been my observation, through the Deliverance and Inner Healing Ministry to which God has called me and Mark, that a lot of Christians, even though their spirits have been awakened and regenerated, still live out of their soul (their mind, will and emotions). If one remains attached to his natural, physical self, he cannot discern spiritual concepts or spiritual attacks. That is why so many Christians are being oppressed by the Enemy.
     As the Body of Christ, it is imperative that we Christians learn to live from our spirit [which is the connection point with God], rather than living and behaving from our own deliberations and thoughts; our own likes and dislikes; and our own self-determined stands of right and wrong. We must learn to question, examine, and apply what the Holy Spirit reveals about all things in this life. 
     So, to answer Cole's second question, our spirit begins connecting to God the moment we are born again. It is activated and able to talk to God, hear from God, see in the spirit, and receive dreams and visions. But how does that coincide with Cole's third question, which is proposed by reading Ephesians 2:5-6, which says that even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, God made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ. And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus.  There's our answer! It is at this point that we are fully united with Christ. We are in our physical body, but have an activated spirit [that comes when we accept Christ as our Savior], and our spirit now has access to the throne where Jesus is seated. We are joined together with Him, fully able to communicate with Him, and able to act out of a divine consciousness. Our spirit is now able to transcend spiritual dimensions to be in contact with Jesus. I believe this is what Paul is talking about when he writes in Ephesians 4:13 ... until we all experience the fullness of what it means to know the Son of God, and finally we become one perfect man with the full dimensions of spiritual maturity and fully developed in the abundance of Christ.
     Now, to Cole's last question, which may be where I find the most disparity in the belief systems of Christians. First of all, as I have stated before, [and which is backed up by 1 Thessalonians 5:23] our soul and spirit are two different parts of us. However, I am astounded by the number of Church doctrines that teach that when we die, the soul goes to be with God. That is not what the Bible teaches. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. So the spirit that was deposited in us at conception, will return back to God, because it belongs to God. Yes, we will have a resurrected body, like Jesus's glorious body. Our soul will cease to exist because it is attached to the physical part of us. REMEMBER: our soul is our mind, will, and emotions. We are sown as a natural body with a brain (mind) capable of feeling (emotions) and making decisions (will), but raised as a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). So I do not believe we will have these same physical bodies that our spirits inhabit now.  Our citizenship will then be in Heaven, rather than this world, and we will be in perfect unity with our Creator, spirit to Spirit. 
     I hope that I was able to answer Cole's questions, so that he can commune with God and get more revelation on this fascinating concept. I can't wait to see the questions he will bring with him next time. And you may not agree with my theology, but that's okay. If this post serves to invite you to dig deeper into the mysteries of God through His Word and revelations from the Holy Spirit, then I am happy with that response. You don't have to agree with me ... just keep the curious and committed mindset of my friend Cole to know the Lord more and He will be glorified.

James 3:17     But the wisdom from above is always pure, filled with peace, considerate and teachable. It is filled with love and never displays prejudice or hypocrisy in any form  

Our Authority, Free Will, and Faith

     I praise God that more and more Christians are coming to the knowledge of the Power and Authority given to us by Jesus Christ. But as we in modern Christianity tend to do, we take a Biblical concept and mold it to our Western way of thinking. And especially, here in America, we have a streak of self-determination and independence running through our DNA. Unfortunately, that tends to bleed over into how we walk out our Biblical authority.
     First, let us establish that Jesus was given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Next, we should understand that He gave His power and authority to all who believe (Mark 13:34). Then we need to clearly see that Jesus modeled for the Body of Christ how we are to walk in that authority. He only did what He saw the Father doing in Heaven (John 5:19); and He only said what the Father told Him to say (John 12:49-50).  How many of us Christians can say we are obedient to Christ's model?  Do we even understand the consequences if we are disobedient?
     Well, let me tell you, that walking outside of our authority is a sure-fire way to run into spiritual trouble. Because besides our authority to exercise the power of God, our Father has given us another important little gift ... our free will. And when our will takes precedence over His Will, we are headed down a dangerous path.

     I do not write this to scare anyone from being bold for the Lord. There are times our authority will take us into some risky territory. But if we follow Jesus's model, we will be walking where our Father has laid out our path, and we will only be proclaiming what His Spirit communicates to our spirit. Any deviation from that, and we're asking for trouble.
     I can confidently say that, because I have acted out of my own free will and regretted it. I have seen a direction the Lord wanted me to go, but I got out ahead of Him and let my soul overtake my spirit, expressing what my mind was dictating and allowing my emotions to take charge, instead of listening for the Lord's clear instructions.  But I have also "ministered to people who took on assignments they determined would glorify the Lord. The problem was, He didn't tell them to go there or to strike the first blow. Those self-appointed assignments led to a season of paranoia and fear for one; and serious health threats for another -- until they realized that they had not received those marching orders from the Lord, and they repented for their disobedience and moved back into alignment with God's calling on their lives.
     "We must remember that "the battle is the Lord's -- not ours! Without God's specific authority to do something, we can find that we hurt ourselves more than advance His Kingdom. Probably the most familiar instance of not exercising our authority properly is the story of the seven sons of Sceva found in Acts 19:13-16, Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”  Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.  One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. The seven sons of the priest, Sceva, were sincere in their desire to do the work of the Lord. Problem was, He hadn't given them instructions to take on that assignment.
     Perhaps the clearest picture of someone in the Bible who understood how Christ's authority worked and how to exercise it was the Centurion in Matthew, Chapter 8: But the Roman officer interjected, “Lord, who am I to have you come into my house? I understand your authority, for I too am a man who walks under authority [and have authority over soldiers who serve under me]. I can tell one to go and he’ll go, and another to come and he’ll come. I order my servants and they’ll do whatever I ask. So I know that all you need to do is to stand here and command healing over my servant and he will be instantly healed.” The Centurion understood that Jesus walked under the authority of His Father. He also knew that he was capable of authority, but in this instance recognized that it was Jesus's authority that would heal his servant. And his faith that Jesus's authority [from Heaven] was so great that Jesus could heal from afar, earned instant healing for the servant. This was a man who understood the Heavenly Source and foundational principles of how Jesus's authority worked!

     So here is another fundamental truth in the Bible: our spiritual authority is accessed through our faith; and the level of our faith determines how much authority we carry. Consider this .... In Mark 9 and Matthew 17 we have the account of the boy with seizures who was not healed by the Disciples. The father of the boy said the Disciples were not strong enough. Strong enough in what? Their faith. In fact, when Jesus hears this, He calls them a "faithless people [generation]". The father then tells Jesus, " if you’re able to do something, anything—have compassion on us and help us!” Jesus responds, "What do you mean IF?" and goes on to explain that if one believes, anything is possible. The father declares that he believes but asks Jesus to help his "little faith". Jesus heals the boy, and His Disciples ask Him why they were unable to cast out the demon, and Jesus tells them that it is because of their lack of faith -- this demon requires prayer and fasting, which in the principles of Heavenly authority, requires a greater degree of faith.
     Now, let's fast forward to the Book of Acts. Christ has ascended into Heaven, and full authority has been bestowed upon the Disciples at Pentecost. Through their journey with Christ, they have advanced from using His authority as He trained them up, to now walking in their own authority as their faith has increased... The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.  But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.  Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women.  As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by.  Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed. (Acts 5:12-16)
     Their faith had increased and now they were operating at such a high level of authority that Peter didn't even have to touch someone for them to be healed -- his shadow released the power of the healing from the Holy Spirit! And notice that when the crowds brought the sick and those possessed by evil spirits to the apostles, they were all healed.... evidence of great faith and authority.
     So, I hope that I've shown how important it is to listen to the Spirit when operating in our authority. We MUST follow Jesus's example and only take on the assignments we receive directly from the Father. When we are obedient to this principle, we have nothing to fear and the power of Heaven is behind us. Step out on our own, without clearance from God, and that free will decision is outside the Father's will. Secondly, as our faith grows, so will the measure of authority we walk in. Jesus has placed us in a position of authority, but the power of Heaven comes when our faith is indisputable.  It is so important that we walk in our  spiritual identity and power, with our spiritual eyes and ears firmly focused on Jesus .... being ever mindful of what He's telling us to say and do. If we can follow His model, just think of the impact we would have on the world!

Matthew 17:20     He told them, "It was because of your lack of faith. I promise you, if you have faith inside of you no bigger than the size of a small mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move away from here and go over there,’ and you will see it move! There is nothing you couldn’t do!^"
     

     
    

What Does Your Personal Exodus Look Like?

     I know that we live in an age where Faith is measured by New Testament standards; namely, trust in what Jesus accomplished at the Cross to secure our eternal salvation. But sometimes I have asked myself if, in never taking my eyes off Him, have I forgotten that Satan remains the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) and still exhibits influence over the affairs of men? Not that I should focus on the Enemy, nor give him undue credit. And ultimately, I know his strategies do not threaten the Kingdom of God on earth. But as an ambassador for that Kingdom, I think it is important that I am aware the devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the Light of the Good News of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. In addition, I want to make sure that His Light shines in me as a testimony for those unbelievers. I want my personal faith to be as evident as it was in the Old Testament story of the Exodus from Egypt. Does my life reflect a full transformation from the Kingdom of Darkness [in which I once lived] to the Kingdom of Light?

     I ask this question because I know it is possible for our spirits to have hope in the Lord's promises while our flesh still hears the whispers of the Enemy -- the same compromises Pharaoh offered God for the continued enslavement of the Israelites. So I want us to take a look at the ways Pharaoh negotiated with God, so that we can see how the devil still works to control man and how we can work with God to expose these lies to His Truth and Light.
     It is important to recognize that from the beginning in the Garden of Eden, it has been Satan's plan to entrap man to worship him, rather than God. As long as Adam and Eve obeyed God and trusted Him, they were a threat to Satan's plan to steal the dominion of the earth. It is the same plan the devil was running in Egypt. Pharaoh was no fool. Although the Israelites had been enslaved for 400 years, they had never abandoned their worship of God. And Pharaoh knew what a powerful force that worship was in the midst of their slavery, and understood [just like the serpent in the Garden] that this faith/worship was a threat to his kingdom.
     So, the actions taken by Pharaoh show us just how Satan still works today in keeping both unbelievers AND believers from walking in total freedom. But knowing that God is the same today as He was yesterday, I can look at Satan's agenda and apply the Bible's unerring Truth to defeat those tactics in the same way God defeated them in the Exodus story. So, let's look at the compromises Pharaoh offered and see if we can recognize the devil's same strategy in the world today.
     Remember, that Moses, as God's ambassador had continually asked Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go so they could serve and worship Him. With each of Pharaoh's emphatic "No's", God sent signs and wonders to show His unrelenting love for His people. After a series of supernatural plagues, Pharaoh offers up a solution: “Go, sacrifice to your God [here] in the land [of Egypt].” Do you see the deal Pharaoh was offering? He was willing to let the Israelites worship their God as long as they remained in his land, where there would be no change in their circumstances. The devil is willing to offer us the same deal today -- we can do acts of worship as long as we still live "in the land" of his influences. Unless we dedicate every portion of our life to God, the devil still has legal access to influence our service to the Lord.
     When that offer didn't work, and Moses rejected the terms, Pharaoh tried another tactic: “I will let you go, so that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Plead [with your God] for me.” Here, we have a picture of Satan's temptation for us to offer half-hearted worship and dedication to God... perhaps we can have it both ways? Pharaoh will allow for some change, but not complete freedom; and it still gives him the means to control God's people. The same holds true for us today. We cannot say we worship God in Truth and Spirit, and still try to hold on to some aspect of the world. Full surrender of our lives to God may seem too extreme -- even to professed Believers. But I maintain that this is the minimum God desires. It is only through our willingness to serve and worship Him in the extreme that we can expect to be fully transformed and attain freedom.

     After more plagues from the God of the Universe, the next offer from Pharaoh struck a legitimate chord with me: “The Lord be with you [to help you], if I ever let you go with your children [because you will never return]! Look [be forewarned], you have an evil plan in mind. No! Go now, you who are men, [without your families] and serve the Lord, if that is what you want.”  Pharaoh was offering the men of Israel their freedom if they would be willing to leave and abandon their children and families. Can't you see how that strategy has worked in today's culture? Whether it is unbelievers trapped in the welfare system, or believers who are chasing financial comfort, the family unit has been sacrificed for what the world likes to call "freedom". [And this doesn't even begin to cover how we have neglected to keep watch over technology and the internet and how it is enslaved our children, resulting in the breakdown in communication and identity]. But God's plan is the same today as it was in ancient Egypt: to keep families together to build generations of faithful people to honor and glorify Him. The question is this: Are we partnering [and parenting] with Him to see that happen? Or do the members of our families each go their own way, often outside of relationship with the Father?
      And now we see Pharaoh's final attempt to keep God's people in compromised slavery: “Go, serve the Lord; only your flocks and your herds must be left behind. Even your children may go with you.” In the ancient system God had set up, it was these flocks and herds of animals the Israelites needed for sacrifice to show their worship of God. If Pharaoh could convince them to give up their means of sacrifice, their worship would be meaningless. Nothing has changed. Today, we face the same test. Are we ready to dedicate all our resources to the worship of our Lord? Or are we governed by our fear that we might not have enough if we give it all? If we operate out of that fear, then the Enemy has been given legal permission to influence our minds, our emotions, and our will to fulfill our purpose for the Kingdom. This is Satan's greatest fear... families who are willing to worship God with all they have; willing to go to the extreme to please and serve Him. Nothing will be denied these kinds of people and the devil knows it. They are capable of defeating his every move and they are a real threat to his earthly realm. 
     In the end, the fate of the Israelites didn't depend on Pharaoh capitulating to God's demands to let His people go. Their fate depended on their willingness to trust Him when He told them to cover their doorposts with the blood of a sacrificial lamb. If they had not decided to "go all in" with God, they would have suffered the same consequences from the Angel of Death that the Egyptians experienced. Because they were obedient out of their faith, they received their freedom. God rewards us the same way today. We are called out of our captivity into the glorious Light of a life in Christ. When we are willing to be uncompromised -- to go to extremes to worship Him in fullness and trust -- then the Enemy has no hold on us; and we discover the purpose of our deliverance into freedom. We are brought out of our slavery in the Kingdom of Darkness and into the Kingdom of Light in our Promised Land. And no matter how long our Exodus journey is, it is worth every obstacle we face; every rejection from this world, because we are covered by that same blood of The Sacrificial Lamb and consecrated to Him alone; worshiping Him alone. We have been delivered out of our captivity into freedom, and we will sing His praises, for He is worthy to be praised!

Ephesians 5:8    Once your life was full of sin’s darkness, but now you have the very light of our Lord shining through you because of your union with him. Your mission is to live as children flooded with his revelation-light!

 

Spiritual Maturity and Understanding Deeper Truths

     I have to be honest ... I am reveling in this season of comprehending a greater meaning in Scripture, and how it is impacting my relationship with God.  I will admit, that in the past, I have been guilty of being rather one-dimensional in my understanding of Scripture, especially my favorite verses and those that have been the foundation of modern Christianity. Perhaps I have agreed to receive the explanation given to me by faithful Sunday School teachers or Pastors, without seeking to know more on my own. But I have no one to blame except for myself -- it is the responsibility of each Believer to grow in understanding; to become spiritually mature. That is made quite clear in a number of Scriptures:

2 Peter 3:18: But continue to grow and increase in God’s grace and knowledge with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May He receive all the glory both now and until the day eternity begins. Amen! As the Passion Translation explains, "Spiritual growth is yielding to the grace of God and having passion to know Jesus Christ intimately. In time, we grow into His beautiful image". And the glory/recognition for this growth goes to Christ, Himself.

1 Corinthians 3:1-2: Brothers and sisters, when I was with you I found it impossible to speak to you as those who are spiritually mature people, for you are still dominated by the mind-set of the flesh. And because you are immature infants in Christ, I had to nurse you and feed you with “milk,” not with the solid food of more advanced teachings, because you weren’t ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready to be fed solid food. This “milk” is understood to be the basic teachings of our faith. (See Scripture below for definition of "basic teachings"). The more advanced teachings Paul describes are spiritual “solid food”—something we can “sink our teeth into” and look for deeper meaning in.
 
 Hebrews 6:1-3: Now is the time for us to progress beyond the basic message of Christ and advance into perfection. The foundation has already been laid for us to build upon: turning away from our dead works to embrace faith in God, teaching about different baptisms, impartation by the laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment^. So with God’s enablement we will move on to deeper truths. 

     These three verses in Hebrews, by themselves, have such deep connotations for the spiritually mature. Here, Paul is saying that it's time to move on from foundational concepts of Scripture and build on what you [should] already know. For instance, we all know that "dead works" are attempts by people to please God through man-made traditions and religious "acts". There is only one "work" that brings righteousness and eternal life to all, and that was the work of Christ on the Cross. We are to embrace that work in faith.
     Paul says we should also understand the different "washings", or baptisms. Did you know there are seven such baptisms listed in the Bible? They are the baptism of fire, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of suffering (Jesus on the Cross), the baptism into the cloud, the baptism into Moses, the baptism of repentance, and the water baptism. To count ourselves ready to be spiritually mature, Paul says we should know these and understand them.
     How many of us understand that "impartation" should be a foundation of our maturity in the faith? Impartation by the laying on of hands is supported in both the Old and New Testaments as a means to heal, to bless others, to impart [bestow] the Holy Spirit and His gifts, to identify with a person (or sacrifice), and importantly, to release others to their calling and ministry.  Do we aspire to this today? Do we even see the importance and significance of this powerful act? Is it a foundation of your faith?
      It goes without saying that an understanding of the resurrection of the dead and the certainty of eternal judgment should be a foundation of our personal faith. I know that our resurrection to glorified bodies should be the hope of every Christian, but I daresay few understand what that will look like, or even care to contemplate it! And the possibility of eternal judgment is a subject that some Christians refuse to even contemplate, yet Paul says it should be an established conviction of the mature Believer.
     So, how are we stacking up according to Paul's standard of a spiritually mature follower of Christ, ready for advanced teachings? I don't know about you, but these three verses made me realize that I desire to know ALL that God will entrust to me. But it means that I have to hunger for it -- not being satisfied to be spoon-fed "milk", but earnestly desiring and seeking the "solid food" of advanced teachings. And while we may not have the advantage of being taught by Paul, we have an even greater teacher available to us -- the Holy Spirit, whose "anointing teaches me about all things; is true and is not a lie" (1 John 2:27). 

     So, I have to ask myself if I am moving beyond the basics of Christian faith, and how motivated am I to advance in my faith and spiritual maturity? Because there is no question that the Teacher (the Holy Spirit) is qualified to impart the advanced knowledge. How receptive am I in taking delivery of His message(s)? 
     And here's another aspect that I consider ... God isn't interested in me remaining at a status quo level. Either I'm growing in Him, or [by default] I'm shrinking if I'm standing still and not increasing my knowledge of Him as my life progresses. Let me be clear -- it is important to me to understand sound doctrine as revealed in Scripture, and it is equally important that I grow in my understanding and relationship with the Father as that knowledge of Him from the Holy Spirit [through Scripture] increases. I am made to know Him, in mind and heart!
     So, to wrap this up, what does Paul mean by "deeper truths"? It is taking the foundational revelations of God as revealed in Scripture and building on them to gain greater relationship with Him through experiencing that knowledge. It is allowing the Holy Spirit to take you beyond the foundational doctrine you've received and being willing to receive the intimacy and power of God, which results in more knowledge of Him. 
     And be prepared to have these deeper revelations questioned by Believers who are interested in maintaining their spiritual status quo, as if they already have all the answers they will ever need. Is God's Grace sufficient for us? Yes, but that doesn't mean we are to remain stationary. The rest of that verse states His Grace is sufficient because it allows for an exhibition of His power in our weaknesses. He wants to teach us something about Himself in the difficult situations of life! That is experiencing Him! 
     So, let's not forget the first verse I quoted, 2 Peter 3:18 ... "But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". Peter, like Paul, is continuing to encourage Believers to GROW ... not stay on autopilot, nor be lax about reading our Bibles or praying. Those deeper truths come only from an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, with Jesus, and with the Father. I've been tired of "milk" for quite awhile now. I want to feast on the greater and deeper knowledge of my God. And I can tell you that there's nothing that tastes as sweet to my spirit as the "solid food" that comes from a growth in knowledge and intimacy in His Presence. That's my wish for you, too.

Ephesians 1:17   I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation [discovery] to know Him through your deepening intimacy with Him.