1 Attachment(s)
The Spiritual Man-Spiritual Life and Spiritual Warfare
Objective salvation deals with the sinner: (a) substitution for sins (the products) through the atoning death by the provision of the blood (represented by the passover blood), (b) non-atoning identification with Christ placing our old man (the factory) on the cross. Subjective salvation deals with the man: (c) positively releasing God's life in Christ's flesh (represented by the passover flesh), (d) bearing our crosses daily, negatively, unto loss of man's common, natural life.
This forum is for brothers and sisters to study and discuss the Scriptures (Isaiah 28.13) in the same spirit of osas arminian (Rom. 8.29), "interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit " (1 Cor. 2.13 RSV) otherwise known as Biblical psychology. God's way of salvation is to predestinate by foreknowing (Rom. 8.29) our free-choice (John 3.16,18) made in His image (Gen. 1.26,27): by conditional election, unlimited atonement, resistible grace, for the preservation of the saints.
Discuss the dividing of spirit, soul, and body (Heb. 4.12, 1 Thess. 5.23) to walk after the spirit. Understand the latent power of the soul (pdf) which should be read immediately following The Spiritual Man. Overcoming and deliverance from sin is the goal, from the natural ("good" self and petty self) and supernatural. The "kingdom of God" (an inner spiritual condition) is in us which "is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14.17).
Since man's relationship with God begins at regeneration and is carried on completely in the spirit (whereas the soul merely agrees), it is evident that all our work must have its center there. To court apparent success by merely whipping up people's enthusiasm results in a work without God. Once having learned the central place of the spirit, our efforts should undergo a drastic change. We do not labor without objective, simply follow what we think is good; we have a distinctive aim, that of building up man's inner depths. Spiritual service is our working by our spirit for the quickening of the spirits of others. It is the spiritual food of a believer, nothing more nor less than accomplishing God's work (John 4.34). When we cease depending on ourselves and using what we have we will see indeed how very weak we are. Not until then will we learn how much power our inner man has and it is God Who pours out His life through our spirit. Since we usually rely so heavily on the soul by which to live, we naturally do not appreciate how weak our spirit is.
Aside from the Bible, I know of no book on the planet that will change your inner man or inner woman as effectively than The Spiritual Man (CFP) that fits the Bible like a glove to express the redemptive design. Do not take my word for it, see for yourself by letting the Holy Spirit with the Word show you as you read deeply.
Spiritual Warfare
Broadly speaking, a Christian who has not yet experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit is rather vague about the reality of the spiritual realm. He is like the servant of Elisha whose eyes were closed to that sphere. He may receive instructions from the Bible, yet his understanding is confined to the mind because he still lacks revelation in his spirit. But upon experiencing the baptism his intuition becomes acutely sensitive and he discovers in his spirit a spiritual world opening before him. By the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit he not only touches the supernatural power of God but contacts God’s Person as well.
Now it is just there that spiritual warfare begins. This is the period when the power of darkness disguises himself as an angel of light and even attempts to counterfeit the Person and the work of the Holy Spirit. It is also the moment when the intuition is made aware of the existence of a spiritual domain and of the reality of Satan and his evil spirits. The Apostles were taught in the Scriptures by the Lord after Calvary; but they were made conscious of the real existence of a spiritual realm following Pentecost. Spirit-baptism marks the starting point of spiritual warfare.
Once a believer has contacted the Person of God via the baptism in the Holy Spirit, he then has his own spirit released. He now senses the reality of the things and beings in the spiritual domain. With such knowledge (and let us call to mind that the knowledge of a spiritual man does not accrue to him all at once; some of it may, and usually does, come through many trials), he encounters Satan. Only those who are spiritual perceive the reality of the spiritual foe and hence engage in battle (Eph. 6.12). Such warfare is not fought with arms of the flesh (2 Cor. 10.4). Because the conflict is spiritual so must the weapons. It is a struggle between the spirit of man and that of the enemy—an engagement of spirit with spirit.
Before he arrives at such a juncture in his spiritual walk, the child of God neither understands, nor can he engage in, the battle of the spirits. Only after his inner man has been strengthened by the Holy Spirit does he know how to wrestle with the adversary in his spirit. As he spiritually advances he begins to discover the reality of Satan and his kingdom and then it is that he is given to understand how to resist and attack the foe with his spirit.
The reasons for such conflict are many, with the enemy’s tactic of attack and blocking constituting the greatest. Satan frequently either unsettles the emotions of the physical bodies of spiritual believers, or he blocks the works of the spiritual ones, or he may disturb their environments. The need to fight for God forms still another reason for this warfare. As Satan plots in the air and works on earth against God, so His people fight back with spiritual power, destroying the enemy’s plots and plans through their prayers. Though at times saints do not know for sure what Satan’s scheme is nor what he is doing at the moment, they nevertheless continue to press the fight with no let up, for they understand who their antagonist is.
Beyond the above two explanations, spiritual combat has for its existence yet another cause: the need to be delivered from Satan’s deception and to deliver deceived souls.* In spite of the fact that their spirit’s intuition becomes sharp and sensitive after they are baptized in the Holy Spirit, believers may nonetheless fall into deception. To preclude their plunging into the wiles of the adversary, they need not only spiritual sensitivity but also spiritual knowledge. Should they be ignorant of the manner in which the Holy Spirit leads, they may assume a passive position and thereby become captives of the enemy. The easiest error Christians can commit at this moment is to follow some irrational feeling or experience rather than the leading in their inner man. Once baptized in the Holy Spirit, they have entered the supernatural realm. Unless believers appreciate their own weakness, that is, know how incompetent they are in themselves to encounter the supernatural, they shall be deceived.
The Christian’s spirit can be influenced by either of two forces: the Holy Spirit or the evil spirit. He commits a fatal blunder who thinks his spirit can be controlled solely by the Holy Spirit and not be so by the evil spirit too. Let it be forever known that aside from the Spirit that is from God, there is additionally “the spirit of the world” (1 Cor. 2.12), which is in fact the spiritual foe of Ephesians 6.12. Except the Christian shuts up his spirit to resist, he may find the evil one usurping his spirit through deceit and counterfeit.
When a child of God becomes spiritual he is subject to the influence of the supernatural world. At this point it is vital for him to know the difference between “spiritual” and “supernatural,” the confusion of which forms the cause of many deceptions. Spiritual experiences are those which originate with the believer’s spirit, while those of the supernatural may not necessarily come from there. They may arise from physical senses or from the soulical sphere. A Christian ought never interpret a supernatural experience as always being a spiritual one. He should examine his experiences and determine whether they enter through the outer sensual organs or come via the inner spirit. Whatever emanates from outside, however supernatural it may be, is never spiritual.
The Lord’s saints should not receive everything supernatural unquestioningly, for Satan too can perform supernatural deeds. No matter how the feeling is during the moment of experience nor how the phenomenon appears or declares itself to be, believers should investigate its source. The charge of 1 john 4.1 must be strictly observed: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” The counterfeits of the adversary often exceed the believer’s expectation. If the Lord’s people will humble themselves by admitting that deception is quite possible to them, they will be the less deceived. Because of the counterfeits of the enemy, spiritual warfare looms inevitable. Unless with their spirits soldiers of Christ take to the field to meet the foe, they shall find him coming in to suppress their spiritual strength. In spiritual conflict the spirit of the Christian wars against the enemy evil spirit. Now should the Christian be deceived already, then he fights to regain his freedom. If not, then he strives to rescue others and to prevent the foe from attacking. He takes the positive stance of subjugating the enemy by opposing every one of Satan’s plans and works.
Such battles are fought in the strength of the spirit. It requires power there to wage war. A Christian must understand how to wrestle against the assailant with his spirit. Otherwise he cannot detect how the enemy will attack or discern how God will direct him to fight. But if he walks by the spirit he learns how to pray incessantly therein against the wicked powers. And with each battle his inner man waxes that much stronger. He comes to realize that by applying the law of the spirit he not only can overcome sin but also Satan.
From that part of the Scriptures in which the Apostle touches on spiritual warfare we can readily estimate how important strength is in such conflict. Before he mentions the problem of spiritual warfare (Eph. 6.11-18), Paul first exhorts his readers to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (v.10). Where should there be this strength of which he speaks? Paul tells us in Chapter 3: “strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man” (v.16). The inner man is man’s center, the spirit of man. And right there is where the powers of darkness attack the man. Now if the inner man is weak everything else becomes weak. A frail spirit produces fear in the heart which automatically weakens the believers stand in the day of evil. What he needs pre-eminently is a firm spirit. Except he understands the nature of the conflict a believer is not capable of resisting in his spirit against the principalities and the powers.
Many Christians find their spirit feathery and free when all is sweetness and light; but just let there be eruptive war, and their spirit becomes disturbed, fearful, and worried, until finally it is submerged. They do not know why they are defeated. Satan’s aim is victory, and to this end he attempts to remove believers from their ascension position by causing their spirit to sink so that he can ascend. Position is a primary factor in battle. When the saint’s spirit tumbles, he loses his heavenly position. Christians must consequently maintain a strong spirit and yield no ground to the enemy.
Upon realizing how his inner man is strengthened with might through God’s Holy Spirit, a spiritual child of God learns the absolute necessity of overcoming the enemy. His inner man grows sturdier as he attacks the foe with prayer and wrestling. In the same manner that the muscles of the wrestler develop in physical combat, just so the strength of the believer’s spirit increases as he battles the adversary. The latter mounts an assault in order to depress the believer’s inner man and thus to afflict his soul. If the child of God has come to appreciate the wiles of his assailant, he will not surrender at any point but will instead resist; and his emotional soul is thereby protected. Resistance in the inner man forces the enemy to go on the defensive.
Resistance is one of the indispensable elements in spiritual combat. The best defense is a continuous offense. Oppose with the will as well as with the strength in the spirit. Giving opposition means struggling free from the power of suppression. The opponent will be routed if one fights his way out by the spirit. But should one allow the enemy to attack and not resist in return, then that one’s spirit will surely be depressed, sink very low, and may require many days before it regains its ascendancy. The spirit that does not withstand the enemy is often a suppressed one.
How shall we resist? With the Word of God which is the Sword of the Holy Spirit. As a believer receives God’s Word it becomes “spirit and life” to him. Hence he can employ this as his weapon of resistance. A heavenly believer knows how to use the Word of God advantageously to break down the enemy’s lie. Even now a battle is raging in the world of the spirit. Though unobserved by the eyes of the flesh, it is sensed and proven by those who are seeking heavenly progress. Many who are deceived and bound by the enemy need to be released. Not only is there need for release from sin and selfrighteousness; many who are bound as well by supernatural experience need release also. Due to curiosity and the prospect of pleasant sensations, Christians gladly welcome these supernatural phenomena, not recognizing that these merely puff up their pride without producing any real or lasting result in terms of a holy and righteous life or spiritual work. When the evil spirits succeed in their deceptions they gain a footing in the believer. From this ground the enemy gradually enlarges his frontiers until finally he renders the believer as one who walks in the flesh.
Now obviously he who himself is bound cannot possibly set others free. Only when wholly freed experientially from the powers of darkness can the believer himself overcome the foe and rescue others. The incidence of the danger of deception increases in proportion to the number of those who experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The need today is for a company of overcoming saints who know how to wage war for the release of those under the enemy’s deception. The church of God shall be defeated if she lacks members who know how to walk by the spirit and how to fight therewith against the enemy. May God raise up such!
How Does the Living Word Divide
How Does the Living Word Divide
“For the Word of God is living and operative, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is not a creature unapparent before Him; but all things are naked and laid bare to His eyes, with Whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:12,13).
The first thing to notice is that the Word of God is “living.” His Word must surely be living if we acted on it. For if we do not find it living, we simply have failed to contact the life-power of God’s Word. We may have read over the words of the Bible, but if we do not touch something living, we have not contacted God’s Word deeply enough.
John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him may not perish, but have life eternal.” Consider how one may hear such a word. He kneels down and prays: “Lord, I thank You and praise You, for You have loved me and saved me!” We immediately know this man has touched the Word of God, for His Word has become a living reality to him. Another man may sit by his side, listening to the very same words, but he did not actually hear the Word of God. There is no living response from him. We can draw but one conclusion—since God’s Word is living, he who listens and does not have a living response is he who has not actually heard the Word of God.
Not only is the Word of God living; it is also operative. “Living” points to its nature, while “operative” applies to its ability to fulfill its work on man. God’s Word cannot return void. It will prevail and accomplish its purpose. It is not merely a word, but the Word that will so operate until it produces results.
What, then, does God’s Word do for us? It penetrates and divides. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. Its sharpness is demonstrated in the “penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow.” Note the analogy here: It compares the two-edged sword against joints and marrow with the Word of God against soul and spirit. Joints and marrow are embedded deeply into the human body. To separate the joints outside is to cut across the bones; to divide the marrow inside is to crack open the bones. Only two other things are harder to be divided than the joints and marrow—the soul and spirit. No sword, however sharp, can divide them. Similarly, we are wholly unable to distinguish between what is soul and what is spirit. Yet the Scripture tells us how the living Word of God can do the task, for it is sharper than any two-edged sword. God’s Word is living, operative, and able to penetrate and divide. It is the soul and spirit of man which are to be penetrated and divided.
Perhaps someone may raise this question: “It doesn’t seem as if the Word of God has done anything special in me. I have often heard God’s Word and have even received its revelation. But I do not know what “penetrating” is. Nor do I understand “division.” As far as I can tell, I am a stranger to both these processes.
How does the Bible answer this question for us? It says “penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow.” But it also goes on to say that the Word is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” “Thoughts” refers to what we deliberate in our heart, and “intents” have reference to our motives. Thus, the Word of God is able to discern both what we think, what motivates our thinking, and why. 81 82 The Release of the Spirit
Too often we can easily identify what comes from the outward man. We quite glibly confess, “This was soulish, for it came from self.” But we do not really see what the soul or self is. Then one day, God’s mercy comes to us. His light shines upon us, and His voice announces to us—with severity and solemnity: “What you frequently refer to as your “self’ is your self! You have talked lightly and easily about the flesh. Now you must see how God hates this and will not allow such to continue.”
Before this seeing, we have been able to talk facetiously about the flesh. However, once we are stricken with light, we shall confess: “Ah, this is it! This is what I have talked so lightly about!” Now, we have more than an intellectual dividing. It is the Word of God that points out and exposes what we conceived and purposed in our heart. We then receive a two-fold enlightenment: How our thoughts originate from the flesh, and how our intentions are entirely selfish.
To illustrate this, let us consider two unconverted persons. One is aware that he is a sinner. He has been to many meetings and heard many messages on sin. Clear preaching has brought him to acknowledge himself as a sinner. Yet when he accordingly refers to himself as a sinner, he laughs about it, as if it does not really matter.
The other person hears the same messages, but the light of God shines upon him. The Spirit so convicts him that he prostrates himself on the ground and prays: “Oh, yes, this is what I am—a sinner!” Not only has he heard it by the Word of God, but he has also seen and felt his true sinful condition. He condemns himself. He is stricken to the ground. Thus enlightened, he can confess his sin and receive the salvation of the Lord. He will henceforth never speak lightly or jokingly of the sin he has seen. But the first one, who can jokingly describe himself as a sinner, has not seen and hence is not saved.
How do you react to this message today—that your outward man seriously interferes with God and must be broken and divided by Him? If you can begin talking about it frivolously and easily, surely it has not touched you. If, on the other hand, you are enlightened by it, you will say, “O Lord, today I begin to know myself. Until now, I have not recognized my outward man.” And as the light of God surrounds you, laying bare your outward man, you will fall to the ground, being no longer able to stand. Instantly, you see what you are.
Before, you have said that you loved the Lord. But under God’s light, you find it is not so—you really love yourself. This light really divides you and sets you apart. You are inwardly separated, not by your mentality, not by mere teaching, but by God’s light. Once you said you were zealous for the Lord. But now the light of God shows you that your zeal for service was entirely stirred up by your own flesh. Once you thought you loved sinners while preaching the Gospel. But now the light has come, and you discover that your preaching the Gospel stems mainly from your love of action and your love for speaking. These are merely your natural inclinations. The deeper this divine light shines, the more the thoughts and intents of your heart are revealed. Once you assumed that your thoughts and intents were of the Lord. But now in this piercing light, you know they are entirely of yourself. Such light brings you down before God.
Too often what we supposed was of the Lord proves out to be of ourselves. Although we had proclaimed that our messages were spoken by the Lord, now the light of heaven compels us to confess that the Lord has not spoken to us. Or, if He has, how little He has said. How much of the Lord’s work, so called, turns out to be nothing but carnal activities! This unveiling of the real nature of things enlightens us to the true knowledge of what is of the self and what is of the Lord, how much is from our soul and how much is from our spirit How wonderful if we can testify: His light has finally 83 84 The Release of the Spirit
shone! The ‘spirit and soul’ can now be distinguished and divided! And the thoughts and intents of our heart are clearly discerned!
You who have experienced this know that this is beyond mere teaching. All efforts to distinguish between what is of self and what is of the Lord, to separate what things are of the outward man from what are of the inward man—even to the extent of listing them item by item and then memorizing them—have proven it to be nothing but a waste of time and effort. You continue to behave just as usual, for you cannot get rid of your outward man. You may even be able to condemn the flesh. You may be proud that you are able to identify what belongs to the flesh. But you are still not delivered from it.
Deliverance comes from the light of God. When the light shines, you immediately see how your denial of the flesh has been superficial and fleshly. You can even see how your criticism of the natural has been natural. But now the Lord has laid bare to your eyes the thoughts and intents of your heart. You fall prostrate before Him and say: “O Lord! Now I know these things are really from my outward man. Only Your light can really divide my outward from my inward.”
Therefore, our denial of the outward man and our determination to reject it will not help. Yes, even the very confession of our sin is for naught, and our tears of repentance will need to be washed in the blood. How foolish to imagine that we could expose our sin! Only in His Light shall we see and be exposed. It must be His work by the Spirit, not our efforts by the soul. Everything out of our own mind, emotions, and will is excluded. This is something left to only God.
This is why God says, “My Word is living and effectual! My sword is the sharpest of all! When My Word comes to a man, it is able to divide the soul and spirit, just as a two-edged sword can divide the joints and marrow!”
How does it divide? It divides by revealing each thought and making bare each intention of our heart. We do not know our own heart. Beloved, only those who are in the light know their own heart. No one else does—not one! Yet when God’s living Word comes, we then can see! We are exposed as one who truly sees his own self-centeredness—seeking only his own gratification, glory, ambition, and position for self. How blessed is that light which causes us to fall down at His feet.