Just imagine what it would be like! You are totally in the spirit day and night --24/7.
From early morning to late at night you are walking and living and rejoicing and chatting to God in spirit.: You have found what King David longed for so long ago: "To live in the house of the Lord forever"; Except that this House Of The Lord is no longer a physical structure of stone and mortar but the inner Temple where Christ makes His home in your heart::Nothing is allowed disturb or frustrate this temple:; No bitterness or hatred or failure finds a foothold here. You live a life immersed in joy and expectation and victory: Christ in you is no longer a mere theology concept. His presence is a living moment by moment reality. You are enjoying continual personal Revival! You are His masterpiece purposefully brought to the birth for such an age and for such a time as this! Wow!
If that is your dream and your longing then stay with me for a few blogs as I tease out the major obstacles I encountered on my journey to life in the spirit: Remember this is merely my experience or testimony but it may be of benefit to you also as you deal with similar roadblocks in your life. This subject is too vital to leave forever shrouded in the fog of fine sounding spiritual clichés. It may well be the missing link you have searched for over many weeks and years, Don't press the delete button!
We often hear exhortations to "walk in the spirit" or "Live by the spirit" All sounds wonderfully biblical and appropriate but what exactly do these expressions mean? How do I know if I am in the spirit or in the flesh? If walking in the spirit is of such vital importance in defeating sin and enjoying Christs presence, then how do I get to that place? And even more importantly "How do I stay in the spirit once I arrive there?"This was my approach as I sought to dig deeper.
Genesis 2:7 tells me that "The first Adam became a living soul" When God's Spirit breathed on the clay outline of man an entity called the SOUL came into existence..It was a living soul, the offspring of spirit and body. Like when the electricity in your house meets the filament of the bulb something new comes into existence called light. That light is a separate entity but take away either the electricity or the bulb and light will vanish. Similarly the soul is born out of the marriage of spirit and body and cannot exist except when both are in union.
The soul is the seat of personality, intellect and will (not the spirit) and in Adam the soul was an obedient servant of his spirit as he went about doing what we would now regard as amazing feats.
e.g. HE named all the animals in one day: However when the direct living flow of spirit was halted by sin then Adam's soul took over leadership and Ego was born.The baby of Genesis 2,( the soul) had now taken over running of the house.so to speak, Any parent knows that it's not a great idea when the baby rules the home.
That situation lasted for 4000 years and in that time God introduced Law, but only for His chosen people, in an attempt to show man the terrible mess he was in and how far short he was now falling from the glory of Genesis 2. The law of course was useless to deal with sin but it was and still is expert at increasing sin and shining a huge light on it.
Many believers are still intoxicated by the soul and by morality and by law. They genuinely believe that if the soul is educated enough, religionised enough or uses enough psychology then life and blessings will flood the spirit. Man will stop sinning and God will no longer be estranged. Wrong on all counts! No matter what you do with the soul or what laws are imposed the end result will be failure and no glory. (Ichabod) The soul can never impart life as it was never designed for that.All it can do is reproduce itself over and over again, generation after generation.
But 6000 years of failure after failure should have convinced us we need to look to the second Adam (Christ) and not the first Adam. We need the deliverance purchased by the second Adam.The second Adam of course is Christ and " HE became a life quickening Spirit".(1 Cor 15:45) Now if you belong to Christ you are one with Him in that life quickening spirit. If you want that life quickening experience exuding from your daily walk with God ..then the only way is under the leadership and headship of the spirit of Christ But since the very expression "in the spirit" has become a christian cliché then this is an attempt to unzip the cliché and explain the HOW.
That life giving spirit (Spirit of Christ) really wants to take over leadership from your soul. The soul is wonderful in it's place but it was never designed to be boss. When the soul is leader the life is full of stress and sorrow. Days are filled with anxiety and worry and fears. Prayer life is a form of lottery! Chance and luck play a big role. Law & Grace are mixed together like an irish stew! Nothing is certain or settled.But when the spirit takes over then the peace (Rom 8:6) and victory of Christ floods the soul (Mind and emotions and will) What a prospect! But can it be? Are there believers today living this quality of life? Yes there are! But how does it happen?
When you move in the spirit all this confusion of Grace and Law is nonsense. Christ gobbles up every mention of law.The two of them can't reign in the same space at the same time: Romans 10:4 tells me that Christ consumes the law as regards righteousness and grace: "For Christ is the consummation of law for righteousness to everyone who is gifted with God faith"
Do these matters interest or intrigue you:? Do you long for a life free from Ego and a life where the soul is subservient to your spirit? Then stay with me over the next few blogs as we tease out God's Word on this issue.
Next Blog: "The Formula" Don't miss this:
