Having experience my co-death with Christ, and being set free from the sins of the flesh, I was wondering why after a few months, I have slipped back into walking after the flesh?
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Having experience my co-death with Christ, and being set free from the sins of the flesh, I was wondering why after a few months, I have slipped back into walking after the flesh?
Because you are not trusting in the full redemptive design to divide your spirit, soul and body so in fact they would be divided (Heb. 4.12) to walk by your spirit. If you did, you would read the Bible more prayerfully and conscientiously instead of doing other stuff.
Yes, I have not yet experienced this dividing of the Soul and Spirit. I am praying that God would make me a Spiritual man. May God penetrate deeply to divide these that His name may be forever glorified. I bought a book today called Let us pray, by Nee. A marvellous read. I can't believe how carnal a Christian I truly have been. Praise God for how he longs to reach us and set us free. Such love. Pure as the whitest snow.
All of his books are good but The Spiritual Man (white cover only!) must be read first for the dividing then branch out from there.
Thanks, I read The Spiritual Man white cover book, twice, about 8 years ago, as well as the Normal Christian life, Sit Walk and Stand and some other books also. God never granted me the experience that Nee describes in these books. However just recently after much judgement and trials sent by God, I have come into the experience of my Co-death with Christ. God then led me to read again The Spiritual Man, and I am almost finished it. I have the knowledge now, and I understand the book much more now than I did 8 years ago, but I have yet to experience the dividing, but I am praying that God will do this for His Glory.
I read an article in Rolling Stone today about the TV series "Breaking Bad," and the actor that plays Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) said in the interview that he was raised in a Christian home and read the Bible from beginning to end "several times." His conclusion was that it was "way out there" and did not accept God of the Bible. He didn't give any specifics though. Also, I remember many years ago I went into the public library to see if they had The Spiritual Man and noticed somebody who read it made all kinds of comments in the book showing how he misunderstood certain sentences and paragraphs. He was very confused.
The point to all this is that genuinely reading and reading with self attached to process produce diabolically opposite results. The latter is what you suffer so of course you get no results, since others like myself have their spirit, soul and body divided according to Heb. 4.12. There is a difference between knowing and understanding. You can know the spirit, soul and body need to be divided because Heb. 4.12 says so (not because Nee says so), but it won't happen unless you appropriate it by knowing the laws and functions of your soul and spirit to walk by the latter. Just know this that it is a deeper inner working few attain. Consider yourself among those, if saved, who entered the wide gate and along the broad path, not the narrow gate and path. Both are saved, but only the latter receive the reward.
May I suggest for the results to take effect, you must change the way you read. Can you consecrate yourself for 5 hours prayerfully reading very slowly so it sinks in, fully understood and let the Spirit of Truth work in your spirit patiently? If not, that explains the problem. Self is too impatient and busy with the world. It's also true it is not a one time reading. You should periodically read it again and again the rest of your life, because we can all easily slip back. Co-death is an established fact yet that is not the end all to be all. You must carry your cross daily to overcometh. Your old man that has died on the cross with Christ gives you the power to put to nought the deeds of the flesh. It is no longer a battle with your sin nature, but with the good self and the petty self, the righteous self and the noble self.
You ask why you have not had the results of the sensation of the dividing, sensing distinctly these three organs in your being? It is because of your righteous self that claims you did things right so you should have the effect. Obviously not! Have you some petty stone yet unturned and submitted to the cross? Where are you blocking God from working in you? This is a life long protracted and boring challenge to overcometh, but the rewards are immense to return with Christ to reign on earth, included as one of the 5 wise virgins (Matt. 24.1-13) that get to enter the marriage feast of the millennial reign in the millennial kingdom, 1000 years before the New City and New Earth commence for eternity future.
I will cast myself on Gods mercy to lead me to read as you have suggested. This will be good. I was reading the Chapter today "http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/believersmistakes.htm" Truly we are in such a battle. May God open our eyes to walk in the truth, for His Name sake.
This in particular stood out for me from this chapter. I am afraid, lest I become like this and perhaps this will be good to share on here as there are a number of viewers on here who may be uplifted by this warning and drawn closer to Christ.
I do know why I am not a Spiritual Man. God is slowly revealing to me day by day the reason for this. Oh how blind we are to Christ. I am yet Carnal. I depend too much on self. I realise that while this may be a narrow path, it surely is the only path a Christian should be on and the normal Christian road. It is all to do with dependence on Christ, and each day God shows me a little more how much I trust in self, and not the Only Wise and Immortal King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
"The consequences of a misconception of the truth such as this are (1) the believer himself ceases to be active; (2) God cannot use him because he has violated His operating principle; therefore (3) the evil spirits seize the opportunity to invade him since he unwittingly has fulfilled the prerequisites for their working. Due to his misinterpretation of the truth, and his practicing of death, he becomes a tool of the enemy who has disguised himself as God. Alas and alack, this misapprehension of the teaching connected with Galatians 2 has come to be in many cases the prelude to deception.
"After such a 'death' as this the individual is deprived of any feeling. He cannot feel for himself, nor can he feel for others. He gives those around him the impression of being like iron and stone, utterly devoid of feeling. He does not sense the suffering in others nor is he sensitive to how much pain he has given people himself. He has no ability to sense, to distinguish or to discern things within or without. This person is totally unaware of his own manner, attitude, and action. He speaks and acts without exercising his will and knows not from whence his words, thoughts and feelings originate. Without having made any decision through his own volition these words and feelings nonetheless flow like a river. All his actions are mechanical; no knowledge has he of their sources; he is only spurred on by an alien power. Strange to say, however, unconscious of self as he is, yet is he most sensitive to the treatment accorded him by others. He tends to misunderstand and hence to suffer. In any case, this 'unconsciousness' forms both the condition and the consequence of the enemy’s penetration. By. it the evil spirits are enabled to work, to attack, to suggest, to think, to press or to suppress without the slightest resistance from the believer who is completely unaware of anything.
"Let us consequently keep in mind that what people commonly term 'death to self' in essence signifies death to the life, power, exercise and activity of self; in no way does it refer to the death of one’s personality. We must not efface ourselves and render our personalities non-existent. This is a distinction we must comprehend. When we say without self, we mean without any self-activity, not without self-existence! If a Christian accepts the interpretation which envisages a loss of personality and refuses to think, feel or move, he shall live as one in a dream. Though he conceives himself to be truly dead, entirely selfless, and intensely spiritual, his consecration is ‘not towards God but is as to the evil spirits."
OH how gracious He is, and patient He is with His Sheep. He never gives up and his long sufferings with us who go astray brings forth in us the fruit of repentance. Who is like Him, To whom can we compare Him. May this truly be the Words of my Spirit and not just my mind.
God bless
Amen. Praise the Lord!
When I experience the dividing of soul and spirit I was baptized in the Spirit. I was adamentaly seeking God with all my heart crying for Him to fill me and lead me every moment of my life. Then the next evening I realized I could literally and tangibly distinguish between my body, Soul and Spirit as much as you can tell your foot from your finger. Do you think this knowledge comes from being baptized in the spirit or can you have this understanding without being baptized in the spirit?
I would just say though, seek the Lord with all your heart and the Spirit will grant you it. Also, it is good you are seeking this, it just happened to me without me asking for spiritual discernment and I thought I was crazy because no one else could help me with understanding this gift so I continued living out of my body and soul and ended up wounding my spirit because of ignorance.
God's blessings
A person doesn't experience the dividing of spirit, soul and body until they engage in a detailed study of the laws and functions of their spirit, soul and body, to begin to walk by their spirit so this does not take place at baptism, that is, when one separates themselves from the world. You can find this out about yourself by describing to me what you think the spirit, soul and body are, and I would reply showing how you still don't have the dividing. If I am wrong then I will agree with you in how you convey this dividing of these 3 parts of man, for your words will express not only knowledge but life. If for no other reason to find agreement, tell me what you mean by this dividing you claimed you had at baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I am sure you will discover it is not what you think you had.